Hyperlinks are awesome, time saving, time consuming, insightful, intriguing, and never ending. In the olden days, pre-COETAIL, when I was consuming, I would often have eight or nine tabs open as a result of one article. Admittedly, it would often start with an article on my beloved Detroit Tigers and then branch off into another article or two, a couple videos (highlights), some stats, standings, hyperlinks to other teams, and an hour or two later I have finally finished that first article.
This class has changed my habits, now I spend an evening following COETAIL blog links and much less time on my Tigers. One thing I really like about hyperlinks is that when you are reading a blog that you hold in high regard, the links are worth the time and effort. Finding great articles, research summaries, and insight from a trusted source is so much easier than weeding through a google search, and even reading through my reader.
As a producer, it helps me give credit where credit is due. Plus, I think it helps others to see that I know what I am talking about. That I have an informed opinion and it isn’t me just spouting off.
I have found hyperlinks to be useful in my classroom as well. Introducing new units with a blog post that includes links to videos and other sites, like BrainPopJr. that can start the conversation at home and in class have proven to be very useful. It really shows in the students use of vocabulary.
Outside of hyperlinks, I have really increased my use of the internet professionally. Google reader has saved me time and made it easier to follow blogs I am interested in. An occasional twitter visit always gives me some new ideas and more to read. The cloud has made it easier for me to share photos of my class with parents. I have been using Evernote for Reading and writing conferencing now and I can access it on all machines. I have been making playlists on Youtube to share with students and colleagues. Educreations, Showme and Skitch are tools that have been used regularly in my class. My team keeps all documents on Dropbox. This is all so convenient and we can access it anywhere, anytime. I am not sure how I could function without.
