Skip to main content

Thing 8: Collaborating, Connecting, Sharing

For this week's activity, I had a hard time pulling myself away from Google Tools. I really find that they are a fine collaboration, creation and archival tool, and I wonder if I will find any tools to replace Google Drive. I tried TitanPad, and created an account for our School Library. I like that it does not require an email, and that it can be shared so easily and instantly. Still, I miss the templates, the tools that all work together, and the brand recognition of Google Tools. I can see using it with students for collaborations, but wonder if they will use it outside of school. SlideShare and DropBox already have my loyalty. We have sent videos across the country, shared files with librarians across the state, and created departmental folders for collaboration with DropBox. We are so fond of it that a colleague and I requested that the District put a shortcut to DropBox on every desktop in the District. Since we are a District of SMART Boards and SMART technology, we were sharing our Notebook presentations in PowerPoint format at first, and have a few shared through SlideShare. I have registered with Scribd, but have not felt as comfortable using it as I am with DropBox and SlideShare. I revisited Scribd this week, and was struck by the public nature of the site. If the other tools are doing the job for me, I think that I will stick with them, and keep Scribd for another day. We have tried WikiSpaces, and PBWorks. When we work with students, we find that Kidblog works very well. It is attractive, easy to monitor, and easy to edit. We are using Pinterest, so I tried Popplet. It took so long to load, and was so much more difficult to add links and images than Pinterest or Learnist, that I don't see myself using it with the students. So I guess we all find the tools that work best for us, get comfortable with them, and a new tool has to be pretty amazing to lure us away. But it is still fun to explore new tools...and who knows? We may find another Pinterest that fills a need that we didn't even know we had!! :-)

Comments

pollyalida said…
I had to go check out popplet again and found the same problem. I can't seem to get it to work on Chrome or Firefox. Not sure what's up with that. May just be my computer. Glad you explored a few new tools anyways! Just ran across a new filesharing tool that's pretty nice. Simple, free, no signup! copy.com
February 28, 2013 at 5:47 PM
Bookreeader said…
Thanks! Copy.com is cool! But....as is the case with many tools, I had to save a link to Delicious, rather than to Pinterest, since Pinterest could not find an image to post. So we wind up using two tools to do one job.

I want ONE tool for each task. I want one place to save links, one place to share, one place to publish....I am mourning the atrophy of the Google Tools. Maybe this should be a post.
March 17, 2013 at 4:48 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pinterest vs Learnist

I definitely would like to set up a board of some kind for the school library. We could add sites for research, fun tools to explore, games and educational activities, and other schools' sites. I am wondering whether to go with Pinterest or Learnist. Pros and cons: Pinterest is very popular, and seems like it is here to stay. Learnist is educational, so there would be less temptation to stray from recommended sites. Both are attractive, and easy to use. Must research and experiment further before unveiling The Site.....
3 comments
Read more

Zesty Paws Oatmeal Anti-itch Dog Shampoo

This winter has been tough on our little pups; the bitter cold outside and dry heating inside have dried out their coats and fur. Most shampoos clean, but we found one with Vitamin E and Aloe Vera that also softens and soothes.      I love the description on the back of the bottle - it sounded like just the shampoo we needed. But then, they all claimed to work, and all they did was clean surface dirt.  But I have to say that I am impressed; the shampoo smells great (one pup even tried to taste it!) and it lathers well. We haven’t had a chance to try more than once in the test period, but so far it seems to deep-clean better, and to soothe the flakey skin. Pups are not only clean, but softer! She may not look like it here, but Kenzie feels so much better, now that her skin isn't dry and itchy, and her coat is soft and clean. It washed away the dandruff on  other doggies, and worked well on all types of coats. ZestyPaws makes a conditioner, too,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Terrific sofa cover - for the right sofa!

We go through sofa covers with alarming speed.  I think we are on the sixth one in two dogs...And Ashton totally shredded one in a month!!   Since Kenzie has claimed the off-white sofa as her own,    I need to keep it protected. But it is hard to keep the cover on - Since she is so “active, I need to use upholstery pins to keep the cover in place! Would you believe that she bent every one of the pins, and they all came loose?  That's why I thought that this sofa cover ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M32JJM2 ) would be the solution to our problems, since it has rolls that tuck in between the cushions and the frame to keep it in place, and a nice strap that wraps around the back of the sofa as well to keep the back covered.  However, I failed to measure and check the dimensions accurately, and the cover is far too small for Kenzie's sofa - which, admittedly, is a large one. We usually need two protective covers to go from ...
Post a Comment
Read more