Thing 13

So delicious.......and bookmark/tagging! Hmmm?! I love bookmarking and the idea of a way to better organize sites that I want to return to through tags, etc. I think that it would make my life so much easier. It would also make sense to have it be public because then I could allow my fellow teachers to have access, but I could possibly also allow my students to have access to the information. This would allow them to access information that may help them when they are attempting to do homework, study, etc. at home. It would likely be helpful to parents also. So many times I hear from parents that they have difficulty helping their student because the information is nothing they can recall from their high school days. If parents can access the information, they may be better able to help their student. School work/homework could then be a more collaborative process. Ok.........my issue with delicious; it is run through yahoo. I recently had my yahoo account highjacked and it has caused issues for many people who were sent emails because they were a yahoo contact of mine. So, I would love more information on any other possible site out there that is like delicious, because my trust with yahoo has been broken.

Thing 9

Ok....I know that I am posting out of order, but several days sitting in jury duty has thrown me out of wack. I have done parts of 5-8 but have not completed them in order to post on them. You Tube is something that I access and use regularly. Commenting on You Tube is very easy. I am surprised by how much I enjoy you tube. I enjoy it for several reasons. I like looking back at old tv episodes and commercials. I also like many of things that I can lead my students to on the site. Educationally speaking, one of the biggest areas that I use it for is math. I have found that it is very easy to type a specific area of math into the search engine and find numerous videos that show how to do specific types of math problems. My niece is doing virtual high school and has contacted me several times for help with her math. I have been able to help her using You Tube videos. We can both watch several videos on the type of problem that she is having an issue with, then if she is having trouble, I can help guide her from my house, using the information in the videos. Through an open chat between the two of us, and using You Tube we have gotten her through several math areas. I have also told my students about using this to help them at home. I know that some of them have done that. Their responses to me have been very positive about the experience. My biggest issue with the site is how they let students post things like fights that have happened. I have seen how it causes social issues within schools, because within minutes of a fight happening, it can go "viral". That viral video always seems to bring the issue into the school social setting and creates larger issues. Other than that, I think that You Tube is a great site that has a vast array of ways that it can impact the classroom and education in a positive way.