Thing 9

Here is the photo I liked from Flickr.  I started by searching places I had been, and noticed that all the pictures that I felt  captured my feelings about place were copyrighted and not available to post (legally) with a URL.  That was disappointing.  I understand artistic property, but if you are going to share something via an online share service, you should make it available to use.  

This image is of the atrium in my favorite department store, Liberty of London.  This photo was taken by an artist known as planetjanet111.  Its been around since the mid 1800s and has been responsible for popularizing the Art Deco and Arts and Crafts movement.  I could live in that store.  

I think Flickr could be great for putting together slide presentations, especially for architecture history, although the search is really broad.  I attempted to find good images of a few of my other favorite places in London and they didn't pop up.  I also feel weird about using photos if I am unsure if the artist is willing to share them.  I almost wish they could tag the photos with free for use.

Right now, I do not use a photo sharing device as my husband is the household photographer (in a major way.)  I do know he has used flickr when he was taking photos professionally to share his portfolio.  

If I was to share photos on Flickr, especially those that had no identifiable people in them, I would make them free to share.  We can learn so much from seeing how others view the world.

Thing 7

I really like the possibilities with GoogleDocs.  I chose this document editor because I've got google accounts already set up and I have used google docs before.  Its so easy to use, if you can navigate through Microsoft Office - you can do google docs.

I look forward to using this system as I collaborate on papers and projects with other.  Its so much easier than keeping track of multiple SaveAs's.  

While I'm on this SaveAs/multiple documents juggling act, is there a way to work on a document, image, whatever and when saving it, it would save to all the places you have it?  I get sick of constantly passing things from my desktop to my jumpdrive and worrying that I just erased the most current version of the file.

Dropbox is a nice tool.  A while ago my husband set up a server that we can access from anywhere.  Its really nice when I forget my jump drive, but it can be complicated to get on.   I suppose I could use that to solve my SaveAs dilemma...

Thing 6

This type of application just seems like a mash up of an RSS and social networking. I think it would be interesting to follow the Diggs or Reddits of someone whose opinion I trusted, but leaving it up to the masses still forces me to sift through a bunch of stuff I'm not interested in (like Jon and Kate's marital status or the latest tween star to fall from grace.) There is a place in the world for editors and critics and I like it that way.

That being said, I think this would be an opportunity for someone to become a web-acclaimed critic. If you were following news and information with a mass appeal and could prove some credibility, you could gain a lot of readers and your opinion would start to matter at a broader scale. Who knows, maybe MSNBC or VH1 would pick you up to comment on the best/worst week ever.

One would have to be very selective to establish that credibility. No 3 am drunken comments about Japan's energy policy, but a few well researched, well cited articles (with links) could go a long way.

Thing 5

So, if facebook is sharing way too much information, micro-blogging is out of control. I don't even care to have that many brief updates on what is going on in my own life, I can't imaging wanting to follow someone else. I can see how it works for some, my husband "twitters" for the restaurant when new beers go on cask and we get some business from it, but for me its just too much to keep up with. But I did give it a try.

I chose plurk, I found the timeline visually appealing and a better method to organize information. I actually wouldn't mind a calendar application that looks like that (maybe they have one, I'll have to go back and check.) I also think "plurk" is a lot more fun to say than "twitter".

It would be interesting to use plurk as a way for students and teachers to have a recorded conversation about something. I'm thinking about how hard it is to arrange a field trip for students, to all gather around the same piece of artwork and have a discussion about it. It would be an interesting discussion thread to have students view the work independently, microblog about it and then comment on the discussion - all in recorded real time.

As for the other things I have learned, I have to say I love my RSS. I have already begun following more sites and emailing interesting links to friends, students, etc.

Thing 4

I'm having a really tough time with this one. Not because the technology is difficult to use, but because I am having anxiety about signing up with facebook. I have resisted this long, why start now?

My resistance comes from liking my anonymity. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew your business before you even were aware of it. Town gossip - the precursor to twitter. But there are so many people that I don't keep in touch with on a regular basis that I would like to keep tabs on....

Maybe my real fear is that I will be that lame facebooker. The one like your mom: no profile picture, no album, never updates her status. Its just another thing I have to maintain.

I am a member of Linkedin, mainly because former students requested my endorsement and recommendation. I can't say that I enjoy keeping up with it. I am just a lousy networker and the relative ease of networking should be appealing to someone with no skills (like myself) but I just find it stressful.

I can see the advantages of facebook - finding old friends and classmates (a great professional network) and sharing vacation photos freely. For now, I think I'm going to put Thing 4 on hold and return to it when I'm ready to sign my privacy away - if I'm ever ready for that.

Thing 3

This thing really doesn't apply to faculty, as we cannot access the eportal. I also a very familiar with OLS and the features of the AIMresources page (like room reservations and tech requests.) I have always had good experiences with these features - everything from reserving a better classroom for final presentations to having a paper towel dispenser mounted in a classroom so cleanup in art classes was easier.

Because I feel like I'm getting a free pass on this Thing, I am planning to set up one of my classes on eCompanion for next quarter. I'll keep you posted as to how that goes.

Thing 2

I just set up google reader as my RSS. I have a feeling I will need 12 steps to get over this 2nd of 16 things. Having all my favorite sites funneled into one readable location is pretty amazing. Now I just have to keep myself from subscribing to too many things.

I am so excited to use this feature for research for projects at school and information to share with students. It seems that I always found something interesting when I visited these sites in the past, now they can funnel inspiration straight to me.

I used the search tool to find my favorite sites. Because of the time it (used to) take to track sites, I didn't have many regulars, so it was quick and easy to find what I am interested in. I am excited to add new sites as a stumble upon them in this quest to complete 16 things. My recommendation = Treehugger.com - great sustainable information and a lot of it is design related.

Well, I'm off to a good start with 1 of 16. It was much easier than I thought it would be. Besides, its always fun to use software to create "yourself." I am looking forward to learning all of these new tricks on the computer and finally joining the 21st century.