RSS Feeds

I had never heard of RSS prior to Web 2.0. I think the general idea is a good one. I don't like to have to search through the entire website to find the "science" page. I think I could use this in my classroom as a warm-up activity. I can find a current event science article through my RSS feeds quickly, show it in class through the overhead projector, and have them write a few sentences reflecting on the article.

Flickr

There's a tree growing in the middle of this classroom. Ok, it's not a real tree, but it is very cool. I applaud the teacher who made that because it must have taken forever to construct and it must be hard to maintain. I know a fellow teacher that makes a word tree on part of her wall in her classroom to display important vocabulary words for that unit. Imagine the possibilities for a tree in the middle of the classroom...vocabulary words, student work hanging from the branches...

I've heard of and used Flickr before for other projects. Personally, I don't know how I feel about everyone in the world viewing my pictures. Yes, I've uploaded pictures before to Yahoo Photos, Shutterfly, Facebook, and so forth, but I've only allowed my friends and family to view them. However, thank you to everyone else that uploads pictures on Flickr because there are some very cool images out there. Also, I've never thought about looking on Flickr for classroom display ideas. Very crafty...

Image Generator

Image Generators are an interesting concept. I can think of a few ways to use them in a science class. Something as simple as this jigsaw puzzle image can make any picture eye-catching. What would be even better would be a way to interactively put the pieces of the puzzle together. I think a lot of the other image generator applications are great, but it looks like it takes a lot of work.

Avatars

I created this avatar for my science blog that I plan to use with my class. I've seen avatars like this that are a digital representation of the person in the past and I thought they were pretty cool. I never really imagined using one myself, but I really do like this avatar. I think it actually looks like me and, even better, it's a digital me doing science! Too bad the animation doesn't work as an avatar. When I created the avatar on Yahoo, the digital me was mixing the chemicals in the beaker and the blue light radiating from it was shining.

On a side note, I think www.voki.com has a very interesting and cool idea. I was looking forward to using a talking Albert Einstein or other science figure, but they didn't have any and thus was slightly disappointed.

It's dinner time...

While I am here at Web 2.0, I can't deny that this is normally my dinner time. Yes, I'm learning about new websites and exploring the award winning sites, but yes, I am also thinking about food. So what better way to accomplish both than to explore the award winning FOOD websites. I actually got a chance to glance at all three winners.

I'm Cooked: I didn't really like this one. Yes, I like to cook, but I don't like to film myself. Also, when I want to see something being made, I prefer watching Food Network and seeing the professionals at work. www.imcooked.com

Urban Spoon: I liked this one. It's like CitySearch, but simply about food. I was able to look at some reviews about some restaurants I was interested in. www.urbanspoon.com

Look and Taste: I think I liked this one the most. It's another place I can look for recipes besides Food Network. What's even better...they give tips! One that caught my eye: tips on making a great risotto. I think I might try that this weekend... www.lookandtaste.com

Blogger

I think creating a blog/class website is a great way to reach out to technologically advanced students. When I was in my teaching credential program, we created an EduBlog for similar purposes as well. I found Blogger very easy to use and set up. There are so many options and things to explore. However, I have unfortunately encountered a problem with Blogger at my school. It's blocked by the district/county! Thus, I wouldn't be able to demo my blog in my class and my students without internet access would not be able to go to the school library to access the blog. To say the least, I was very disappointed, but I think I'll try to make this an extra credit opportunity for my kids instead.