Comments...
Does the title really say Thing #23??? I did it, yeah me! (I feel like London from the Disney Channel show Zach and Cody, for any of you with younger children...) I knew I could do it, I just wasn't sure about fitting it into such a short time. But, alas, never underestimate the powers of a librarian!
My comments...
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
It is easier for me to list the ones that I didn't like so much such as Rollyo and Technorati. I see the use for them, but I don't see them becoming things that I would use often in my library. But, I would love to be proven wrong.
I loved the image generators, I love my blog and look forward to turning into more of a library tool. I love wikis and see them as powerful tools for anyone who uses them.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
It's given me the push to tackle new things! It is so easy to become content in what we know and are comfortable with. The program made me step out of my safe zone and try new technology related tools, an area that I do need to improve.
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
The network of people out there! I am not a social internet kind of person, so it was fun to see what other people do, create, and post on the internet via youtube or blogs.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Nothing!! It's great just the way it is... I
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Most definitely!! Just be sure to give a deadline so that I will complete it.
How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?
Insightful. I learned so much about the internet and its tools that I never knew before! Thank you SLL2.0 Team for creating a great learning experience that makes me more effective as a teacher - all for free! You are the best!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thing #22, Week 9
eBooks...
I am so impressed with LibriVox and the Gutenburg Project. What wonderful sites, there just to provide books to people with no strings attached. Although the Gutenburg site does ask for donations, the LibriVox site states that they do not need any money. They do ask for volunteers to read texts, something that I would love to do over summer when I have more free time. This is also something that I want to share with our ASB and AVID classes as a possible community service project for our seniors who always need ideas for service.
Teachers are like audio books, especially for the ESL students. Now, I can direct them to these sites and hope they find the text they are looking for. If not, it seems that there are plenty of other ebooks to download and listen to. Maybe the teachers would even consider recording a text for future use.
I never knew that there were so many free books available from sites like these. I had used Bartleby's before, but Gutenberg seems much more extensive in what they offer, and to have the audio portion as well, it seems like a librarian's dream come true!
I am so impressed with LibriVox and the Gutenburg Project. What wonderful sites, there just to provide books to people with no strings attached. Although the Gutenburg site does ask for donations, the LibriVox site states that they do not need any money. They do ask for volunteers to read texts, something that I would love to do over summer when I have more free time. This is also something that I want to share with our ASB and AVID classes as a possible community service project for our seniors who always need ideas for service.
Teachers are like audio books, especially for the ESL students. Now, I can direct them to these sites and hope they find the text they are looking for. If not, it seems that there are plenty of other ebooks to download and listen to. Maybe the teachers would even consider recording a text for future use.
I never knew that there were so many free books available from sites like these. I had used Bartleby's before, but Gutenberg seems much more extensive in what they offer, and to have the audio portion as well, it seems like a librarian's dream come true!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thing #21, Week 9
Podcasts...
I have an ipod but have never had listened to a podcast on it, mainly because I didn't know how it worked. Come to find out, it's really easy! I do have itunes on my computer, and I learned how to move a podcast into my library. Very cool.
I looked around podcastalley.com the most. It had a podcast that I wanted to subscribe to, a daily devotional by the pastor at our church, but the link didn't work (or it may be my crazy firewall at work like before!). I also found a teen literacy tips podcast/blog that had some good information that I added to my reader. The best podcast I found was the coffee break Spanish, where once a week they send out a 15 minute lesson to help listeners learn conversation skills. I always tell myself that I want to learn more Spanish, so I added this podcast to my rss reader and I am going to try and catch up on the program - once I am all done with my Things!
http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=40291
Adios...
I have an ipod but have never had listened to a podcast on it, mainly because I didn't know how it worked. Come to find out, it's really easy! I do have itunes on my computer, and I learned how to move a podcast into my library. Very cool.
I looked around podcastalley.com the most. It had a podcast that I wanted to subscribe to, a daily devotional by the pastor at our church, but the link didn't work (or it may be my crazy firewall at work like before!). I also found a teen literacy tips podcast/blog that had some good information that I added to my reader. The best podcast I found was the coffee break Spanish, where once a week they send out a 15 minute lesson to help listeners learn conversation skills. I always tell myself that I want to learn more Spanish, so I added this podcast to my rss reader and I am going to try and catch up on the program - once I am all done with my Things!
http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=40291
Adios...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thing #20, Week 9
Youtube...
Due to my facination with Perez Hilton, I am pretty familiar with youtube. He is constantly embedding videos from youtube onto his blog. I really like youtube overall as far as how easy it is to navigate and find a video you might be looking for. I had never seen the library dominoes before or Conan, so both of those were fun to see as part of this Thing.
One thing that I do not like about youtube are the comments left by others. The vulgarity of some posters really detracts from the site. The youtube that I am including is a montage of scenes from the last season of Beverly Hills 90210. Fans and foes of the show have strong feelings about the characters and the things they post can be offensive. That's the problem with public sites I suppose is that you cannot control what others post - which is why sites like this are blocked in my district.
