Using the Right Web Tool for the Job

Screenshot of my Linoit sticky

I've always been interested in tools. When I was little, my dad had a tool room near the back door by the garage. In fact, every house he ever lived in had a workbench with nails, nuts, washers, and drill bits neatly organized in baby food jars and in little plastic drawers. He had various saws and hammers hanging on the pegboard behind the bench. He was quite handy around the house and could build and fix almost anything. My mom also had a tool room of sorts. After my sisters moved out, she turned a spare bedroom into a sewing room. The closet that used to contain paisley blouses, bell bottoms, and mini-skirts, now housed boxes of buttons, bias tape, and patterns. Every tool had a specific job.

Until about a year ago, I was very intimidated by using technology and also by people who seemed to know a lot about technology. I think part of it was because I didn't really have a clear purpose for learning how to use document cameras, smart boards, or web tools. And there was a whole list of techie vocabulary words that I didn't understand. Then I got tired of feeling like I was in the dark and I just started to experiment. I started by creating a blog. In fact, I had a blog before I was ever on Face Book. Having a blog helped me to see a purpose for wanting to learn techie talk. Whenever I get intimidated by technology, I remember my dad's tool bench or my mom's sewing room. Technology and Apps are just tools, nothing more.

 And for me, I often figure things out by making mistakes. That's what happened to me the other day when I tried to use Wallwisher with  Google Docs. Wallwisher is a wonderful tool but it wasn't the right one for the job. I was trying to use a screwdriver to hammer a nail. Not very effective. Then someone told me about Linoit and I tried it. It seems to serve my purpose, at least for now.

Click on the cork board below and check out my Google Form I'm thinking about using as part of a conferring notebook. Post a sticky on my canvas (fancy name for a board) about your thinking. Additional links to resources for creating a digital conferring notebook are posted on the canvas. Do you have experiences with digital conferring notebooks? Post a link to your blog on my canvas or in a comment below. We'll see if this works. :)

Google Docs & Conferring