Thing # 13

I played around with Zoho Writer for a while and a few of the features I found that could be really helpful are the features under Mailings. They have, what appears to me, a simplified way to do Mail Merges. Zoho also has almost all of the things that a standard word processing application has and is set up very similar to Microsoft Word, which I find to be helpful. They're not trying to reinvent the wheel and make things extra complicated for their users. Another feature I really liked about Zoho is that it gives the writer the option to publish it straight to their blog. I could see many uses for collaboration among students, in small groups, with the option of sharing their final project through a class blog for everyone to access and view.

I chose to make a drawing with Google Docs. Although my drawing isn't the best, it allowed me to play with a couple of different features before I published it. I didn't bother looking for instructions, I just kind of started hitting buttons and I was really pleased with how easy it was to navigate and do what I wanted to do, like hide the cat behind the arrow. I also really liked how they gave you the option to make the lines dotted, which seems like you would be able to use this application to create  images for the students to color and cut out.

I can see many uses for students to work collaboratively with Google Docs. For example last semester in one of my classes we had a major group project due. Part of this project included presenting to the rest of the class. I know that one group used Google Docs to share resources, complete their group paper, and create a presentation to share for the class. They talked about how they were able to work together without having to meet and that Google helped to facilitate this. 

I think I like Google Docs more simply because I am more familiar with Google than I am with Zoho. I'm more likely to return to Google because of the ability to flow easier among different aspects of Google (Gmail, Blogger, Google Docs, etc) than Zoho.

Thing # 12

I have had some previous experience with Google Alerts, but that was about a million years ago, when Andy Kaufman was suppose to have come out of hiding if he had really faked his death. But that's neither here nor there. 

Since that time I haven't looked at Google alerts. There are many more options now as opposed to when I was looking for Andy Kaufman's zombie. I particularly like that you can schedule how often and how many results you want to receive.

When I was in high school and college there was a website called Babelfish. It would translate inputted words or websites, but it did it pretty poorly. That's pretty much been my only experience with any translation websites, so I wasn't expecting much out of Google Translate. I was pleasantly surprised at how cleanly it translated.

I can see how the alerts could be used in a class setting. If there is a semester long project about a current event that the students have to do, they could be required to set up Google Alerts in order to stay up to date about what's occurring. Even if there isn't a project, the students could be required to set a Google Alert and report, weekly, to the class about the newest Alerts they've received.

Google Translate has fairly obvious educational uses. It could assist students in foreign language classes to learn as well as help ESL students to get a firmer grip on words and phrases they may not understand.

Thing # 11

Just a little digression before I address this topic: I really wish that the links on the APSU 23 Things page opened in a new window.

I can answer the "which method of finding feeds easiest" question by saying this: I really didn't like Topix.net. The homepage was cluttered and the feeds listed weren't interesting to me. I can see using the Google Blog Search to find blogs that don't really have to do with anything professional where as Technorati would help find more professional, established sources.

Topix.net wasn't so much confusing as... just cluttered. There was a lot going on in it. It was actually surprising that we were linked to it, I thought. I went to The Way Back Machine to see what it looked like in 2008: 

As compared to what I saw today:

I like the older version better. 

I looked through Google Blog Search and searched for Calvin and Hobbes (one of my favorite comic strips of all time) and found this: http://teachingwithcalvinandhobbes.blogspot.com/ , a blog dedicated to a book that does what it says (teaches with Calvin and Hobbes) and as much as I love that strip, I had never thought of using it as a teaching tool, but it makes almost immediate sense, like something I should have been doing all along.

Thing # 10

I kind of wish that this "Thing" had been done before "Thing # 4." If we had gone ahead and set up RSS feeds for the blogs of all our other classmates, commenting on their blogs would probably have started faster, and there may have been more communication, earlier, between peers. I really hate having to scroll all the way down, past a million other course sections, to get to our class to see who has updated.

What I like about RSS is how easy it is to get everything in one place. It's kind of the same reason I'm a fan of Google Chrome-- all my most visited websites are at the homepage, so I can click to where I want to go immediately.

I know I'll be able to use RSS in my daily life. It will help me to consolidate a lot of personal interests into one area, allowing me to visit one site quickly without having to continually visit multiple sites, hoping that they have updated their page.

As far as educationally, in a school setting, I can see how Google Reader would be a great tool to have. An educator could subscribe to RSS feeds that tie into standards that they're currently teaching, make their Google Reader public, and inform students how to access it. It will give the students another way to access information about subjects they may be really interested in.

Thing # 9

I wasn't a big fan of any of the generators. I didn't like the layouts of the site, or the content they offered. I did like Image Chef the best of the four offered, the layout was the best and easiest to navigate. I messed around with the candy heart generator.


 

I can't see too many uses for this image generator in a classroom, outside of Valentine's day.

I did a Google search on image generators and found this page from Mashable. It lists 13 image generator sites that they recommended. I liked this page for the different options for they linked to, including Comic Life and Movie Poster.

Comic Life and Movie Poster I can see as being very useful in the classroom. Movie Poster would be a great way to introduce new topics in the class.

It would also create a visual reminder of lessons the class has already completed. 

Comic Life could be used in a similar way. It could be offered to students as another way to complete assigned projects -- some students may not be the best at writing essays, but they could still put together a very impressive comic book about the same assigned topic. 

Thing # 8

My creation, a photo by MBullock14 on Flickr.

I chose to share a creation from a mashup called Jigsaw. It does what it looks like it does-- just takes a photo and turns it in a kind of faux-jigsaw. I would be more apt to use this mashup if it actually created jigsaw puzzles. I can see a wide use of jigsaw puzzles in an educational setting. And to be honest, in my personal life, as well. I'd totally give my friends jigsaw puzzles of the most random stuff. 


I can see how a lot of Flickr mashups could be useful in the school setting, especially those that link to a specific place, like the ones that... well, hold on. I had previously mentioned how links offered from APSU's 23 thing were old. Here's an example. I went to explore Mappr because it sounded pretty interesting and really useful in a school setting. As of 2007 (2 years before the publication of the APSU 23 post) Mappr  is no longer processing images from Flickr. It in fact linked you back to Flickr (to here). 


Either way, the idea of connecting pictures to physical places is a great idea, and one I can see as being very beneficial. 


As far posting pictures online, I can see the usefulness of it, but I am very, very wary about posting any pictures outside of Facebook. Things have a habit of living on forever.

Thing # 7

When I first started playing around with Flickr I was hungry. It's this broad period of time between lunch and dinner and I have no snacks, so I started exploring different food options. I started looking at pictures of Jello (because I'm hungry and also because my dog, the absolute best dog in the world, is named Jello). Then I looked at turnips. Then I looked at old women eating. Then I went to mashed potatoes (quite possibly my favorite food in the world) and finally ended up with pizza. I don't know what it is, but pizza is a very photographic food. Just look:





Domino's Wisconsin 6 Cheese Pizza, a photo by theimpulsivebuy on Flickr.


Also, and I didn't notice this anywhere else, but I had to use a very backwards way to get this picture on my blog. I had to sign up for Flickr, then connect it to my Blogger, let the picture post by itself, and then come back to the picture and add the text.