I have to say that this week’s lesson has been one of love and hate. Well, maybe not “hate,” but frustration and dislike. I will begin with the dislike so that I can end on a positive by talking about what I really liked.
Therefore, to commence, I am not a fan of Delicious. While I love the idea of it (see my feed here), I find that I do not like it in practice. I resisted the idea when it first came out, so perhaps it is just me being stubborn. However, as I use my Google bookmarks button on every computer that I use, I find that not being able to easily import those bookmarks that I have been collecting for my entire teaching career is frustrating. Through a quick Google search, it appears as though the site previously had a way to do that, but the feature has been disabled. Now, the only bookmarks that can be imported are those sites sent out via Twitter or Facebook. I do like the idea of being able to search through the sites that I tweet, but it seems to me that I could just as easily do so by searching my Twitter history.
So what do I use instead? As mentioned previously, I use Google Bookmarks almost exclusively. With any new computer that is mine to alter, I download the Google Toolbar so that I can have my bookmarks. When I first received my new laptop for Christmas and began using Chrome for this program, I was devastated to find out that while I could add bookmarks in the browser, I could not access them via the same button. Since then, I realized that I could simply add a bookmark to the bookmark bar and visit the web version of all of my bookmarks. I know that this is simply my collection, and not social. However, since I find many of my resources already via Twitter, I am still social, if my bookmarks are not.
On the other hand, I also use Pinterest as a form of visual social bookmarking (you can see my school “pins” here). I have boards for everything I enjoy, from personal to professional to social. As I collect more pins, I have found the need to separate them into sub-categories. Pinterest could improve by following in the footsteps of Google or Delicious in this area. I follow fellow teachers, EdTech bloggers, EdTech companies, and “gurus.” All of these people share sites they find interesting and informative. I share them in turn when I pin them. I am also able to see what else has been pinned by similar pinners or onto similar boards. To me, this is the definition of social bookmarking, even if not the recommended tool.
Lastly, to end on a positive, while not strictly part of the blogging assignment for this week, I did really enjoy finding new leaders in education and educational technology to follow on Twitter (see my profile page here). Because they were not mentioned, I will share some of favorite Tweeters here as well:
Who are your favorite Tweeps?
Therefore, to commence, I am not a fan of Delicious. While I love the idea of it (see my feed here), I find that I do not like it in practice. I resisted the idea when it first came out, so perhaps it is just me being stubborn. However, as I use my Google bookmarks button on every computer that I use, I find that not being able to easily import those bookmarks that I have been collecting for my entire teaching career is frustrating. Through a quick Google search, it appears as though the site previously had a way to do that, but the feature has been disabled. Now, the only bookmarks that can be imported are those sites sent out via Twitter or Facebook. I do like the idea of being able to search through the sites that I tweet, but it seems to me that I could just as easily do so by searching my Twitter history.
So what do I use instead? As mentioned previously, I use Google Bookmarks almost exclusively. With any new computer that is mine to alter, I download the Google Toolbar so that I can have my bookmarks. When I first received my new laptop for Christmas and began using Chrome for this program, I was devastated to find out that while I could add bookmarks in the browser, I could not access them via the same button. Since then, I realized that I could simply add a bookmark to the bookmark bar and visit the web version of all of my bookmarks. I know that this is simply my collection, and not social. However, since I find many of my resources already via Twitter, I am still social, if my bookmarks are not.
On the other hand, I also use Pinterest as a form of visual social bookmarking (you can see my school “pins” here). I have boards for everything I enjoy, from personal to professional to social. As I collect more pins, I have found the need to separate them into sub-categories. Pinterest could improve by following in the footsteps of Google or Delicious in this area. I follow fellow teachers, EdTech bloggers, EdTech companies, and “gurus.” All of these people share sites they find interesting and informative. I share them in turn when I pin them. I am also able to see what else has been pinned by similar pinners or onto similar boards. To me, this is the definition of social bookmarking, even if not the recommended tool.
Lastly, to end on a positive, while not strictly part of the blogging assignment for this week, I did really enjoy finding new leaders in education and educational technology to follow on Twitter (see my profile page here). Because they were not mentioned, I will share some of favorite Tweeters here as well:
- @langology: Language news and language education
- @joedale: Independent MFL and technology consultant
- @msjweir: a high school English teacher and self-proclaimed technology “geek”
- @WeAreTeachers: an online community of teachers of all subjects and levels
- @21stCenturyTch: devoted to education in the 21st Century
Who are your favorite Tweeps?
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