Enjoy scenes from the last season of Beverly Hills 90210 with "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind! :o)
Due to my facination with Perez Hilton, I am pretty familiar with youtube. He is constantly embedding videos from youtube onto his blog. I really like youtube overall as far as how easy it is to navigate and find a video you might be looking for. I had never seen the library dominoes before or Conan, so both of those were fun to see as part of this Thing.
One thing that I do not like about youtube are the comments left by others. The vulgarity of some posters really detracts from the site. The youtube that I am including is a montage of scenes from the last season of Beverly Hills 90210. Fans and foes of the show have strong feelings about the characters and the things they post can be offensive. That's the problem with public sites I suppose is that you cannot control what others post - which is why sites like this are blocked in my district.
Enjoy scenes from the last season of Beverly Hills 90210 with "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind! :o)
Thing #19, Week 8
Library Thing...
I had touched on Library Thing a few weeks ago at the Southern Section Workshop but I wasn't sure how I could use such a tool. I found out soon after that our school was having our website redesigned and my lightbulb turned on. With the new website, I wanted to create a page for new books, but I couldn't add thumbnail covers. But, I can link Library Thing to my webpage and have the kids browse there. What a great tool!
They could also find book recommendations - which is a dream come true for me!! That is always the hardest thing - which I blame on memory loss from four pregnancies - is to recommend books along the same lines. I can usually remember characters or plot, but titles and authors seem to roll right out of my ears. Library Thing does all of the work for me - yeah!
I've added five of my favorites (that I could remember) from years past and present on my Library Thing. I plan on transforming it into a new book list in the days ahead so I can get it linked to our webpage. Kids always want to know what is new and now I have an easy way to direct them to these books. I also plan on passing this site onto a few of my book lover teachers so that they can catalog their home collections. How fun would that be!?!
I had touched on Library Thing a few weeks ago at the Southern Section Workshop but I wasn't sure how I could use such a tool. I found out soon after that our school was having our website redesigned and my lightbulb turned on. With the new website, I wanted to create a page for new books, but I couldn't add thumbnail covers. But, I can link Library Thing to my webpage and have the kids browse there. What a great tool!
They could also find book recommendations - which is a dream come true for me!! That is always the hardest thing - which I blame on memory loss from four pregnancies - is to recommend books along the same lines. I can usually remember characters or plot, but titles and authors seem to roll right out of my ears. Library Thing does all of the work for me - yeah!
I've added five of my favorites (that I could remember) from years past and present on my Library Thing. I plan on transforming it into a new book list in the days ahead so I can get it linked to our webpage. Kids always want to know what is new and now I have an easy way to direct them to these books. I also plan on passing this site onto a few of my book lover teachers so that they can catalog their home collections. How fun would that be!?!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thing #18, Week 8
Zoho Writer...
During a region workshop at REV in January, Becky Johnston showed us zoho and how to use it. At that time I set up an account and played with it a bunch. I knew instantly that this was something that would benefit my students. So many of them use MS Works at home then come to school and cannot open their files because they don't know to save it as a rtf document. By using zoho, they can access their work from any computer with internet access, work on it, save it, open it somewhere else and edit or print. Very cool!!
Of course when I got to school the following Monday I found that zoho was blocked. Again, it amazes me how many valuable sites are blocked for no apparent reason. Luckily, my IT guy is very good with opening sites that I request without any hassle. I know some districts will not open sites for any reason which I find ridiculous!
I like that zoho allows users to share documents similar to a wiki. This is obviously the way collaboration is going as more and more of us have less time to meet face to face to work on projects. It amazes me how many cool tools there are available on the web for free. There was a time when a program like zoho cost a pretty penny.
On a side note, the link from the SLL2.0 blog did not work for me. It came up as a bad site. I think they have changed the url since the blog was created. Maybe the powers that be can check on this and fix it for others working their way through the 23 Things.
5 more to go....
During a region workshop at REV in January, Becky Johnston showed us zoho and how to use it. At that time I set up an account and played with it a bunch. I knew instantly that this was something that would benefit my students. So many of them use MS Works at home then come to school and cannot open their files because they don't know to save it as a rtf document. By using zoho, they can access their work from any computer with internet access, work on it, save it, open it somewhere else and edit or print. Very cool!!
Of course when I got to school the following Monday I found that zoho was blocked. Again, it amazes me how many valuable sites are blocked for no apparent reason. Luckily, my IT guy is very good with opening sites that I request without any hassle. I know some districts will not open sites for any reason which I find ridiculous!
I like that zoho allows users to share documents similar to a wiki. This is obviously the way collaboration is going as more and more of us have less time to meet face to face to work on projects. It amazes me how many cool tools there are available on the web for free. There was a time when a program like zoho cost a pretty penny.
On a side note, the link from the SLL2.0 blog did not work for me. It came up as a bad site. I think they have changed the url since the blog was created. Maybe the powers that be can check on this and fix it for others working their way through the 23 Things.
5 more to go....
Thing #17, Week 7
Sandbox Wiki...
I posted in the sandbox and gave a link to my wiki that I mentioned in my last blog. It's great to give people a place to play and not worry about messing up any vital information. Even though edits can be recovered, those who are not too familiar might miss that point and stress - I know I would!!
