Thing 32: Google Maps and My Maps

View Larger Map

Here is my first try at creating a My Map in Google Maps. I plan to add some pictures of scenic parts of my walk later. I'll take my camera along on my next walk.

One really nice feature is that it tracks the distance. I have often wondered how far I was walking.

I can see a number of applications for students for this one. The 6th graders plan a Minnesota trip each year. It would be nice if they could make a map of their trip and include pictures of the parks and restaurants that they plan to visit.

Another use would be to make a map of a book. The new 39 Clues books would seem to be great candidates for this tool.

Thing 31: More Thoughts on Twitter

Unshelved is talking about Twitter this week. It pretty much talks about my feelings on the topic. I am as baffled as the woman in the cow print.

Thing 30. More Ways to Use RSS and Delicious

Bloglines

I use Bloglines as my RSS aggregator. I have a widget for it in my iGoogle home page and check it every day. I have divided my feeds into categories -- 23 things on a Stick (for blogs of others doing the 23 things), book reviews, adult authors, YA Lit, Kidlitosphere, Work, and People I Know. I have 99 feeds. Some days I just skim the new posts. Other days I have time read carefully.

Delicious

The only feature I have used so far is the bookmarking and tagging my bookmarks. I did spend some time today cleaning up my tags to make them more uniform. The main problem I see with social tagging is the lack of consistency. Without a controlled vocabulary, ten people can tag the same site ten ways at least. How can you search? I have trouble finding my own bookmarks sometimes because I don't remember how I tagged them.

I added a badge to my blog to let people know I use Delicious. I have taught other staff members and sixth graders about it. Delicious is very valuable for anyone who doesn't always use the same computer.

Thing 27: Twitter

I still don't get it! Why would anyone want to Twitter? Yes, twittering is everywhere. Heard it on the news. Saw it in the Senate Chambers. However, when senators are doing it during a Presidential speech, twittering has gone too far.

I read the materials. I watched the videos. I even saw someone's powerpoint presentation. I still can't see the value here. I don't care what person X is doing right now. I don't have time to sit at my computer and read frequent trivial messages.

The Best Tweets Include:

Recommended links.
Images and videos to share.
Something worth replying to and having a conversation over. ( see How to Use Replies above)
Something worth retweeting. (Avoiding 1-sided conversations)
Announcements about upcoming events.
Valid sources of information.

I don't think that any of the items on the list above from the Thing description are necessarily of immediate interest or importance. Finding out in a blog or an email would almost certainly be just as useful.

I don't have a cell phone mainly because I don't want to be in constant contact with anyone.

Call me a Luddite -- but this Thing really baffles me!

Thing 29: Google Tools

I created a Google Alert to find out when anything new is said about one of my favorite authors. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how it works. I can see how this could be useful for many topics. One problem with using this with my students is that many of them do not have email accounts and we actively discourage students from checking their emails at school.

My email is gmail and I use it extensively. I just wish it would let me sort messages. I get emails from mailing lists. Each email is numbered. I would like to be able to read them in order from the top of the list down but have to read them from the bottom up. This is really just a minor annoyance. I love the ability to set up filters and to label ane keep messages in folders.

I also keep my personal and work calendars on Google Calendar. I have heard of some teachers who use Google calendars for their lesson plans. I haven't gotten that detailed and don't plan to either. I have my Google Calendar as a widget on my iGoogle home page. It is very useful as I space out on what I'm doing and where I'm going rather frequently.

From the For the Curious section, I use the downloadable Google Toolbar on the computers in the Elementary computer lab. I like the convenience of it when working with students. We frequently use the drop down menu to get to images when we are searching for pictures. Third and fourth graders do this to find pictures to illustrate projects for me.

Thing 28: Customizing My Home Page

I use iGoogle as my home page. I chose that one because I use gmail for my email.

On the first page I have links to my gmail, bloglines, weather, date and time, Google calendar, Quotes of the Day, my Google bookmarks, and Mapquest driving directions.

I also have a news page with news from a variety of sources. I have a humor page with some jokes and games. I have an entertainment page with gossip, movie times, and tv listings. And I have a sports page that follows my favorite teams.

It was easy to set up when I did it as a part of the first 23 things. I don't remember how to do it but I bet there are directions. I can't think of another page that I want to add.

I really like my Bloglines widget. It is good to see if I have any new blog messages whenever I open my home page.

Thing 26 -- The NING

I revisited the NING today. I did join the NING during the first round and hadn't visited it since I completed the first 23 Things. I had already added the NING badge to my blog. Luckily, I remembered my log in and password.

Today, I edited my profile and uploaded a new picture of myself. I also added a picture of one of my favorite authors that I took when we went out to dinner last Spring. I didn't have my camera with me when we went out to dinner last weekend. I had gone up to the Cities with a friend for Lois's book signing and a group of 6 of us went out to dinner afterwards.

I also checked on the discussions and contributed to a couple of them.

I don't feel that I will really be spending much time on the NING. It is just one more thing to keep up with in a day that is already overcrowded with things to do.

I have spoken with others who use the NING for meetings and share information there. That could be a potential work use for NINGs. However, I don't have a group that needs or wants to do that.