Week 6-#13

One person I don't admire, is the one in any class who just critiques any new information.  This is for a few reasons.  The first, it's too easy to be a naysayer.  We can find fault in anything and in fact, I think it is a defense mechanism for some students.  It's way too easy to throw up the hands and say "well, how would that work in the classroom."  When people do this I often translate it inside my head as, "I am confused, and scared and I would rather think negatively about this than admit the first two."  I am at risk of this with my two posts about the rss search engines and voice thread.

With this disclaimer, I would use voice threads if they were free for me.  I would use whichever search engine works best (please, somebody unseat google).

Del.icio.us is a tool I can use.  In the classroom I could see setting up a number of addresses for research topics and have them attached to my profile so the students could have easy access to them, and eventually would attach them to their own.  TeacherTube is the first.  They could also have their own that would in turn, improve the others in the community.  

On an 'I'm confused and scared' sidenote, I haven't fully accepted digital social networking.  I kind of abhor it in 'real time'.  The thought of 'knowing people to get known' smacks of disingenuous social climbing, which if you do in the education field, I always kind of envisioned like taking steriods to play tee-ball.  So to transfer that to the digital realm, I've always been apprehensive about nings, or my space, or facebook.  

Last night I got a new take on it.  My sister and brother-in-law are big into facebook.  Sure, they have a bunch of people they don't know in their 'mafia', but it also helps them keep track of those they love.  They are able to keep in contact with his family in Georgia.  My cousin in law posted her name change, moments after the processional.  Years ago, a buddy asked me to do facebook and I said 'no way'.  I kind of regret that.  So, I'll get on soon, and hope that I use it for the meaningful and not for the trivial.