That. video. was. GENIUS.!!!!!!!! After I finished watching it, I immediately shared it with my pals on Facebook (and nobody will understand the genius) so then I sent it in a message to a fellow librarian pal on Facebook. Now SHE will understand the hysterics and truth of the Fair(y) Use Tale!
I think that I understand the point befind Creative Commons. Like they say in the example, if you are looking for a photo of a giraffe, you can type in "giraffe," click on the flickr tab, and I will see pictures of giraffes that the photographers have marked as free for me to use and adapt....basically, this is the same concept as the Fair(y) Use Tale. The creators took snippets of Disney works and amended them to tell a completely different tale, although that tale seemed to be pretty anti-Disney in terms of copyright laws, hence the need for the Creative Commons.
And...now I'm done.
These past few months have been a truly eye-opening, enlightening experience. I have enjoyed almost every minute of my time exploring 23 fresh teaching tools, and I have most certainly enjoyed blogging about them all! To my readers (ok, basically that's just my mom and a few kind librarians), thank you for following my travels through the web!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Week #9, Thing #22: eBooks
Ok, I have to admit it...I have been slacking. The last week of school was nuts and once I was out of school, all things library slipped completely (well, kind of) out of my head for a few weeks. But here I sit at school, having a work day, attempting to finish my 23 Things while the beautiful sun shines down on the 90 degree weather outside. Alas, I wish I was sitting outside with Harry Potter and a cold lemonade.
Instead, I am attempting to search the World eBook Fair for free downloads from Project Gutenberg. Unfortunately, it's telling me to come back between July 4 and August 4 for the Fair...so until then, I have no choice but to wait patiently for the next two weeks until I can search. But since I need to finish these Things by July 1, I've decided to explore other avenues for finding ebooks. My favorite is the online tour of the British Library's online gallery. I used to live in London and LOVE the British Library, but this is the coolest thing I have seen in months!!!!!! Jane Austen is one of my personal favorites, and being able to "turn the pages" of her history of England, seeing her handwriting and little drawings, is AMAZING. I love technology!
Another favorite was Lewis Carroll's original manuscript for Alice...all the beautiful detailed drawings and neat penmanship, including little page numbers in the upper corners. This is simply amazing. What a great resource for teaching primary documents, eBooks, or simply internet exploration. This one's a keeper!
Instead, I am attempting to search the World eBook Fair for free downloads from Project Gutenberg. Unfortunately, it's telling me to come back between July 4 and August 4 for the Fair...so until then, I have no choice but to wait patiently for the next two weeks until I can search. But since I need to finish these Things by July 1, I've decided to explore other avenues for finding ebooks. My favorite is the online tour of the British Library's online gallery. I used to live in London and LOVE the British Library, but this is the coolest thing I have seen in months!!!!!! Jane Austen is one of my personal favorites, and being able to "turn the pages" of her history of England, seeing her handwriting and little drawings, is AMAZING. I love technology!
Another favorite was Lewis Carroll's original manuscript for Alice...all the beautiful detailed drawings and neat penmanship, including little page numbers in the upper corners. This is simply amazing. What a great resource for teaching primary documents, eBooks, or simply internet exploration. This one's a keeper!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Week #9, Thing #21: Podcasts
My road to podcasts was not as smooth as I would have imagined. First of all, the "Yahoo: What is a Podcast" tutorial is broken, so I figured I could just go it with a blurred vision of podcasting. After I tried and failed to access the tutorial, I tried using some of the podcast directories suggested by the Library Learning 2.0 site with little success. The first and third options on the list are no longer usable sites, and I was stuck with the second choice, podcastalley.com. It seems like an easy-to-use site, but when I tried to access the Learn to Speak Italian podcast, it prompted me to download a player. Without any knowledge of the good v. bad players, I chose one at random, but the downloading directions were confusing. At this point, I was thoroughly frustrated.
Enter iTunes. I've had some bad experiences with downloading on my home computer, so even though I know that iTunes is a very well established and reputable, I've never used it and thought that I could use one of the other podcast players. Wrong! As soon as I downloaded iTunes, I realized that it would be so easy to use. I did a search for podcasts in the search results and came up with lots of great results, including a podcast on learning to speak Italian, perfect for my upcoming honeymoon!
In terms of library-related podcasts, I'm having a little trouble. I'm sure that there is a wealth of information and podcasts floating around out there somewhere, I just need to find it! I'm going to keep looking. I have found a few book review podcasts, but they are mostly for religious books, which will not help me much in buying materials for my middle school library. I will stay on the hunt and add the RSS feed when I find a good podcast. In terms of the entire experience...not one of the better orchestrated "things." But a fun idea, and lots of possibilities for libraries!
