Google Sites

We all know that Google Sites are an amazing free tool that we can use to create websites, blogs and wikis as well as filing cabinets for your classes. There is a great guide to them here if you need to know more. It is made by the very talented Mr Richard Byrne. More of his work here

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BACK UP!!!!

Guess who didn’t back up their data? yup. I installed some new software onto my work computer. the server at work only allows back up to server drives – not to documents and pictures or videos etc. This means that when this software clashed with my system somehow (I don’t know the technical details) I have had to have my whole hard drive wiped and they have to start again.
Seeing as it took me a day to get this data from the old computer onto this one, this is a real pain. A lot of it is backed up in Dropbox but pictures and videos weren’t’Still more images and files are in my Google docs acccount and I was in the process of transferring them but this takes a bit of time and the wifi at work wasn’t up to the task.
I actually looked at buying a portable hard drive on the weekend and didn’t get around to it!!!!
Lesson learned 😦

Google Docs

I’ve been pretty excited by the potential of this for a while but decided that seeing as I teach final year students I’d better get it right for them. The Literature class are using it well and it is really allowing them to collaborate. As with any web 2.0 technology the trick is to get students using it; putting homework on there and setting concrete tasks is the key. An interesting blog on the benefits of learning using these tools is this one here.
Well worth reading if you’re thinking of taking the plunge.