My favorite discoveries were Library Thing, Edublogs, the Online Image Generators, the Wikis, the Teacher Librarian Ning, WorldCat, and Photostory.
I can see I need to spend a lot more time on the web to keep with the tools my students and colleagues are using. I always thought reading books, searching for web sites, and scouring SLJ and other periodicals for reviews were my primary homework. I was wrong. Actually examining the blogs, wikis, and nings can cut down on time spent searching for web sites and reviews. Why reinvent the wheel?
The thing that surprised me is how these tools could make such a difference for me professionally speaking as a librarian, for students, and for distance learning.
If you could poll people about how much actual time they spent completing the Things, I think that would help people plan better for completing the project.
Advise people to come up with an alias and a discardable email address in the beginning if they or their family like to keep information private. Also advise them they will be downloading several different programs to their comuter and registering with a number of sites.
I would like to participate in a program like this which offered staff development credit, especially if I had plenty of time to complete it online, at my own pace.
Libray2Play -- it will overwhelm, excite, and inspire you!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thing #22
I enjoyed Texas School Librarians Ning and went searching for some faces I haven't seen in awhile. I will probably join it even though I've been exiled to Alabama because there is just so much happening with Texas librarians and I don't want to be left behind.
There are forums, groups to join, shared photos and videos, and gadgets to use. One librarian, Carol Simpson, was not sure how long she would stay in this site because "it is just one more place to keep up with." I can see her point, but among a group who has shared interests, problems, and friends,I can see the usefulness of being able to communicate quickly or being able to look someone up who you know can answer your question.
Teacher Librarian Ning seems a little more sophisticated than the Texas Ning, and I will join it as well. I even saw some lights in Alabama so maybe I can meet a few more librarians around here. I enjoyed the SLJ news posts, the forums, and the podcasts.
Nings appear to be an excellent way for different groups (families, classmates, professionals, etc.) to discuss issues and keep track of important news, polls, links, forums, images, etc.
There are forums, groups to join, shared photos and videos, and gadgets to use. One librarian, Carol Simpson, was not sure how long she would stay in this site because "it is just one more place to keep up with." I can see her point, but among a group who has shared interests, problems, and friends,I can see the usefulness of being able to communicate quickly or being able to look someone up who you know can answer your question.
Teacher Librarian Ning seems a little more sophisticated than the Texas Ning, and I will join it as well. I even saw some lights in Alabama so maybe I can meet a few more librarians around here. I enjoyed the SLJ news posts, the forums, and the podcasts.
Nings appear to be an excellent way for different groups (families, classmates, professionals, etc.) to discuss issues and keep track of important news, polls, links, forums, images, etc.
Thing #19
WorldCat is a 2.0 type of library catalog produced by OCLC. It uses a FRBR structure to impose order on books and materials. FRBR is a structure which brings cataloging into the 21st century with the concept of using relational databases rather than the traditional 3 card catalog access points.
Patrons including librarians can look at WorldCat and see for one entry (i.e. The Giver), in an instant, all the different authors, formats (Braille, paperback, Internet resources), language, audience, content, and years the book was published. It also breaks down how many theses and dissertations were associated with this book. After you find the resource you're looking for, WorldCat will find it in the libraries closest to you or give you a link to buy it at Amazon, or allow you to preview it through Google Books. WorldCat also links you to Delicious, Facebook, Furl, and many other bookmarking and social networking sites so you can tell others about your great find.
When a teacher needs an unfamiliar resource and is not sure where to start looking, WorldCat would be the place to go. Junior High and High School students could benefit from this tool as well since they have more mobility to look for resources outside their local school library and would be more likely to use Interlibrary Loan. I am definitely bookmarking WorldCat. No more going from library site to library site to find what I need. . . .
Patrons including librarians can look at WorldCat and see for one entry (i.e. The Giver), in an instant, all the different authors, formats (Braille, paperback, Internet resources), language, audience, content, and years the book was published. It also breaks down how many theses and dissertations were associated with this book. After you find the resource you're looking for, WorldCat will find it in the libraries closest to you or give you a link to buy it at Amazon, or allow you to preview it through Google Books. WorldCat also links you to Delicious, Facebook, Furl, and many other bookmarking and social networking sites so you can tell others about your great find.