I also looked at all the different ideas in the Cal Curriculum wiki for the different Web 2.0 tools. Such great ideas, I can't wait to start introducing them to my teachers and trying to get them incorporated into lessons. It is hard, though, to get teachers to try new things, especially at my site where our technology is at best "iffy". When you plan a class around technology only to find that the network is down again - it makes more enemies than friends needless to say.
I posted in the sandbox and gave a link to my wiki that I mentioned in my last blog. It's great to give people a place to play and not worry about messing up any vital information. Even though edits can be recovered, those who are not too familiar might miss that point and stress - I know I would!!
I also looked at all the different ideas in the Cal Curriculum wiki for the different Web 2.0 tools. Such great ideas, I can't wait to start introducing them to my teachers and trying to get them incorporated into lessons. It is hard, though, to get teachers to try new things, especially at my site where our technology is at best "iffy". When you plan a class around technology only to find that the network is down again - it makes more enemies than friends needless to say.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thing #16, Week 7
Wikis...
I know this Thing!!! I became familiar with wikis through a few different sources. The first was Marie Slim's wiki that she put together as part of her TA quasi-curriculum concurrent session at CSLA. Then, I checked out Heather Gruenthal's wiki after the conference that she put together about book genre displays. Then, Jane Lofton created a wiki that I got to use for the Southern Section Workshop.
I felt pretty good two weeks ago when the five high school librarians in my district were given the assignment of rewriting our library handbook. I offered to set up a wiki to help get our project started. Everyone has had a chance to work on their sections and they all seem to really like that we can add information at our convenience instead of trying to schedule a time for all of us to meet. Each of them have told me that they really like using the wiki, that it is very user friendly, and that it was a great idea to approach our handbook in this manner. Right now we are just compiling information for the handbook, but in a few weeks we will decide what we want in it. When that time comes, we can just print out the pages and go from there.
I love wikis!! Check mine out at http://libraryhandbook.pbwiki.com/ (password/key: cnusd).
I know this Thing!!! I became familiar with wikis through a few different sources. The first was Marie Slim's wiki that she put together as part of her TA quasi-curriculum concurrent session at CSLA. Then, I checked out Heather Gruenthal's wiki after the conference that she put together about book genre displays. Then, Jane Lofton created a wiki that I got to use for the Southern Section Workshop.
I felt pretty good two weeks ago when the five high school librarians in my district were given the assignment of rewriting our library handbook. I offered to set up a wiki to help get our project started. Everyone has had a chance to work on their sections and they all seem to really like that we can add information at our convenience instead of trying to schedule a time for all of us to meet. Each of them have told me that they really like using the wiki, that it is very user friendly, and that it was a great idea to approach our handbook in this manner. Right now we are just compiling information for the handbook, but in a few weeks we will decide what we want in it. When that time comes, we can just print out the pages and go from there.
I love wikis!! Check mine out at http://libraryhandbook.pbwiki.com/ (password/key: cnusd).
Thing #15, Week 6
The Future of Libraries...
I read three articles, and found the "Away from the 'iceberg'" article the most interesting and relevent to my library. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to reconsider the need for a huge print library. I have this problem now! It is impossible to plan and purchase books for student research when teacher assignments and standards change at the drop of a hat. I spend so much money on books that often just sit on the shelf because students would rather do their research using the Internet. That money would be better invested in purchasing technology that would support student learning in other areas.
I also agree that we need to focus our energy on showing patrons how to use information wisely and not spend so much time teaching research skills. The more savvy patrons are at navagating through technology, the easier it is for them to find the information they need. Over the years, I have taught students again and again how to open and use OPAC in the library. It seemed like they could never remember, or care to for that matter. We switched over to Destiny last year and the students seem to be able to use it so much easier. The interface resembles a webpage and it is web based, so it is in a format that they are comfortable with and want to use. The program is basically the same, but it is presented in a way that they prefer. Funny, huh.
The article ends with stating that we need to find ways to make our services more appealing to patrons so that they will want to visit the library. One of the other articles talked about making the library a place for people to come and be comfortable, and I have found that that is the biggest draw for my library. Students know that they can come in and have down time. They can put their heads down on a table and escape all of the noise and busy-ness of the school, or they can use computers to email friends or post on their blogs. They can come in and chat with me, pick up a magazine, or just listen to their ipods. It can be a techy place or a carefree place. I think the environment is so important for patrons, and the more comfortable they are in the library, the more that they will want to visit in their spare time.
The articles were interesting, although some were still over my head!! I am trying to become more adept at the 2.0 lingo, but I know there is still soooo much more for me to learn. I've added the website to my deli.cio.us so I can check back at a later date and reread some of the articles to see if they make more sense as learn more.
I read three articles, and found the "Away from the 'iceberg'" article the most interesting and relevent to my library. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to reconsider the need for a huge print library. I have this problem now! It is impossible to plan and purchase books for student research when teacher assignments and standards change at the drop of a hat. I spend so much money on books that often just sit on the shelf because students would rather do their research using the Internet. That money would be better invested in purchasing technology that would support student learning in other areas.
