Tweet Tweet--but no bird in sight

As of right now, I am not the biggest fan of using Twitter in the classroom. This could be because I have always been proud of not participating in the website and now I have signed up for this site :( I can see some benefits of having your students follow you--especially for reminders about assignments/deadlines. I just think e-mails could be just as effective.

So I'm definitely skeptical but still keeping an open mind. I'm going to read the chapter on Twitter in our book and see if that helps, as well as re-look over some of the sites I've found on integrating it into the classroom. Maybe I'll put up the sites I find most helpful and see what you think :)

Google Docs-Love it!

Using Google Docs in a classroom setting seems like a brilliant idea. My first time ever using them was actually as a high school student and I thought they were easy and useful then. After using them for a project in the C&I 306 class, I can see even more things I can get out of them as a teacher. I like the forms especially and think it would be a good way to collect information from my students, and I think the students wouldn't mind filling them out because they are quick and easy and online--something they can relate to. I also think it would be a good way to collaborate with one another and to turn in work to me. I am excited for all the possibilities they possess and the ways in which I can use them for my own classroom.

Thoughts on Wikis

Just as most people in my generation have heard of wikipedia, it was nothing new to me. However, what I had never realized is that wikipedia is full of "wikis" and that there are all sorts of "wikis" out there. The thought just had never occurred to me. So when we started learning about them in the class and eventually creating them, I learned a lot of new information about this technology. I think they are very similar to blogging, though, unless there is a clear subject to input information about. If I were to do wikis in a high school, I would have them do the research outside of the internet first, or using electronic journals and then eventually gathering them into a blog. I found it far too easy to google my subject and then just use that information.
I think students would enjoy making a specialized wiki on a specific topic and then formatting their own wiki--so hopefully I will be able to play with that in the classroom one day.