When a teacher needs an unfamiliar resource and is not sure where to start looking, WorldCat would be the place to go. Junior High and High School students could benefit from this tool as well since they have more mobility to look for resources outside their local school library and would be more likely to use Interlibrary Loan. I am definitely bookmarking WorldCat. No more going from library site to library site to find what I need. . . .
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Thing #20
I went to YouTube and searched for videos for libraries. I have included a library video here.
I also went to TeacherTube and searched their website. I have included an astronomy video here.
I think that having access to the free material posted on YouTube, TeacherTube, and other related websites is great. I can see where I would be able to use these videos in my library for teaching students and increasing my knowledge on other subjects.
I also went to TeacherTube and searched their website. I have included an astronomy video here.
I think that having access to the free material posted on YouTube, TeacherTube, and other related websites is great. I can see where I would be able to use these videos in my library for teaching students and increasing my knowledge on other subjects.
Thing #16
I am a list maker and I loved the lists on the very first wiki, the teacherlibrarian wiki. I like how people can leave personal comments about how to use different books because after 14 years of teaching and librarying, I tend to forget about some books I have used in the past or rediscover how someone else is using them.
I think wikis would be an invaluable tool for any kinds of group: class, faculty, librarians, electricians, etc. I would want to protect a wiki from people who might intentionally destroy good information by putting a password on it. Maybe I am too paranoid; I don't suppose most people have time to read everyone else's wiki.
I think wikis would be an invaluable tool for any kinds of group: class, faculty, librarians, electricians, etc. I would want to protect a wiki from people who might intentionally destroy good information by putting a password on it. Maybe I am too paranoid; I don't suppose most people have time to read everyone else's wiki.
Thing #21
I used Microsoft's PhotoStory 3 to make my podcast. I was able to install the software very quickly. PhotoStory worked well with my computer and webcam. It edited my photos for me. Creating the storyline was very intuitive and I was able to finish a simple podcast in about 5 minutes. This tool would come in handy in the library. I could create podcasts for kids about any number of subjects. I could also create instructions for staff or volunteers.
Thing #18
OpenOffice provides a free office suite similar to Microsoft Office. The tools are presented in much the same way as Office. At home and at work, I use Microsoft Office 2003. I found that the OpenOffice tools work much the same. I believe the main difference between the two involves open source versus for-fee. I believe this difference is important to a large organization, such as a school. For example, open source software is supported by a volunteer user community. If the school were to need technical support, it would have to contact the supporting organization, request help, and wait for a response. On the other hand, Microsoft provides on-demand technical support. Of course, it comes at a price. I think that open source would work well in a more limited setting where technical support is not so critical.
Thing #15
Okay, I'm a more than a little worried after reading OCLC's article. Pretty soon patrons will be searching for a super librarian rather than books? Since I started my MLS, my husband has always questioned whether there will be libraries in the future, and I'm starting to wonder if he wasn't right. My mantra has always been, "You don't learn to love reading from a computer. You learn to love reading from books." However kids love computers too. So I suppose I had better embrace Libray 2.0 before it leaves me in the dust.
For my elementary school library, I see Library 2.0 starting slowly and picking up speed year after year. I would like to start a book club with older students and show them how to use Google Calendar and a blog to talk about our book. When the time comes to pick new library automation software, I would want to choose one with lots of 2.0 features (tags, clouds, reader feedback) like Aquabrowser. I would begin saving bookmarks for different teachers' classes in Delicious and show them how to use it. I will post an avatar of myself on the library web page and show students how to do the same. I will create my own library with Library Thing and show teachers and students how to do the same. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I might start my own blog of children's and YA literature.
For my elementary school library, I see Library 2.0 starting slowly and picking up speed year after year. I would like to start a book club with older students and show them how to use Google Calendar and a blog to talk about our book. When the time comes to pick new library automation software, I would want to choose one with lots of 2.0 features (tags, clouds, reader feedback) like Aquabrowser. I would begin saving bookmarks for different teachers' classes in Delicious and show them how to use it. I will post an avatar of myself on the library web page and show students how to do the same. I will create my own library with Library Thing and show teachers and students how to do the same. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I might start my own blog of children's and YA literature.
