Pandora - saving my sanity

For this Web 2.0 I created a personalized radio station. Pandora is my new best friend at work. It was incredibly easy to set up. All you need to do is create an account (30 seconds) and type in your favorite songs or artists. Pandora will create different "stations" based upon your interests. There are no commercials, it's free, and it's all your favorite music. During my free periods I can now enjoy grading or planning to music. I've had many students create their own stations on my account, so as an incentive I can allow students to listen to music during class (when appropriate), and they really do enjoy sharing their interests with the class. For my first web 2.0 assignment I created a MySpace account. I had the intention of using it to as a teacher tool. After creating and understanding MySpace, I do not think this would be an appropriate form of communication. Students convey personal information and utilize their right to freedom of expression on the internet. I felt that, in a sense, I would be "crashing their party". Orlando made a great point during his visit. If we choose to use new forms of literacy, we should aim at allowing it to belong to the students. Anyway, with Pandora I think it's a genuine new literacy. I'm engaging with new technology in expressing my own interests, and my students can create as well!