It's Twirling!

I'm in to my second week of the Masters program. Whereas last week my mind was racing with ideas, this week my mind is in overload (twirling) mode. Becoming aware of some of the wonderful tools "out there" is exciting. However, exploring these tools, searching for information about these tools, searching for layman definitions of the tech lingo, and becoming a user of these tools, either by joining or installing, has been very time consuming and at times, frustrating.

BUT LEARN I DID!

I now have partial knowledge of Social Bookmarking, Online Storage, and the use of Webcams. I do know that in order to really appreciate and understand what these tools have to offer, I must incorporate applying them into my computer usage routine.Since I regularly search for interesting math sites, my bookmark folder is out of control. Accessing one of them is time consuming and in reality, a cat and mouse game. On the other hand, Social Bookmarking with its use of tagging offers structure. Since it is social, having the option of accessing and sharing common tagged bookmarks from other users is very time saving and enlightening. Popular sites which I may never have found on my own stand out when sharing.

I'd like to incorporate Social Bookmarks into my curriculum as a tool for broadening my students' awareness of how the web can be incorporated into understanding, applying, and having fun with mathematics.Online Storage can be used to ease my nagging fear of some "catastrophic" event which would destroy all of my files. Being able to access my files from any computer and having many of my files in one place is also a plus. I still don't know how I feel about sharing my files. I'll have to work with the tool more before I can give an educated opinion about that.

Though I have never used a Webcam, I look forward to trying one out. The use of webcams seems like an answer to conducting meetings with fellow instructors who, because of different schedules, are extremely hard to gather at a set time at school. Again, with usage, I am sure I will be able to think of other exciting ways to use Webcam for interacting with my students.