Thing 12

I am officially a google junkie.  I set up an Igoogle page, and I had so much fun exploring the tools.  I want to explore more and become more comfortable with this resource, but so far I've put a recipe for the day and dictionary word of the day on my page.  I would like to set up a separate page for parents and students in my classroom.  I could post helpful links to other resources and post daily information such as homework, classroom activities, etc.

I also looked at google translate.  This would be a great tool for ELL students and their parents.  It is so simple to use.  I typed in different phrases and could choose to translate from English to Spanish and Spanish to English.  I have used other sites for translation, but it looks like I never have to leave google for anything.  With the ability to use the RSS feeds, blog-finders, and the tools found in this assignment, google brings everything to me!  I had no idea that all of these resources were available!!

Thing 11

Google search was definitely my favorite blog search tool.  I did like the fact that Topix immediately showed local information.  I thought that was pretty helpful.  Technorati was too much for me because there was so much information.  I prefer simple, so I'll stick with google.  I was able to find many blogs that were interesting and pertinent for both personal interests and professional interests in education.  It is amazing that I can find a blog for virtually any topic.  I am a music enthusiast, and I got really sidetracked during this assignment in reading "musical" blogs.  As far as the field of education, it's great to know that when I'm looking for information on a particular topic, I can bet on the fact that there will be current, valuable help out there in the blog world.