Diigo

Summary

For today's assignment, we joined a social bookmarking website called Diigo. Diigo is an extremely useful website to use because you can do a lot more than just bookmark various sites. You can also highlight text, insert comments, create tags, organize your websites by lists, share your sites with friends, send messages and much more. There is also a "Group" feature to share certain information with friends, peers, or students. This feature is great for collaborative research and keeping projects organized. 

Web 2.0 sites like this one are extremely important to the expansion of knowledge and growth because collaboration is key. People from all over the world can join together and share information with just a few "clicks" of their mice. Web 2.0 is also useful in the classroom and in business settings because it allows people to work together to share ideas and promotes social learning.

What I learned

Even though I use a social bookmarking website called Pinterest on a daily basis, I have never used one like Diigo. They have a lot of similarities, but Pinterest doesn't have a highlight tool or many of the other features the Diigo toolbar has. Because of these features, Diigo seems to be more useful for researching and scholarly information.

In my opinion, one of the best features of Diigo is the ability to bookmark websites to your account and access them from any computer. I can't tell you how many times I've been on another computer and have had to email myself a link to a particular website so I could access it on another computer. Especially since I occasionally conduct research on my work computer during the day. Now, I can just save it to this account and all of my highlights, comments, and sticky notes will be saved no matter what computer I use.

Here is an example of my Diigo Library: 

So far I've only added four websites, but I plan to add a lot more. I've also added my Diigo account link under the link list on my profile, but you can also view it here.

Questions and Answers:  

1. What browser do you use?

 Mozilla Firefox, although my brother often tells me to download Google Chrome. 

2. What is a browser add on? Give an example and explain why they are useful (if they are useful). Which ones have you used? 

Web browser add-ons add features to the browser you are using. One example is a "Facebook" add on, which is one of the ones I use daily. To access Facebook, all I do is click on the link and it takes me there immediately. Add ons like that are useful because because of efficiency. I no longer have to type out the Facebook web address, but instead I just simply click a link. On my old computer, I had add ons for everything! Some examples of add ons I've used include weather, news, and Twitter.

 
3. What browser add-ons are you currently using?

Besides the Facebook add on mentioned above, I also use the Diigo toolbar. I have my toolbar features set to include the highlight feature, comments, capture, send, and read later.I just bought a new netbook and I haven't fully set it up yet, so as of right now these are the only two add ons I have. 

How I would use it

I can see myself using this website on a daily basis for articles that I find interesting. I really wish I knew websites like this existed during my undergrad, because as an English major I had to constantly find and print journal articles to use in all of the papers I wrote. Not only could I have saved a lot of paper, but I also would have saved a lot of time. I used to have to save links to my flash drive, go to the library to use the printer, sort the pages, and then highlight and write comments on the information I wanted to use. How easy this website would have made things!  As an English teacher, I would really like to bring this website to my classroom so students could do research together using the Group feature.  As this interesting article suggests, students are more inclined to read and research if teachers make it interesting and allow them to be social. Not only are students focused on their social lives, but they are also all about the latest technology. Combining both would make me look like a saint! :)

NETS Standards 

The Diigo website activity focuses on standards one and two because it involves using digital tools to enhance student learning. This activity engages students and allows them to explore real world issues on the internet. Students would also have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers in a social, virtual environment.

 

Picasso Head

Summary

For today's activity we created a self portrait in the form of a Picasso painting using a website called Picasso Head. This site allows you to use their tools to create your very own masterpiece resembling Picasso's style of cubism. It's very simple to use and even someone like me, with very little artistic ability, can create something that looks artsy! I could have spent all evening playing around on this website, and I definitely plan to go back in and experiment with different shapes and colors. 

What I did

All I really had to do was click on the link and start experimenting. I dragged different shapes to the canvas and changed the sizes and colors until it looked how I wanted it to. This is what I ended up with...

 You can also view my painting in the gallery while you are browsing other artist's work. 

One "issue" I ran into was figuring out how to add hair to the over-sized head I chose. Many of the hair selections seemed to be for certain faces, and I couldn't figure out how to make it work until I realized there was a "rotate" feature that allowed me to position the hair exactly how I wanted it. The hair on my painting is now my favorite part because I got it to look wild and crazy, just like I wanted! Another other issue I ran into was figuring out the signature tool. I typed my name in the signature field and it showed up, but when I clicked "save" my name disappeared. I couldn't try it again without losing my painting so I just saved without it and took a snip on the gallery page so my name and title would be included.

How I would use it

As I was creating my portrait, I kept thinking about how much fun it would be for my students to use Picasso Head to create an image of a book character. For example, if we were reading Pride and Prejudice, I could take a day to bring in the class laptops and have them create their interpretation of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. I think this is something students would really enjoy and we could share our work with each other on the Smartboard so we could discuss why certain features were chosen. This activity would be fun, it would encourage classroom discussion, and students would be learning about character development through their eyes and the eyes of the author.

NETS Standard

The Picasso Head activity is best represented by NETS standard One because this activity promotes creativity and innovative thinking. If I incorporated the suggested activity I mentioned above into my lesson plans, students would use their knowledge of the book characters to create their very own character interpretations.

Revisit Resume

Summary
For this assignment, we uploaded our resumes to a program like Rezscore for an evaluation. This free service is really useful because it provides tips on how to improve your resume, and gives you very detailed feedback on your resume's strengths and weaknesses. 

What I learned
It turns out, I'm not wordy enough! When I first submitted my resume I got a "C+" because of brevity. 

After reviewing my score, I took my resume and I added more bullet points with more description and then I submitted it again, and I got the same score! I couldn't believe it, because I was worried that they would say I was TOO wordy this time. I did this about four times and decided to just accept the "C+" because I really don't want my resume to run into two pages long. Experts say your resume should be a page in length for every ten years or so of experience, and I haven't even started my career as a teacher yet! I know I'm not an expert, but I'll take my "C+" for now and add more words later when my career takes off. 

