I'm a little brain dead at the moment. But, it's kind of like an ice cream brain freeze. It hurts a little, but you would do it again. I still have to finish uploading my Photostory for Thing # 21, but other than that. I'm done! I have to say I was very apprehensive when I started. But, only a few of the things really aggravated me. Other than that, I enjoyed learning about all of the things and I have learned a great deal. I am very proud of the knowledge I have acquired and I feel so much more competent saying I am a library media specialist, now.
Some of my favorite discovery excercises and journeys were making my blog, the mashups, and creating the avatar. I look at my blog when I open it up and I think to myself, "Did I do that?!" I can't believe it. It looks so beautiful, so professional. And I never would have thought in a million years that I would undertake such a project and complete it in a single class. I am stunned. It was all possible with all of those wonderful videos and much needed reading materials about each thing. It really made everything seem manageable. It still took a ton of time. But, I took it one step at a time, and gave each thing all the time necessary to finish it and understand it. And it, as a whole, was not as overwhelming an undertaking as I first thought. I always say that if one has the right teachers and help to do something, one can accomplish anything if the desire is there. And I had some great teachers to guide me in the Library2Play. I really appreciated the comments and the set-up. It obviously was extremely well thought out. Thanks!
This program has assisted and affected my lifelong learning goals by making me more brave with regard to technology. I love to be in the know about new technology. But, I always hate the feeling when it doesn't work the first time. I have learned that one has to go on to something else and come back to it. If one takes a "breather" and tries again later, somehow one's brain may have figured it out by then. So, I will remember this in the future when it doesn't work "the first time". So many things don't. It's important to remember that people we admire so many times had many more failures than successes. But, they kept at it, and that is what makes them great and memorable to us today.
There were some take-a-ways that surprised me. The Photostory was amazing. I made it and have had a little trouble loading it. But, I am sure they will be resolved. And, once I get it loaded, it will be the most awesome part of my blog. It's so amazing. I can't believe making such a great project is so easy with the software. I also was surprised at how easy it is to load a Teacher Tube or You Tube video on a blog. That is amazing, too. And it works! I can't believe I did that.
What I would do differently to improve upon this program's format or content is to put some more explanation in the Photostory part. Everything else I think was great. Not too hard, not too easy. But, I spent hours and hours on that Photostory, and I could not save it as an .mpv file. It wasn't even an option on the save screen- only the wp was an option. That's why I can't even get it loaded onto my blog. I looked at all the information that's offered in Thing # 21 and still can't figure that one out. Maybe it's just my computer. But, tomorrow, I will go to my friends' house and try theirs. Hopefully that will help. Like I said, nothing in all the things gave me as difficult a time as Thing # 21. So, I could use a little more info on that thing. Maybe it's just me. But, that is my only suggestion. I enjoyed everything else and was able to follow it more or less without major problems.
If, after I had already been a librarian a couple of years, and you offered a program like this to keep up with technology, I would love to participate. I think I need a couple of years to try the things I learned out in a real world environment, first. I say this so I don't forget what I have learned in this program. What you don't use, you lose. So, I'd like to use this stuff and then come back for more new stuff.
If I were to describe 23 Things in one word or sentence, I would say, "One of the memorable accomplishments of my life." I am not a technologically gifted person, in my opinion. But, I value technology, and this experience has taught me so much about something I feared. I think it is mainly due to impatience. But, I have learned from completing the 23 things that it requires patience to master new technological things. Young people master them because they have more free time than we adults have. So, we adults who want to master it must prioritize it and devote enough time to it so we may master it, just as young people do. That is the only difference between them and us with regard to technological ability.
I will come back once I have loaded my Photostory. Hopefully it will be very soon...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thing # 22: Nings
Talk about save the best for last. I wish I had known about Nings for the past few years. It's amazing. The one I would have used is the TeacherLingo. It has blogs about different topics that are of interest to different professionals in education. All kinds of topics that one as a teacher might want to talk about, or even vent about. This part would be great to brainstorm with other teachers, too. And one can leave comments. It is kind of like a wiki, but the comments are separate. It's neat to see how many comments and views each blog has had.
The find teachers section is great, too. You can click on the kind of teacher you want to find to interact with. You can click elementary teacher, foreign language teacher, retired teacher, substitute teacher. I think this tool in particular is a little scary. If I were a parent and looked at some of these blogs, I would get the feeling a lot of teachers are not very content with their jobs. But, I wish law makers and Superintendents and such people would look at these blogs. The frustrations expressed by these teachers are real. They want to do a good job, but there is nothing more they can do. They just have to bear some things. I read one by a Spanish teacher about how she is so frustrated her students don't care about what she has to offer them. Another was by a 5th grade language arts teacher who has a disabled ESL student who knows his alphabet letters to F and his mother won't take him to the neurologist so he can be classified as 504 and put into special education, which will entitle him to more one-on-one help. It helps all of the teachers to know they are not alone. Like I said, I would have appreciated this Ning since I have been teaching. At least I can share it with the teachers on my campus, now.
This is one great section. You can find lesson plans for your area of teaching. I looked up Kindergarten Math and got a bunch of great lesson plan ideas to click on. What a useful tool. And some teachers who have used each lesson have left reviews with stars to show how good they are. I love that some of them are already tried and rated. I value that feedback a lot. It is so valuable to know about a lesson before you decide to get materials for it yourself and try it.
The message board is great. Again, people out there need advice. If you feel like it, you can read their problem and put your experiences and wisdom to good use. This is really a great opportunity for novices as well as for those with experience. Everyone can benefit from these interactions.
The feedback portion requires that you sign in. Apparently, you can let Teacher Lingo your suggestions and what you like about this Ning. This is always a good sign. It shows the Ning is trying to meet the needs of the users and to constantly improve the services it provides users.
Like I said, I will definitely mention this to the teachers on my campus. I think new and experienced teachers would enjoy participating in this Ning.
The find teachers section is great, too. You can click on the kind of teacher you want to find to interact with. You can click elementary teacher, foreign language teacher, retired teacher, substitute teacher. I think this tool in particular is a little scary. If I were a parent and looked at some of these blogs, I would get the feeling a lot of teachers are not very content with their jobs. But, I wish law makers and Superintendents and such people would look at these blogs. The frustrations expressed by these teachers are real. They want to do a good job, but there is nothing more they can do. They just have to bear some things. I read one by a Spanish teacher about how she is so frustrated her students don't care about what she has to offer them. Another was by a 5th grade language arts teacher who has a disabled ESL student who knows his alphabet letters to F and his mother won't take him to the neurologist so he can be classified as 504 and put into special education, which will entitle him to more one-on-one help. It helps all of the teachers to know they are not alone. Like I said, I would have appreciated this Ning since I have been teaching. At least I can share it with the teachers on my campus, now.
