I am really happy that you ladies created this self-paced learning op for us. I really like to stay up with what is out there for personal as well as professional reasons but it is just too difficult for me to do it on my own. I know I won't use all of these but I can always go back and use them in depth if/when the time calls for it. I enjoyed Animoto and YouTube and feel that Zoho Writer could be of benefit down the line. I am very happy to have learned about wikis because I feel that this could definitely have a place in our library toolbox in the near future. I'm happy to know about Del.icio.us because I work at more than one computer and I was just working with a class this morning that needed a social bookmarking site. I am so glad you introduced us to online image generators - I need things like this all the time. One last thing I want to try in greater depth is flickr - probably more for personal use than professional.
I would definitely participate if you offered another discovery program like this. But give me time to digest this first. One way it might be a little better is to do it in smaller bites or sets. Then we could do a couple throughout the year. It did take up a lot of personal time.
And in case you couldn't tell by the title, I want a red nano!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Thing #23
Well, I have to say that it really felt good just now to type that title - Thing #23. Creative Commons was a new concept to me. The videos I watched really helped me to understand exactly what the idea behind it is. And what a wonderful concept - collaborating, sharing, people working together. I have to say that copyright questions have often confused me and I have always dreaded them. As a librarian I can use CC in the future to "borrow" great ideas saving me from having to reinvent the wheel and from spending the time it often takes to get permission to use something. If you link to this site you will see Flickr and Creative Commons coming together. How nice to know about this.
Thing #22
I really liked playing with Animoto. It is very, very user friendly. I took ten pictures from my grandson's birth in April and made a 30-second short from that. I was very disappointed to learn that it would not let me use my iTunes music. I wish they would allow you to make a longer video - it's hardly worth the effort. It you pay for a full-lenght video, does it make the music match the length of the video? Also, I didn't like the music choices I had. All-in-all though it was an easy experience. I have played around with PhotoStory 3 a little bit and this was a little disappointing after using that. But, if I need to make a full-lenght video, at least I have been made aware of this. Below is my video.
Thing #21
I listened to the Learning 2.0 podcast and enjoyed it. I thought the podgrunt broadcast on YouTube was also good. I looked around in Educational Podcast Directory and found some library-related podcasts on things like creating a 2.0 library. I am sure they were interesting but many of them were very long and I didn't have time to listen. Some were from SirsiDynix and could be quite informational. Podcast.net was not as user friendly but still pretty easy to use. On Pocastalley.com I found some podcasts on learning Spanish and that is something that sounds interesting to me. I added Rolling R's to my Google Reader account. Wow! In Yahoo Podcasts I typed in young adult booktalk in the search box and under Booktalks Quick and Simple I found a treasure trove of booktalks. I listened to the one on ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES by Sonya Sones. It was quick and it was simple and very well done. This could be something great for the library. I enjoyed looking through these various podcast directories and am sure I would be overwhelmed by all the useful podcasts that are actually out there.
Thing #20
The first thing I did after creating an account with YouTube was to search for videos on booktalks. I thought this would be an interesting way to use YouTube. The first one I chose was on Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything . I thought it was cute and interesting and wanted to add it to my blog but the embedding had been disabled by request. Hopefully my link will take you to it. Karen and I have talked about using YouTube for library orientation. You might also use it to give other forms of instuction. I like YouTube because you can use it for informational purposes or if you just need a good laugh. Below you will find a booktalk that I found on the book AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thing #19
I began Thing 19 by setting up an account with Gliffy. While I waited for my confirmation email I tried setting up an account with mindmeister. It just took me to a funny page and stayed there so I thought I would just move on to Flowchart.com. I got on and watched the demo and it looked easy enough. I signed up and waited for my beta invite. I have now been waiting about 15 minutes for responses from the very first account I signed up for. I finally went to bubbl.us and began working on a mind map. It was very simple. I readily set up and account and created a mind map of the JHHS Library Features. I invited a collegue to collaborate with me and if she sets up an account we can collaborate in real time. I like that idea. It has been about an hour and I still have no confirmations or invitations from the other accounts. Once those arrive I will try one of flowcharts and blog about my experience.
Well, I tried one more time to get into Gliffy and it did let me make a flowchart which was very user friendly. I made a flowchart concerning our library assistants for the first semester - what they did well and how they need to improve. If it will ever let me confirm my email I will try to use this as a brainstorming/collaborative tool with Karen.
