Communication

Hi all,

Today, I'm going to spend a little bit of time talking about communication tools that I have used to provide information or share information with others.
Blogging: http://mrslmeyer.blogspot.com/
I will start with blogs as this is a tool that I use least; however, I can see the validity of blogging as long as the sources are valid. The Polish family history blog that mirrored the Holocaust that I evaluated was amazing. The author had spent a large amount of time and gathered so many resources in one place. The best part about a blog is that you can share information while providing the pros and cons in a conversational manner. Anyone that has an e-mail address (if you pick that option) can view and comment on your blog. In my opinion, this is a very valid use, and I hope to use blogging more personally and for class in the future.
Wikis: http://mrslmeyer.wikispaces.com/
Wikis are extremely valuable when the desire is there to share work between students. As long as students are saving, the information can't get lost or left at home. The administrator of the wiki can decide how to set the area up as well as create multiple pages under one topic. With the wiki, students have to be granted permission to access the page but can make their changes right at the computer on the Internet. I have used wikis for mini-reports so that students have to show me how they find, organize, and create information. So far, my wikis have been siimple and not used very much because of the lack of available computers at my location.
Rollyo: http://rollyo.com/index.html
Rollyo is a great source that I discovered several years ago. Rollyo is a personalized search engine that will only allow a user to look for a topic inside the sites provided. The reason I use Rollyo so much is because I have several students that aren't allowed to do Internet searches on their own--I have to provide the websites for them. Rollyo has saved me so much time, energy, and frustration because of how well it works.

I hope the above information is helpful to you if you are looking for tools to use while working with technology personally and professionally. Each of the above tools provides the opportunity for students to participate in their own learning as well.

Thanks,
Laura M.