[insert clever garden-related title here]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did some research and pulled together a presentation/one-sheet on Dropbox; my classmates also presented on web-based software (Pinterest and XMarks). We talked about the practical implications of creating Pinterest boards for lesson plans, games, etc that could enhance the classroom experience - mostly the elementary classroom since there isn't much secondary content on the site. At the end of the discussion I think we came to an agreement (consensus?) that, as much as we love Pinterest for storing recipes, haircuts and styling tips, and knitting projects, it is not a product we would use with our students. Prior to starting grad school I was a pretty active "pinner" and early adopter of Pinterest and, in spite of this, I was a pretty vocal opponent of using it collaboratively with students.  First of all, I think there is a lot of Pinterest content that can be quite damaging to a young woman's body image (photos of normal looking women with the caption “how to lose weight in 90 days,” for one). Secondly, I don't think anyone came up with ideas for “collections” that you would actually want to curate with your pre/teen students. I certainly can't think of one.

We also discussed Xmarks, an online tool used to organize and save your bookmarked pages, regardless of your browser. It seemed interesting but since it had to be downloaded to try out, we just looked it over and read a few reviews. It seemed interesting until I learned later that day that it is only free for a trial period. Free is key!

The BEST presentation was the unplanned presentation of Prezi, a really cool (free) presentation tool. Think Power Point and then make it cool. You only design one sheet but then you map it out so the screen zooms in on different areas, back and forth and up and down. It's really cool and I recommend giving it a look. The funny thing is that the only reason we talked about Prezi is because my classmate used it for her Pinterest presentation and I couldn't stop asking questions. Sorry, Sarah!

I'm looking forward to reading the blog posts from my classmates who were not in my group, I'm sure we missed some useful online tools that were presented by other folks in the room. 

I think you can look forward to reading about BYOD next week (even the White House is talking about it!)