Thing #17
I created a Searchroll for young adult literature. Here is the link to my Searchroll.
http://rollyo.com/padgettj/my_yaliterature/
I think that Searchrolls in the library would prevent students from going to web sites that include irrelevant or harmful material. By including URLs for the web sites that you want to use, you help your student focus in on the most important subject material. Keywords also help limit the search and lead the student to the desired information much quicker.
http://rollyo.com/padgettj/my_yaliterature/
I think that Searchrolls in the library would prevent students from going to web sites that include irrelevant or harmful material. By including URLs for the web sites that you want to use, you help your student focus in on the most important subject material. Keywords also help limit the search and lead the student to the desired information much quicker.
Thing #14
Searches on Technorati
My keyword search for the words "School Library Learning 2.0" returned 406 posts. Most were not related to the subject matter and were not informative. Next, I entered a keyword search for the exact phrase "School Library Learning 2.0" and it returned 24 posts. Several of the posts focused on Thing #14 and showed others' experiences working with the search tool. A tag search returned 8 posts tagged with the words "School Library Learning 2.0". Of these, only one was relevant to the actual topic.
I entered a keyword search of the blog directory, which returned 375 blog posts about "School Library Learning 2.0". Most of the posts concerned general topics associated with the terms school, library, and learning. A few of the posts were related to the phrase "School Library Learning 2.0". These posts concerned experiences of others as they completed Thing #1, Thing #2, and so forth.
Popular blog, searches, and tags
My review of the Blogs revealed that news, technology, and curiosities are considered most popular to Technorati.com users. Ariana Huffington's website, The Huffington Post was the most popular news blog. I thought this surprising because other internet news outlets did not rate as favorably in Technorati.com. However, these outlets are far more popular with the general public. For example, news web sites such as DrudgeReport.com, FoxNews.com, and CNN.com garner high ratings based on the internet traffic they generate, while The Huffington Post rates much lower.
My review of the Searches revealed a slightly different list of subjects considered popular by the Technorati.com user community. Searches were focused on the environment, news, celebrities, and technology. A review of the posts under "Environment" revealed a collection of blogs associated with iPhones, computer hardware, light pollution, Dell's financial performance, endangered gorillas, and so forth. These results demonstrate the same inconsistency exhibited by the tag search (see 1 above).
A review of the Tags indicated that news, politics, technology, video, and music were the most popular. These results were similar to those for Blogs and Searches.
Blog Post
I think that Technorati.com provides a handy search engine that is focused on the blogosphere. The user interface is somewhat intuitive, requiring a certain amount of effort to get used to it. The most important aspect of getting used to it concerns searches. Technorati.com offers an enormous amount of information, and I found myself buried in no time. Learning to wade through all of this information requires practice. Based on my experiences with the different searches, keyword searches were the most useful and flexible.Different search phrases (all of the words, exact phrase, and so forth) were useful. Tag searches were probably the least useful. At first blush, tags appear useful in categorizing information. However, tags are used according to the whim of the user. Consequently, they are inconsistent and can prove misleading. For example, I could define a tag named "Favorites" and use it for my favorite songs. Another person could define "Favorites" to include their pets. Yet another person could create an entirely different definition. So, consistency is needed if tags are to prove useful.
Ultimately, I think blogs are most useful when collaborating with a group. They provide a medium where you can share thoughts, experiences, files, and so forth. Most are reasonably secure and free of charge (an important consideration when working with limited budgets). With a little practice, the group can benefit from online collaboration.
My keyword search for the words "School Library Learning 2.0" returned 406 posts. Most were not related to the subject matter and were not informative. Next, I entered a keyword search for the exact phrase "School Library Learning 2.0" and it returned 24 posts. Several of the posts focused on Thing #14 and showed others' experiences working with the search tool. A tag search returned 8 posts tagged with the words "School Library Learning 2.0". Of these, only one was relevant to the actual topic.
I entered a keyword search of the blog directory, which returned 375 blog posts about "School Library Learning 2.0". Most of the posts concerned general topics associated with the terms school, library, and learning. A few of the posts were related to the phrase "School Library Learning 2.0". These posts concerned experiences of others as they completed Thing #1, Thing #2, and so forth.
