tHING #16

Although it wasn't my first choice, I ended up going with iGoogle for my intro page.  It has many options and is extremely user friendly. I liked all the different themes and gadgets it had to offer. I'm not sure if I'll use it as my home page, but I will definitely consider it. 


Online calendars can be useful in many ways. It is a great way to stay organized from any location from any computer. I also like that it will send reminders to your email which can be accessed by phone...ANYWHERE!


I happen to have the new iPhone 4S, and was able to download "remember the milk" to my Siri application. It was so easy to set up! I tested it out by telling my iPhone to "remember coffee mate." At first, it thought I said, "remember the coffee me." So I tried again, and it registered. Pretty neat. Can't wait to see how or when it reminds me!


If anyone reading this has the iPhone 4S, I would definitely recommend using the "remember the milk" application. In the future, I think it will prove to be a very useful tool, in and outside the classroom. 

tHING #15

Wiki is a tool that I think I will definitely use in the classroom. I thought I knew what Wiki was, but after working through the discovery exercises of this "thing," I realized that I was wrong. For example, I did not know that users of a shared Wiki could change or edit things that another user posted. In the classroom, students should be required to work collaboratively with other students through a Wiki when working on a group project that allows instant feedback from the teacher as well. 

tHING #14

The flowchart websites that I chose to explore were Gliffy and Bubbl.us. I didn't have to register to start enjoying the benefits of creating charts. I could definitely see myself using Gliffy in the future to create a flowchart or venn diagram. It also had a floor plan template and swot analysis template that allowed easy comparison of internal and external factors. I created an example of almost all the available tools through Gliffy. Bubbl.us was extremely friendly easy. It had minimal options which allowed easy creation of a flowchart. I was able to easily change tier colors and relationships. After completion, the user can click and print out the flowcharts for future reference. I think I will create a schedule for my daughter using a Gliffy tool.  

tHING #13

I have never heard of Zoho writer before. I find it very interesting and promising! So far, this is my favorite thing of the "23 Things!" Just the other day I was in the library and wanted to work on my research paper. I freaked a little because I didn't have my thumb drive and wondered how in the world am I going to save my work. I ended up working on it with Microsoft word, saving it to the desktop in the library, and then emailing it to myself. It all worked out okay in the end, but what a hassle. It would have been nice to log onto Zoho writer and create the document online at the library, and retrieve it later at home, or anywhere for that matter! I think I would be a little nervous to work on a lengthy research paper using this word processing tool. I think I would have to test out some shorter assignments that didn't weigh as heavily on the grade percentage of the class. Time to test out all the things this writer can do: Okay, so I just practiced "copy" and "paste." It did not allow me to right click to do it. I had to hit command C and command V...no big deal. I also easily changed the font, color and size of the letters. It was almost identical to MS Word. The watermark thing is kind of neat. Thought I chose a lighter color though. I cannot remember if MS Word has this feature, probably. mistysikes - that is what appeared when I hit the icon of the person.  Now, I think I will practice working on saving and retrieving this. I will keep my fingers crossed for I am nervous that I will do something wrong and lose everything I just typed. The spacing before and after paragraphs was a little tricky for me, but I finally figured it out. 

Google Docs is as easy to use as is Zoho. I think I like them as equally as much. The drawing component of Google Docs is a fun and easy way to create pictures and/or diagrams. In Google Docs, it is easy to collaborate with students because with the click of a mouse, the user can share, save, send any document, spreadsheet, slideshow, and drawing. The real test will come when I use it for a "real world" situation.