This is one great section. You can find lesson plans for your area of teaching. I looked up Kindergarten Math and got a bunch of great lesson plan ideas to click on. What a useful tool. And some teachers who have used each lesson have left reviews with stars to show how good they are. I love that some of them are already tried and rated. I value that feedback a lot. It is so valuable to know about a lesson before you decide to get materials for it yourself and try it.
The message board is great. Again, people out there need advice. If you feel like it, you can read their problem and put your experiences and wisdom to good use. This is really a great opportunity for novices as well as for those with experience. Everyone can benefit from these interactions.
The feedback portion requires that you sign in. Apparently, you can let Teacher Lingo your suggestions and what you like about this Ning. This is always a good sign. It shows the Ning is trying to meet the needs of the users and to constantly improve the services it provides users.
Like I said, I will definitely mention this to the teachers on my campus. I think new and experienced teachers would enjoy participating in this Ning.
Thing # 21: Podcasts and Videocasts
This is definitely my least favorite thing. My computer keeps telling me there is a piece of equipment attached to my computer that, "a device attached to the system is not functioning." It won't let me play my Photostory. I will try to attach it here. Hopefully you all can try it at home and let me know if I was able to get the audio part attached to it. I used 2 different microphones and my computer still told me that same message. I recorded my story twice, too. If it doesn't sound, I will need to keep trying to add the sound later. Here goes...
Aparently, it won't load on here, either. It's telling me to contact support with all these long, long numbers. Great. Will come back to this. It already has taken hours.
I got the sound on there and I got it loaded, but for some reason now the thing won't play the sound recording! If anyone has any tips on why this is so, please let me know. I know the sound is saved on there because I played it back on another computer before I uploaded it on here. I just don't know how to get it to sound on here. I'm sure it's something small I need to adjust or something. Anybody?
Halleluja! Or however you spell it. After about 40 hours of trying different computers, different microphones, and making this same story at least 2 dozen times, it is loaded on here, and it works! I hope you all enjoy it, because it took A TON more work to get it to work than it looks like it did. This was one THING that took way more work than it looks like it took- the only thing like that, actually. But, I enjoyed it. And I love the podcast. Check it out!
Aparently, it won't load on here, either. It's telling me to contact support with all these long, long numbers. Great. Will come back to this. It already has taken hours.
I got the sound on there and I got it loaded, but for some reason now the thing won't play the sound recording! If anyone has any tips on why this is so, please let me know. I know the sound is saved on there because I played it back on another computer before I uploaded it on here. I just don't know how to get it to sound on here. I'm sure it's something small I need to adjust or something. Anybody?
Halleluja! Or however you spell it. After about 40 hours of trying different computers, different microphones, and making this same story at least 2 dozen times, it is loaded on here, and it works! I hope you all enjoy it, because it took A TON more work to get it to work than it looks like it did. This was one THING that took way more work than it looks like it took- the only thing like that, actually. But, I enjoyed it. And I love the podcast. Check it out!
Thing # 20: You Tube, Teacher Tube and Zamzar (Part B)
This is a great little video about recycling and its benefits for elementary and middle school students. I know the 3rd grade science TEKS include information about why recycling is so important. Students would enjoy watching this video and learning about recycling from it.
School 23 5th Grade Recycling Infomercials #1
Shared via AddThis
School 23 5th Grade Recycling Infomercials #1
Shared via AddThis
Thing # 20: You Tube, Teacher Tube and Zamzar (Part A)
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Here is a great video about Library 2.0. It is by Meredith Farkas, a distance learning librarian at Norwich University. She spoke to faculty at UC Berkeley about Library 2.0. The video has received great reviews on You Tube. It is a little long, at about an hour. But, it has some great information in it.
I also included a video by a 5th grade class about the value of recycling in my next posting (also part of Thing # 20). That one is from Teacher Tube. I know the young students I've had would have enjoyed it a great deal.
The value in having access to all of these videos is that students can take advantage of being visusal and auditory learning at the same time. They can absorb ideas more quickly and then more quickly start on using knowledge to create their own ideas. It enables students to use higher order thinking to watch these videos because they facilitate the absorption of knowledge.
And they make learning so much more enjoyable for students. This also facilitates learning.
Here is a great video about Library 2.0. It is by Meredith Farkas, a distance learning librarian at Norwich University. She spoke to faculty at UC Berkeley about Library 2.0. The video has received great reviews on You Tube. It is a little long, at about an hour. But, it has some great information in it.
I also included a video by a 5th grade class about the value of recycling in my next posting (also part of Thing # 20). That one is from Teacher Tube. I know the young students I've had would have enjoyed it a great deal.
The value in having access to all of these videos is that students can take advantage of being visusal and auditory learning at the same time. They can absorb ideas more quickly and then more quickly start on using knowledge to create their own ideas. It enables students to use higher order thinking to watch these videos because they facilitate the absorption of knowledge.
And they make learning so much more enjoyable for students. This also facilitates learning.
Thing # 19: Web 2.0 Awards Lists
I already know a few 1st place award winners from this list and have tried them out in this class: Flickr, Pbwiki, and Delicious. So, I figured I'd try You Tube.
What is special about this tool is that it is actual videos. From all of the "Things" for this class, the part that was always most helpful to me was viewing the videos. There is something about listening to a person and watching them or what they are demonstrating. It must have something to do with the brain. I know the videos really helped me to learn what I needed to do on these activities. I am sure my students would also appreciate them. I will want to make the teachers in my school aware of the fact that You Tube exists and it can be used in their classes in several ways to help students understand many different concepts.
Just like in Library2Play, videos were embedded in the blog. Teachers could do this with some videos. The safest thing to do is contact the creator and ask their permission to do so, stating the audience and purpose. Teachers could also just provide the You Tube video link to students and have them enter on their computers at home to view the video through the You Tube Web site.
I have had several professors do this in my classes, and I enjoyed watching those videos as well. It is such a great way to learn, and so enjoyable. It feels like you are almost doing something fun when you get to view a video about what you are learning in a university class. And usually, there are videos that fit whatever topic you are doing in a class. It is amazing how many topics there are.
In my own setting, which will soon be a library, I hope to use You Tube to teach teachers about the Web 2.0 tools they can use to plan their lessons and to teach their students. They could watch a video about Flickr, Pbwikis, or Delicious. I loved all of the "in plain English" videos we have gotten to watch in this Library2Play part of the class. They really helped me understand what each tool was about, and how to do it. I know teachers would enjoy learning about tools this way. It makes it so much less daunting. I look forward to trying these things out with my teachers. I know they will appreciate it. And if anything is going to open their minds up to using Web 2.0 tools, these You Tube and other videos will.
What is special about this tool is that it is actual videos. From all of the "Things" for this class, the part that was always most helpful to me was viewing the videos. There is something about listening to a person and watching them or what they are demonstrating. It must have something to do with the brain. I know the videos really helped me to learn what I needed to do on these activities. I am sure my students would also appreciate them. I will want to make the teachers in my school aware of the fact that You Tube exists and it can be used in their classes in several ways to help students understand many different concepts.
