Blog Journal 6

 Greetings, fellow readers, welcome back to another blog post! Today, I will share my experience with a few different digital resources that I have not yet mentioned, so stay tuned. 

The first tool that I only very recently started using is called Diigo. For those who don't know, Diigo allows multiple people to annotate digital content together in real time, which can be quite useful in professional, academic, and even personal contexts. After taking some time to familiarize myself with the software, this is my honest review: Diigo is a game changer for digital collaboration! You can easily bookmark and share websites, PDF files, and anything in between. Now that I discovered this tool, I wonder how I even managed to surf the web without it. Annotating websites, especially for personal use, is so helpful for me to remember which information I want to save for future use. The only feature I'm not a fan of is the layout of the Diigo website itself, which feels a tad outdated and not the most intuitive. However, it's a small flaw when compared to the countless benefits.

Okay, it's now time to get a bit meta, and I'm not talking about Facebook. I want to discuss my experience with blogging so far, and how my perception has changed with time. When I first started this course, I was wary of the assignment in blog format because the expectations are usually not the clearest. Should there be paragraphs? If so, how many? Is the tone meant to be formal, or should it be more casual? However, with time I've learned to appreciate the flexibility that come with blog posts. You certainly cannot be as creative and expressive when writing academic papers, or even discussion board posts. In that sense, while it's still part of a school assignment, a blog feels more personal. What was definitely the most helpful to me was learning know to embed different gadgets onto the blog itself, such as a CC license, a Twitter handle, and other digital tools. To be frank, I cannot think of anything I dislike about blogging. It's quite relaxing, actually, almost like a guided journal entry. I might keep blogging even after this course ends, even if I'm the only one reading the posts. It's just fun!

Moving on to my last topic of the day, Web 2.0 tools. When I become a teacher, I plan on using many of these available resources for my students. While I was planning on talking about Edmodo, the site was unfortunately shut down in late 2022 and is no longer accessible. Instead, I will talk about Google Classroom, which is a feasible alternative with a similar scope. Google Classroom allows students and instructors to interact in a myriad of ways. From creating virtual meetings, to posting, completing, and grading assignments, to giving real-time feedback, to publishing class materials and resources, Google Classroom has it all. In many aspects it's quite similar to Canvas, except it's at the k-12 level instead of post-secondary education. To keep up with current digital trends, I would absolutely create a Google Classroom for my courses, while still keeping in mind the digital divide and accommodating for students who might need extra support. 

If you're an instructor or just anyone who did not previously know about these resources, I hope this helped you! Until next time.