Popular blog, searches, and tags
My review of the Blogs revealed that news, technology, and curiosities are considered most popular to Technorati.com users. Ariana Huffington's website, The Huffington Post was the most popular news blog. I thought this surprising because other internet news outlets did not rate as favorably in Technorati.com. However, these outlets are far more popular with the general public. For example, news web sites such as DrudgeReport.com, FoxNews.com, and CNN.com garner high ratings based on the internet traffic they generate, while The Huffington Post rates much lower.
My review of the Searches revealed a slightly different list of subjects considered popular by the Technorati.com user community. Searches were focused on the environment, news, celebrities, and technology. A review of the posts under "Environment" revealed a collection of blogs associated with iPhones, computer hardware, light pollution, Dell's financial performance, endangered gorillas, and so forth. These results demonstrate the same inconsistency exhibited by the tag search (see 1 above).
A review of the Tags indicated that news, politics, technology, video, and music were the most popular. These results were similar to those for Blogs and Searches.
Blog Post
I think that Technorati.com provides a handy search engine that is focused on the blogosphere. The user interface is somewhat intuitive, requiring a certain amount of effort to get used to it. The most important aspect of getting used to it concerns searches. Technorati.com offers an enormous amount of information, and I found myself buried in no time. Learning to wade through all of this information requires practice. Based on my experiences with the different searches, keyword searches were the most useful and flexible.Different search phrases (all of the words, exact phrase, and so forth) were useful. Tag searches were probably the least useful. At first blush, tags appear useful in categorizing information. However, tags are used according to the whim of the user. Consequently, they are inconsistent and can prove misleading. For example, I could define a tag named "Favorites" and use it for my favorite songs. Another person could define "Favorites" to include their pets. Yet another person could create an entirely different definition. So, consistency is needed if tags are to prove useful.
Ultimately, I think blogs are most useful when collaborating with a group. They provide a medium where you can share thoughts, experiences, files, and so forth. Most are reasonably secure and free of charge (an important consideration when working with limited budgets). With a little practice, the group can benefit from online collaboration.
Thing #13
I have already used iKeepBookmarks and PortaPortal to store bookmarks for schools with folders organized by class, and I have to say that being the structured person I am, I like a hiearchal structure with folders for different classes, different topics, etc. However I can see how bookmarking sites on Delicious, Magnolia, and Furl would allow student to search for even more information by tags and see what others have bookmarked before them.
Using Magnolia to search with different tags was very useful. Using Delicious was even better; when I searched for familiar topics, almost all the web sites came up that I recognized. A Google search would not have yielded these.
Using Magnolia to search with different tags was very useful. Using Delicious was even better; when I searched for familiar topics, almost all the web sites came up that I recognized. A Google search would not have yielded these.
Thing #12
I think being passionate about a topic helps create a good blog and interesting blog comments. If you could care less about the topic, will you really have an interesting comment to add? I would also agree to be wary of the Darth Commenter. Those kind of people always come out of the woodwork, and the best thing to do is delete their comments and move on.
I liked the organization of Domestic Diva (3 columns with useful information and links on the sides) and the About Me statement which clearly stated the purpose of her blog. I agreed with her purpose immediately and so I was hooked. One cooking blog I posted a comment on asked for a user id and password. I put in my Google ones and it rejected it. The Cooking with Anne had some nice photos on it which was a relief from reading so much text on most blogs.
I have posted comments on Kentucky Woman, Checking Out Books, Thing 1 and Thing 23, Soaring Eagle, Alice in Bloggerland, Domestic Diva in Training, and Cooking with Anne.
http://www.domesticdiva101.blogspot.com/
http://cookingwithanne.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-07-23T00%3A01%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=5
I liked the organization of Domestic Diva (3 columns with useful information and links on the sides) and the About Me statement which clearly stated the purpose of her blog. I agreed with her purpose immediately and so I was hooked. One cooking blog I posted a comment on asked for a user id and password. I put in my Google ones and it rejected it. The Cooking with Anne had some nice photos on it which was a relief from reading so much text on most blogs.
