Social Networking

I have really enjoyed learning more about wiki's, delicious and blogs so far in the online class. I had previously (over a year ago) set up a delicious account to bookmark my favorite web pages. I saved several websites to my account and then I'm not sure why, but I lost track of it! So it was nice to use this class as a way to explore delicious again and add new bookmarks to it.
I had also previously signed up for a wiki to use in chemistry. However, once again, I never came up with an effective way of using it in the classroom. After discussing my struggles with a colleague, they were able to help me with ideas of how to use a wiki in class. The wiki that I have created I plan to use with my Crime Lab class this semester. I plan to assign different groups of students a topic that we will cover throughout the semester. Each group is then responsible to find references, diagrams, examples, etc of their topic. For example, the group in charge of fingerprinting will add images or references that are used to identify the different patterns on fingerprints. They can also link articles dealing with the subject that will help future students in my Crime Lab class.
As far as blogging goes, I have used this blog for reflecting on my lesson plans in the past. It was difficult for me to reflect on my teaching in such a public way, but I have seen the advantages. I am always searching online for new ideas to use in class or activities that I can modify, so hopefully other teachers can benefit from my blog.