Blog Post 7

I have actually really enjoyed Twitter but I am struggling keeping up with the weekly tweets. I do not typically utilize social media in my daily life so it is slightly difficult to remember to continuously tweet. Something that has been very beneficial is reading articles and seeing tweets directly from people. In today's society I think it is easy to get mixed up and confused to someones true intentions with words. Through twitter, people can say exactly what they mean and make statements more clearly. This goes for politicians, celebrities, and the guy next door. It does not place more value on one or the other because someone else tweeting does not take away from your ability to tweet as well. I also appreciate the articles people retweet because it is usually something relevant and something I would actually care to read, rather than going on a news network and having to sort through a lot of topics that may not interest me as much.

I struggled a lot in the beginning of making my website, I'm not going to lie. The first one I made I somehow deleted and had to start all over! But once I worked out the kinks, it was actually really fun! I liked being able to mess around with it and see all of the different ways I could make my website. I also loved being able to pick a theme. I didn't know if it would have everything already picked for me, so being able to choose exactly what I wanted to do in the colors I chose was pretty cool! Next time, I think I would make it more dynamic. The website I made looked like it could have been done on word. I think by making it more like a functioning website, I would reap more benefits and possibly share it with some friends! 

http://jmcgrath3.weebly.com

Prior to this class, I had never heard of nor used Diigo. After being introduced to the application, I am so disappointed I never used it in a class! I think Diigo is genius and just plain awesome. I have stated in numerous other posts that an incentive system is one of the best ways to inspire kids to get involved and behave in the classroom. When I was in school, we had a chart and every time we answered a question or helped the teacher, we got a star to put on our chart. When we misbehaved, we got a star taken away. Something as little as a sticker star was absolutely amazing because you were the coolest kid around if you had a lot of stars. Diigo is essentially that but modernized. It is a way for child to be rewarded and inspired to do good in the classroom. One of the other amazing perks is that parents are able to see how their child is doing. If your child is misbehaving, parents can have a conversation with their child, instead of getting a call out of the blue saying how horrible your child has been! I think Diigo is incredibly useful in a classroom setting and is definitely something I would consider utilizing in my classroom.