I also agree that we need to focus our energy on showing patrons how to use information wisely and not spend so much time teaching research skills. The more savvy patrons are at navagating through technology, the easier it is for them to find the information they need. Over the years, I have taught students again and again how to open and use OPAC in the library. It seemed like they could never remember, or care to for that matter. We switched over to Destiny last year and the students seem to be able to use it so much easier. The interface resembles a webpage and it is web based, so it is in a format that they are comfortable with and want to use. The program is basically the same, but it is presented in a way that they prefer. Funny, huh.
The article ends with stating that we need to find ways to make our services more appealing to patrons so that they will want to visit the library. One of the other articles talked about making the library a place for people to come and be comfortable, and I have found that that is the biggest draw for my library. Students know that they can come in and have down time. They can put their heads down on a table and escape all of the noise and busy-ness of the school, or they can use computers to email friends or post on their blogs. They can come in and chat with me, pick up a magazine, or just listen to their ipods. It can be a techy place or a carefree place. I think the environment is so important for patrons, and the more comfortable they are in the library, the more that they will want to visit in their spare time.
The articles were interesting, although some were still over my head!! I am trying to become more adept at the 2.0 lingo, but I know there is still soooo much more for me to learn. I've added the website to my deli.cio.us so I can check back at a later date and reread some of the articles to see if they make more sense as learn more.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thing #14, Week 6
Technorati...
Once again, I got caught up in the world of Web 2.0. It took me awhile to get used to the layout of Technorati for some reason. It didn't seem like a search engine for blogs to me but instead resembled some kind of corporate webpage, which I suppose it is. Once I found the search and advanced search options, I was able to complete the discovery exercises. I found that just searching for SLL2.0 in the search bar brought up blogs that had those words somewhere in the text, which wasn't what I wanted. Searching for SLL2.0 in the tags brought up all of the people who were blogging about the program and their Things. It seems that tags are the new search keywords.
Once I found my in, I started to read all of the blogs. It's so addictive that I think warning labels should be put in the SLL blog so people are forwarned! It's just neat to read what others think and what others find. I don't think I will do too much with Technorati as far as adding their tags to my blogs or their widget to my blog. It is once again a bombardment of information that I am not ready to put the time into yet! I saw at the bottom of the discovery exercises that a possible use of Technorati would be to search for election blogs. I'm not sure that my teachers are ready yet to accept blogs as sources of information in class. A starting point for discussions, maybe, but I don't think the kids will be searching blogs any time soon as part of a class assignment. I may be wrong, though!
Once again, I got caught up in the world of Web 2.0. It took me awhile to get used to the layout of Technorati for some reason. It didn't seem like a search engine for blogs to me but instead resembled some kind of corporate webpage, which I suppose it is. Once I found the search and advanced search options, I was able to complete the discovery exercises. I found that just searching for SLL2.0 in the search bar brought up blogs that had those words somewhere in the text, which wasn't what I wanted. Searching for SLL2.0 in the tags brought up all of the people who were blogging about the program and their Things. It seems that tags are the new search keywords.
Once I found my in, I started to read all of the blogs. It's so addictive that I think warning labels should be put in the SLL blog so people are forwarned! It's just neat to read what others think and what others find. I don't think I will do too much with Technorati as far as adding their tags to my blogs or their widget to my blog. It is once again a bombardment of information that I am not ready to put the time into yet! I saw at the bottom of the discovery exercises that a possible use of Technorati would be to search for election blogs. I'm not sure that my teachers are ready yet to accept blogs as sources of information in class. A starting point for discussions, maybe, but I don't think the kids will be searching blogs any time soon as part of a class assignment. I may be wrong, though!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thing #13, Week 6
Tagging and Del.icio.us...
I love del.icio.us! I think it is probably the best site as far as productivity that I have learned about yet - or at least tied with my rss reader, which I love. I can see the benefits of having your bookmarks available at any computer that you use. I signed up to be part of a network, although I haven't joined any people yet. I plan to spend some time looking at what others are bookmarking and join their lead.
I have a very hard time with tagging still. Being a librarian, I need the rules and set words for a subject. I noticed that people had all sorts of crazy tags on the onesentence.com and it drove me crazy. Can't everyone just catalog with Sears? I need to learn to think outside of the box and learn ways to find what I'm looking for beyond the traditional search words. I also need to learn to tag with more than just one word to open up my posts as well.
I love del.icio.us! I think it is probably the best site as far as productivity that I have learned about yet - or at least tied with my rss reader, which I love. I can see the benefits of having your bookmarks available at any computer that you use. I signed up to be part of a network, although I haven't joined any people yet. I plan to spend some time looking at what others are bookmarking and join their lead.
I have a very hard time with tagging still. Being a librarian, I need the rules and set words for a subject. I noticed that people had all sorts of crazy tags on the onesentence.com and it drove me crazy. Can't everyone just catalog with Sears? I need to learn to think outside of the box and learn ways to find what I'm looking for beyond the traditional search words. I also need to learn to tag with more than just one word to open up my posts as well.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thing #12, Week 5
Rollyo...