Just like in Library2Play, videos were embedded in the blog. Teachers could do this with some videos. The safest thing to do is contact the creator and ask their permission to do so, stating the audience and purpose. Teachers could also just provide the You Tube video link to students and have them enter on their computers at home to view the video through the You Tube Web site.
I have had several professors do this in my classes, and I enjoyed watching those videos as well. It is such a great way to learn, and so enjoyable. It feels like you are almost doing something fun when you get to view a video about what you are learning in a university class. And usually, there are videos that fit whatever topic you are doing in a class. It is amazing how many topics there are.
In my own setting, which will soon be a library, I hope to use You Tube to teach teachers about the Web 2.0 tools they can use to plan their lessons and to teach their students. They could watch a video about Flickr, Pbwikis, or Delicious. I loved all of the "in plain English" videos we have gotten to watch in this Library2Play part of the class. They really helped me understand what each tool was about, and how to do it. I know teachers would enjoy learning about tools this way. It makes it so much less daunting. I look forward to trying these things out with my teachers. I know they will appreciate it. And if anything is going to open their minds up to using Web 2.0 tools, these You Tube and other videos will.
Thing # 18: On-line Productivity Tools
This was an interesting thing to do. I have been getting acquainted with Google and all it has to offer during the course of Library2Play. But, in this activity, I really saw how it is all tied together. It is pretty amazing. I was able to see that I could use Google for basically everything I do on my computer. I use Google for searches. I can make all kinds of documents using Google Documents: Powerpoints, Excel, plain text, etc. I can make calendars using Google Calendars. I can send and receive e-mails using Google Mail. I can have an on-line photo album and view others' albums and pictures using Google Photos. I can easily view the sites I look at the most using Google Reader. I can even make my very own Web site (I have got to do that one of these day!) using Google Sites. Currently, I use Yahoo for mail and Word for my document making. I have used Flickr for my on-line photo album. Each time I switch from one of these to another, I have to many times log in and out of each. And sometimes, I get logged out because while I was in another application, I took too long and the other program I had opened on my desktop logged me out. If I use Google for all of these things, I only have to log in one time. And I can only get logged out of one application. Once I log back in, I can switch back and forth to all of them easily without having to worry about being logged out and having to log back into each and every one. Also, I can view all of the different Google things in a nice menu that allows me to visually keep track of all my things. This is not the case with using various different programs as I am currently doing. I am seriously considering switching everything to Google. It really is convenient and a time saver. Why didn't any of the other companies think of this before?!
The only bad thing I can think of to using Google for everything is that I already have all of these accounts with things saved on them from years before. So, I would have to transfer everything over from all of my other programs and previous accounts. That is annoying. But, in the end, it really would make life simpler and more convenient. I could slowly do it, and then close out my accounts elsewhere. Or, I could simply start doing everything on Google and eventually not use the current accounts with the other companies. It is definitely doable, though. I think it is worth it in the end.
The only bad thing I can think of to using Google for everything is that I already have all of these accounts with things saved on them from years before. So, I would have to transfer everything over from all of my other programs and previous accounts. That is annoying. But, in the end, it really would make life simpler and more convenient. I could slowly do it, and then close out my accounts elsewhere. Or, I could simply start doing everything on Google and eventually not use the current accounts with the other companies. It is definitely doable, though. I think it is worth it in the end.
Thing # 17: Rollyo
I think this is the most useful thing I've learned so far. I watched the video by Bruce Goodner and it was all so clear, despite the video screen was way too tiny to read anything. But, I could hear him, so I was good. I followed all of his instructions and it was a piece of cake. I opened an account on Rollyo. I made a customized search engine. It is for Children's Book Award sites. This will come in handy once I am a librarian. If you'd like to see it, here is the link:
http://rollyo.com/signorina/book_awards/
It includes the Texas Bluebonnet Award winners, Children's Notable Lists winners, Texas 2X2 Award winners, and Pura Belpre Award winners. I will have to come back to this site and this list to make it even better at a later date.
http://rollyo.com/signorina/book_awards/
It includes the Texas Bluebonnet Award winners, Children's Notable Lists winners, Texas 2X2 Award winners, and Pura Belpre Award winners. I will have to come back to this site and this list to make it even better at a later date.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thing # 16: Wikis
I clicked on the sandbox link on the Library2Play site and went to the sandbox. Then, I edited the page by adding my comment on the top with my name. It was so easy. I think I felt really comfortable because I took Dr. Matthew's Young Adult literature class and she required we use the wiki to post on a regular basis. I was reluctant at first, but I enjoyed it once I knew how to do it. I think they are a great tool for teachers and librarians.
As a librarian, I hope to teach the teachers in my school to set up and use wikis. Students could get the passwords and contribute about their experiences or ideas for the class. I think students welcome wikis because they sometimes don't feel like part of a team at home. So, when we offer them an experience like wikis in school, where they are made to feel part of a team in their class, they feel welcome and appreciated. And they also feel like they have something to contribute to the class. Hopefully this idea eventually becomes that they believe they have something to contribute to the world. They can add links they find about a topic for a particular class, or a key part of research they have been assigned that will be shared with the rest of the class. Wikis really make collaborative learning and "jigsaw" type learning so easy. I look forward to using them in my classes in the library.
As a librarian, I hope to teach the teachers in my school to set up and use wikis. Students could get the passwords and contribute about their experiences or ideas for the class. I think students welcome wikis because they sometimes don't feel like part of a team at home. So, when we offer them an experience like wikis in school, where they are made to feel part of a team in their class, they feel welcome and appreciated. And they also feel like they have something to contribute to the class. Hopefully this idea eventually becomes that they believe they have something to contribute to the world. They can add links they find about a topic for a particular class, or a key part of research they have been assigned that will be shared with the rest of the class. Wikis really make collaborative learning and "jigsaw" type learning so easy. I look forward to using them in my classes in the library.
Thing # 15: Web 2.0, Library 2.0 & the Future of Libraries
Library 2.0 embraces in librarianship what every enterprise in the world should embrace: the desire to serve other people in the best possible way, the effort to be as efficient as possible in serving others, the desire to empower others and make them as strong as possible, the desire to share everything at one's disposal as well as that which one knows is available, the desire to enable others to learn from and grow from each other, and the desire to enable others to create from their talents the best they have to offer the world and make a contribution to the world that will improve it and benefit those who live in it. That is what Library 2.0 means to me. It is a very human perspective. I think everything in the world that involves people should always have these values in mind at its core.
