Week 3--RSS Feeds and Flickr

An RSS feed seems like a worthwhile idea amidst all our hectic lives. Going to one place to find information from many places seems like a worthwhile venture. This is one thing I hope to continue to use amidst my daily life. In fact, what I find most interesting about the chapter on RSS feeds is the whole idea of using the skills canning and synthesizing information to find main points and worthwhile information. There are many different ways to read and reminding students about these abilities is important too in our ever fast paced lifestyles.

As for flickr, I don't love this program. I find other photosharing sites to be easier to navigate such as shutterfly. I do like the idea of having a host of pictures stored that could potentially be used for lessons within the English classroom though.

Flickr

www.flickr.com

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Week 2--Wikis

I am a wiki user already in my classroom. I use a wiki to relay all information about my class to the students; however, what Monday's class did for me was ask me to think about the collaborative piece of the wiki and think about ways to incorporate the wikis in the classroom which would require students to use the wiki and edit one on their own. A few ideas that I have rumbling in my head are: glossary of literary elements; recommended reading wiki which asks students to post ratings of books they have read; a platform to build their injustice projects which students could peruse to learn about different injustices in society today.

Also, I came across which wiki sites require student passwords which would allow me to monitor inappropriate use and vandalism within the wiki. At a high school level, I find this a very attractive feature.

To view my wiki, please access msstein.pbwiki.com!

Week 1--Blogs

I actually have had students all create blog accounts this year prior to reading about them in class. After reading the text, a few things were brought to my attention in terms of "blogging use" . The first is how I definitely need to create an acceptance use policy for students to ensure that responsible use of the blogs is enacted. Furthermore, I really liked the discussion within the text that discusses creating opportunities that hilight the interconnectivity aspect of the blog. Students should be reading and commenting on each other's posts. This will make their blog experiences more worthwhile and effective.