Thing #14 Blogged Down

This task was very time consuming for me. I enjoyed using the Technorati links and even claimed my blog. The video helped me get a clearer view of the purpose of Technorati. Tantek Celik, the Chief Technologist says that blogs "are human experiences raw and uncut--not filtered through levels of hierarchy. " Blogs are individual ideas and their purposes are to connect people to other people with similar interests. I can see personal benefits from using Technorati when I want to read about different topics. I read about The Dark Knight and followed the links to read about Heath Ledger, his death, and his career. I learned some personal tidbits about the actors and the movie that I found interesting. I enjoyed the movie without knowing these details, but I was curious to learn more especially with Heath Ledger's recent death soon after filming the movie. So, I was able to follow the links successfully through Technorati for this search.
I can see some possibilities for classroom use. If students were creating a book or movie review or writing biographical paragraphs, reading movie reviews and actor bios would provide them with models. I have some concerns about serious research projects, though, because we teach students that personal blogs are not considered reliable sources for factual research. A blog would not be considered an appropriate source for the typical research project. If students were including personal opinions, etc. in a paper, then accessing blogs could provide them with some support.
I spent quite a bit of time trying to add widgets to my blog. When I finally got them to post, I decided that I did not like the way they looked all together in one block. So, I did what I thought I needed to do to delete them. What I did, though, was delete my AVATAR!! I had to go back to the beginning of things and re-export my Avatar. So, for now, I have put adding widgets on hold. Through my mistakes, I am learning, but I feel that I have a long way to go to thoroughly understand Technorati and tags. Maybe my students can help me this year; I would imagine that many of them probably understand more than I do at this point. I feel that this thing blogged me down for too long. I am moving on while accepting that I still have much to learn and will need to re-visit this thing.