It is a complicated thing to apply Library 2.0 to school libraries. They differ so much in their values and resources. We have heard in many of our classes how we must continually strive to get all the resources possible for our libraries- to give our students the same benefits that many other students in other libraries have. This could take on the appearance of bake sales to save money for a technological update, or it could mean presenting a Powerpoint to the school board about the need for a better library automation system. The bottom line is that school libraries are a gateway to the world for students. If we do not open it as big and wide for them as we know it can be opened, they are missing out on what they could get before they move on to the next steps of their education process. It is like we are depriving them of seeing a wonderful part of the world that we already know exists, but that they do not. It is a sad thing. So, librarians in schools should always strive to give their students the use of all the tools that we know are available, with the goal of enabling them to think for themselves and to learn to solve problems. This is what a good library does- it teaches students how to create new ideas on their own and solve problems, which they will need to do if they are to succeed in life.
I read "To More Powerful Ways to Cooperate" and "Into a New World of Librarianship". I liked the latter better. I agree that the library has to be a socially and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience. Most students are interpersonal learners. And we all come from relationships at home where we are emotionally engaged (hopefully). So, it should not be a cold, stale relationship that we offer them in the school library. They should be invited to share with their peers and librarians in creating something new and exciting- by using tools that are also new and exciting. These are the points in that article that help us to provide this for students (according to this article):
**Offer a "strategy guide" for helping users find information and create something unique. (Michael Stevens)
**Base the library methods and materials on the needs and desires of the users, instead of deciding in secret how it will be. (Michael Stevens)
**Use Web 2.0 tools like IM, Web blogs, wikis, mashups, participate in successful on-line communities to see what is out there and why users are involved. This helps decide on library tools. (Michael Stevens)
**Don't buy all the technology there is to buy. Purchase technology that meets the users' needs in a new and improved way. Use it to create a useful service with information and experiences they seek. (Michael Stevens)
**Make good and fast decisions regarding the library by using journals, studies, and blogs about libraries. (Michael Stevens)
**Watch the business world to set trends in the library based on the business world. Adjust the library based on the trends observed to better prepare students for their futures. (Michael Stevens)
**"Understand that the future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume and create content. Help users become their own programming director for all the content that is available to them." (Michael Stevens)
**Take staff and users' experiences into account to constantly improve the library. (Michael Stevens)
He had some really powerful and insightful ideas. This is a good summary of them.
It is a complicated thing to apply Library 2.0 to school libraries. They differ so much in their values and resources. We have heard in many of our classes how we must continually strive to get all the resources possible for our libraries- to give our students the same benefits that many other students in other libraries have. This could take on the appearance of bake sales to save money for a technological update, or it could mean presenting a Powerpoint to the school board about the need for a better library automation system. The bottom line is that school libraries are a gateway to the world for students. If we do not open it as big and wide for them as we know it can be opened, they are missing out on what they could get before they move on to the next steps of their education process. It is like we are depriving them of seeing a wonderful part of the world that we already know exists, but that they do not. It is a sad thing. So, librarians in schools should always strive to give their students the use of all the tools that we know are available, with the goal of enabling them to think for themselves and to learn to solve problems. This is what a good library does- it teaches students how to create new ideas on their own and solve problems, which they will need to do if they are to succeed in life.
I read "To More Powerful Ways to Cooperate" and "Into a New World of Librarianship". I liked the latter better. I agree that the library has to be a socially and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience. Most students are interpersonal learners. And we all come from relationships at home where we are emotionally engaged (hopefully). So, it should not be a cold, stale relationship that we offer them in the school library. They should be invited to share with their peers and librarians in creating something new and exciting- by using tools that are also new and exciting. These are the points in that article that help us to provide this for students (according to this article):
**Offer a "strategy guide" for helping users find information and create something unique. (Michael Stevens)
**Base the library methods and materials on the needs and desires of the users, instead of deciding in secret how it will be. (Michael Stevens)
**Use Web 2.0 tools like IM, Web blogs, wikis, mashups, participate in successful on-line communities to see what is out there and why users are involved. This helps decide on library tools. (Michael Stevens)
**Don't buy all the technology there is to buy. Purchase technology that meets the users' needs in a new and improved way. Use it to create a useful service with information and experiences they seek. (Michael Stevens)
**Make good and fast decisions regarding the library by using journals, studies, and blogs about libraries. (Michael Stevens)
**Watch the business world to set trends in the library based on the business world. Adjust the library based on the trends observed to better prepare students for their futures. (Michael Stevens)
**"Understand that the future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume and create content. Help users become their own programming director for all the content that is available to them." (Michael Stevens)
**Take staff and users' experiences into account to constantly improve the library. (Michael Stevens)
He had some really powerful and insightful ideas. This is a good summary of them.
Thing # 14: Technorati and Tags
Maybe it's just me, but I did not see a difference in the hits when I searched for "School Library Learning 2.0" under blog posts, tags and blog directory. Perhaps I did it wrong. Leave me a comment if I did. I think I did it right, though. I did it a few times. They all produced about the same number of hits, and the first 10 or so looked almost identical.
When I looked at the popular blog searches and tags, I saw some interesting and surprising things. There were 3 blogs that were the same in both the top 100 blogs chosen by authorities as well as by the public. These included: Boing Boing, Engadet, and Tech Crunch. Boing Boing is about "cultural curiosities and curious technologies". Engadget is about technology and software that are new and "hot". Tech Crunch is about new things/ toys on the Web, like Facebook and My Space. It is very interesting that both the public and authorities rank these in the top 5. It really shows the values in our society at the moment. Decades ago, we as a society enjoyed fads like clothes and cars and things we could touch with our hands. Now, all the "coolest" things are on the Web. And people want to learn about them and how to use them. We still, as human beings, want to be "a part of" society. We want to know what it feels like to dress like everybody else, to style our hair like everybody else, to drive the cars that are popular, and to do the things everyone else does. We do all this so we can talk about them with others. We don't want to be the only one who can't talk about them. It is like making oneself a social outcast on purpose. So, to me, it makes a lot of sense that everyone is clamoring to learn all about the new "coolest" things. They can't be bought and worn, or put into our garages- they must be learned on our laptops. They take more of a time and energy investment, and less of a monetary investment. Seems like that's the one thing people have the least of these days. Kind of ironic the new "coolest" things require that one very scarce commodity.
Technorati is a great research tool. It really helps to simplify looking for information. Like I mentioned in another blog posting, I value Consumer Report when I buy things I can hold- like a lawn mower. So, I am very glad to have this site now that I can get a "Consumer Report" about the blogs and sites out there before I go sifting through all of them. The computer is wonderful, but who has time to sift and label everything. This simplifies things. It is like when you go shopping for jeans and know that a particular brand fits you-and that's the brand you go look for when you need jeans. You don't go try on 100 pairs by 100 different designers. You already know they are quality and they fit right. That's what Technorati does for everyone. It makes it easier and faster to narrow your Web tools to what YOU are looking for, what fits you. As a librarian, I will look for others' comments about how to run a library, how to solve problems I see in my particular library, and other questions that come up as a new librarian. That is the great thing about blogs and such other tools. People can help each other and you don't have to even "know" them. It is truly genius.
