Blog 5

I just recently signed up for Diigo through my educational technology class. I had never used it before, but it was not difficult to figure out. All I had to do was download the chrome extension and find articles to bookmark and annotate. I like how easy it is to use. I did not have to ask for help in figuring out how the functions work. I discovered very quickly how to highlight information and make comments about it. Having this tool is very beneficial for keeping track of important articles for the classroom. I often find that my bookmarked websites get lost in google chrome and I have lots of trouble finding important sources. Diigo offers a space to put any necessary articles in one easy-to-access place. The only downside to Diigo that I can think of is how specific it is. Diigo's specific use is for the classroom: teachers and students sharing (or just saving) websites and articles for class. This is not necessarily a bad thing- it just makes its purpose more narrow. 

This post marks my sixth time (counting blog 0) posting on Blogger- or just writing a blog in general. So far, my experience has not been good or bad. The blog posts are just another writing assignment that I must do for class. I feel like these blogs are similar to discussion posts, instead they are not on canvas. I appreciate the simplicity in the prompts and the ease in being able to type out answers instead of writing them like a hand-in journal. So far, I've learned that blogging is an easy way to get your thoughts out into the world and to communicate with others on the internet. Blogging is a good space to talk about your interests in a community where others also share the same or similar interests.

An interesting Web 2.0 tool that I have used before and enjoyed using is Google Classroom. Google Classroom is similar to Canvas in that it is a space to post assignments, grades, and classroom conversations. Unlike Canvas, Classroom displays everything in a certain "class" like a conversation-- whichever post is newer is on top and older on bottom. More like Canvas, there is a function on the side of the site that allows you to filter the information into different categories. I might use this when I'm teaching to have an easy space to post information and assignments for my students. GC is a helpful tool when teaching because it allows for a quick and easy way to communicate with students without having to share too much personal information (like phone numbers) to students or parents.