Module 8

I was loving this module on RSS feeds until I looked further into Google Reader and see that it is about to be discontinued.  How annoying when I have found so many interesting things to read.
However, I read on Anthony (Speranza's) blog that he is using 'Feedly' so I plan to read more about this and then transfer over before July.
I often wondered how people could be so informed about so many issues - and how they found the time to read them - but Google Reader gives me the simple answer of having information fed to you.
It's amazing when you browse through so many various brilliant 'feeds' how something jumps out at you and seems to be just what you need at this moment.  Inspiration can come in many forms and at any time!

The link below is my inspiration of the moment.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/how-to-write-copy-that-goes-viral.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Module 7

I have had fun exploring Diigo and Delicious for bookmarking but find Delicious more familiar.  I have used this in the past (not very well) to keep links mainly to articles but after this module, I am determined to use it to store all bookmarks.  I tend to use whatever computer I am working on to bookmark, and this is quite frustrating, especially this year when I tend to do quite a bit at home and never have the bookmarks I need at the time.  I also intend to organise the bookmarks by tagging, something that I have not done previously.

Online communities to share information and learning is also an advantage - and whilst we do this in a number of ways at our school, it is a great way to communicate to a wider range of users. 

Module 6

I love Picasa and have used it for the past few years to sort and store photos on my computer but this module let me explore the many extra advantages of it.  I was unaware of the editing section of Picasa and hadn't considered the advantages of storing photos on Picasa itself.

From an organisational perspective Picasa has been great to store school images and then when looking for photos for presentations  it was very simple to scroll through and find suitable images.

I had absolutely no idea that it is so easy to edit and enhance photos.  Our students are coming to school with much of this knowledge already.  I get so much joy watching my grand daughter using the ipad, taking photos, adding text........ she is already teaching her family things they did not know (and the 2 year old treasure is not far behind).

We as educators, owe it to our students to be helping them be the best learners that they can possibly be, and in this present age, that has to be by using the technology available to them - in the best possible way.  I'm also not beyond learning about advancing technology through the students themselves - teachers are not the keepers of all knowledge!

Technology starts at such an early age!