Labyrinth of Learning 2.0

Thing 14 - Social Bookmarking with Del.icio.us

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As I have been using del.icio.us for some time now, I didn’t expect this “Thing” to introduce any new to me. However, I was surprisingly mistaken! I was familiar with tagging and adding descriptions, as well as, adding another’s account to my network. I have been using these features since I first opened my del.icio.us account. However, for some reason I never noticed that you could “subscribe” to a tag that interests you. This was a new discovery for me and I have to admit I am very excited!

As far as my del.icio.us links, I will admit that I am a sloppy and over-exuberant tagger. My tags were a mess and I was slightly embarassed at the idea of posting a link to my del.icio.us page in this blog post. The “mess” was created by numerous redundant tags (i.e. social-bookmarking, social_bookmarking, socialbookmarking), lowercase tags mixed with uppercase tags (yes, I know that may sound silly - but I will admit, it drives me insane!) and countless “unfiled” links. Therefore, I spent hours cleaning up my tags - changing the uppercase to lowercase, deleting instances of redundant tags, and bundling groups of related tags. It’s still not perfect, but at least it is much more “presentable”.

Good luck surfing through the chaos!

http://del.icio.us/dklaus

Thing 13 - Explore a Tool of Your Choice

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Jigzone:
What it is: Jigzone allows you to turn your own photos into online jigsaw puzzles that you can share with others. You have the ability to choose the level of puzzle difficulty from a simple 6 piece puzzle to a challenging 247 piece puzzle.

How to integrate Jigzone into your curriculum: Jigzone is perfect for use on any interactive whiteboard. Jigsaw puzzles promote logical reasoning and problem solving skills.

Tips: You don’t have to use this great tool with the interactive whiteboard, it would also be a great center for the one or two computer classroom or even for use in the computer lab.

Starry Night Jigsaw Puzzle

Gliffy:
What it is: Gliffy is an online diagramming software that allows users to create and share professional-looking flowcharts, diagrams, technical drawings, organization charts, floor plans, idea webs and more. Users can save their work to Gliffy’s server or download it to their computer.

How to integrate Gliffy into your curriculum: One of the hardest concepts to teach elementary school students is effective outlining — taking ideas and organizing them in a logical order that flows. The ability to visually represent concepts, ideas, and related pieces of information graphically reaches learners at a deeper level than simply using text-based descriptions. Gliffy is a great tool for those who want to take graphic organizing to the next level by involving collaboration among students. Since this tool is collaborative, students can work together to develop a mind map and invite collaborators to work with them in a password-protected environment.

My Gliffy Activity: Gallon Kid