virtual worlds (#9)

WOW!!!I had a look at the some of the virtual world programs available,however I was reluctant to actually purchase any. It does concern me that these "games " give users, particularly children, false ideas on how life actually works. eg In the second life program the focus on shopping and "buy anything" "Unlimited purchasing" and "You have total Control" concerns me! Being in the education game I am all too aware of the lack of resilience a lot of our young learners have and I do question whether these "Virtual World" programs have positive impacts on them.

My thirteen year old daughter has some of the Sims PC games and enjoys them immensly! A far cry from the good old cardboard cut outs and paper clothes!!!  I think in this technologial age that we are in , time allocated to these games must be heavily monitored. It is a lot different to playing barbie dolls for hours and creating plots and settings.The Virtual world games require making choices rather than being creative!!!


Virtual World games certainly make you think about the social ramifications for our young!!!!!!

igoogle (#8)

WOW! As each set task is addressed I am becoming more and more amazed by the power and the tools available to the Google consumer.Before starting this course I was purely a "Googler'" unaware  of  the scope of the  Google applications and search engines. I learnt a lot by looking at the google chrome browser. As I created my new igoogle home page i could not believe the array of fancy gadgets at my fingertips and how easy it was to add and delete them as i experimented my way through the task.

Looking at the "what" and "at" video footage of what it is like to work at Google, i was surprized at the unified workspace of the software engineers and at the flexiblity of the work conditions. The relaxed, casual and flexible work environment enabling energetic and innovative thought processes to take place.

I imagine if you were lucky enough to have the  required engineering and problem solving skills (which i don't!! bugger because "Fifteen" sounded very impressive!!) it would be an absolute brilliant place to work. Young , vibrant and motivating!!!

Alas it is not to be!

googledocs (#5)

Have enjoyed making new documents on google docs. The idea of being able to have a shared document that can be updated and reviewed by all users on the same document ( as opposed to emailing and changing and resending) is incredibly powerful. I can see many advantages  in using this facility.

I am impressed by the constant updates and new features that the software writers produce. It appears to be  an everchanging system with little improvements been introduced all the time e.g quicker way to change row height and column width by dragging line!!!Interconecting lines for shapes!

I can see that the more you use it, the more powerful the system is as you become more aware of all the shortcuts and the functions that you can perform!

WOW!!!!

googlebooks (#7)

Googlebooks seems to be yet another amazing site. I had never stumbled across it before  but now that I have , I fear it is going to consume  a lot of time!!!. From novels, to teaching texts , to magazines! To be able to tap into information about a book before buying is a real advantage! In my investigating I was able to view garden ideas and house ideas without having to even make a purchase!

I do however,  feel a little anxious about the impact sites like this will have on our book retailers. I don't know how they will be able to compete with this online resource . Yes it is informative and efficient but will we lose that opportunity to peruse  book store shelves? This is an enjoyable pastime which we may not have the pleasure of in the near future!!!!

Google maps (#6)

I have enjoyed investigating the  googlemaps website .I found it quite easy to use and I am confident I am yet to discover all the things it can offer. I am amazed at just how much visual information it can offer i.e photos of special places and the ability to give directions from A To B is a very useful function. I currently have a nephew living overseas and it was great to zoom in and have a look at the area that  he is living in!!! WOW!!!!!

Web 2 (#4)

Well , this technology that we are experimenting with is very powerful not to mention time consuming!!

 There is soooo much to learn about!

 It is incredible to see just how much technology has evolved and just how important it is for us to embrace it. The alternative of being left behind is not a good one!!

Change can be difficult but through my reading I see how important it is for us to adjust and become aware of the enormous content at our finger tips and how to access it!!

Here we go! Create a blog (#2)

Looking forward to learning all about web 2!  Hope the brain can cope and remember what wonderful things it has discovered! Feeling a little apprehensive but also very curious!