Thing 4

Following in the footsteps of others . . . I too am not feeling overly creative this afternoon. I've been meaning to blog about Thing 4, so here's my chance! Sorry, it's a bit wordy.

Which customizable homepage did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page?
I chose the iGoogle homepage for my project. Part of what appealed to me with this site is the fact that I can make it look (virtually) however I choose. I love being able to change the images/color spectrum when my moods need to be matched, and I love that I can use gadgets of my choosing. I use Yahoo! as my primary email server, so I only visit iGoogle to check my reader for Mili. Maybe someday I'll use it as my primary, permanent home page.

Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at school or home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?
My favorite gadget on iGoogle is the daily how-to. I've actually used it in my advisory to teach students how to make animals out of bath towels. It generally has very crafty stuff on it, but I like how random it can be and how varied the projects are. (I'll be you never realized you can make a wallet completely from duct tape!) If I see anything on this gadget that I think has a further application for my classes, I will usually bookmark it and save for my students.

How can the online calendars be useful to you?
The nice thing about online calendars is that they are usable almost anywhere you are--school, home, work, the library, out of town, etc. Normally, I just use the calendar on Outlook for recording significant events and meetings. But I can see the use of the online calendar for places other than work. I don't think I'll actually begin using other online calendar sites. For 1--I have a calendar as it is. For 2--what happens to all the cute calendars I'll inevitably receive as holiday gifts?

What about the To Do Lists -- helpful? too much work?

I almost always work with a To Do list, but I think the computerized version is one more unnecessary step for something already easy to create. I'll take my scratch paper and pen version any day!

How would you compare and contrast the use of paper-based assignments and assignment notebooks to the potential use of online assignment calculators and to do lists for students?

First thing, what do you do for students without computer access outside of school?

Transitioning into all technology will inevitably leave some students/people behind.

I have used online assignments this year so far, and the students seem to have some difficulty in finding my website, the assignment, or the motivation to do it. I had a student comment last night that he chooses to work on the computer because it feels like he's just playing around and not actually working. Education should be fun, but it also should represent what the rest of the world is like. I know we are becoming more technologically advanced daily, but I think, for the sake of history and all other cultures with writing, we need to continue to have students use their handwriting for other than scrawling on bathroom walls.