Tag You’re It!

Well, I started just using tags that consisted of the Web2.0 tools we had discussed, investigated, or researched as I worked at home.  I then realized that I could start tagging things when I worked at school since I can log in at any computer.  The only downfall is that my computer at school is frozen so I cannot download the toolbar so I just use the sidebar option and that has worked out pretty well.  (I do plan to have my IT person install the toolbar for me eventually I just haven’t put in the order yet.)  I usually use at least two or three tags for each site depending on what it covers or offers.  I didn’t really use synonyms and most times descriptor tags showed up for me.  Once I started investigating other people’s tags I got ideas for tagging my sites.  I have now decided that when I research and tag sites for math lessons or activities I am going to add the high school tag.  This is because when I am searching other people’s tags it is a bummer that I don’t know what types of math lessons are available (elementary vs. middle school vs. high school).  I also really loved the annotations that people used.  I never really thought of doing that until I saw how they worked for other people.  I like how people just gave a quick summary or use for the site.  This can allow you to easily browse the sites and get to the ones that apply the best to what you are looking for.  Right now the sites that I am adding are fresh in my mind, but months or years from now it would be nice to have those summaries so I don’t have to go to the actual site to see why I tagged it.  I plan on going back and annotating my sites during spring break. 

I am now branching out my bookmarking and tagging for mathematics based sites and personal websites.  It really comes in handy when I come across something that I really like I know that I can tag it and I will never have to worry about forgetting where I found it.  I have been really consistent with my tagging that kind of goes with my obsessive compulsive personality.  My brain is just organized that way!  If I were teaching tags to students I would tell them to use tags as a way to identify the main purpose/ideas of the site.  I would almost go about it the same way I would have students organize their folders.  The tags that seem to be the most popular for me would be technology (not just because of this course), resource, and math.