Thing #17

      Again, the video tutorial was very helpful, I really need somebody to show me which button to press. However, it was easy to join Delicious and navigate it. For the tag "educational technology" so many results popped out, so I had to spend some time sorting them out. I , basically, went through the comments for each site. I chose http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Home  for adding to my account. I could see different tags people used to bookmark this , and I could check other people's bookmarks. After exploring those options, I bookmark this site giving it five different tags.
     I think social bookmarking is a useful tool for teachers. I would mostly use it for researching different topics, and I would recommend it for high school students as a tool for creating a list of useful resources. I can create a class account where me and students can share good websites. In general, this tool can teach students how to summarize available information.
    

Thing #16

       I decided to stick with Google since I have Google account and already familiar with it. So, in my start page I deleted some gadgets, which I won't use, such as Twitter, and added Google calendar, Google Map and Google Translator because I use it often. It was a pleasure to work with iGoogle; the application is very user-friendly. I like that I can personalize the page according to my needs. I will improve my productivity if I have everything I need in one place.
      I like the online calendar (I chose Google Calendar) because I can access them anywhere, from my phone or Kindle for example. What especially like is the option to search for public events and schedule them right away. Also, for the teacher, online calendar should be must-have application.
      To-do lists I don't need much yet, since I am not extremely busy person, and because I can remember everything. (Probably, because I have the paper-one version of it on my refrigerator, so it always at my eyes.) However, for the teacher's more ahead planning, like month or two ahead it is useful application too.

Thing #15

This thing was easier than I thought. The Wiki in Plain English video explained pretty much everything.  I was able to make an addition to the APSU 23 Things Sandbox wiki. I also experimented with sidebars, offered features, and tracking tools. I agree about the advantages of using wiki instead of e-mail; wiki is more efficient. Wiki can be used for  the class discussions,projects that required collaborations,reviews of the books students read. I like the idea of  wiki where teachers can exchange their thoughts.

Thing #14

I did not set up an account at any of those sites, but I did put an effort in discovering Gliffy and Bubble. When it comes to Gliffy, it took some time from me to find out what is what. I wouldn’t say it was an easy to work with tool. Only two templates were given, and I needed time to figure if I need to delete some square or connect them differently. I explored, however the different options for creating a flowchart. I think this tool can be used for the middle or high school students; they can fill out pre-created one with the steps of some procedure, or even create their own (long division algorithm for example).

            Compared to Gliffy, Bubble was much easier to use for me, because I could start from the blank and create as many bubbles I want. It is a great tool for brainstorming or creating an outline, which is useful for me because I have too many papers to write.  Mind maps can be used for organizing ideas. The difference between mind maps and flow charts for me is that mind maps show the connection of ideas in terms of how they related, while flow charts show the process in terms of where the ideas are going. Both of them, mind maps and flow charts, have their own purpose.

Thing #13

 I liked Zoho because there I have every tool (documents, spreadsheet, Power Points) I need to work with in one place, unlike the different locations for Microsoft Word, Excel and Presentational power point. It was pretty easy to navigate. But, being a very conservative person, I will probably stick to what I already can do with Microsoft. I simply need more time to get used to new things.
Google docs was easy to work with too. I created just 2 slides of Power points there (didn't have much time), but I couldn't upload it to my blog. I realized that I could link it with my Gmail account, but couldn't figured how.
I  found that both Zoho and Google Docs have collaboration tools, so it would be possible to use in a classroom, when students have a group assignment.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12_2xFSlTz7iP8xtKKtYsIAKCIJbva_9CQrIBqPLY9f0/edit?usp=sharing
I hope this link would open my little presentation I created.

Thing #12

I spent some time looking at each of Google tools because they all seems to be very useful to me, except maybe Picasa Web Albums (I like to see a creative pictures other people posted there, but mine is not that good). I found that I already used Google Translate many times before. It is so easy to use! Although the translation sometimes are not the exact, this tool helped me in doing my assignments (it might be not noticeable,  but without its help my English would be more funny).  I can see that Google Translate could be a great tool for a teacher who have a not speaking English or ESL student in her/his class. It would simply help to communicate with a child and his family.
    I also set up an alert about upcoming news from Russia with Google Alerts. I will see if it would be easier to check it in my e-mail compared to blogs I subscribed through  RSS tool. Google Calendar will be useful too for busy teachers who have a millions of things to remember every day. I am planning to use Calendar too. I will use it to make notes for my important dates, appointments, or assignments due.

Thing #11

I checked  first Edublogs' award winners list and found many good sites there. I was easy to find RSS icon and subscribe to those sites or blogs. But the easiest method of finding feeds for me was through the Google Blog search. It was easy to navigate. Topix.net, however, was confusing for me because I was hoping to find local info,but all it gave me was some other place's news. I need more time to explore this search tool.Technorati was pretty easy too for finding blogs for some certain topics. I usuallylooked for an RSS feed icon because they invite you to subskribe right away. The other feed icons I noticed was eNewsBlog, bloglines and my Yahoo.