Week 3 Reflection (plus leftovers)

(Because last week I thought and wrote just about blogs, I will reflect on how great iGoogle and wikis are.)iGoogle: After only a few weeks using iGoogle (and having my gmail account) it is my new homepage on all of my computers, both work and home. It is so nice to have all the websites, links, documents, email....the list goes on and on....all right there in the same place. I can follow all of my blogs and have them right at my fingertips whenever I want to read new material, or search through archived materials at site that I frequent. I can also see this as a HUGE help to many of my disorganized middle school students who can't find what they need, ever. Not only would iGoogle further promote the use of technology already in place at my school, but it would also open up the world of Web 2.0 and all its capabilities now, so that students can become comfortable, and proficient with the tools that they will need in the future. Luckily, Google and iGoogle are not blocked by my school system, which is surprising because soooooo many sites are blocked. Sections of Google are blocked out, such as YouTube and other photo and social networking, chatting capabilities are disabled, but what it could still be used for both in school, and then at home as well. If all the students signed up for a gmail account, and created their own iGoogle page, it would be a place to keep them organized as well as have that personal touch that will make their education more interactive with up-to-date information that they can tailor to their own tastes and preferences. The google docs are compatible with any version of Microsoft Word, or word processor that almost any computer would be able to read, students could just save all their work as google docs for all their classes. The spread sheets docs could be useful in math and science, the presentation doc and word processor gives students the ability to create, save, share and most importantly access on any other computer that has an Internet connection. No software to download, and the programs work so fast that their instant-gratification needs will be met, hopefully preventing them from surfing to other areas of the web. Having teachers monitor the usage in school and parents at home of iGoogle, is key, but i think that with all the appropriate apps that students can tailor to their own interests is enough to keep them surfing around the iGoogle pages and its related pages and apps is what makes this a great tool for today's high-energy, short attention span students.

Wikis: My favorite wiki of all time has to be what started off as Wookiepedia.org, but changed hands so many times that the domain name is different, but just by typing the original name will get you there as well. It was the quickest way for me to get any Star Wars trivia answer that may have stumped me, so that I could save face with my, then, 8-year-old nephew. Learning that the word wiki meant quick somehow made me think of all the times I'd jump online to look some up at Wookiepedia.org for Dylan, and then ending up surfing around to all the links in each description, learning new, fascinating nuggets of information that may come in handy some day if i'm ever in the Cash Cab and have a $200 red light challenge about the destruction of the 1st Death Star. I digress, wikis are great for create new and interesting connections for students, connections that may not be available through natural means for them. I'm not saying that reading online and seeing videos of Old Faithful erupting is a good replacement of being there in person to watch it happen, but its and experience nonetheless. And so many of these experiences that inner-city and other less fortunate students may otherwise not have are search-able and available quickly, just like students want. There are so many wikis out there other than Wikipedia.org, which happens to be the one mostly all my students know and use, but now that I've shown them there are more topic-specific wikis out there on the information superhighway, they seem to be more interested in them. My students also like the fact that they can link to many other sources outside the wiki page because it helps to give them more sources for research purposes. I'm looking forward to starting up a wiki and contributing to one as well now that I have a brand new laptop that is about as 'wiki' as it gets. The personal wiki I've started is at: http://scottherman.pbworks.com/Scott-Herman%27s-Wonderful-Life