I also learned how to use a program called Jing to take a picture of the RezScore screen. This program is really neat because it is very similar to the Snipping Tool, but it has a lot more editing features. Using this program, I was able to create a text box and an arrow pointing to pertinent information. I can really see myself using this in my classroom- maybe even more than the snipping tool because of the text box feature!

How I would use it
I think it is important to keep your resume up-to-date, and this program will help provide tips throughout life as updates are made. I may not always use the advice they provide, even if I should, but it is always nice to have professional feedback and get a second opinion. 

NETS Standards
This activity best demonstrates NETS standard number five, because I used an electronic resource to enhance my learning and if I continue to use this program when making resume updates, it would be part of a lifelong learning process. I've also evaluated and reflected on current resume research that this program provided, and made changes accordingly. 

The Snipping Tool: Snip, Crackle, Pop

Summary

The Snipping Tool is one of the coolest applications I’ve seen yet. It is similar to the “print screen” option, but it allows you to be much more selective and provides tools to enhance the snip (such as a highlighter to highlight important information within the text and/or picture). 

What I learned

Rather than taking a snapshot of an entire screen like the “print screen” option, the Snipping Tool employs a cropping feature that allows you to select precise information.  This tool is particularly more useful than the “print screen” option when using dual monitors, which is what I have in my office. When you select “print screen” when using dual monitors, it shows an image of both monitors and shrinks it to fit on one page, therefore making the information nearly impossible to view. With the snipping tool, I can highlight information on either monitor without having to worry about view ability or showing both screens. I’m so happy that I’ve learned about this tool! I’ve honestly used it every day at work this week for various reasons.

How I would use it

I currently work in an office and I spend every single day in front of a computer. This week, I have used the Snipping Tool to teach users how to perform tasks and I’ve used it to take a snapshot of an error message that popped up while using one of our government programs. This was extremely handy because I was able to send an image of the error message to IT instead of typing it out for them.  In addition to using it in an office setting like I just mentioned, I also think this would be a useful tool for classroom use. For example, if I was giving a lecture on source citations and wanted to show them an example, I could take a snip out of the online MLA handbook and insert it into a Powerpoint or upload it on the Smartboard. Below is an example of such a snip: 

 I could also use the Snipping Tool to show an excerpt out of a novel we are reading in class, since most novels have electronic versions. If students have questions about a particular passage, or if there is something in the passage I would like to point out, I could upload it to the Smartboard for all students to see while we discuss it. An example of a book excerpt would look like this: 

 This tool has endless possibilities for classroom use and I can see myself using it often. 

Standards reflection

The Snipping Tool application touches on at least three of the NETS standards: one, three, and five.  NETS standard one is applicable because I would be using the snipping tool to facilitate student learning.  Even though I could easily come up with my own quote example and print it on paper for students to view, the snipping tool allows me to show students a quote taken from a real-life example off of the internet. Standard three is represented because I would be demonstrating a fluency in technology by incorporating the snipping tool into my lesson plan. And finally, I would be demonstrating the effectiveness of a digital tool as shown in NETS standard five.

Google Docs

Today's assignment was to create and upload our resumes to Google docs. In order to preserve the format of my resume, I first converted the word document version to PDF format and then uploaded it. Once it was uploaded I was able to "share" it with other members of our class, which is arguably the best feature of this tool. I have used Google docs in the past, but I never knew about publishing until this assignment. This feature would be useful in a classroom setting because students could upload their documents and share them with their peers and I. This would help with peer editing and submitting work in an electronic form. Another major benefit of Google docs is the fact that you can access your documents from any computer. The days of having to carry around a flash drive or email the document to yourself are long gone with tools such as these. This would be useful in a classroom because students could access their documents and resources during trips to the library, and it may even help save them from losing work.

                                             To view my resume example, click here.

The ISTE NETS T standard which most closely relates to the Google docs assignment is standard number three. In this assignment we "demonstrated fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations." We used our background knowledge of resume building and applied it to the Google docs tool. Google docs allows us to store our resumes online for easier access and to share our resumes with each other. It also allows us to "collaborate" with our peers "using digital tools and resources." Finally, Google docs allows us to "communicate relevant information and ideas effectively" to our peers in a digital format.

"Allow myself to introduce... myself."

Hi everyone! My name is Brittany and I'm a graduate student in the secondary education program at Shenandoah University. My collegiate career began at Fairmont State University in West Virginia, where I obtained a B.A. degree in English. This education course is the last course I will take before I student teach in the spring. As geeky as it may sound, I didn't really need this course (meaning it wasn't part of my required course list since I'm in the initial licensure program), but I wanted to make sure I was well equipped for the modern day classroom- so here I am! After I begin teaching, I have plans to slowly work my way toward a doctorate in English. It is my goal to teach at the college level one day. I'm very passionate about literature and the field of English, so I'm really excited for the rest of my journey.

During the day, I work as a buyer at a company called General Dynamics Information Technology in Fairfax, VA. How did I get involved in that? Well, I was told it was a technical writing position, and after I interviewed and started working there I realized I did very little writing and an awful lot of buying. Oh well, a job is a job! They are very flexible with my school schedule and in today's economy, I am blessed. 

In what little free time I have, I enjoy spending time with my two dogs (who are like my children), reading, shopping, playing video games, and traveling back home to West Virginia to visit family and friends. However, I recently found out about an addicting website called Pinterest and now that seems to consume every spare minute I have. I'm actually surprised I made it through this entire blog post without logging in to the site and checking out the newest posts.

I look forward to working with and learning from everyone throughout the course of this semester. Good luck and thanks for reading!