Thing #14 Technorati and Tags

I began using Technorati while completing the Discovery Exercise for Thing #9. However, I did not begin adding blogs and tags until now.

I like Technorati. I have all of my favorite blogs on my Google Reader, but am in the process of adding them to my Technorati site. I like the fact that Technorati connects bloggers to bloggers. It's a great way to create community. I have begun connecting with others who share similar interests with me. Although I can find other teachers via tags (tags are awesome!), I would like to see Technorati add an Education folder to it's Blog Directory. I think it would make it a little easier to find other teachers and their blogs.

I added some Technorati widgets to my site. The button at the top, right side of my page allows people to add my blog to their Technorati favorites. The horizontal ticker widget at the bottom of my page displays a real-time feed of what users are searching for on Technorati, right now.

I spent a fair amount of time on this Thing. I wanted to be certain that I understood fully how Technorati works. I plan on having my students create blogs this year rather than keeping a paper/pen journal. I will be able to add my students' blogs to my Technorati site. That will make it really easy for me to check/grade their 'journals' as they reflect on their lessons in my class.

Thing #13 Tagging/Discovering Del.icio.us

I enjoyed discovering del.icio.us. I also explored Furl and Mag.nolia, but del.icio.us was by far my favorite. It was really easy to register for an account and import bookmarks from my IE7 browser. I watched the Del.icio.us tutorial, but really got just as much out of the teacher tube tutorial on the Library2Play site and it wasn't as long.

The discovery exercise for this "Thing" asks several questions...

1. Can I see the potential of del.icio.us and social bookmarking for research assistance? My answer is both yes and no. Yes, on a professional level. Social bookmarking is a great way of sharing information with my colleagues and helping me research information I may need for a lesson or a unit. No (or rather, 'not so much') on a student level within my lab. Students have a tendency to get bogged down in the plethora in Internet information. While I can see many students utilizing this tool effectively for independent research, I think it would be difficult (although not impossible) to keep them on task in the classroom.

2. How can libraries or classroom teachers take advantage of social bookmarking sites? I think that one of the best applications would be for us to share information. All too often we as teachers tend toward isolation...this may not happen as often with larger departments, but I know that those of us who teach Career and Technology Education courses find that we may be the only teacher on campus who teaches Business Law, Business Management, Marketing, or Accounting. Having access to other teachers' expertise would be incredibly beneficial.

Now that I have an account on Del.icio.us, I will most definitely research for others from whom I can glean scholarly advice.