Week 6

Thing #13 Learn about tagging and discover Delicious


This site is a way to save favorites and bookmarks, and organize them with tags. From this site you can add feeds and check out how others have tagged sites.  (Tags are keywords people use to describe their bookmarks.) I liked that when you click on the tabs tab all of the tabs used on your site appear in alphabetical order and the font varies by size depending on how often the tag is used.  (Larger font for more uses.) You can explore popular tags for each site, and category.  If you supply a tag you can search for other sites that have that tag.  This is a good site for finding appropriate sites for student resources.


Thing #14 Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts.



Technorati tracks blogs, categorizing them by tags, and rating them.  I joined and now am waiting to "own" my blog.  (I thought I already did when I registered it it with http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com. I learned that you can "ping" Technorati that you have updated your blog, either manually or automatically.  So, I guess that's kind of like an RSS feed for Technorati from you! There is a tab for channels, kind of like reading the newspaper online.  I went to a blog about the crash into the moon the other day.  Interesting!  There are several types of free software offered taht combine programs to make tagging easier, designed by users.  What I haven't figured out is how to use Technorati Tag.  I've read the instructions and listened to the Tutorial and well, I still  need some help.  Or, like my Avatar, I'll eventually get it but help would be welcome!  I enjoyed checking out all of the Technorati User Created Tools.  I think they look great and commend the inventors for their technology "knowhow".  However, my question is how reliable are all of these, and what defense would I have against any virus?  I've had the hard drive on my other computer wiped out with a virus and I'm a little nervous about all of this sharing business.  Any ideas?  Even our text (Library 2.0 and Beyond: Innovative Technologies and Tomorrow's User, edited by Nancy Courtney) mentioned that this is a drawback, that not everyone "plays nice".  Too bad.  I have to admit that tagging seems like a great idea.  It's filing for your computer!  Maybe I can remember where I put things!  Our texgt mentioned that social tagging keeps things current.  When names or meaning change we are quickly updated unlike a traditional catalog which may take a long time to update. I like the Tag clouds and am anxious to tag more of my things.  However, I'm still a bit skeptical about sharing all of my tags.  Baby steps!


Thing #15, Copyright, Creative Commons, and What's Coming Down the Road with Web2.0

The Fair(y) Use video was kind of fun.  I'm curious how many "permission slips" they had to have to make it!  In reading more about Creative commons I went to Lawrence Lessig's website in time to see that he is discontinuing it.  Bummer, I think I'd enjoy his writing style!  Then I went to the Creativecommons.org to check the idea out further.  The "What is CC" video was very informative.  My husband listened i and concurred.  What a great idea!  Classroom Learning 2.0 has this information posted on their site.  "Learning 2.0 is a discovery learning program created by Helen Blowers.  Content and style for School Library Learning 2.0 and Classroom Learning 2.0 have been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Common's License."  How interesting to see how and why that works!  The CCsite linked to "piracy" is interesting and I went to http://www.playitcybersafe.com/, I liked how easy this was to understand and that there are areas on the site for teachers, parents, and students.  They even offer lessons on teaching about cyber safety, copyright, and piracy.  Then I went to Did you Know 4.0.  I was so interested I went to the original site called "Did you know 2.0?" and "2.0 Shift Happens".  It really is amazing to think how the internet has affected our lives in such a short period of time.  I know that children in K-12 have no concept of this...they've had access to computers all of their lives!