After reading more about Web 2.0, this assignment requires you to jump in. Visit the list of Web 2.0 Award Winners to learn more. You should experience at least three of the sites and contribute or build to at least one of the sites you select.
You can create your own blog page using blogger, build a delicious site for social bookmarking, create your own facebook or myspace page, create or edit a Wiki entry, participate in the "43 things" page, or open a flickr account and upload some photos. Send me a paragraph explaining your description, or better yet post it to your blog and send me that link instead. What did you like or dislike? Can you see any use in an educational setting?
My Assignment:Blogger
I have been using Blogger since the beginning of last semester, and I am definitely a fan. I keep a blog for each of my grad school classes and a personal blog. I also read several of my friends' blogs. I like blogging because it gives me an outlet for my thoughts. It is also a great way to keep friends and family updated on what is going on with me. I know a lot of people who don't tell their friends or family they have a blog. They like blogging because of the mystery - not knowing who is reading your blog and feeling like it's your own little secret world. (It's secret to everyone except the 500 people who have visited it! :)
Blogging has many educational applications. I love taking notes on a blog rather than just in a word document or on note paper. My notes are automatically saved, they are accessible from any computer, they are automatically filed by date, they are easily linked to my other class notes, and they are easily linked to my friends' notes. Posting links in blog notes is incredibly helpful too. Blogging can also be a great way to promote writing, submit assignments, and complete group projects. It is an excellent form of journal writing (as long as entries are not too personal for students to publish). The fact that others may comment on a student's blog is a great way to give feedback and share thoughts and ideas on any topic.
del.icio.us
I like delicious because you can access your bookmarks from any computer, not just your own. I wish there were more options for how to arrange the bookmarks on the site. But, I am a fan of the tag system. This is a nice, simple way to search through the bookmarks for what you may be interested in.
In the context of education, delicious can be useful in helping students link to sites they have worked with in class. I teach 6th graders, and they are still not completely skilled at searching on the internet, nor is it always safe for them to do so. A delicious site they can go to for the class links they need would be very helpful. It can even be a place where a teacher lists sites that are to be used in homework assignments. Students would only have to remember one site rather than a whole list. I am using the bookmarks on my myuen page to accomplish this same thing. Even in higher education or in teaching, delicious can be helpful as students and teachers try to search for informative, useful sights. For example, linking to Laura's delicious site helps me save time as I look for great educational technology sites, since she has already spent a lot of time finding them.
Peer Trainer
Peer trainer is a sight designed to help people reach their nutrition and fitness goals. It links members to nutrition and fitness sites, articles, information, and tips. It also allows them to join discussion and support groups so they can have help, encouragement, and advice from others with similar goals. A great idea! I was hoping that Peer Trainer would have a calorie and nutrition tracker. Unfortunately, it looks like they simply refer you to myfooddiary.com, which is good but costs money. I am looking for something free! I do like the calorie wiki. It has a huge list of foods and their calorie information to help you keep track of your caloric intake. I also like that myfooddiary.com and other sites linked to Peer Trainer have iPhone web applications which make it very easy to track exercise and nutrition at all times from the palm of your hand.
I see Peer Trainer being helpful in education specifically in health, nutrition, and physical education courses. This could be a great resource for student research and could link students to sites to help them track their own fitness goals. A teacher could even start a discussion group on the site just for his/her students. I would be careful as an educator, though, because you cannot control everyone else who uses the site. I would want to be very cautious about students joining discussion groups that are not controlled by me.
Facebook vs. MySpace
I know I only had to review three Web 2.0 applications, but I felt like discussing Facebook and MySpace just because.
I like Facebook better than MySpace. I don't like having to find out the html code to design pages on MySpace. The MySpace helper guy - What's his name? Tom. - says that people will help you figure it out, but so far that hasn't been true for me. I guess I've asked the wrong people. It also seems like Facebook is cleaner and safer. But then, I suppose that all depends upon who you are friends with.
Ultimately, I just think Facebook is easier and faster. It's very clear to me how to do things, like set my privacy settings. However, I do not like having to invite 10 people every time I want to try a new application. And I do think it would be fun if there were more options for making my profile look the way I want it to, but not if it means spending time finding someone who will tell me the html code. Besides, I have my blog for that. I'd rather spend time figuring out how to make my blog look cool than my MySpace page.
My friend once compared Macs to PCs by saying that Macs are like automatic cars and PCs are like stick shifts. He couldn't explain to me why, but he said it's just more fun for him to "drive a stick". I would venture to say the same comparison could be used for Facebook and MySpace. Facebook is the automatic, and MySpace is the stick. I suppose that would explain why he prefers MySpace. But, we were both willing to compromise: He created a Facebook account, and I created a MySpace page. He doesn't use his Facebook account and I don't use my MySpace page, but at least they stand there as a symbol of our willingness to do what it takes to keep our friendship strong. :)
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