Zotero

I recently started using Zotero which to me is useful for managing citations, bookmarks and notes. I like the fact that you can combine books, articles, blog posts, webpages, newspaper articles, etc. all in one list with the ability to add standalone notes that you then put into folders as well as tagging. It's a little like mixing delicious and RefWorks. I also like that it, too, appears in the lower corner of my web browser, so it is always available. Andrew mentioned it in a comment, too, so he would be a reference if you want to know more.

The Zotero Quick Start Guide is a place to go for more info and a brief video.

Switching between Delicious and Diigo

You can actually import bookmarks from one service into another one. Go to this link: http://www.diigo.com/import_all/prepare?service=Delicious

I also found these instructions if you want to use both (Diigo’s “Save to delicious” feature (found under Tools once you login) allows you to simultaneously add your new bookmarks to delicious.).

Go to the Diigo site for more information on using Diigo on Smartphones and Ipads as well as Diigo for Education where you can create class accounts: http://www.diigo.com/education.

Delicious also has apps for iPhones and Ipads to track your bookmarks. Both can also be added as gadgets in iGoogle.

Lots of options out there.

Using Google in High Schools

Buffy Hamilton, librarian of Creekview High School in Georgia, has develop pages for various classes using technology tools for research. Check out her guide on Google for videos you might use to help your students use these tools. Other guides show the uses of Twitter, RSS feeds, wikis, etc. in student research.

Using GoogleDocs on your mobile device

On the iPhone, GoDocs is really what you want to view and edit GoogleDocs. I think it costs about $4.99. I'm not sure about Android apps for GoogleDocs but I'm sure there is one either available or in the works.

If you go to GoogleDocs help, there is a section on using GoogleDocs on a mobile device (http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=15141). It shows what it looks like on a Mobile device and how to use it for editing.

Creating your PLN

How do we track our personal learning networks? As you are gathering links to blogs and wikis and people who are forming your own professional learning community, how do you keep it all organized? There is no one right way to do this. Some people use an organizing tool like their own wiki to link to other resources of use to them. I personally like my iGoogle page where I have an RSS reader that shows my favorite blog feeds, a Twitter gadget where I can follow Twitter, a Delicious gadget that shows my delicious bookmarks, a Flickr gadget that shows my pictures, my email, etc. Other "start pages" like Yahoo can do this, but NetVibes, iGoogle and PageFlakes are particularly good as organizers. Some people add links to the sides of their blogs for other blogs and sites they find useful. Figure out what works for you and begin to build your PLN. Remember, you can always get rid of things that prove to be off target or lose their usefulness.

Blogger and other communication tools

Have you noticed that some of the templates in Blogger have a short panel of icons for other social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook as well as email and Blogger itself? This allows you to tie together different methods of communication and collaborating. Try sharing a particularly interesting post to Facebook (or Twitter when we get to it a little later). Do you think this would be useful in a school setting?

Have you also noticed that some blogs appear to elicit more comments than others? What makes you want to read and contribute to a blog (your classmates' or others')? Have you commented on the blog of someone you don't know? How woud you feel if you got comments from non-classmates? How do you think your students would feel if they got comments from someone outside the school?

Smartboards and collaboration / communication

Several people mentioned that they got Smartboards or some type of interactive whiteboard in their classroom. These seem to be all the rage right now. I'm interested in how they are used for student collaboration and learning beyond just presenting information or short "quizzes" using some of the notebook features. I've been reading the research on IWB and Marzano's study (Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards, Educational Leadership; Nov2009, Vol. 67 Issue 3, p80-82, 3p) shows they have an impact on student achievement only if learner-response devices are used with them, graphics are used to represent information, or they are used to present information in an unusual context to reinforce learning.

Have you seen them used as tools for collaboration and communication?