Thing 3: RSS Reader

I have never done anything with RSS Readers before. Since I have a Google account I decided to set one up with Google. I found it pretty easy to manipulate, but now I need to figure out what to put on it. I did some browsing and added a couple things. I can see how it would be useful to have all the information in one place. The overwhelming part is reading all the information. I think the key is to keep the information to things that are actually useful and pertinent. I have two folders set up now and I would like to add more. I read another participant's post about using Flipboard and I have to add that I find Flipboard to be very useful. I have it on my phone and check it out almost nightly to see what is going on with the things I am interested in. I find I check it more than Twitter, although now that I've organized my Twitter account I am trying to check it more often. I am realizing there is just so much information out there and it's important to keep it all organized. I am learning a lot about these new tools and I am sure I will find the ones that work best for me.

Thing 2: Twitter

I have had a Twitter account for a while, but I really don't use it much. I actually don't really know what to do with it. I have never tweeted anything, and the idea of doing so still makes me a bit uncomfortable. I took a major step yesterday when I started working on my Twitter account. I created lists so I could organize the people I am following. I called one Education and I used some of the resources provided to find people/organizations to follow in the world of education. I found some really interesting things. I follow some of the companies I use in class like Scholastic and Learn Zillion. I find the whole thing to be very informative, but also very overwhelming. I spent so much time just getting lost in all the information. I can see how it could be a great resource, but also quite time consuming. I am fascinated by how people are using it with students/parents and in the classroom. I think it's one step at a time for me.

Thing 1: Blogging

My name is Michelle McComb and I am a fifth grade teacher in the Averill Park school district. I am taking this course along with our school's library media specialist. We are hoping to collaborate on many of the activities. I have had very limited exposure to blogs and would like to learn more about them and how to use them in my classroom. My students did use a blog last year to facilitate some discussions and they really enjoyed it. I can see where you can use blog for many purposes in the classroom. I can already see that there are a lot of great ideas out there. It took me a while to get this one up and running, but I think it probably gets easier the more you do it. We used Edublog last year so I will probably try that again with the kids this year.