Well, I tried one more time to get into Gliffy and it did let me make a flowchart which was very user friendly. I made a flowchart concerning our library assistants for the first semester - what they did well and how they need to improve. If it will ever let me confirm my email I will try to use this as a brainstorming/collaborative tool with Karen.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Thing #18
I chose PeerTrainer in the Health category because I am always interested in reading about the latest regarding health or regarding weightloss and fitness. It claimed to be a "powerful system"for Weight Loss and Fitness Support. It "Helps You Be Accountable to Yourself, and Supported By Others In Small, Online Groups and Teams."
What did you like or dislike about the tool? This site, was sooooo easy to use! They only allow 4 people to be in your group and you can open it to anyone or make it a private group. I like that!
What were the site’s useful features? You can log everything you eat, set goals, log your workouts, read articles to assist you in your journey, journal, read what other people have to say, chat, join a team, etc. The bad thing, on a page or two there are Google Ads promising you can lose 18 pounds in 4 days with a special diet you can buy for $27 or you can lose 15 pounds in a month by purchasing a hoodia complex. But these were very small ads and were not on every page. Saavy users will know what to do with these.
Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?
This site was for a more personal usage so, no, there would not be a library setting for this site.
What did you like or dislike about the tool? This site, was sooooo easy to use! They only allow 4 people to be in your group and you can open it to anyone or make it a private group. I like that!
What were the site’s useful features? You can log everything you eat, set goals, log your workouts, read articles to assist you in your journey, journal, read what other people have to say, chat, join a team, etc. The bad thing, on a page or two there are Google Ads promising you can lose 18 pounds in 4 days with a special diet you can buy for $27 or you can lose 15 pounds in a month by purchasing a hoodia complex. But these were very small ads and were not on every page. Saavy users will know what to do with these.
Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?
This site was for a more personal usage so, no, there would not be a library setting for this site.
Thing # 17
Zoho Writer at first look seems like a great thing to be familiar with. I like that I can work offline. It seems pretty user friendly and think if I use it regularly I would become pretty familiar with it. You can click to look at my simple wiki in PhyllisPhiles Wiki. It is very simple and I was just playing around with some things that Karen and I have been discussing lately. As I set up a document in Zoho Writer I tried several of the feature - changing headings, adding some links, using emotion icons, adding an image to the site, changing the name of the site, giving permissions, emailing my link to 3 people, making Karen one of my members, etc. The things that I did were very simple, very user friendly. I can see why this has become so popular.
Thing # 16
I watched all the tutorials on how to do things to a wiki and it made me realize that I just don't think I am ready for a wiki at this point. I was able to get to the sandbox and add my idea of using a wiki for TAKS support/review. How great to be able to create something that teachers can get into and add information/practice/review and then students can use it to prepare for TAKS. Even though there were only 12 other ideas when I posted mine, there were some good things worth considering. Hopefully, we will be able to start creating wikis instead of pathfinders as time goes by.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thing #15
1. My thoughts about wikis:
I like the idea of a wiki and hope to create one. Of course since learning about wikis I have had the same thought as many have, the best thing about a wiki is also the worst - anyone can contribute! But what a great way to break from some of the traditional classroom methods. Students can be informed of the assignment, research the assignment, create the assignment all in one place.
2. What did I find interesting?
One thing that stood out to me about using wikis instead of pathfinders is that I can ask the teachers to jump in and contribute to the wiki. How nice that everyone can put their heads together without having to sit in a room at a table together all at the same time - this is next to impossible this day and time.
Going through the various links you gave us, these are the ones that stood out to me. I liked the Book Lovers Wiki, the best practices wiki, love the MISD wiki ( so much easier than using DocuShare), the literary circle wiki, AP world history wiki; Welker's Wikinomics (all I can say is wow and how appealing for students). I really liked the Texas School Librarians' Wiki and hope to go back and look at all the different book lists as well as other things - how helpful!
3. What types of application within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki?
I guess the applications are only limited by your imagination and/or your needs. A wiki could be used by teachers and librarians to plan a research unit or other unit of study. A teacher could use a wiki to complete a unit of study with a class. Wikis could be used for TAKS review and support or for book clubs. All of the wikis mentioned above in #2 are great examples of how wikis can be used.
I like the idea of a wiki and hope to create one. Of course since learning about wikis I have had the same thought as many have, the best thing about a wiki is also the worst - anyone can contribute! But what a great way to break from some of the traditional classroom methods. Students can be informed of the assignment, research the assignment, create the assignment all in one place.