I set up my Rollyo account and tried to create a search roll for teen book reviews. There are several sites that I like to look at when I am working on book orders, such as teenreads.com, the Barnes and Noble teen page, YALSA, and a few others. I put them into a search roll, but it didn't quite work the way I wanted it to when I tested it out. It gave more information than I wanted really. I need to learn how to maybe narrow the search a bit. It definitely needs some tweaking. I found it to be very easy to set up and use though, and wonder how it compares to the Google Custom Search tool. I was really impressed with the Research Rollyo and would like to link that to my school webpage eventually (insert mental reminder here...).
I really like these applications for classes that come in to do research on a specific topic. It's a great way to focus their research to sites that are appproved by myself or their teacher as acceptable sources of information. On the other hand, it's just another way for us to do work for the students by previewing sites for them. We are involved in a huge debate at my site regarding how to teach students to examine websites for credibility. If we set up custom search engines, it will not require the students to use critical thinking skills and information literacy skills to evaluate websites. It is such an important skill for our kids to learn and I hate to send them out in the world lacking in yet another area!
Here's my Rollyo:
http://rollyo.com/norcohslibrary/teen_book_reviews/
If anyone can help me add the searchbar to my blog, I'd be grateful! :o)
I set up my Rollyo account and tried to create a search roll for teen book reviews. There are several sites that I like to look at when I am working on book orders, such as teenreads.com, the Barnes and Noble teen page, YALSA, and a few others. I put them into a search roll, but it didn't quite work the way I wanted it to when I tested it out. It gave more information than I wanted really. I need to learn how to maybe narrow the search a bit. It definitely needs some tweaking. I found it to be very easy to set up and use though, and wonder how it compares to the Google Custom Search tool. I was really impressed with the Research Rollyo and would like to link that to my school webpage eventually (insert mental reminder here...).
I really like these applications for classes that come in to do research on a specific topic. It's a great way to focus their research to sites that are appproved by myself or their teacher as acceptable sources of information. On the other hand, it's just another way for us to do work for the students by previewing sites for them. We are involved in a huge debate at my site regarding how to teach students to examine websites for credibility. If we set up custom search engines, it will not require the students to use critical thinking skills and information literacy skills to evaluate websites. It is such an important skill for our kids to learn and I hate to send them out in the world lacking in yet another area!
Here's my Rollyo:
http://rollyo.com/norcohslibrary/teen_book_reviews/
If anyone can help me add the searchbar to my blog, I'd be grateful! :o)
Thing #11, Week 5
Exploring Web 2.0 Award Winners...
I started with the short list of award winners, luckily, because I ended up spending way more time with this than I thought I would. Each site has so much to offer that it is hard to believe that most of them are free. I was familiar with several of the sites already, even before starting SLL 2.0. I didn't know before that they were considered tools as part of Web 2.0. I've used Craigslist before, I have used Flickr as part of SLL 2.0 and had heard of it before starting the Things, I of course had used Youtube, I have been a fan of zillow for quite awhile now, and I learned about Writeboard earlier this year at a workshop. It was neat to see how familiar with things I am - I felt smart and techy!
A new site that really sucked me in was Onesentence.com. I started with the first and couldn't stop myself! Instantly I thought this would be a great starting point for creative writing assignments or for reluctant readers who don't want to read a whole book (who has time for that!) but could get hooked on some of the one-liners.
I checked out Ning.com and found lots of communities for librarians - we sure are a social group! I am not able to join or look into communities from school, so this will be one that I explore more on my own. The TravelIQ site was down for maintenance, so I will also have to put that on my "to-do" list and revisit it at another time.
I've bookmarked to 2.0 Awards site so that I can spend more time checking out the winners at a later date (probably after April 1st!). Another fun learning experience that I plan on sharing with my colleagues.
I started with the short list of award winners, luckily, because I ended up spending way more time with this than I thought I would. Each site has so much to offer that it is hard to believe that most of them are free. I was familiar with several of the sites already, even before starting SLL 2.0. I didn't know before that they were considered tools as part of Web 2.0. I've used Craigslist before, I have used Flickr as part of SLL 2.0 and had heard of it before starting the Things, I of course had used Youtube, I have been a fan of zillow for quite awhile now, and I learned about Writeboard earlier this year at a workshop. It was neat to see how familiar with things I am - I felt smart and techy!
A new site that really sucked me in was Onesentence.com. I started with the first and couldn't stop myself! Instantly I thought this would be a great starting point for creative writing assignments or for reluctant readers who don't want to read a whole book (who has time for that!) but could get hooked on some of the one-liners.
I checked out Ning.com and found lots of communities for librarians - we sure are a social group! I am not able to join or look into communities from school, so this will be one that I explore more on my own. The TravelIQ site was down for maintenance, so I will also have to put that on my "to-do" list and revisit it at another time.
I've bookmarked to 2.0 Awards site so that I can spend more time checking out the winners at a later date (probably after April 1st!). Another fun learning experience that I plan on sharing with my colleagues.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Thing #10, Week 5
Online Image Generator...
