“Know where to look, Know who to ask.”
I now have GoogleReader, GoogleNews and Diiago. It seems that this trio will work well for my needs. I also use the whole suite of Google of programs. I love the fact that this information is “at-my-fingertips,” and that by using tags, I get to the relevant information more quickly.I am in Boston this weekend. I like the metaphor of this city. To successfully navigate the city I have a few simple procedures. First, decide on the destination. Second, create a map in my head of how to get there. That does not mean it will be the most direct route. This map is dependent on time of day, weather and road work that I am aware of. Third, I have two other alternate routes at the ready in case of the “unexpected.” Without these in place I become very unfocused in my driving in Boston. Social Media, Bookmarking, Reader, Cloud, DropBox, and RSS are destinations with wonderfully diverse uses. My father used to say, “Use the right tool for the right job.......if you don’t have it, go out and buy it or hire a professional.”
Now the issue. My laptop is a few years old. Memory nearly filled. In fact, I had to move forty-plus gigs onto a backup drive so I would be able to do what I needed for this week’s assignments. The Cloud, along with all the digital community is completely reliant on access, relative speed, processor and bandwidth. I don’t tend to use GoogleDocs because of my inability to maintain consistent access speed.
As I see the possibilities I will start thinking about the possibilities to “leverage” as much educational power that I can from all the new communities. Christopher Lehman, principal of the Science Leadership Academy says, “Technology need to be ubiquitous, necessary and invisible.” Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century This is how I feel. Technology should be a natural extension of what we reach out for to enhance our lives.
I experienced similar processing problems with my desktop. In truth I had been using a laptop from school for most of my laptop needs, but just this week purchased one of my own to keep up with the multiple applications open.
ReplyDeleteMy first experience with Google Docs was when I was acting as recording secretary for a trade association. Over the summer, the group moved everything to this application. I missed the key meeting that was the tutorial. By the next meeting, I was supposed to be up and running. I would sometimes forget to move key documents to the shared area. This definitely caused some communication problems. Eventually I grew more proficient, but not without the expertise of someone who was willing to offer me some of their wisdom.
Regarding tools for the job, our school so far has been able to purchase only 25 ipads. Only two staff members have had training on them. The rest of us are green with envy and are sure a digital divide is being created right within our own ranks. This roll out might have been carried out in a more democratic fashion. Those of us "have-nots" just have to realize we're all in this together, and any advancements throughout the school help lift us all.
“Know where to look, Know who to ask.” - My favorite way to express what our students need to know in the world in which they live today. We should be teaching them how to find information, how to locate reliable information, knowing where to look and who to ask for that valuable information. That is the true form of collaboration.
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