Enter iTunes. I've had some bad experiences with downloading on my home computer, so even though I know that iTunes is a very well established and reputable, I've never used it and thought that I could use one of the other podcast players. Wrong! As soon as I downloaded iTunes, I realized that it would be so easy to use. I did a search for podcasts in the search results and came up with lots of great results, including a podcast on learning to speak Italian, perfect for my upcoming honeymoon!
In terms of library-related podcasts, I'm having a little trouble. I'm sure that there is a wealth of information and podcasts floating around out there somewhere, I just need to find it! I'm going to keep looking. I have found a few book review podcasts, but they are mostly for religious books, which will not help me much in buying materials for my middle school library. I will stay on the hunt and add the RSS feed when I find a good podcast. In terms of the entire experience...not one of the better orchestrated "things." But a fun idea, and lots of possibilities for libraries!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Week #9, Thing #20: YouTube
Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?!
YouTube is going on! I LOVE YouTube, I use it all the time. It's great for finding hysterical clips of the things mentioned, like commercials or old music videos, and wonderful things like "Conan the Librarian." I also find myself turning to YouTube to see news clips or check pop culture facts, so it really has many uses. I chose the video of "Saved By the Bell," a popular and wacky '90's teen TV show, because these were some of my earliest envisionings of high school.
I know a few teachers in our district who would love to use YouTube for instructional purposes, and only recently the tech support department changed our web privileges so that they could use it. Because it takes so much bandwidth, we have a lot of limits on streaming media. Options in libraries...our students would not be allowed to use YouTube on our school network, but perhaps public libraries could use it to promote short videos made about library services, etc.
YouTube is going on! I LOVE YouTube, I use it all the time. It's great for finding hysterical clips of the things mentioned, like commercials or old music videos, and wonderful things like "Conan the Librarian." I also find myself turning to YouTube to see news clips or check pop culture facts, so it really has many uses. I chose the video of "Saved By the Bell," a popular and wacky '90's teen TV show, because these were some of my earliest envisionings of high school.
I know a few teachers in our district who would love to use YouTube for instructional purposes, and only recently the tech support department changed our web privileges so that they could use it. Because it takes so much bandwidth, we have a lot of limits on streaming media. Options in libraries...our students would not be allowed to use YouTube on our school network, but perhaps public libraries could use it to promote short videos made about library services, etc.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Week #8, Thing #19: LibraryThing
LibraryThing is a pretty decent concept and site. While I don't think that I will ever take the time to catalog my own personal collection at home, I could see this being a good tool for work with kids in the library, in coordination with some kind of library blog, or a wonderful tool for small libraries or large private collections. This is one of those tools that kids could use for recommendations, projects, etc., and I'm sure that a lot of librarians are really hyped about it, but I just don't see myself using it a lot. I can see the advantages of being able to connect to other users who read similar titles, or discuss books, but I think I'll keep my Tuesday night book club, thank you very much.
On a positive note, it was very easy to use and add titles. I added a few middle school books that I've read this year and loved, including "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, and there were several hundred other users who'd read the book and I was able to read a few discussions about it. If you haven't read it, it's DEFINITELY worth checking out!
On a positive note, it was very easy to use and add titles. I added a few middle school books that I've read this year and loved, including "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, and there were several hundred other users who'd read the book and I was able to read a few discussions about it. If you haven't read it, it's DEFINITELY worth checking out!
Week #8, Week #18: Google Docs
Ohhh I love Google Docs!
I had heard about Google Docs in the past, and boy do I wish I had been familiar with these tools earlier this year! I don't have Office tools on my home computer, so doing anything besides the most rudimentary word processing was impossible, but it certainly is now. I like the fact that I save these documents to a "file" that I can access anywhere.
Also, these tools could have great possibilities for students who don't have computers at home or nearby. In my district, we have a program called eLocker that gives each student an online "locker" in which they can upload and save files for access anywhere. This is a great program, but if the student is like me and doesn't have Office at home, often times the files are not compatable, and he or she can't open files saved at school. Little Jenny works hard on a report at school, saves it to eLocker to continue work in the evening, and goes home only to find that she can't open the document because she doesn't have the correct word processing program on her home computer. Or, she has a Mac (we've had a few problems with Mac compatibility). With Google Docs, these problems are completely eliminated! Woooo hoo! An alternative to this problematic situation!
