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Picasa Web Albums

Over the past week my partner and I got the privilege of working with the web 2.0 tool called Picasa Web Albums. PIcasa Web Albums provides a simple way for you to get photos from your computer or camera onto the web. Using this web 2.0 tool you can share your pictures with friends and family and even explore public photos others have posted. It is a free and easy tool to learn to use and provides a variety of uses. 


What went well:
I really enjoyed the fact that Picasa Web Albums allows you to post your pictures on the web for others to access kind of like a drop box. Therefore, no matter where you are you can always access your photos. In addition to being able to share your pictures with anyone, I also liked the fact that you can make your albums private so that only you may see them. I also enjoyed learning that you may post videos and/or slideshows, which will be useful in the future as a teacher being able to make quick slideshows for a lesson. I use the program Picasa to edit my photos on my computer now, so I am so excited that I learned how to use Picasa Web Albums to share my photos online. This web 2.0 tool is so easy to use and I highly recommend it!


What did not go well:
I will have to say I had a very hard time finding something that I did not particularly like about Picasa Web Albums. One of the features I found that I did not like was that in order to make slideshows or movies you have to use the program Picasa and then upload it to Picasa Web Albums. For those who do not have the Picasa program that might cause problems with having to learn how to use a whole new program. 


What I would change:
I would change the fact that slideshows and movies cannot be made on the actual Picasa Web Albums site. It would be a lot easier to just be able to upload the photos to an album and make a slideshow of that album. 


How I plan to use this with my students:
The best part about Picasa Web Albums is that it provides great opportunities to use in the classroom. Through this web 2.0 I can organize photos of my class and special events we do, such as field trips, and provide a link to the albums for the parents of my students. I can also make a CD of photos of my class throughout the year and give a copy to each of my students. This web tool also provides me the ability to integrate technology and photography into my lessons by having my students take lesson related photos, post them to our class Picasa Web Album, and present oral reports on them in front of the class. Picasa Web Albums will also be a great tool to use at open house or parent conferences to show what their kids will learn throughout the year, tell about myself, and to publish students' work. I am so excited to use this web 2.0 tool in the future as a teacher!

All about Wikis

My recent use of wikis through the program PBworks has allowed me to experience what parts I like and don't like about wikis, what I would change about wikis, and how I plan to use and not use wikis in my practice or with my students. 

What went well: 

I really enjoyed how simple creating a wiki is. I found that the wiki is very easy to navigate and open to a variety of creativity. The thing I liked most about the wiki was the fact that it allows for a network of communication and collaboration between users, which will be very beneficial in the future. 

What did not go well:

What I found that did not go well with the wikis was the lock when multiple users were trying to edit the wiki. It makes the editing process of the wiki a little bit tedious and time consuming having to wait for the lock to open up. 

What I would change:

If I could change something about the wiki I would change the lock so that multiple people could be editing and submitting their edit at the same time. This would make for a greater ability for collaboration and make the editing process not as tedious having to wait for another user to be finished editing in order to submit. 

How I plan to use this with my students:

I feel that the use of the wiki will be very beneficial when I become an elementary teacher. The wiki will allow for communication between my students and their parents. I can use the wiki for the parents to communicate with me and each other and for them to receive a weekly news letter or any other type of information they might need to know for my classroom. I can use the wiki with my students for different classroom projects and to incorporate the skill of working in a group. It will allow my students to work together both inside and outside of the classroom.