I have posted comments on Kentucky Woman, Checking Out Books, Thing 1 and Thing 23, Soaring Eagle, Alice in Bloggerland, Domestic Diva in Training, and Cooking with Anne.
http://www.domesticdiva101.blogspot.com/
http://cookingwithanne.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-07-23T00%3A01%3A00-04%3A00&max-results=5
Monday, August 4, 2008
Thing #11
I am so excited about Library Thing. This is definitely my favorite Thing so far because I love books, and I love to read what other people have to say about them.
I would like to join the Children's Literature, Children's Fiction, What Are You Reading Now?, the Nonfiction Readers, and Writer-Readers Groups. As I add more books to my library, I think it will be very interesting to see who has a library like mine. I think it will be extremely useful to see what some of these groups are saying about books so that I will go into the selection process with a great deal more knowledge and variety.
I would like to join the Children's Literature, Children's Fiction, What Are You Reading Now?, the Nonfiction Readers, and Writer-Readers Groups. As I add more books to my library, I think it will be very interesting to see who has a library like mine. I think it will be extremely useful to see what some of these groups are saying about books so that I will go into the selection process with a great deal more knowledge and variety.
Thing #10
I know I will use the Online Image Generator again and again. I am forever making signs to display new books or programs, and I am not the artistic type so I am always begging someone to draw something. With a color printer and the Image Generator, I can produce all kinds of innovative signs, READ posters, certificates, etc. Students could use this to add short,
poignant points to their literary creations.
I would use the image to the right to highlight a group of books which are going to be weeded soon if they are not checked out. A librarian from Clear Creek ISD talked about a garbage can display of these type books to highlight ones that students may have just overlooked. I used the Custom Sign Generator to produce both of these images:
http://www.signgenerator.org/
This image could be used after a Bluebonnet Contest or a schoolwide Reading Survey to find out students' and maybe teachers' favorite authors.
I tried to download an image of an old-fashioned girl to advertise an American Girl Book Club, but it didn't work. I went back to Comic Strip Generators, and copied the HTML and added it to the tab up top which says Edit Html. Sometimes it absolutely astounds me that what I've learned in bits and pieces, here and there, actually works! I was not, however, able to keep the picture on the right side of my text with the HTML.
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
poignant points to their literary creations.I would use the image to the right to highlight a group of books which are going to be weeded soon if they are not checked out. A librarian from Clear Creek ISD talked about a garbage can display of these type books to highlight ones that students may have just overlooked. I used the Custom Sign Generator to produce both of these images:
http://www.signgenerator.org/
This image could be used after a Bluebonnet Contest or a schoolwide Reading Survey to find out students' and maybe teachers' favorite authors.
I tried to download an image of an old-fashioned girl to advertise an American Girl Book Club, but it didn't work. I went back to Comic Strip Generators, and copied the HTML and added it to the tab up top which says Edit Html. Sometimes it absolutely astounds me that what I've learned in bits and pieces, here and there, actually works! I was not, however, able to keep the picture on the right side of my text with the HTML.
Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
I tried to make a Trading Card at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php with a picture of a library saved through Flickr, but when I clicked "Create", the site went down. I also am having trouble saving the additions to this post so it may be an Internet problem.
Thing #9
I was not impressed with School Library Blogs on Suprglu. Many of these people do not appear to be school librarians, and they talk about all kinds of things which I find irrelevant.
I like how EduBloggers categorized blogs by best individual, best library blog, etc. I also thought it was noteworthy that Cathy Nelson did not recommend Blogger and did recommend EduBlog because it is usually not blocked by K-12 (like Blogger is) and it contains a comment feed.
Topix.net was able to find the current news articles I was looking for fairly easily.
Technorati was not helpful in finding educational/library blogs until I noticed the tab at the top which said blogs and clicked on it and repeated my search. Apparently I was just looking at posts before. Now I am seeing some blogs I recognize from other sites. The Read Roger Blog looks like a great way to keep up with Horn Book's reviews.
I would say whatever new site you go to in order to find new RSS feeds, you should spend some time there and be sure you are navigating it correctly before you give up on it. I wish more of the news feeds would list education as a category.
I like to look at the BlogRolls of my favorite blogs to find other great newsfeeds.
I like how EduBloggers categorized blogs by best individual, best library blog, etc. I also thought it was noteworthy that Cathy Nelson did not recommend Blogger and did recommend EduBlog because it is usually not blocked by K-12 (like Blogger is) and it contains a comment feed.