Also, I should say that I chose to explore Google Docs because I use Gmail and I also use Google Reader for my RSS feeds, so continuing with the Google family of products seemed easiest...and truly, it is VERY easy to use. I found it especially easy because the Google products truly have a similar feel and look to them, so if you use Gmail, you can use Google Docs. If you use Google Docs, you can use the reader, etc.
I had heard about Google Docs in the past, and boy do I wish I had been familiar with these tools earlier this year! I don't have Office tools on my home computer, so doing anything besides the most rudimentary word processing was impossible, but it certainly is now. I like the fact that I save these documents to a "file" that I can access anywhere.
Also, these tools could have great possibilities for students who don't have computers at home or nearby. In my district, we have a program called eLocker that gives each student an online "locker" in which they can upload and save files for access anywhere. This is a great program, but if the student is like me and doesn't have Office at home, often times the files are not compatable, and he or she can't open files saved at school. Little Jenny works hard on a report at school, saves it to eLocker to continue work in the evening, and goes home only to find that she can't open the document because she doesn't have the correct word processing program on her home computer. Or, she has a Mac (we've had a few problems with Mac compatibility). With Google Docs, these problems are completely eliminated! Woooo hoo! An alternative to this problematic situation!
Also, I should say that I chose to explore Google Docs because I use Gmail and I also use Google Reader for my RSS feeds, so continuing with the Google family of products seemed easiest...and truly, it is VERY easy to use. I found it especially easy because the Google products truly have a similar feel and look to them, so if you use Gmail, you can use Google Docs. If you use Google Docs, you can use the reader, etc.
Week #7, Thing #17: PA Curriculum Connections
I have requested permission to access a workspace!
Ok, update. I requested access, which I got a few days later. I posted a comment to the PBWiki under "Image Generators," and included some thoughts that I have on introducing these Web 2.0 tools as an alternative to playing computer games when trying to occupy students.
To view the comment, here is the link:
http://pacurriculum.pbworks.com/Image%20Generators%20and%20web%20award%20winners
Ok, update. I requested access, which I got a few days later. I posted a comment to the PBWiki under "Image Generators," and included some thoughts that I have on introducing these Web 2.0 tools as an alternative to playing computer games when trying to occupy students.
To view the comment, here is the link:
http://pacurriculum.pbworks.com/Image%20Generators%20and%20web%20award%20winners
Monday, May 18, 2009
Week #7, Thing #16 and #16A: Wikis and library innovation
It has taken me several days to complete this post because we are almost done with the school year (yeaaaaa!) and we are so busy! In any case, my many days of reading and examining wikis have come to an end and I am finally ready to tell the world my thoughts.
I took a look through several of the wikis posted on the page, including the Book Lovers wiki, the best practices wiki, and the wonderful teacherlibrarian wiki run by Joyce Valenza. The networking and collaboration powers of wikis are endless! I am so glad that I stumbled upon this wiki, but I wish that it was somehow better "advertised" in library land...or maybe it has been, and I've been missing it. In any case, I think that wikis have wonderful power to enable us, as librarians, to learn about what's going on with other librarians, add content to already fantastic suggestions and lessons, and use wikis to have students add content to a curricular-based wiki. I find that as a second year middle school librarian, I'm still working so hard to get my collection in order, build collaborative relationships with teachers, manage classroom behavior, and deal with my frustrating technology situation, that I'm often hesitant to approach teachers with ideas for projects (such as a project using wikis) because I am too concerned about other things. This is such a great tool that the best way to handle this will be to get more comforable with wikis and how they work, set one up and play around with it, and come up with a great project. Only when I know the ins and outs of wikis will I feel comforable using them in my library, but what great potential they have!
I took a look through several of the wikis posted on the page, including the Book Lovers wiki, the best practices wiki, and the wonderful teacherlibrarian wiki run by Joyce Valenza. The networking and collaboration powers of wikis are endless! I am so glad that I stumbled upon this wiki, but I wish that it was somehow better "advertised" in library land...or maybe it has been, and I've been missing it. In any case, I think that wikis have wonderful power to enable us, as librarians, to learn about what's going on with other librarians, add content to already fantastic suggestions and lessons, and use wikis to have students add content to a curricular-based wiki. I find that as a second year middle school librarian, I'm still working so hard to get my collection in order, build collaborative relationships with teachers, manage classroom behavior, and deal with my frustrating technology situation, that I'm often hesitant to approach teachers with ideas for projects (such as a project using wikis) because I am too concerned about other things. This is such a great tool that the best way to handle this will be to get more comforable with wikis and how they work, set one up and play around with it, and come up with a great project. Only when I know the ins and outs of wikis will I feel comforable using them in my library, but what great potential they have!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Week #6, Thing #15: The Future of Libraries and 2.0
I read a few of these 2.0 perspectives, and the one that I appreciated the most is Michael Stephens "Into a New World of Librarianship." I loved the concept of Librarian 2.0 and how today's "Librarian 2.0, then, is the 'strategy guide' for helping users find information, gather knowledge and create content." What a great characterization for today's librarians! While I think that this article seemed to be written more about public librarians, there are certainly applicable traits for School Librarians 2.0 included in Stephens' article.