After having played with Technorati, Delicious, and Flickr, I can definitely see the value of tagging. Tagging information really is like those little tiny file boxes that stay at home housewives used to take to the supermarket decades ago with all the coupons filed in different categories. Just like they wanted to be able to use a discount when they needed it at the supermarket, we can now file away articles, blogs, and other Web tools for when we have a problem or question that could be relieved or solved by looking at that information. We all want a quality life. We don't want to feel like we are living to survive. So, tagging things lets us get the life we want with the least work. Life is about decisions. When we have things all tagged in our computers to use when we need it, we can decide things better and faster as the need arises. Our decisions will be more acceptable to us, too, since we have information we value and trust behind each of those decisions. Maybe it's due to the uncertain economic times, but whatever the reason, people think about every decision- not just what to buy. And tagging lets us make decisions and shape our lives to the ones we want more easily. All of these tools we are learning about are geared toward that- creating the lives we want with others' experiences and expertise to guide us.
I think in our technologically advanced world, we have come full circle to realize that none of the technology serves any good purpose if we can't use it to help each other. That is the most valuable thing that a life of leisure has afforded us. Since Little House on the Prairie times we have been working toward not having to worry about necessities- now we can worry about helping each other and creating lives with a purpose and creating things to help our life and others' lives. All of these Web tools help us do accomplish these things.
When I looked at the popular blog searches and tags, I saw some interesting and surprising things. There were 3 blogs that were the same in both the top 100 blogs chosen by authorities as well as by the public. These included: Boing Boing, Engadet, and Tech Crunch. Boing Boing is about "cultural curiosities and curious technologies". Engadget is about technology and software that are new and "hot". Tech Crunch is about new things/ toys on the Web, like Facebook and My Space. It is very interesting that both the public and authorities rank these in the top 5. It really shows the values in our society at the moment. Decades ago, we as a society enjoyed fads like clothes and cars and things we could touch with our hands. Now, all the "coolest" things are on the Web. And people want to learn about them and how to use them. We still, as human beings, want to be "a part of" society. We want to know what it feels like to dress like everybody else, to style our hair like everybody else, to drive the cars that are popular, and to do the things everyone else does. We do all this so we can talk about them with others. We don't want to be the only one who can't talk about them. It is like making oneself a social outcast on purpose. So, to me, it makes a lot of sense that everyone is clamoring to learn all about the new "coolest" things. They can't be bought and worn, or put into our garages- they must be learned on our laptops. They take more of a time and energy investment, and less of a monetary investment. Seems like that's the one thing people have the least of these days. Kind of ironic the new "coolest" things require that one very scarce commodity.
Technorati is a great research tool. It really helps to simplify looking for information. Like I mentioned in another blog posting, I value Consumer Report when I buy things I can hold- like a lawn mower. So, I am very glad to have this site now that I can get a "Consumer Report" about the blogs and sites out there before I go sifting through all of them. The computer is wonderful, but who has time to sift and label everything. This simplifies things. It is like when you go shopping for jeans and know that a particular brand fits you-and that's the brand you go look for when you need jeans. You don't go try on 100 pairs by 100 different designers. You already know they are quality and they fit right. That's what Technorati does for everyone. It makes it easier and faster to narrow your Web tools to what YOU are looking for, what fits you. As a librarian, I will look for others' comments about how to run a library, how to solve problems I see in my particular library, and other questions that come up as a new librarian. That is the great thing about blogs and such other tools. People can help each other and you don't have to even "know" them. It is truly genius.
After having played with Technorati, Delicious, and Flickr, I can definitely see the value of tagging. Tagging information really is like those little tiny file boxes that stay at home housewives used to take to the supermarket decades ago with all the coupons filed in different categories. Just like they wanted to be able to use a discount when they needed it at the supermarket, we can now file away articles, blogs, and other Web tools for when we have a problem or question that could be relieved or solved by looking at that information. We all want a quality life. We don't want to feel like we are living to survive. So, tagging things lets us get the life we want with the least work. Life is about decisions. When we have things all tagged in our computers to use when we need it, we can decide things better and faster as the need arises. Our decisions will be more acceptable to us, too, since we have information we value and trust behind each of those decisions. Maybe it's due to the uncertain economic times, but whatever the reason, people think about every decision- not just what to buy. And tagging lets us make decisions and shape our lives to the ones we want more easily. All of these tools we are learning about are geared toward that- creating the lives we want with others' experiences and expertise to guide us.
I think in our technologically advanced world, we have come full circle to realize that none of the technology serves any good purpose if we can't use it to help each other. That is the most valuable thing that a life of leisure has afforded us. Since Little House on the Prairie times we have been working toward not having to worry about necessities- now we can worry about helping each other and creating lives with a purpose and creating things to help our life and others' lives. All of these Web tools help us do accomplish these things.
Thing # 13: Tagging and Delicious
This one took me a while. I will use delicious again, after all that work I have invested in learning to use it. It is a great tool for research assistance because it is like a database, but full of information other people have found to be useful, special or noteworthy. I think this is the best kind of information- that which has been judged already by others. I am a fan of Consumer Report. This is like a Consumer Report for any type of information one can think of. I love it! Of course, one has to look at the source of the information. Perry Castaneda has information on there that has been tagged by a ton of people. This, for me, says something. I think it is a great research tool that I will use again very often. Not only can one search oneself, one can choose a word and click on it for information sources, and one can have other people's tags to look at, too- people one knows and trusts. Then, there's strangers' tagged lists, which are good, too.
This is truly an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere. I could be in a class at UHCL and remember I tagged something I wanted to mention in class. I get on the laptop, go to delicious, and sign in. Then, I go to my bookmarks and click on the source of information. I raise my hand and share it with the class. What a win-win situation for me and the class!
Librarians and teachers can take advantage of social bookmarking sites like this by having a list for their class every year. They can give their class their username. Ask them to find you on delicious and add you to the people you share your bookmarks with. All year long, the students can access particular sources of information that you want them to make use of in current projects in your class. The bookmarks list can change on a regular basis as your class progresses during the year. The librarian can do an inservice on how to set up a delicious account with all the teachers at her school. They can each incorporate the use of delicious into each of their individual classes. And the librarian can keep a delicious account for sharing with the teachers- things she thinks they might use with their students. The librarian can categorize them based on grade and subject to make it easier on the teachers.
If you all want to access my delicious bookmarks, simply add me to the people you share with. Go to the "people" tab at the top in grey. Add me when the box comes up. Type my username, which is "signorina". You will immediately go to my bookmarks. There are about 7 of them. If this does not work to share, I'll have to come back to this later.
I searched delicious with key words and with "popular tags". Each of these gave me subtags on the right to choose from also. At the end of each title on the left is a "Save" that can be clicked on to save to one's bookmarks. Whenever you sign in, the bookmarked list can be easily accessed from any computer. Amazing! It is such a great concept. It's like taking a library of knowledge with you anywhere you can access a computer.