2. What did I find interesting?
One thing that stood out to me about using wikis instead of pathfinders is that I can ask the teachers to jump in and contribute to the wiki. How nice that everyone can put their heads together without having to sit in a room at a table together all at the same time - this is next to impossible this day and time.
Going through the various links you gave us, these are the ones that stood out to me. I liked the Book Lovers Wiki, the best practices wiki, love the MISD wiki ( so much easier than using DocuShare), the literary circle wiki, AP world history wiki; Welker's Wikinomics (all I can say is wow and how appealing for students). I really liked the Texas School Librarians' Wiki and hope to go back and look at all the different book lists as well as other things - how helpful!
3. What types of application within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki?
I guess the applications are only limited by your imagination and/or your needs. A wiki could be used by teachers and librarians to plan a research unit or other unit of study. A teacher could use a wiki to complete a unit of study with a class. Wikis could be used for TAKS review and support or for book clubs. All of the wikis mentioned above in #2 are great examples of how wikis can be used.
Thing #14
I began my reading with Library 2.0 from Wikipedia . As I was reading I began to think about how I love feedback from students and teachers. It is so much easier to make informed decisions about collection development and library services when you know what the users want. I know that Library 2.0 goes way beyond that but it made me reflect on how valuable user feedback really is. Then I began to think about what a huge task just keeping up with user feedback could actually become. "Beta is forever" - I like that concept!
Secondly I read Web 2.0: Where Will the Next Generation of the Web Take Libraries. Upon reading the second paragraph, the phrase, "everything's connected" took on a whole new meaning for me. We have never been more connected than we are now.
Next, I printed off the Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto and posted it near my desk as a reminder that I/my library needs to be constantly reevaluating and updating, not just upgrading now and again.
I LOVED Rick Anderson's article, Away from the “icebergs” ; what an eye-opener. I am embarrassed to say I have sometimes been a "just in case" collection librarian. I totally agree with his statement that the services need to fixed, not the patrons, if they can't be used without training. This article has really made me stop and think more seriously about collection development.
What does Library 2.0 mean to me? It means constantly reevaluating and updating our library and its services beyond the realm of my limited experiences and knowledge, but in conjunction with the users in our library community and beyond, and based on their needs. What does it mean for school libraries of the future? We are going to have to ride along with this technology wave and quit being afraid of what's out there for our students. I think we have done a fairly good job in our district of "keeping up" we just need to continue to evolve so that we don't become obsolete. We want to continue to be a place that our students depend on whether they are at school or at home, wherever.
Secondly I read Web 2.0: Where Will the Next Generation of the Web Take Libraries. Upon reading the second paragraph, the phrase, "everything's connected" took on a whole new meaning for me. We have never been more connected than we are now.
Next, I printed off the Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto and posted it near my desk as a reminder that I/my library needs to be constantly reevaluating and updating, not just upgrading now and again.
I LOVED Rick Anderson's article, Away from the “icebergs” ; what an eye-opener. I am embarrassed to say I have sometimes been a "just in case" collection librarian. I totally agree with his statement that the services need to fixed, not the patrons, if they can't be used without training. This article has really made me stop and think more seriously about collection development.
What does Library 2.0 mean to me? It means constantly reevaluating and updating our library and its services beyond the realm of my limited experiences and knowledge, but in conjunction with the users in our library community and beyond, and based on their needs. What does it mean for school libraries of the future? We are going to have to ride along with this technology wave and quit being afraid of what's out there for our students. I think we have done a fairly good job in our district of "keeping up" we just need to continue to evolve so that we don't become obsolete. We want to continue to be a place that our students depend on whether they are at school or at home, wherever.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thing #13
I think last year we had a staff development (maybe with Walter Betts) where del.icio.us was mentioned. He gave us some information and even showed us a few things about del.icio.us and I believe I tried it and it just didn't work like I thought. Now that I have gone through these tutorials it makes a lot more sense and has been easier to use. I love the idea behind social bookmarking and think it has great potential. It can be used in so many ways. I love the idea that it can be used from any computer. I can see that it can be used by a community of librarians to share ideas, it can be used by all biology teachers, for example, to share tools on the internet, etc. I have thought about using it as part of a TAKS Support Plan so that students might come in and use bookmarked sites for practicing/learning about TAKS objectives.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Thing #12
I began Thing 12 by joining The Mesquite Librarians Ning. That was fun and! I played around in ning looking at the other members, reading some of the comments, etc. I tried adding photos from my computer but it kept telling me there were errors with uploading my photos. These were pictures I had used on our library website so I don't know what the problem was. I was finally able to use a washout picture of two of our library assistants that we had used on our SACS/CASI presentation earlier this year. I don't know why this one uploaded but the other didn't. Next I set up a Facebook account, edited my profile and asked 3 friends to join! I edited my profile and added some photos (by the way, adding photos here was the easiest of any of the tools I have used so far) and generally just played around, looking at all the "stuff" that is in Facebook.
Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? Many, if not most, of our students are social networking today and it is important for us to stay abreast of what they are doing. Also, if our students like social networking, then it could be used in the education process. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? This was actually the first time I had ever been on Facebook so everything was new to me. And I had never even heard of Ning before working on the 23 Things. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? The thing I liked most about both of these was the ease of use. Which site had the most useful features? I felt Facebook had the most useful features especially for personal use. Can you see a library or school application for any of these sites? Ning could be a great place for the exchange of useful information for library programs. What a great way to exchange info and connect with people with similar programs. Facebook is a fantastic way to work on joint and/or individual projects/assignments for school. This could also be a great way for members of a book club to share information.
Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? Many, if not most, of our students are social networking today and it is important for us to stay abreast of what they are doing. Also, if our students like social networking, then it could be used in the education process. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? This was actually the first time I had ever been on Facebook so everything was new to me. And I had never even heard of Ning before working on the 23 Things. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? The thing I liked most about both of these was the ease of use. Which site had the most useful features? I felt Facebook had the most useful features especially for personal use. Can you see a library or school application for any of these sites? Ning could be a great place for the exchange of useful information for library programs. What a great way to exchange info and connect with people with similar programs. Facebook is a fantastic way to work on joint and/or individual projects/assignments for school. This could also be a great way for members of a book club to share information.
Thing # 11
I like Library Thing . I would like to go back at some time and create a private catalog just for myself, not availabe to the public. Being able to organize/catalog for one's self is a librarian's dream come true!!! Zietgeist is incredible but I was totally overwhelmed when I opened it up. And if you can't find yourself under the Groups tab then give up! For some reason I couln'd get a standard search widget on my blog so I just created my own link to Library Thing! Could someone please walk me through it when you have time?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Thing # 10
FUN STUFF!
My little granddaughter is a doll and I love showing her off. I used Custom Sign Generator to put a simple frame around her. Unfortunately, once I got her in I couldn't seem to get her out. I tried to put my grandson in his baseball uniform on the cover of ESPN magazine but no matter what I did it would only bring up my granddaughter so I finally gave up! CSG did have lots of fun stuff though. http://www.customsigngenerator.com/
I thought a "blingy" little sign might spruce up my blog! I got this from Image Chef. http://www.imagechef.com/
I made this on Happy Face Generator http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/
I saw this little character in Comic Strip Generator and he looked like I felt after working on Thing #9. If the rest of Thing 10 is this easy it should be fun!!!
My little granddaughter is a doll and I love showing her off. I used Custom Sign Generator to put a simple frame around her. Unfortunately, once I got her in I couldn't seem to get her out. I tried to put my grandson in his baseball uniform on the cover of ESPN magazine but no matter what I did it would only bring up my granddaughter so I finally gave up! CSG did have lots of fun stuff though. http://www.customsigngenerator.com/
I thought a "blingy" little sign might spruce up my blog! I got this from Image Chef. http://www.imagechef.com/
I made this on Happy Face Generator http://www.happyfacegenerator.com/This was probably my least favorite site but it was very easy to use.
Image generators could be used for so many things. We could use them on our websites, in displays for the library, the list is endless.
Thing 9
I made the mistake of beginning Thing 9 before the holidays and then trying to finish it after the holidays. Not good. I seem to have "stalled" on Thing 9 more than any of the others and I haven't enjoyed playing around in it as well as the others. For one thing, it seems that many of the websites I am interested in personally do not have RSS icons and that is disappointing. It makes me doubt myself a little - am I doing this correctly? I found Edublog's Award Winners to be a good place and Google Blog Search was pretty simple. Topix.net seemed a little confusing. I guess I would select Suprglu as one of the most useful because it is for school libraries. I am ready to leave Thing 9 behind and move on into Thing #10.
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