Tales of a Technology Omnivore

iGoogle added a neat feature — you can share a tab that you create with another person. Very handy to share your flow of information. This could be a great tool for the classroom too because now you can share a tab with your students or staff. Information sources relevant to the class, google docs, dictionary/thesaurus, calendar, to-do list, t-minus countdown clock (to the delivery of a project or assignment), student blogs, translation tools, search answers, a skype link to contact you, your twitter, etc, etc, etc… What a powerful tool to create a homepage for a class, topic, workshop, or meeting. I’m going to share with you my principal’s blog tab so you can see my favorite NYC school community blogs — these are active blogs that really take the concept of blogging to the next level. Enjoy!

Twitter is a technology that fascinates me because I sense that there’s something about its potential that I’m not getting yet. The mini-blogging IM-toting, stream of thought posting individual uses Twitter to express thoughts that their followers see. You follow others and see what they’re thinking and it really provides an additional stimulation of thought throughout the day (if you use your cell phone to get updates).

Twitter recently added another feature: Twitter Tracking. Now not only can you follow your friends, you can hear the thoughts of any Twit (nominal form) when they utter a keyword of your choice. I added the word “classroom”. So now, whenever anyone says something related to “classroom” I will hear it. Strangely Borg-ish (the Star Trek alien race which hears each other’s thoughts).

You should try it –> http://www.Twitter.com

I stumbled upon this program from Microsoft that is actually very useful. Windows Live Writer is an application “that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog.” It’s compatible with most blog services and gives you Word-like editing for blog postings. No more suffering with draggy web-based interfaces! Place your pictures where you want, add tables, maps, tags, videos, and hyperlinks, all with ease and simplicity. I like how easy it is to format the flow of text around pictures. I probably sound like an info-mercial but this product has really changed my life and it can change yours too! Try it! You’ll be glad you did!