Week 4 - Blog Posting #8 -Reflection on Blogging

This is the 8^th blog for my ETC class, and it’s supposed to be all about my reflections on blogging and what Web 2.0 tools we used. Before taking this class, I had never written a blog, let alone, set up a net vibes account, or a social bookmark, or web quest. But I have now!

My favorite Web 2.0 tool by far is net vibes. I love how much time it saves me from checking all my emails, and looking to see if there is new info posted on my favorite sites. I saw no drawbacks with net vibes.

My second favorite tool that we used during this class was the web quest. I loved creating a lesson that I could put online. I just wish I had started it sooner because I feel like I rushed it at the end. Originally, I tried creating the web quest on Garden Flow because I have found that the previous web.me pages I made were blocked on the school computers. Despite this though, on Monday of next week, I am actually going to have a few of my fifth graders try the web quest. So I really will be attempting to use it in the educational setting. I have to make a confession though. There are a few problems that could hinder the implementation of using it with my classes. One being that there are only 4 computers in my class for my 26 5^th graders. A second being that the Internet connections are super slow at school. The biggest problem I will face is getting the site unblocked since personal WebPages, which is what I used to create my (I have to tell you a secret though. I was given a temporary bypass code to blocked sites, so it is my hope that it will work on Monday.)

I also really liked that we have had to set up a social bookmark in this class. I have found it useful when I am on other computers and I want to find specific sites, without having to look them up. One drawback that I see with social book marks are that you have to make sure you don’t allow your personal sites (bank, email, etc.) don’t get posted in the public feeds.

The other tool that we learned about in this class was blogging. I had never blogged before, but I learned that I liked it. It was almost therapeutic being able to reflect on the things we were learning about. Yet, I remember reading a link on Dr. D’s twitter that shared the story of the teacher who lost his job because of his blog. Because of this instance I think blogging is something that should be only written and shared on a professional and not personal level.

Signing off.

Tessa