The concept of a Librarian 2.0 planning for her users is central in school libraries. We need to plan for our users needs and wants. I work extremely hard to take my kids ideas and recommendations into account when ordering materials, making policies, and publicizing new programs. If my students' needs AND wants are not being met, I'm not doing the best job that I can in planning for my users.
Librarian 2.0 "gets content." Students creating content in the library is one of my favorite sights to see. When my students are able to find information and create content based upon their research and information, or take content and mash it up to create new content, they are creating learning and knowledge. I do everything that I can to get kids in here to do just that! On the same note, I am certainly attempting to embrace Web 2.0 tools...one of the main reasons that I'm doing this program is to find Web 2.0 tools to incorporate into my curriculum.
A few of the other characteristics, such as "controlling technolust" don't apply as well in my library, but I hope that I am embracing the Librarian 2.0 profile and applying these characteristics in my own library. From my view, Library 2.0 means embracing the changing technology, patrons, and world itself. Library 2.0 means that my school library will be a place for students to find information and create content, a place for students to interact, a place for students to embrace Web 2.0 tools that I promote. I find that so many educators get caught up in day-to-day struggles with student discipline, constant grading, new initiatives, etc. that we forget to take time to examine exactly why we are educators in the first place, and what we can do differently (and better!) to make our space the most positive area full of learning that is possible. Making my library a Library 2.0 will certainly keep me on the path to greatness.
The concept of a Librarian 2.0 planning for her users is central in school libraries. We need to plan for our users needs and wants. I work extremely hard to take my kids ideas and recommendations into account when ordering materials, making policies, and publicizing new programs. If my students' needs AND wants are not being met, I'm not doing the best job that I can in planning for my users.
Librarian 2.0 "gets content." Students creating content in the library is one of my favorite sights to see. When my students are able to find information and create content based upon their research and information, or take content and mash it up to create new content, they are creating learning and knowledge. I do everything that I can to get kids in here to do just that! On the same note, I am certainly attempting to embrace Web 2.0 tools...one of the main reasons that I'm doing this program is to find Web 2.0 tools to incorporate into my curriculum.
A few of the other characteristics, such as "controlling technolust" don't apply as well in my library, but I hope that I am embracing the Librarian 2.0 profile and applying these characteristics in my own library. From my view, Library 2.0 means embracing the changing technology, patrons, and world itself. Library 2.0 means that my school library will be a place for students to find information and create content, a place for students to interact, a place for students to embrace Web 2.0 tools that I promote. I find that so many educators get caught up in day-to-day struggles with student discipline, constant grading, new initiatives, etc. that we forget to take time to examine exactly why we are educators in the first place, and what we can do differently (and better!) to make our space the most positive area full of learning that is possible. Making my library a Library 2.0 will certainly keep me on the path to greatness.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Week #6, Thing #14: Technorati
Ok, Technorati. I spent some time poking around Technorati and I did two different searches. I searched "School Library Learning 2.0" in the Search the Blogosphere... box, and I got a lot of iffy results. A few of the blogs somehow applied to Web 2.0, but the format was not pleasing to view and I quickly realized that I'd probably need to have a more general topic to use that search tool. I also went to Blogs-->Blog Directory-->Web 2.0, and I found a lot of great sites. I viewed a few of them and my favorite so far is Mashable. I don't think that I completely understand all the tools or even the purpose of Mashable, but it has great listings for different sites and a variety of information. Love that!
I looked at the popular blogs and searches, and nothing terribly interesting. There were a few surprises about the popular searches...good to know that the environment ranks slightly higher than Paris Hilton in people's level of interest.