Topix.net was able to find the current news articles I was looking for fairly easily.
Technorati was not helpful in finding educational/library blogs until I noticed the tab at the top which said blogs and clicked on it and repeated my search. Apparently I was just looking at posts before. Now I am seeing some blogs I recognize from other sites. The Read Roger Blog looks like a great way to keep up with Horn Book's reviews.
I would say whatever new site you go to in order to find new RSS feeds, you should spend some time there and be sure you are navigating it correctly before you give up on it. I wish more of the news feeds would list education as a category.
I like to look at the BlogRolls of my favorite blogs to find other great newsfeeds.
Thing #8
I think RSS will quickly help me become more up to date on library, new books, and technology news. I played around with adding some of my favorite news sites like Fox News and Drudge Report. Drudge did not have an RSS that I could find. When I added Fox, it was too overwhelming because they have new stories constantly. I decided I just wanted to limit this Google Reader to my favorite library/literature sites and blogs. And I think I will become even more selective so as to not overwhelm myself with too much info. I like the list view because that tells me at a glance if I want to explore a feed further.
Libraries could set up Google Reader pages for different curriculum topics that students are studying, for teachers on educational news, for students interested in reading blogs covering new books. You could put links for these Google Reader pages on the Library Web Page, and provide up-to-the-minute information on a host of topics. These links would also be helpful when you are first introducing what a blog or an RSS Feed is.
Libraries could set up Google Reader pages for different curriculum topics that students are studying, for teachers on educational news, for students interested in reading blogs covering new books. You could put links for these Google Reader pages on the Library Web Page, and provide up-to-the-minute information on a host of topics. These links would also be helpful when you are first introducing what a blog or an RSS Feed is.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Thing #7
This thing overwhelmed me. There is so much to see and do that I could probably spend a whole week here, but I don't have that long -- will have to come back later and explore even more. The link to my Google Reader page is below, and it would be a great place for teachers and librarians to post links to blogs and other feeds that their students would find interesting. I added some links to the YA lit Mad Chatter Blog and children's lit Teri Lesesne's Blog.
I posted a calendar for an imaginary book club at an imaginary school, Big Cove Elementary. This would be quite helpful to keep everyone informed about meetings, and of course you could create a blog to host the discussions of the books. I did not like making this calendar public since the whole world knows my email address now, but I guess I can just change it after this class is over. What will be helpful is restricting it to the students' emails who want to participate. If you search the public folders and type in Jennifer Padgett, you can find my book club calendar and description.
All of this online communication makes me wonder how much longer we will be meeting in the classroom. We can have a book club with a student from Iceland. Homebound students could benefit tremendously from these tools. If you've read Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083, a Bluebonnet nominee by Andrea White from a couple of years ago, you might be wondering how much longer our society will be able to afford face-to-face meetings as well.
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/01074486480224365661
I posted a calendar for an imaginary book club at an imaginary school, Big Cove Elementary. This would be quite helpful to keep everyone informed about meetings, and of course you could create a blog to host the discussions of the books. I did not like making this calendar public since the whole world knows my email address now, but I guess I can just change it after this class is over. What will be helpful is restricting it to the students' emails who want to participate. If you search the public folders and type in Jennifer Padgett, you can find my book club calendar and description.
All of this online communication makes me wonder how much longer we will be meeting in the classroom. We can have a book club with a student from Iceland. Homebound students could benefit tremendously from these tools. If you've read Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083, a Bluebonnet nominee by Andrea White from a couple of years ago, you might be wondering how much longer our society will be able to afford face-to-face meetings as well.
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/01074486480224365661
Thing #6
I can see how using the Flickr Color Pickr could be very useful when you know you want a certain color image and want to find one quickly without a lot of time spent searching.
The Mosaic could be used in all kinds of classroom/library applications. It would also be a great tool for getting students to see more abstract relationships between items and creating a mosaic where other students have to identify the relationship.
Under Flickr toys, the Map Maker would be a great way for all teacher librarians to reference the geography of whatever they're discussing.
I've been asking kids to make movie posters to advertise books for years. They would definitely get a kick out of using this online tool. The magazine cover would work as well for this project. I could place my librarian trading card on my library web site. Students could make trading cards of characters in Bluebonnet books to be used for quizzing at our grand finale Bluebonnet Game.
