I LOVE TECHNOLOGY... especially Skype and Evernote.

Today I was struck by how much I love technology, and as a result, I have the song "I love technology" from Napoleon Dynamite stuck in my head.

I love technology because early this morning it allowed me to have a conversation with my sister who is halfway around the world in Uganda. It was so great to Skype her and see her new school, see that she was not too badly sunburned just yet, and talk to her almost like it was face-to-face. I also used the webcam as a mirror to put eyeliner on so I wouldn't be late for school, but I digress...

EVERNOTE! Yesterday we were looking at different online curation tools, and we had a chance to play around with them a bit. As soon as Evernote was mentioned, I remembered that I had downloaded the app on my phone already, because Gary told me it was good for organization and hey, I want to be organized... so there it sat on my phone doing nothing.

Anyway, we talked about a few different sites in class, but I was really excited to try out Evernote and guess what... it's awesome. Here's a shot of my notebooks so far:

It's great! I know I'm not even close to using it to it's fullest potential, but for now it's a great way to keep track of all the great apps and sites we learn about in class, and I can keep notes in a notebook here rather than on paper. That way I can refer back to my notes whenever I am around a computer or my phone, which is... all the time.

I'm also thinking this will be a great way of keeping track of notes and sites for papers and assignments. If I'm needing to research something, I can have my notes typed up here, but I can also have screenshots and links to other sites with information I'll need.

Another site we talked about and I am starting to figure out is Symbaloo. It's basically a spot you can collect a bunch of pre-selected websites for easy access. This would be great for a classroom - I could pre-select sites that are reliable for research and allow students to access it for research projects or general inquiry. One of my main concerns with technology in the classroom is that students can access all kinds of information and need guidance in sifting through which are reliable and which are not.

So far, I'm using Symbaloo as my homepage for easy access to the sites I visit most. Here it is so far (there is much more to add, but it's a work in progress):

My Symbaloo

So there you go! There's a few of new things I've learned about technology! Now, it's time for me to check on my technological pets, otherwise known as tamagotchis!