This is truly an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere. I could be in a class at UHCL and remember I tagged something I wanted to mention in class. I get on the laptop, go to delicious, and sign in. Then, I go to my bookmarks and click on the source of information. I raise my hand and share it with the class. What a win-win situation for me and the class!
Librarians and teachers can take advantage of social bookmarking sites like this by having a list for their class every year. They can give their class their username. Ask them to find you on delicious and add you to the people you share your bookmarks with. All year long, the students can access particular sources of information that you want them to make use of in current projects in your class. The bookmarks list can change on a regular basis as your class progresses during the year. The librarian can do an inservice on how to set up a delicious account with all the teachers at her school. They can each incorporate the use of delicious into each of their individual classes. And the librarian can keep a delicious account for sharing with the teachers- things she thinks they might use with their students. The librarian can categorize them based on grade and subject to make it easier on the teachers.
If you all want to access my delicious bookmarks, simply add me to the people you share with. Go to the "people" tab at the top in grey. Add me when the box comes up. Type my username, which is "signorina". You will immediately go to my bookmarks. There are about 7 of them. If this does not work to share, I'll have to come back to this later.
I searched delicious with key words and with "popular tags". Each of these gave me subtags on the right to choose from also. At the end of each title on the left is a "Save" that can be clicked on to save to one's bookmarks. Whenever you sign in, the bookmarked list can be easily accessed from any computer. Amazing! It is such a great concept. It's like taking a library of knowledge with you anywhere you can access a computer.
Thing # 12: Creating Community Through Commenting
This one took a while. I enjoyed it, though. I answered a question I've had for a while. I'll go into it later on here. One of the points I liked from the blog posting recommendations is to let others find one's best work- by mentioning how to get to it outside the blog. I agree with that. People are part of blogs to learn and grow. If they like what you say and want to learn or read more, you have a responsibility to tell them how to get to that information. It is all right, according to the article on Library2Play, to be shameless about promoting another blog of yours. Or a Web site, etc. I agree. If I get curious about what someone says, I would feel frustrated if I couldn't go read more about it.
The other point I liked was about using a new post to reply to a comment instead of a comment. Sometimes, it requires a new post to respond to a comment. Some replies are kind of long. If one already knows the things one needs to discuss are lengthy, it is better to just post a new comment in response to the comment. The commentor would appreciate it, I think.
I posted comments to 5 people in our class' blogs. They were all so different. It was fun to see all the differences. And one person had to approve my comment before it was posted. Unfortunately, I posted it 3 times before I realized that her blog was set up to "approve" a comment before it was posted. That was funny. All the other 4 people let me post without approval.
The first blog outside Library2Play that I posted to was Houston Press Blogs' Houston Vegans Come Out of Hiding. I loved this because the article was about a bake off here in Houston. I have always wanted to talk to and get to know other Vegans here in Houston. But, I didn't know how to do it. I will definitely be following some of these Vegan blogs to see what I can do and where I can go to meet some Houston Vegans. Posting was SO easy. I just hit "comment" to reply to the article and all of a sudden I had posted a comment.
The second blog was on My Fit Blog. I used Google Blog search to find both this and the above blog to post to. The article I posted a comment to was "Eating Raw Vegetarian Diet in Houston". I don't eat a raw vegetarian diet, but I eat some raw foods and I am a vegetarian. It was interesting to read how others are also of the opinion that raw foods are important to eat. I posted a comment by again hitting "comment" and posting it. And it was that easy. I loved it. It is addictive, and I want to come back later and join some groups where you have to give personal information- but I need more time to select which ones I want to join.
The other point I liked was about using a new post to reply to a comment instead of a comment. Sometimes, it requires a new post to respond to a comment. Some replies are kind of long. If one already knows the things one needs to discuss are lengthy, it is better to just post a new comment in response to the comment. The commentor would appreciate it, I think.
I posted comments to 5 people in our class' blogs. They were all so different. It was fun to see all the differences. And one person had to approve my comment before it was posted. Unfortunately, I posted it 3 times before I realized that her blog was set up to "approve" a comment before it was posted. That was funny. All the other 4 people let me post without approval.
The first blog outside Library2Play that I posted to was Houston Press Blogs' Houston Vegans Come Out of Hiding. I loved this because the article was about a bake off here in Houston. I have always wanted to talk to and get to know other Vegans here in Houston. But, I didn't know how to do it. I will definitely be following some of these Vegan blogs to see what I can do and where I can go to meet some Houston Vegans. Posting was SO easy. I just hit "comment" to reply to the article and all of a sudden I had posted a comment.
The second blog was on My Fit Blog. I used Google Blog search to find both this and the above blog to post to. The article I posted a comment to was "Eating Raw Vegetarian Diet in Houston". I don't eat a raw vegetarian diet, but I eat some raw foods and I am a vegetarian. It was interesting to read how others are also of the opinion that raw foods are important to eat. I posted a comment by again hitting "comment" and posting it. And it was that easy. I loved it. It is addictive, and I want to come back later and join some groups where you have to give personal information- but I need more time to select which ones I want to join.
Thing # 11: Library Thing
I made an account in Library Thing. This is such a useful site. I have bought a ton of books and videos from half.com, in e-bay. And many people who sell on there sell you a book only to later let you know they don't have it but didn't realize they had sold it. Those people REALLY need to use this site. That would end this problem of theirs.
I added my 5 books. One had 35 other people listed as also having that book in their library. Amazing. It was the only one, however. Then I went and tried to look for members with books on my topic. I found several. But, they didn't really have as many books as I have on the subject, so I didn't think I'd learn so much by talking to them. It was interesting to see that others like to discuss my topic, though. I may come back and see if they have anything interesting they are discussing.
As a librarian, I think this might help discuss children's books. I know in my classes here, we often discussed the award winners and whether or not they were worthy of being included in the library at our school, despite their award status. So, I could put that book in my books here, and then look for members who also had the book. We could discuss what we all thought of it, and if we thought it belonged in a school library, for example. That sounds very useful.
I looked through many of the postings and found many interesting postings. I would definitely want to join some of those discussions when I have some time. People wanted to find good reading material on their style of reading- like urban fiction, for example. Others wanted to recall the author of a book or the title. You just never know what you will find on the topics of discussions in there.
Definitely what I enjoyed the most is finding others who had posted comments about the topic I am interested in. It is hard to find people in day to day life that one has similar reading interests with. So, this really makes it so easy. And it is so much fun to discuss books one has read in the are of interest , or by a particular favorite author. I hope to come back and talk to people on here. I am sure I will enjoy it.
I added my 5 books. One had 35 other people listed as also having that book in their library. Amazing. It was the only one, however. Then I went and tried to look for members with books on my topic. I found several. But, they didn't really have as many books as I have on the subject, so I didn't think I'd learn so much by talking to them. It was interesting to see that others like to discuss my topic, though. I may come back and see if they have anything interesting they are discussing.
