Adding to My Ever-Expanding Web 2.0 Toolbox

I used to consider myself relatively well-versed in the use of tech tools. I mean, I send/receive 100 emails a day, work at a virtual school, participate in web conferences, IM, text, have 5 pages of apps on my iPhone (although I still have a 3GS and Apple is introducing the iPhone 5 today), and I even have a Facebook account. However, I am beginning to realize that when it comes to Web 2.0, I don't even know enough to know what I don't know yet. Part of the problem is that before I can catch up on the latest new thing, something newer is being invented. Another challenge for me has been that even the tools I am more or less familiar with have additional features and benefits that I haven't fully explored yet.
Some examples from this past week:

RSS Feeds
I set up an RSS Feed in Outlook about a year ago at the suggestion of my school principal to track news reports related to some virtual school bills that were making their way through the state legislature. Articles were delivered right to my inbox and I was able to keep up with the latest developments. I was able to take advantage of this tool even though I didn't fully understand how it worked.
This week I did a deeper dive into what RSS Feeds are, how they work and the benefits of using them. I set up a Google Reader account and in a few minutes, my aggregator was loaded with useful and interesting websites, new articles and blogs. This information would have taken my hours to accumulate if I had to search each site and I most certainly would have missed something. I am still a novice at using RSS Feeds but I am confident my skill level will improve and I will continue to discover more features that will make this technology even more useful. Will Richardson in his book Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts regards utilizing RSS Feeds to manage web content as a must-have skill for educators and students and know I can see why.

Photo Sharing
Photo Sharing is another Web 2.0 tool that is not new to me, but one that I discovered new applications and features for this week. Professionally, I have shared photos on Snapfish and Flickr many times. This works well in a virtual school where students are geographically separated from one another. I was able to upload pictures from prom and graduation for example, email the link and password to a closed Snapfish account and allow families to copy or print photos from those events. We have a link to our Flickr page on our school web page so that visitors or prospective new families can see some of the things we are doing. Personally, I have been known to share photos on Facebook (much to my daughter's chagrin), but creating an account on Flickr allows me to back up all my digital photos and share them with friends and family (even those who are not on Facebook). I also had no idea that I could link my Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and Blogger accounts together and share digital media across platforms. I'm sure I have only scratched the surface here as well.