Wow!  The Web 2.0 course has knocked me off balance.  It has helped me start a shift in the way I think.  I now understand that Web 2.0 is a frame of mind and a lifestyle…it is multi-dimensional versus the “flat” thinking I have possessed.  I now have access to so many more tools…many of which I had heard but had no knowledge or experience.

While I can see the value of all of the tools, I know that I will not be able to implement all of them tomorrow.  Over the next year I want to create a wiki for high school math coaches and teachers.

For some reason this is all starting to really make me feel old.  Even though I feel like I can pick up on things related to technology quickly, I am beginning to feel like a cassette tape player in this 21st century. 🙂  There’s nothing “wrong” with a cassette player but there are more effective tools.

One of the bloggers for Twitter-What is it and why would I use it? said she spends an hour every day just checking out links people post. I find that very interesting…I know there are many useful resources and posts available…I’m not sure where I would find that hour…and if I could find it, I might choose to pursue an extra hour of sleep.  🙂

Classroom 2.0 looks like it can be a great resource on my Web 2.0 journey…there are even free workshops, which focus on helping members learn what Web 2.0 is and how it can be used in education.

In Ning I found that NCTM Online is a Ning network and there is a network for math teachers in remote areas. I can see how joining a social network could help diminish the feelings of isolation that many teachers experience.

Dan Meyer does such a good job of articulating some of the challenges that face a high school math teacher when it comes to making the concepts relevant to students.  He has addressed “pseudocontext” in several of his posts.  The one that caught my eye is “Multimedia Inoculates Pseudocontext.” His posts provoke me to revisit my own thoughts and beliefs about teaching math…

I’m certain that I need to spend more time exploring Slide Share…I’m just not sure I’m making the connections.  It seemed easy enough to upload my Edublog powerpoint.  I want to be able to answer my own question: Now what?

Another FREE tool (all you need is internet) to make collaboration and sharing easier…Google Docs!  No more emailing documents or presentations back and forth waiting to make and view modifications.  The docs are accessible “out there” in the cloud.  Multiple people can access and collaborate and edit in real time.  Typically it has been necessary to travel to a common place to work on documents simultaneously but Google Docs makes it possible to do so without leaving home or the office.

Even though there are limits to the size of individual documents and total amounts that can be stored, it seems like a great place to back up some documents, especially those that one may want to share with colleagues.

In Teacher Tube, I found an “Inverse Functions” video which could serve as a quick review and reinforcement for the concept.  I also found Standard Normal Distribution posted as a review by a teacher for his students. This seems like a good use for Teacher Tube.  I spent way too much time trying to find quality posts about specific concepts.  When I am looking to review (or learn) math content I typically go to the Annenberg Media website.  The quality of the content videos I have viewed has been consistent and very helpful.

In YouTube I found a video that may be of interest to cat lovers.  An Engineer’s Guide to Cats is entertaining and very funny for anyone who is familiar with the quirkiness of engineers…er, I mean cats. 🙂  Of personal interest I found a great Do-It-Yourself video on tiling a backsplash…I think I’ll look to hire someone for the job.

I was able to access Grammar Girl’s “Affect versus Effect” session…love it!  (I will access this from time to time and the information will have an effect on my verbal skills…I’m quite sure that podcasting will continue to affect my webbing experiences.)  🙂  From the Education Podcast Network I was able to access “Math, Math, Math…Teaching with Smartboard” out of Chicago.

Some of the podcasts never finished downloading and others never started. It was difficult to find relevant podcasts in iTunes and there was an error in downloading the podcast versions of the DOE math podcasts on georgiastandards.org.

With Library Thing one can catalog his/her books online and have access from anywhere, anytime.  Being able to keep a record in one place will be very helpful for both professional books as well as personal reads.  On top of that one can access reviews and search in the Suggester for recommendations based on books he/she already likes.  It would be possible to set up a sort of professional book club through which to share books with other math educators.  It would make gift buying easier if one knows a book the person already likes.

Ha ha I’m not really sure why someone would use the Un-suggester but I’m sure someone would find a use.

I LOVE THIS!!!  The sites I visit frequently are in my favorites…and then I am often been frustrated about not being able to access them when working on a different computer.  Now I can access my favorites from any computer.  I like being able to tag my sites and access others’ favorite sites.

WOW!  This caught my eye in my NY Times Education and Schools feed:

While the number of college students studying Spanish, French and German increased only modestly from 2006 to 2009, enrollment in American Sign Language — the fourth most-popular language — surged more than 16 percent, according to a new report from the Modern Language Association.