As a librarian, I think this might help discuss children's books. I know in my classes here, we often discussed the award winners and whether or not they were worthy of being included in the library at our school, despite their award status. So, I could put that book in my books here, and then look for members who also had the book. We could discuss what we all thought of it, and if we thought it belonged in a school library, for example. That sounds very useful.
I looked through many of the postings and found many interesting postings. I would definitely want to join some of those discussions when I have some time. People wanted to find good reading material on their style of reading- like urban fiction, for example. Others wanted to recall the author of a book or the title. You just never know what you will find on the topics of discussions in there.
Definitely what I enjoyed the most is finding others who had posted comments about the topic I am interested in. It is hard to find people in day to day life that one has similar reading interests with. So, this really makes it so easy. And it is so much fun to discuss books one has read in the are of interest , or by a particular favorite author. I hope to come back and talk to people on here. I am sure I will enjoy it.
Thing # 10: On-line Image Generator
I looked at a few of the text and image generators. I liked the Image Chef. It was so incredibly easy. I saw 4 images when I arrived on the site. I liked the beach sand with writing. So, I clicked on it to try it. I wrote Angie in the text box. It came out on the sand in the picture. I saved it to my desktop and voila! Then I pasted it to my blog and I had my name in sand posted on my blog. Pretty cool. I will definitely be visiting this site again to create some more cool things that people will think took hours when it only took a fraction of that. What a find.
Thing # 9: Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds
Well, this one took a little while. I checked out several blogs and news feeds. The first was Syndic8.com. It had some reviews of blogs. I looked at some of them. I also looked at the pointers. I found many on the economy. If I had more free time right now, I would have read some of those more in depth. I also found some really strange ones, like one about how to pick a dress for a special occasion (?) and one that basically sold hair extensions that were easy to comb and to braid. Very interesting. Just what I'd need if I were going to a debutant ball and needed some hair extensions to make my do look fuller.
The second site I looked at was Topix.net. Right away, I found something that was interesting. It was an article listed as you got to the site "recent news" or something like that-it mentioned that a sex offender was arrested just 2 days ago in Friendswood, which many view as so safe. It described that he was at a traffic stop by police and they discovered there was a warrant for his arrest because he'd disappeared from where he used to live and had not registered here in Friendswood. He was living with his brother and had not registered.
The articles in this site were arranged by topic, so each topic had articles linked to it from the LA Times or NY Times and other papers. One tab one could click on was "Top Stories", another was "Popular". Those were the most interesting ones to me. Under "Popular" there was a story on Sara Palin and why she resigned. I wanted to read that, but I had to keep going.
I also looked at Suprglu. I will go back to that one. It had a lot of articles relating to libraries. I need to go back to it when I have more time to look through some of the information. It looked very worthwhile, though.
The last site I looked at was Technorati. I watched the video by Hans. He said I should subscribe, but I think I'll hold off on that. I think I'd rather hand pick my own blogs to feed to. I found one I really liked on their list for Health and Fitness. It had lots of interesting information. I also found one that I thought was kind of strange. It was about a mom who trained for marathons. I guess she has pointers for other working moms who want to do that also.
The second site I looked at was Topix.net. Right away, I found something that was interesting. It was an article listed as you got to the site "recent news" or something like that-it mentioned that a sex offender was arrested just 2 days ago in Friendswood, which many view as so safe. It described that he was at a traffic stop by police and they discovered there was a warrant for his arrest because he'd disappeared from where he used to live and had not registered here in Friendswood. He was living with his brother and had not registered.
The articles in this site were arranged by topic, so each topic had articles linked to it from the LA Times or NY Times and other papers. One tab one could click on was "Top Stories", another was "Popular". Those were the most interesting ones to me. Under "Popular" there was a story on Sara Palin and why she resigned. I wanted to read that, but I had to keep going.
I also looked at Suprglu. I will go back to that one. It had a lot of articles relating to libraries. I need to go back to it when I have more time to look through some of the information. It looked very worthwhile, though.
The last site I looked at was Technorati. I watched the video by Hans. He said I should subscribe, but I think I'll hold off on that. I think I'd rather hand pick my own blogs to feed to. I found one I really liked on their list for Health and Fitness. It had lots of interesting information. I also found one that I thought was kind of strange. It was about a mom who trained for marathons. I guess she has pointers for other working moms who want to do that also.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thing # 8: RSS Feeds
This was a relatively easy thing to accomplish. I will come back at the end to make my reader list public if I have time after Thing # 23. I subscribed to the following: Librarian Philosopher, A Library by Any Other Name, Practical Theory, Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, and Mike Falick's Blog. I took a nap after subscribing and when I came back there were dozens of hits for almost every one of the items I had subscribed to.
What I like about the RSS reader I used, Google reader, is how simple it was to subscribe and get the information right away. Setting up the account was already done from previous things I'd done on Library2Play. And I didn't have to go searching each site. That really does save so much time. Young and old will get so much use out of a reader.
In my personal life, there are always things I am "currently" interested in. So, I can set my subscriptions to the sites that are pertinent to my current interests. In my library or classroom, I can again set subscriptions that will bring me others' teaching ideas or ideas to implement in the library. It is similar to tlc which goes to my e-mail, except that this info will go to my Google reader account. I already like TLC, so I know I'll like using the reader this way.
Libraries can take advantage of this new technology by setting the reader to get ideas for the library- how to select resources, how to organize the library, how to manage the library, how to discipline students in the library, etc. Teachers can subscribe to things that will bring them information about how to teach their particular grade and subjects. Or how to discipline students would be helpful for them also. Administrators I am sure can find sites to subscribe to that will be pertinent to following the laws in a school, getting student scores up, and managing a school. All topics related to running a school I am sure are covered by numerous sites that they could subscribe to. In their spare time, all they'd have to do is switch on the computer and read things they know are geared toward their interests. What a timesaver!
What I like about the RSS reader I used, Google reader, is how simple it was to subscribe and get the information right away. Setting up the account was already done from previous things I'd done on Library2Play. And I didn't have to go searching each site. That really does save so much time. Young and old will get so much use out of a reader.
In my personal life, there are always things I am "currently" interested in. So, I can set my subscriptions to the sites that are pertinent to my current interests. In my library or classroom, I can again set subscriptions that will bring me others' teaching ideas or ideas to implement in the library. It is similar to tlc which goes to my e-mail, except that this info will go to my Google reader account. I already like TLC, so I know I'll like using the reader this way.
Libraries can take advantage of this new technology by setting the reader to get ideas for the library- how to select resources, how to organize the library, how to manage the library, how to discipline students in the library, etc. Teachers can subscribe to things that will bring them information about how to teach their particular grade and subjects. Or how to discipline students would be helpful for them also. Administrators I am sure can find sites to subscribe to that will be pertinent to following the laws in a school, getting student scores up, and managing a school. All topics related to running a school I am sure are covered by numerous sites that they could subscribe to. In their spare time, all they'd have to do is switch on the computer and read things they know are geared toward their interests. What a timesaver!