The Mosaic could be used in all kinds of classroom/library applications. It would also be a great tool for getting students to see more abstract relationships between items and creating a mosaic where other students have to identify the relationship.
Under Flickr toys, the Map Maker would be a great way for all teacher librarians to reference the geography of whatever they're discussing.
I've been asking kids to make movie posters to advertise books for years. They would definitely get a kick out of using this online tool. The magazine cover would work as well for this project. I could place my librarian trading card on my library web site. Students could make trading cards of characters in Bluebonnet books to be used for quizzing at our grand finale Bluebonnet Game.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Thing #5
Weather is an important and exciting topic for second graders. All my tornado, hurricane, flood, and weather disaster books get checked out when the second grade discusses weather in their science class. This picture was taken by Frank Peters west of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and accessed through Flickr. I don't have the slightest idea how to give him credit right below the picture. Maybe I'll look at some other blogs and figure out how they did it. Flickr has some great pictures which I am excited about using.
Tornadoes are a topic of mutual interest to Texans and Alabamians. People seem to take them quite seriously here since almost 20 people were killed in a tornado that went down a major street in Huntsville about 20 years ago. That street is just across the mountain from my house. So we all keep watch when the wind begins to blow.
Thing #3
Well, this hasn't been as hard as I thought it would! The directions are very specific, and since I've spent some time updating a web page on a daily basis this past year, I feel like I've acquired a little more intuition about moving through new technology. I thought I just lost this post, but after clicking on the List of Posts and clicking on Edit (I don't know what that box has to do with it), I was able to finish what I'm saying. It just takes time to play with new things. Nothing comes quickly.
Thing #1
Well, I couldn't get this thing to let me edit my post for Thing #1 so I'm starting over. I think blogs are great. I was introduced to the Mad Chatter blog about YA Lit in my Reference Class, and found Dr. Ruth Cox Clark's comments about a huge variety of YA novels invaluable when I was selecting books for books talks with teens. I also like Teri Lesene's blog about children's lit. I wish Peggy Sharp would start one, but I think she's figured out a way to make money off her recommendations so why give it away for free on a blog? I think knowing the best blogs about topics you are very interested in would be a quick way to stay current with the best information.
Thing #2
It will be no surprise that Habit *7 (Teaching and Mentoring Others) comes most easily to me. I enjoy sharing knowledge but not in a pushy way. I like learners to stir the pot or sit down at the computer while I am teaching them. Besides reading, of course, I enjoy teaching people about cooking, gardening, finding things on the Internet, the Bible, and sharing ideas on how to raise kids.
Habit #6 (Use technology to my advantage) is the one that is most difficult for me. Technology takes patience and persistence, two qualities which I am sorely lacking in. For example, I discovered iKeepBookmarks.com, and I actually used it on my own iniative because I was tired of not having all my bookmarks for class at home since I do a lot of my graduate work at work. Also, I thought this would be helpful since I've been traveling all over the country between Alabama and Texas, trying to finish this MLS. Anyway, I loaded all my bookmarks. It worked great for a week. And now nothing. iKeepBookmarks has become totally undependable and works about 40% of the time. So now I will have to reload all of my bookmarks into PortaPortal.com which is much more reliable. But it's just frustrating that I took all that time to do something and now I have to do it all over again. Am I whining? Yes. Will it take me less time now that I've done it once. I hope so.
Habit #6 (Use technology to my advantage) is the one that is most difficult for me. Technology takes patience and persistence, two qualities which I am sorely lacking in. For example, I discovered iKeepBookmarks.com, and I actually used it on my own iniative because I was tired of not having all my bookmarks for class at home since I do a lot of my graduate work at work. Also, I thought this would be helpful since I've been traveling all over the country between Alabama and Texas, trying to finish this MLS. Anyway, I loaded all my bookmarks. It worked great for a week. And now nothing. iKeepBookmarks has become totally undependable and works about 40% of the time. So now I will have to reload all of my bookmarks into PortaPortal.com which is much more reliable. But it's just frustrating that I took all that time to do something and now I have to do it all over again. Am I whining? Yes. Will it take me less time now that I've done it once. I hope so.
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