Web 2.0

I have been learning about web 2.0, including wikis, a variety of social networking sites, videos, photo editing, etc. It is both intimidating and exciting to be learning about such things. I feel like I'm starting to catch up on the technology I missed out on while I was serving my mission. I pretty much could only remember how to write a paper on Microsoft Word, send e-mail, and do a little internet research--the basic of the basics. Now I'm using a web cam, taking screen shots, inserting videos into my own website, and using a variety of online tools. I'm quite pleased. It feels good to be getting on the same page as the rest of my generation. It is so important to be technologically savvy these days.

Our assignment this week in my technology class included making a wiki (with several components embedded in it), and getting started with Goodreads, Google Reader, and Diigo. I didn't necessarily find any one of these assignments more easy or more difficult than the other. With the instructional videos that my instructor provided, it was all pretty straight forward. I did, however, find some of these tools to be more useful than others. For example, I love the idea of having a class wiki, and I will definitely be using the skills that I learned in doing that assignment. I also think that Google Reader is pretty cool. I don't think it's essential, but it is a nice tool. I don't think that I will use Goodreads. Perhaps if I played around with it more, I would see its usefulness as a teacher, but as of right now, word of mouth and lists of award winners is good enough for me to hear about new books. I'd rather interact in person with someone about books rather than post reviews on a site. Right now I'm giving Diigo a try, but I also don't think it's an essential tool. Oh, and we also had to have a gmail video chat with someone, which I had never done before, and I quite liked it. All in all, it was nice to be exposed to all of this.

Here are the screen shots of when I tried out this new media:

This is Google Reader, where you can read from all the blogs you subscribe to in one place.

This is Goodreads, where you can write book reviews and social network with people.

This is Diigo, where you can highlight text on the net and bookmark sites.

And this is a video chat on Gmail, where I was able to talk with a friend in D.C.!

But what I really want you to see is my website, http://learningisanadventure.pbworks.com/FrontPage