Thing # 7: Google Tools
Wow! I really didn't think it would work. I'm so surprised. I created a Google doc (a spreadsheet) and saved it, using my new Google account. By using the URL, I searched for it on the Web. It came right up exactly as I saved it. Amazing. You all can access it using the following URL also:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=thOnXf22E87C40x71rE8d1w
This is such a great tool for the classroom. If students want to share original work, including pictures from Flickr, for example, they can make them public as easily as I did. And with the URL, anyone in the class can access the information. Incredible. This means every student in a class of 20 could view and even print the work of 19 other students before or after the work is completed. This would give those reluctant learners a real push to try, since there would be examples to learn from. It's like in my kindergarten class where I would always have a finished product for the students to look at so that they didn't have to ask a bunch of times what to do. It would work for older children as well. Great teaching tool, and so easy!
I also looked at the Google alerts. You can make an alert by giving Google a term(s) to keep an eye out for you. The type of alert could be for it to look for Web sites, videos, groups, blogs, news or a comprehensive one of all of these. You can also specify how often you would like to receive alerts: 1X per day, 1X per week, as it happens, or by e-mail. This is great to keep track of a news story, competitor or industry, celebrities or events, and sports team performances. Students would love this for fun things like celebrities or clothing or sales at stores. And they would not have to go searching on the Web for them. That leaves more time for texting, I guess :) I know I will definitely use it for fun things. But, also, if I'm planning a lesson that requires a theme, I could set up an alert for this. And I could just sit back and get e-mails instead of searching for hours.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=thOnXf22E87C40x71rE8d1w
This is such a great tool for the classroom. If students want to share original work, including pictures from Flickr, for example, they can make them public as easily as I did. And with the URL, anyone in the class can access the information. Incredible. This means every student in a class of 20 could view and even print the work of 19 other students before or after the work is completed. This would give those reluctant learners a real push to try, since there would be examples to learn from. It's like in my kindergarten class where I would always have a finished product for the students to look at so that they didn't have to ask a bunch of times what to do. It would work for older children as well. Great teaching tool, and so easy!
I also looked at the Google alerts. You can make an alert by giving Google a term(s) to keep an eye out for you. The type of alert could be for it to look for Web sites, videos, groups, blogs, news or a comprehensive one of all of these. You can also specify how often you would like to receive alerts: 1X per day, 1X per week, as it happens, or by e-mail. This is great to keep track of a news story, competitor or industry, celebrities or events, and sports team performances. Students would love this for fun things like celebrities or clothing or sales at stores. And they would not have to go searching on the Web for them. That leaves more time for texting, I guess :) I know I will definitely use it for fun things. But, also, if I'm planning a lesson that requires a theme, I could set up an alert for this. And I could just sit back and get e-mails instead of searching for hours.
Thing # 6: Mashups and Third Party Sites
I looked at "Montager", which I got by clicking on the "mashups" link from Dr. Bishop's Library2Play blog. Immediately when I saw it, my mouse accidently started enlarging pictures as it floated around on the sample collage of pictures that comes up on the site's main page. I loved it. It had lots of different pictures of models that looked like they were from Vogue or some other trendy magazine. I immediately thought of the HUGE collage of pictures they have at the Children's Museum of Houston in the entry hall. It is composed of tons of tiny passport picture size pictures that were taken by visitors in the picture booth over the years. I am sure they got it made by a company like this. It looks like it could have been done by this exact company. It's always neat to know where you can get something cool made yourself that you saw somewhere. The prices are not bad, either. A 3' by 4' canvas collage of photographs would cost about $170; and the shipping is free. I will have to keep this in mind. The products really are beautiful, and the idea is just so creative.
Students would love to use the Montager to make a Mother's day present for mom, or a Father's day present for dad. I know my son LOVES to bring these type of things home from school- the excitement! I know he would be overjoyed to bring home a product that looked like an adult made it. My kindergarteners would have felt this way about it, I'm sure. And the parents would have sent in the money for it, too. Everyone would have been very pleased, I think. I will surely want to showcase this in at least an e-mail for teachers in the future.
Students would love to use the Montager to make a Mother's day present for mom, or a Father's day present for dad. I know my son LOVES to bring these type of things home from school- the excitement! I know he would be overjoyed to bring home a product that looked like an adult made it. My kindergarteners would have felt this way about it, I'm sure. And the parents would have sent in the money for it, too. Everyone would have been very pleased, I think. I will surely want to showcase this in at least an e-mail for teachers in the future.
Thing # 5: Flickr
This was definitely one of the most simple and straighforward "things" to do. I knew I wanted to export a picture of a road surrounded by trees that I had permission to use if I just gave credit to the person who posted it on Flickr. So, I typed "road" in the search box and scrolled down maybe 10 pictures or less, and there it was! Just what I was looking for. I copied and pasted it onto my desktop. Then, I added it to my blog. And now everyone can enjoy it on my blog. I simply put that it was a Flickr picture from Micky's photostream. This is not a formar citation, but I believe it is enough to give him credit for his picture and for anyone to find it should they want to. Enjoy!
Thing #3: Blog Setup and Avatar Creation
Creating my avatar was not very difficult. I wish there had been a little more information on doing it on the Library2Play. But, I figured it out. I am still working on how to export it to my blog. It will be on here soon. I am not a gamer. I think people who are gamers probably like doing things like this more than I do. I don't like imaginary things like this. I like non-fiction books and activities, I guess. But, I think it is good to know how to make an avatar, in case we think of a way to incorporate them into a lesson. Students would enjoy this.
Thing # 2: Life-long Learners
The habit of life-long learners I have no problem following is to begin with the end in mind. I love my free time to learn about what I really enjoy, like reading. So, usually things for classes or work are a challenge so I can go read for fun. Therefore, I always look at most other things as an obstacle to learning on my own. So, I always begin with the end of learning on my own in mind when I do most other things.
The hardest habit of life-long learners for me is #6: Use technology to your advantage. Most of my life, I have allowed others to set-up and fiddle with technology for me. I came in at the end and they explained it to me. I am an interpersonal learner and a kinesthetic learner when it comes to technology. So, I detest learning it on my own. This is not so bad, because the directions and activities are like you are talking to someone- except you can't ask questions like with a real person. But, it's close enough. I like it so far.
The hardest habit of life-long learners for me is #6: Use technology to your advantage. Most of my life, I have allowed others to set-up and fiddle with technology for me. I came in at the end and they explained it to me. I am an interpersonal learner and a kinesthetic learner when it comes to technology. So, I detest learning it on my own. This is not so bad, because the directions and activities are like you are talking to someone- except you can't ask questions like with a real person. But, it's close enough. I like it so far.
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