These are soooo cool! I never knew that there was a way to edit text on images and that it was so easy. I have seen altered images but thought that people put them into a photoshop-type program and edited that way, which always seemed like a lot of work. Once I got onto imagechef.com I had a blast! It is incredibly easy and fun to alter images to use for other things. I created a pennant for my school's webpage and uploaded it within a minute. That's what I call being productive.
I also visited comicstripgenerator.com and was shocked at the number of images available. There really is every image you could imagine. So cool, so easy, so my style of doing things! :o)
Kids would love to create images with tools like these. There are limitless possibilites - which is good and bad! I could see them focusing more on the image and less on the assignment, which means a time limit on these sites might need to be implemented depending on the nature of the lesson. A great Thing to be sure, and I've already told any human within earshot about image chef and forced them to create an image of their own.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Thing #9, Week 4
Locating blogs and/or news feeds...
I started with bloglines to find some more blogs to add to my reader and right away found two blogs that I wanted to add. The first was calcurriculum, a site that I have heard about but never found on my own. This site is going to be great (not that it isn't already) as more of us CSLA people finish up SLL 2.0 and begin to add our lessons and ideas to the site. The second site I added from bloglines was Marie Slim's blog. I really like the layout of her blog and want to take some ideas from it (thanks in advance, Marie!).
I checked out syndic8.com first but found it a little overwhelming as a place to begin searching for news feeds. It had flags and lots of different search bars and it was visually too much for me. I am a simple gal who prefers simple pages typically. Google blog search found librarian.net, another site I have heard about through various postings on calibk12 but had never visited on my own. Now I have it linked to my reader. The first story that came up was 10 reasons the recession is good for our sex lives (#4 was a resurgence of library sex - not good for those of us in school settings!). Currently, I have four friends expecting babies, so I think there is scientific support of this theory. :o) This story made me laugh a little bit and I knew it would be a good fit in my google reader.
I also linked the SLL 2.0 site from the Google blog search and cut myself off there. I can only keep up with so much information at a time. I liked the search tools to find feeds. I'll add these to del.ici.o.us when I get to that Thing.
I started with bloglines to find some more blogs to add to my reader and right away found two blogs that I wanted to add. The first was calcurriculum, a site that I have heard about but never found on my own. This site is going to be great (not that it isn't already) as more of us CSLA people finish up SLL 2.0 and begin to add our lessons and ideas to the site. The second site I added from bloglines was Marie Slim's blog. I really like the layout of her blog and want to take some ideas from it (thanks in advance, Marie!).
I checked out syndic8.com first but found it a little overwhelming as a place to begin searching for news feeds. It had flags and lots of different search bars and it was visually too much for me. I am a simple gal who prefers simple pages typically. Google blog search found librarian.net, another site I have heard about through various postings on calibk12 but had never visited on my own. Now I have it linked to my reader. The first story that came up was 10 reasons the recession is good for our sex lives (#4 was a resurgence of library sex - not good for those of us in school settings!). Currently, I have four friends expecting babies, so I think there is scientific support of this theory. :o) This story made me laugh a little bit and I knew it would be a good fit in my google reader.
I also linked the SLL 2.0 site from the Google blog search and cut myself off there. I can only keep up with so much information at a time. I liked the search tools to find feeds. I'll add these to del.ici.o.us when I get to that Thing.
Thing #8, Week 4
RSS Feeds...
I chose to set up google reader for my aggregator mainly because it is one less password that I have to remember. I saw Marie access her google reader at the Southern Section workshop a few weekends ago and wondered what it was and I had seen the RSS symbol on many sites, including our new school website. Now I know what it means and how to use it.
I linked to my five RSS feeds... Foxnews, Unshelved, Librarian's Guide to Etiquette, Scrapbook Ideas, and Perez Hilton (my secret vice!). It's great to see all of the new stories updated in such a quick to view screen instead of going site by site to find new stories. It's another way to sort and organize all of the information we have coming at us so fast and furious.
I'm not sure how to use RSS Feeds for my students. I could see maybe AVID/College bound students linking to school sites for updated information or to the FAFSA site if it does RSS Feeds. I'll have to ponder ways to use this more with the general population or I would love to hear ideas from other librarians on how they use this tool with students.
I'm sure I will be adding many more RSS feeds to my reader very soon. I am anxious to play with it more and streamline it so that it becomes as second nature as email and blogging! :o)
I chose to set up google reader for my aggregator mainly because it is one less password that I have to remember. I saw Marie access her google reader at the Southern Section workshop a few weekends ago and wondered what it was and I had seen the RSS symbol on many sites, including our new school website. Now I know what it means and how to use it.
I linked to my five RSS feeds... Foxnews, Unshelved, Librarian's Guide to Etiquette, Scrapbook Ideas, and Perez Hilton (my secret vice!). It's great to see all of the new stories updated in such a quick to view screen instead of going site by site to find new stories. It's another way to sort and organize all of the information we have coming at us so fast and furious.
I'm not sure how to use RSS Feeds for my students. I could see maybe AVID/College bound students linking to school sites for updated information or to the FAFSA site if it does RSS Feeds. I'll have to ponder ways to use this more with the general population or I would love to hear ideas from other librarians on how they use this tool with students.
