Out with the old and in with the new!

"Out with the old and in with the new!"

This week was filled with experiences that upgraded my tech tools from past to present. It can be hard to give up on tried and true for brand new. It is the unknown that can be a bit scary. Since I can remember, I have always used my Internet browser to bookmark important websites. I have a hard enough time remembering my own home phone number, let alone multiple websites. Well, this week I "ditched" my browser bookmarks and upgraded to using Diigo. Diigo is a super convenient tool that helps you organize all of your favorite websites or articles into ONE place. These can be accessed from any computer at any time! That is so much easier than relying on using the same computer each time I need to go to a bookmarked website. What is also a benefit for this tool is that it can help us share what we like, annotate articles, and create outlines for important information. How cool is that?

Never used Diigo? Check out this video below for a tutorial.

Another tool that I upgraded to was Twitter. This might surprise you, but I have actually had Twitter for quite some time now. I've just never used it to actually Tweet (share information or pictures). This week I explored Twitter from an educators perspective so that I can justify using it on a more regular basis. I checked out different chats (#hashtags) and different Twitter users (@___). I really liked #biology for the science content and resources. #byondthetextbook was a great chat that included conversations about moving beyond the traditional "teach to the textbook" model. Maybe one day I could start a #CougarScience for all the exciting activities we do in our classroom. There are definitely some things about Twitter that I have reservations about. I believe that with time and practice, I will become a more comfortable Twitter user. For now, I will stick to following @usavolleyball for all of my coaching needs and @BrainScience for great articles and updates in the world of science! It is so exciting to see my Twitter feed update constantly. This is such a great to tool to help me stay "in the loop."

I am excited for what the future will bring. It is amazing to think that there are so many tools out there that I don't even know exist. I hope you continue to join me on my journey to become a Connected Educator!

Let's Go Royals!

-Mrs. Adkins