Thing # 18

I can see many advantages to using a program like Google Docs. It is just as easy to use this program as it is to use Microsoft Office if not easier, as all the programs are in one place. Another benefit is that you can save your documents online, and therefore will have access to each of your documents on every computer you work on. If you did not want to bring your computer home, you can still work on documents from your home computer. It is also easier to share your documents using Google Docs. You can add your friends or colleagues as collaborators or as viewers and share with them as you see fit.

Thing # 17

http://rollyo.com/teacherstyle/lesson_plans_1st/

Rollyo was much easier to use than I anticipated. I created a search roll on lesson plans for first grade. I added four sites that I used (and searched) frequently last year. Rollyo will save me lots of time because I can search just one site for the lesson plans that I want as opposed to searching all four sites! I am so glad that Library2play introduced us to this site!!

Thing # 16

I do not think I will use wikis in my classroom because I think they are a little too advanced for first grade. My students last year really needed help doing activities online, and based on them, I do not think that wikis would be possible in my classroom. I can see my team using wikis to plan activities and parties. Wikis would be a great way to get parents in the same place to talk about events and activities that the grade level puts on and requires parental supplies and volunteers. In the past, this was done through email, but I see wikis as being much easier to use.

Thing # 15

Libraries everywhere seem to be in a transitional phase according to these articles. They need to go from having solely printed information to finding a balance between printed materials and materials online. More and more information is available on the internet, and libraries are losing circulation because people would rather find the information they need from the comfort of their own homes and computers. I do not think that fiction books are in any danger of going out of circulation, so I think that libraries really need to think about what they put online, and what they leave available in print. There are also those people who prefer looking through books as opposed to looking at a computer screen, so libraries also need to plan for those people.

Thing # 14

I think a website like Technorati can help when you are looking for another real person's experiences or opinions on a subject that interests you. Maybe you could look for ways that other teachers deal with problems in the classroom, or how other teachers teach certain subjects. Looking at other people's blogs could help with subjects like this.

I think that tagging is a really easy way to go back to information that you know you are going to want to see again later. I think that using a social site to tag things is great, because then you can use your own searches, as well as the searches of others.

Thing # 13

I can see great benefits to using a social bookmarking site like delicious. It is much easier than using Google to search for a specific topic. I sometimes have trouble finding information or ideas for lesson plans on specific topics, and with delicious, it is much easier because other people have already found the sites. All I have to do is look through the sites that I want to see as opposed to filtering through the junk. This is a great tool to share information for the classroom!

Thing # 12

I really enjoyed looking at blogs that were not a part of this activity. I found two blogs that I really connected with. Last year was my first year teaching, and as time went on, and I became more confident in my abilities, I worried that I did not do enough to help my first class become successful in the years to come. I found a blog where a teacher is getting the opportunity to continue with one of her classes, and is scared that she did not do enough last year, and will continue to fail her class. I really connected with her, and felt the need to comment to let her know that she is not alone, and that there are other first year teachers who feel they have not done their best.

The other blog I commented on was a book review. I read the book as a child, but it was not one that I thought to use in the classroom. This blog helped me to look at books that I enjoyed as a child from a teacher's perspective.

I have realized that there are lots of things I can learn from the experiences others write about in their blogs, and I will continue to comment in the future.