I'm sure I will be adding many more RSS feeds to my reader very soon. I am anxious to play with it more and streamline it so that it becomes as second nature as email and blogging! :o)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thing #7, Week 3
Technology Thoughts...
(Note to self - click on orange publish post button, not blue save now button!)
Okay, here is round two on my thoughts about technology. I did this once this morning but clicked save now and cannot find the post anywhere! I began my last post saying that most of my thoughts on technology contain words I shouldn't use at school and then this blog goes and proves my point! Technology can be a source of lots of frustration for me, but I do understand the need for technology and the need for me to understand it so that I can do my job better and be more efficient when helping students and teachers.
My favorite technology device is by far my digital camera. I love that I can take a picture and see it instantly, save hundreds of pictures on a little memory card, print pictures immediately at home, download pictures, order prints and have them mailed to my house without ever having to leave home. How cool is that!?! I'm on my second digital camera and often find myself wishing harm to it so that I can upgrade to the newest model that I know I need.
I'm learning quite a bit about ipods now. My daughter received an ipod for her birthday last year, then I purchased one for myself and my husband later in the year. I've set up playlists for each of us, downloaded music from CD's and itunes, and even figured out my daughter's idog. I want to learn to use my ipod more for podcasts and other things that I don't even know about yet. You can't find a kid on campus with some sort of mp3 player attached to their body and I know it is a piece of technology that isn't going to go away any time soon.
Our school just contracted out for a new website and I am very excited to work on that and create a funtional and informative library page. Websites are so powerful and I want to make mine a tool for students, parents and teachers alike. Our site is at www.norcohs.org, so if you have any suggestions on what I should add to my site, I'd love to hear from you. I want it to be fabulous and love the fact that it is easy to create.
My kids just got a new Wii and it is so fun. I have never been much of a video game person, but this is so fun and addictive! It amazes me so much and I've only played it a few times with them. This will be a fun piece of technology in our house that I look forward to learning more about.
Now I'm off to find another person's blog to comment on so that I can cross Thing #7 off of my list. Thanks to those of you who comment on mine... it's nice to know that there are people out there somewhere!
(Note to self - click on orange publish post button, not blue save now button!)
Okay, here is round two on my thoughts about technology. I did this once this morning but clicked save now and cannot find the post anywhere! I began my last post saying that most of my thoughts on technology contain words I shouldn't use at school and then this blog goes and proves my point! Technology can be a source of lots of frustration for me, but I do understand the need for technology and the need for me to understand it so that I can do my job better and be more efficient when helping students and teachers.
My favorite technology device is by far my digital camera. I love that I can take a picture and see it instantly, save hundreds of pictures on a little memory card, print pictures immediately at home, download pictures, order prints and have them mailed to my house without ever having to leave home. How cool is that!?! I'm on my second digital camera and often find myself wishing harm to it so that I can upgrade to the newest model that I know I need.
I'm learning quite a bit about ipods now. My daughter received an ipod for her birthday last year, then I purchased one for myself and my husband later in the year. I've set up playlists for each of us, downloaded music from CD's and itunes, and even figured out my daughter's idog. I want to learn to use my ipod more for podcasts and other things that I don't even know about yet. You can't find a kid on campus with some sort of mp3 player attached to their body and I know it is a piece of technology that isn't going to go away any time soon.
Our school just contracted out for a new website and I am very excited to work on that and create a funtional and informative library page. Websites are so powerful and I want to make mine a tool for students, parents and teachers alike. Our site is at www.norcohs.org, so if you have any suggestions on what I should add to my site, I'd love to hear from you. I want it to be fabulous and love the fact that it is easy to create.
My kids just got a new Wii and it is so fun. I have never been much of a video game person, but this is so fun and addictive! It amazes me so much and I've only played it a few times with them. This will be a fun piece of technology in our house that I look forward to learning more about.
Now I'm off to find another person's blog to comment on so that I can cross Thing #7 off of my list. Thanks to those of you who comment on mine... it's nice to know that there are people out there somewhere!
Thing #6, Week 3
Trading Card...
I'm back after a hectic end of the week and ever so busy weekend. I started playing with the mashups last week, looking at mappr and reading the entry on Wikipedia. I'm not sure that I completely understand at this point, but it is something that I will continue to browse.
I did create a trading card and found it to be very easy and kind of fun. I looked at a couple of the others on Flickr and used some ideas from others to create mine. I could totally see how these could be used by classes coming into the library and the kids enjoying creating cards of their own. Our senior language arts classes could create trading cards for the pilgrims in Canterbury Tales or biology classes could create cards for micro organisms. Lots of possibilites!
I'm back after a hectic end of the week and ever so busy weekend. I started playing with the mashups last week, looking at mappr and reading the entry on Wikipedia. I'm not sure that I completely understand at this point, but it is something that I will continue to browse.
