Friday, July 30, 2010

How I Use iGoogle

Earlier this week in the Facilitating Online 2010 course Sarah Stewart talked about how she uses her iGoogle page to stay organized and up to date on new posts from the FO2010 crew. She also asked if any of the participants used iGoogle and if we could share how we use it.

I created the following video on how I use iGoogle using Screenr and then published it to my YouTube channel. Here's the link to the video in case it is not showing up for you. I use iGoogle a lot. It is my own personal dashboard. I hope you get a sense of how useful I find it from my short (2:16) video.



This is my first time using Screenr. So far I have been pleased with it. It was easy to set up and easy to use. I haven't done a lot of screencasts before, but I liked using Screenr better than Jing (though Jing allows for screenshots, while Screenr does not). That's one thing I enjoy about taking a course like this; it encourages me to stretch my thinking and to try out new tools.

The Wrap Up
Do you use iGoogle? What are some of the differences in the way you use it? If you don't use iGoogle (or a similar tool) please feel free to ask questions about it in the comments.
Cheers!

6 comments:

  1. I prefer Screenr...I have never got the hang of using Jing for video...I always have problems storing the video after I have made it.

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  2. @Sarah, yes, Jing is definitely not as seemless as Screenr. I look forward to using Screenr again--I have lots of little screencasts I need to create for my online courses.

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  3. Thanks so much, Claire. I've made some notes as you were talking and will see what I can do with organizing:
    TASKS
    GOOGLE READER with folders for different interests
    NEW TABS if I have too much on one page.

    Do you just leave yourself signed in all the time or do your re-sign in each time? Gloria Lemay, Vancouver BC

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  4. Hi Gloria,
    I'm glad that you found the screencast useful :-) Because the computers I use at home are shared with the rest of my family, I do sign in each time I'm on the computer. If I had a computer that I was the only one using I think I would just stay signed on.

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  5. Hi Claire,
    I haven't used Screenr before. Do you need to have a Youtube channel to upload your videos to or is that the easier way to keep your content organized and accessible online?

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  6. Hi Errin,
    You do not have to have a YouTube account to use Screenr--you just have to have a Twitter account. They have a very easy way to upload to YouTube so I chose to do that so that I have a copy there and because I find it easy to deal with embedding YouTube vids.
    Cheers!

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