Activity 10: Image Generators

How much fun is this!!! I have been having so much playing around this afternoon, even with the internet problems we've been having at work! The following avatar is one that my 7 year old daughter did we me after school from the Dopple Me! site http://www.doppelme.com. It is really user friendly and I can imagine that the kids would love to play around with the site.

Activity 9: Virtual Worlds

It was interesting to have a look at these virtual worlds as I've heard so much about them through discussions with other TLs. It amazes me that people have so much time to dedicate to these sites and it concerns me that for some people the virtual world is their "real" world. You can see how addictive these worlds could become being able to create the person and life that you really want. (Maybe I should create a 2 year old son who sleeps all night!!!)

As far as an educational purpose, I couldn't see it being any use for me personally as I work in a P-7 school and the students are too young to participate in these online worlds (the kids are into Club Penguin! I guess that could be their virtual world...) I could however see the purpose with older students, especially if they are covering topics such as ethics or how society works as it would enable them to have different experiences that they may not otherwise have.

When I think of World of Warcraft, I'm reminded of a funny episode of "How I Met Your Mother" when Ted met a girl through Warcraft and they showed them interacting at the end - he was a female and she was male! I guess you can be whoever you want.

Topic 8: iGoogle

I found it very easy to create my own iGoogle site - really just a click of the button. It would be a very quick and easy way to create a home page. I'll definitely use it on my home laptop as I can have quick access to things that I'm interested in. I liked how it was easy to move the gadgets around your page and reduce the gadets that you may not use as much.

The one thing that I didn't really like about iGoogle was the layout was very "boxy".

A couple of the links in the blog post I couldn't access- no link came up to listen to the audio and also I couldn't access the personalising iGoogle and problem solving links, both came up as errors. I don't know if it was an access problem as I'm doing this at work so I'll check again at home.

If I was an I.T. person I would love to work for Google all of the perks would be fantastic!!! Even though they talk of the flexibility in work hours, I'd say a lot of the people who work for Google would live and breathe Google.

Activity 7: Google Books

Wow, I've never used Google Books before and it's fantastic! As a Teacher Librarian this is such a valuable tool for searching for books and where to buy them. I also like how they give you related books (although some of their choices are a little strange!) I loved looking through old Time magazines from the 1950's, it's so interesting to have access to older publications.
I would also find this a great tool when looking for books for pleasure, although nothing beats going into a book shop and browsing... call me old fashioned!!

Activity 6: Google Maps

I have used Google Maps a lot - it's so useful when you need to find where you're going. I just print off the directions and off I go (our Navman died about a year ago and I found this just as easy!) I love using the satellite maps for "getting a feel of the place", which is important when you're looking at property there's nothing worse than turning up to look at a house and see that it's the best house in a not so good street!
It will be a good tool to use when you're planning a trip, it would be good to be able to visualise where things are. My kids love being able to "look" at a place before going.

Activity 5: Google Docs

I can see the value of using Google Docs for a number of reasons: I work part time, so trying to plan / have discussions with other teachers can sometimes be a really problem. I find that I'm either leaving it until I see them "face to face" at work or we end up with a long chain of emails.  It will be great to both be able to work on the same document at the same time if needed.
Also it would be great to use in my T.L. network when we are trying to plan or discuss a topic.
I made a simple document in Google Docs, but I'm not really sure how I go about posting it so others can view it. When I click on the share button do I initially save it to the web? After that do I add my contacts and email them? All these questions... I think I'll need to talk to a friend of mine at work and see if we can have a play.

Activity 4: Web 2.0

After reading about Web 2.0, I found that I was even more confused with the jargon! However, when I had time to reflect I realised that it's not too daunting at all. I really like how Web 2.0 is interactive and it really allows all users to be active participants. In many cases the user can get instant feedback from others.
I have had some experience with using a Wiki with my T.L. network and it is a fantastic tool for sharing information and brainstorming infomation in a secure online environment. Unfortunately the T.L. who was the main driving force behind our wiki has gone onto bigger and better things so we have let it slide over the last year, but it's a tool that I would like to continue to use.
Also has anyone used Glogster with their students? We used it last year and it was a fabulous way for the kids to interact.

Activities 1-3.

Hi Everyone,
My name's Lytia Gilbey and I'm a T.L. at Sacred Heart Primary School in Sandgate which is a bayside suburb in Brisbane. I'm a part time T.L. and full time mum to a sassy 7 year girl and a hyper-active 2 year old boy. I'm really looking forward to learning all about web 2.0 and try and keep up with the students at school!