I did create a trading card and found it to be very easy and kind of fun. I looked at a couple of the others on Flickr and used some ideas from others to create mine. I could totally see how these could be used by classes coming into the library and the kids enjoying creating cards of their own. Our senior language arts classes could create trading cards for the pilgrims in Canterbury Tales or biology classes could create cards for micro organisms. Lots of possibilites!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Thing #5, Week 3
Flickr.com
Flickr is something that I have been meaning to do more with but just have never gotten around to it. I love creating bulletin boards in the library - it soothes my inner scrapbooker - and had attended Heather Gruenthal's session at the conference last year on bulletin board ideas. She invited me to post some of my boards in her group on Flickr, but I never got around to it. Now I have a little more understanding of the site, I have an account, and I have pictures. There's no stopping me now!
I had a little trouble getting my pictures on Flickr yesterday due to the fact that our district won't allow us to upload images. So once I had time last night I posted some pictures of my bulletin boards, some of cool library art, and one of my kids.
Cool library art from a hotel in Sonoma. I wanted the artist's name, but the hotel didn't have the information anymore. :o(
My bulletin board for Read Across America Day. Although I'm in a high school, the kids took the Seuss books (borrowed from my kids) down nearly every day and read them.
The stuffed animals came from Kohl's and were a deal at $5 each!
My Kids: Kristen (3), Lauren (4), Allison (7), and Nathan (6)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Thing #4, Week 2
Blog Registration...
I have officially registered for Winter Fun 2.0 with +/- 29 days to complete the remaining 19 Things. Wish me luck...
I have officially registered for Winter Fun 2.0 with +/- 29 days to complete the remaining 19 Things. Wish me luck...
Thing #3, Week 2
Blog and Avatar...
I had actually set up my blog several weeks ago at the CSLA SS Region 6 Workshop at Redlands East Valley High School. Becky Johnston presented on zoho and writeboard and as I sat next to Jim Duke, he shared his cool blog that he had set up through google. I set up my account and the preliminary blog but had not done anything with it in the past month. Now, I look forward to adding some new posts and making it into something fun and informative.
I also had an avatar before starting the 23 Things. I have had yahoo mail for years and recently set up two email accounts for my kids. They discovered the avatars and made a nice bunny head for me last Easter. It took me awhile last night to figure out how to make my avatar a little more human-like and add it to my blog. And after many protests from my three year old who wanted to give my avatar a purple mohawk and a football (a strange combination from a girl...) I have created one that could pass as me - if you are standing 50 yards away and squinting!
So, I have blogged and I have an avatar - watch out Web 2.0... here I come!
I had actually set up my blog several weeks ago at the CSLA SS Region 6 Workshop at Redlands East Valley High School. Becky Johnston presented on zoho and writeboard and as I sat next to Jim Duke, he shared his cool blog that he had set up through google. I set up my account and the preliminary blog but had not done anything with it in the past month. Now, I look forward to adding some new posts and making it into something fun and informative.
I also had an avatar before starting the 23 Things. I have had yahoo mail for years and recently set up two email accounts for my kids. They discovered the avatars and made a nice bunny head for me last Easter. It took me awhile last night to figure out how to make my avatar a little more human-like and add it to my blog. And after many protests from my three year old who wanted to give my avatar a purple mohawk and a football (a strange combination from a girl...) I have created one that could pass as me - if you are standing 50 yards away and squinting!
So, I have blogged and I have an avatar - watch out Web 2.0... here I come!
Thing #2, Week 1
Life Long Learning...
For only a 14 minute slideshow, it took over an hour for me to finish the presentation on the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. That brings me to the habit that I need to work on, viewing problems as challenges. My biggest challenge with any goal I have is time. Life is busy for all of us and I tend to put myself last and move everything else up to the front. I need to see that finishing the 23 things would be a great benefit to others around me, not just something for myself and I need to make time each day to work on the program.
The habit that comes easiest for me is having confidence in myself as a learner. I know I can do something if I put my mind to it. It is all of those other things (ie challenges) that get in the way of actually completing a goal.
I think the most important habit on the list is teaching/mentoring others. It is often said that you learn best when you teach others and that is so true for me. I look forward to being able to share with others around me all of the cool tricks that are a part of Web 2.0 and increase my learning along the way.
For only a 14 minute slideshow, it took over an hour for me to finish the presentation on the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. That brings me to the habit that I need to work on, viewing problems as challenges. My biggest challenge with any goal I have is time. Life is busy for all of us and I tend to put myself last and move everything else up to the front. I need to see that finishing the 23 things would be a great benefit to others around me, not just something for myself and I need to make time each day to work on the program.
The habit that comes easiest for me is having confidence in myself as a learner. I know I can do something if I put my mind to it. It is all of those other things (ie challenges) that get in the way of actually completing a goal.
I think the most important habit on the list is teaching/mentoring others. It is often said that you learn best when you teach others and that is so true for me. I look forward to being able to share with others around me all of the cool tricks that are a part of Web 2.0 and increase my learning along the way.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Let the 23 Things begin...
After the great CSLA southern section workshop on Saturday, I am determined to finish the 23 things before April 1st. Marie and Janet were both so encouraging and really stressed the benefits of completing the program and I know it is something I cannot postpone any longer. So without any further ado, here come my 23 things...
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