As I commenced my navigation through the online presentations in the 2008 K12 Online Conference under Getting Started, I had no idea where to start but I knew I wanted to gain more knowledge and understanding on tagging and how to better utilize it in such areas as storing photos online and bookmarking important and pertinent websites. As I scrolled down the page and came upon Chris Betcher’s presentation on tagging and folksonomies, I became very excited. I developed even more elation as I listened to the presentation and wrote many important “bits of information” in my journal.
Chris did a wonderful job in conveying the importance of tagging across many websites, including using words that “make sense to you” when storing and attempting to find photos, bookmarking important websites for future use, and utilizing blog search engines. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Chris’s explanation of “tag cloud” and how patterns start to emerge when many tag words are assimilated. I was amazed as I watched many of his important tags come together and form a creative “tag cloud” by utilizing Wordle. I was also in awe of a “tag cloud” where it showed the important words being used by all of the United States presidents in various important speeches given during their presidencies. These tag clouds ventured all the way back from John Adams’s “Foundation of Government” speech to the State of the Union Address given by George W. Bush in 2007. What an amazing and creative way to show what was important during each time period of our nation’s history. I will definitely utilize this “tag cloud” website in my classroom.
