Create a Personal Magazine

Space Flipbook

Reflection - I really liked using both the Flipbook and Zite apps to stay informed. With Flipbook, I was able to easily search different topics and save useful links together in one place. It will prove to be a great time saver when I need to go back and retrieve information that is important to me. It is also a great tool for organization. I was able to create several different magazines, both personal and professional, that have colorful and visual resources to read, view, and share with others. This would be a great resource for grade-level teachers, subject area teachers, or school improvement members to collect and share valuable information. I really like the customization of Zite so that I can just read about topics that are important to me. I enjoy using Pinterest, but these apps are going to be just as useful, if not more so, to collect and organize information on topics that are important to me. 

News Apps - npr

Social Media - Twitter

Opportunities - I see Twitter as an opportunity to expand my circle of professional acquaintances. I have used it to build relationships with other teachers and administrators. It has been a useful tool for networking and research. When I have been looking for ideas and solutions to difficult situations, I have searched certain content through the use of hashtags. I routinely browse the "home" screen looking for interesting topics. I also use it to follow certain news outlets for updates.

Drawbacks - I have used Facebook for several years but I never really "enjoyed" using Twitter. I find it to be somewhat impersonal. It does not really encourage true conversation between educators. It tends to be one-liners and retweets. I sometimes see the same weblink retweeted by several people that I follow. It gets a little repetitive. I also have a hard time with the 140 character limit. It doesn't allow people to complete thoughts. I also find the Twitter abbreviations and symbols confusing and prevents creative expression. I'm really hoping that the experiences from this lesson will help me get past some of my negativity towards this type of social media.