Thursday, April 9, 2009

Browser Tools, Podcasts and Video

Today I pulled off a RULA marathon and finished all three of the final exercises!

Browers Tools
I stumbled upon StumbleUpon and didn't think too much of it. Because I don't spend much time randomly browsing the web, I would rather search for things that interest me as the need arises. THEN, I checked out Cooliris......very cool. I'm looking forward to uploading my Bahamas pictures to Flickr and viewing them with Cooooooliris.

Podcasts
I was always under the impression that iTunes was strictly for downloading music!. This, to me, was the most exciting new discovery. I used the URL that was given as a sample http://sirsidynixinstitute.com/podcast.xmland discovered all kinds of music that I can play on my computer based on what interests me. I really enjoyed this and will use it in the future.

Videos
I've used YouTube many times before. Do some people not know that anyone in the world can see these!! On the other hand, what a way to get yourself "out there". Regardless, there are some very funny videos out there, that's for sure. These are two of my current favourites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVDGu82FeQ

Monday, March 16, 2009

Social Networking

Social networking seems to be all the rage these days. Anyone with a teenager in the house can confirm that. I’ve had a Facebook account for some time now but I must admit, my sole reason for getting an account in the first place was to keep an eye on my daughter’s page. The safety issue is a concern.

There’s no doubt that social networking sites are a great way to connect people who share similar interests. Occasionally, my daughter and her friends even discuss homework assignments on Facebook but I don’t see me getting addicted any time soon, that’s for sure.

Seeing what is posted on some people’s profiles and the poor judgment some people use in what they disclose, makes me very cautious about what I put on my own. I’m all for social networking but I still like the face to face kind best.

Google Docs

So far, Google Docs has been the simplest and most straight-forward of the RULA2.0 exercises for me.

I've used Google maps many times and find Google Earth absolutely facinating (even though it's out-of-date).....to be able to spin around the world in seconds is amazing.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Delicious and LibraryThing

I found the instructions for Delicious difficult to follow. I like the tool itself and the idea of being able to share (or not) and track interesting sites from any computer. I still don't think I completed it 100% correctly but I reached the time limit on this one.

I created an account on LibraryThing at http://www.librarything.com/profile/atassone
I haven't added anything to my library yet. I may in the future.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Wikis

I'm finally catching up with these exercises. It hasn't been easy. It's taking me a lot longer than I thought it would to complete the work and finding the time is not easy.

What do I think about Wikis? I can see how they might be useful in the classroom for example. It's an easy way to create and edit a shared document when a group of people are contributing to the work. However, with so many people inputting information, I can see how easily the information on a wiki can become very disorganized. One analagy which I felt was pretty accurate in describing what wikis can be like is a kitchen junk drawer.

The thing that worries me most about wikis, however, is access control. If they're not properly managed, wikis are open for editing to anyone in the world. That's a lot of people who can change any of the information. That's a little creepy to me.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Flickr


I used Flickr to upload some of my pictures of what I think is one of the most exciting cities in the world....NYC baby! I think Flickr will be a very useful, easy way to maintain and share pics with friends.


See my pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/35778902@N07/

Friday, January 23, 2009

RSS Feeds

Wow. I love RSS feeds. It makes life so much easier.

Does anyone know of a good website (with an RSS feed of course) that has a daily update of the Canadian dollar?