their are categories for teachers, administrators, and parents–all of which offer helpful tools for them specifically.

there are even areas with curriculum broken up by grade level.  i’m not sure how good it is to simply use it directly, but it’s cool to have it available–maybe to compare with and glean from.

umm. . . i am not feeling very good, though.  as i read more and more–about blogs and twitter and RSS and Flickr and wikis and all the other ways to connect with lots and lots of people in many different ways. . .    . . . i just. . . to be very honest, it makes me nauseous like i need to throw up.  and i don’t mean that rudely or stubbornly.  i mean that honestly.

i feel horrible saying that–i don’t want Dr. Crovitz to think i’m not taking it seriously or being open minded. . . i don’t want to be a teacher that he and my other professors would have deep doubts about. . .

i am learning a lot about the many brilliant uses of the Read/Write web, and so much of it i plan to incorporate in one way or another into my classroom. . . i can clearly see the varied and effective uses for many facets of the web.

but at a certain point–i’m not quite sure where that point is yet–my guts really do start to wriggle on the inside of me.  am i allowed to not want to be that connected to the “well over 1 billion people” who are now online (Richardson, 85)?  is it okay to genuinely not be concerned with what others are doing or saying or thinking and the constant interconnectedness to tons and tons of people that i don’t know–that don’t know me–that i don’t have relationship with?

lots of magazines, often the news, and reality tv tend to make me feel this same way that i’m attempting to explain.  so many people sharing/showing so much.  so little remaining sacred or secret . . . worth discovering through digging a bit.

is it voyeurism that i’m thinking about?  i think it’s great that people want to share their business and knowledge and bring their expertise together–i really do.  my goodness, we as people are so much better together than we are apart!!  but i am genuinely not that interested in other people’s business.  and i’m not really into sharing my own–not with those i don’t have relationship with.  i’d much rather spend face time with people–with my future students and strangers and friends–than bookmark and tag online. . . and tweet them about project thus and such.  and again, i’m not trying to be flip–and i’m not criticizing people who love this stuff.  in fact, i feel like something’s wrong with me for not buying into it.

i just. . . my heart cries a little at the amazing amount of connectedness with very little actual connection.

i’m thinking right now of people like Salinger and even Keanu Reeves pops into my head–people many people know about, but who manage to remain a bit of a mystery.  i like that i a lot.

i’m really sorry too if i’ve come off. . . rude, ignorant, closed-minded, judgemental. . . those things are not my heart.

i believe the above statement says something very true of today.  in fact, i’m thinking maybe it was always supposed to be that way–that students were always supposed to be taught the skills to find information on their own.  but the pressures of grading and testing got most folks caught up in the teaching of, the searching for, and the spitting out of facts.  forget knowing how/where to find them–just give the answers to me now.

but now, information is much more accessible–right there at the click of a mouse–so maybe this helps the focus return to teaching the skills necessary to decipher accurate and appropriate information.

Americana has good, solid info in it.  very clear. . . reads like, well, an encyclopedia the thing about it is it’s stagnant until the new edition is made next year.  it is easy to cite (assuming the students are allowed to cite and encyclopedia) because the information is coming from a single source.

Wikipedia is full of information–different subtitles of information:  early life, family, ministry, etc.  and it changes as the information changes.  like, if it’s about a person who isn’t dead or an organization that’s running strong, then the info can change in minutes to reflect the newness of whatever it is.  it would be hard to cite, though, because everyone is potentially an editor. hmmm. . .

Britannica.com is also full of great info.  however, you have to pay to get that great info.  the site says it’s updated “regularly,” so it’s gonna be more up-to-date than the stagnant book.  it also has a tab for folks to submit an edit or a comment.  but i believe it has to go through someone.

last thing–my group did a word count of each of the three:  Americana had about 280 words, Britannica had about 1,300 words, and Wikipedia had about 4,900 words.

i’m using a wiki right now in my 6100 EDUC class.  it’s for us to watch video’s related to the topics we discuss in class.  we then comment (is it still considered blogging when it’s on a wiki?) on the video’s right there on the wiki.

i’m not completely sure what i think about everyone having editorial power on a wiki.  some part of me thinks it’s wonderful cause, after all these years, two (or more) heads still tend to be better than just one–each person being able to bring the little bit he or she has to offer to the table.  it’s kind of beautiful, actually.  and probably far closer to being accurate than any one person’s ideas alone.

but it just seems chaotic–the thought of whomever wants to change something continually changing something.  when does it ever stop?  when is it ever just truth?

in closing, i have to say that my favorite thing i learned about wikis is that the name comes from the Hawaiian word wiki-wiki.  you’ll have to click here to find out what the word means. . . and to bring it full circle, i’m sending you to Wikipedia for the answer

the sight of a tree like this does a deep thing in me.

there’s a scene in the film, The Last Samurai, when the war has raged and the Samurai have thrown themselves relentlessly at their opponents.  The leading Samurai warrior has been wounded and it’s time for him to die (the warriors are still surrounded by the Westernized, Japanese troops).

as he’s passing away in his white “brother’s” arms, he looks up and sees a cherry tree, who’s blossom’s are lightly floating down all around them.  his eyes glaze over as he whispers, “Perfect.  They’re all perfect.”  and with his dying, all the opposing troops bow down, faces to the ground, to honor this great warrior.

the sight of a tree like this does a deep thing in me.  something deeply spiritual.  there is a place that my soul goes, and my heart longs to live there–a place that is simple. . . quiet. . . real.  or is it real?  is there this place?  or am i caught up and swept away and lost in something idealistic and ultimately false?

i don’t know.

but i do know that i long for it, this place, as for something lost.  and couldn’t that mean that it was once had if it is now lost?  i hope so.  there is beauty in the longing.

i want to live somewhere with a cherry tree close by before i die.

I am not a blogger–not even in the Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter sense of the word.  I don’t participate in any of those.  This is the first blog I’ve ever had and I am up for as much help, direction, and insight as possible.  For me, his giving examples and offering ideas for the uses of blogs inside the classroom is one of the most important aspects of these chapters.

I really connected with the idea of a blog as a class portal or a space for assignments, handouts, discussions, and the like.  When I was in middle and high school, I didn’t like missing class.  It wasn’t always because class was just so, dang awesome, but it was because I didn’t like being behind and having to play catch-up while also staying current.  If we’d had weblogs in my classes, I could have had access to lessons and homework and assignments from wherever I was, and it would have enabled me to come to class prepared rather than behind.

So, all that being said, I’m definitely enjoying Richardson’s writing.  It’s engaging and informative and clear–all of which are necessities for me while learning about these particular topics.