My main thought about tagging is that I still don't completely understand all it's purposes and functions, or simply that I find it much more usuable on sites like Flickr. I'm interested in viewing photos of weddings, I can look for sites with a wedding tag, etc. I'm getting something concrete from that (in Flickr's case, lots of photos). I think that I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of tagging things like blogs to find other blogs, etc. It's too much intangibility, if that makes any sense. I'm sure that I'm not expressing this as well as I'd like, but alas...I'm done.
I looked at the popular blogs and searches, and nothing terribly interesting. There were a few surprises about the popular searches...good to know that the environment ranks slightly higher than Paris Hilton in people's level of interest.
My main thought about tagging is that I still don't completely understand all it's purposes and functions, or simply that I find it much more usuable on sites like Flickr. I'm interested in viewing photos of weddings, I can look for sites with a wedding tag, etc. I'm getting something concrete from that (in Flickr's case, lots of photos). I think that I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of tagging things like blogs to find other blogs, etc. It's too much intangibility, if that makes any sense. I'm sure that I'm not expressing this as well as I'd like, but alas...I'm done.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Week #6, Thing #13: Del.icio.us
I spent some time looking around on Del.icio.us. Not really so thrilled. Maybe I just don't spend enough time on the internet to really feel like I need something like this, or more importantly, maybe I don't spend enough time on the internet to WANT something like this. I didn't find it very user friendly, although I did watch the tutorial and that did help a little bit. I guess I just feel as though this is a tool that actually takes up more time than it helps me, thereby making the negatives outweigh the positives.
I'm sure that there are advantages for this kind of tool in research, but I prefer to have my students do their own investigative work on the internet. When it comes to personal types of research, it may allow patrons the advantages of easier breadcrumbs to other sites.
I'm sure that there are advantages for this kind of tool in research, but I prefer to have my students do their own investigative work on the internet. When it comes to personal types of research, it may allow patrons the advantages of easier breadcrumbs to other sites.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Week #5, Thing #12: Rollyo
Hmmm...Rollyo. I can see great possibilities for this wonderful tool, especially in libraries. Now I just need to figure out how to use it in my own library!
I created a search roll for poetry. Every year, my 6th graders do a poetry anthology and are asked to use websites and poetry books to find a limerick, a haiku, a concrete poem, a rhyming narrative, a poem with a simile, an acrostic, etc. They have to find around 10 poems. While I think that this is a great, fun project that exposes them to lots of kinds of poetry, they often come to me and say, "Ms. Hill, I can't find a ______." Insert some kind of poem. The first thing that I do is make sure that they know how to identify one of those types of poems, but then the task is finding one...sometimes this isn't as easy as it seems. I have one teacher who wants the kids to alternate using books and computers. If Johnny is using a computer that day, we need to use a website to find a limerick...and finding a clean limerick for a 12-year-old is not always easy on the web! I figured that maybe I could make a Rollyo for kids poetry, and attach the link to my Destiny homepage.
I created the search roll, and it works ok. I would need to find at least 10 or 20 more sites (I used 7 or 8) in the Rollyo setup for the search roll to be really effective. I think that this tool has great possibilities for limiting searches to trusted sites, but it also seems as though it is enabling the kids just a tad too much. It's probably not a tool that I will use often, unless I have a stroke of genius as to how to use it more effectively!
I created a search roll for poetry. Every year, my 6th graders do a poetry anthology and are asked to use websites and poetry books to find a limerick, a haiku, a concrete poem, a rhyming narrative, a poem with a simile, an acrostic, etc. They have to find around 10 poems. While I think that this is a great, fun project that exposes them to lots of kinds of poetry, they often come to me and say, "Ms. Hill, I can't find a ______." Insert some kind of poem. The first thing that I do is make sure that they know how to identify one of those types of poems, but then the task is finding one...sometimes this isn't as easy as it seems. I have one teacher who wants the kids to alternate using books and computers. If Johnny is using a computer that day, we need to use a website to find a limerick...and finding a clean limerick for a 12-year-old is not always easy on the web! I figured that maybe I could make a Rollyo for kids poetry, and attach the link to my Destiny homepage.
I created the search roll, and it works ok. I would need to find at least 10 or 20 more sites (I used 7 or 8) in the Rollyo setup for the search roll to be really effective. I think that this tool has great possibilities for limiting searches to trusted sites, but it also seems as though it is enabling the kids just a tad too much. It's probably not a tool that I will use often, unless I have a stroke of genius as to how to use it more effectively!
Week #5, Thing #11: Web 2.0 Award-Winning Applications and Ning
I love Web 2.0! This list of award-winning applications is absolutely fantastic. I actually spent more time with this week's applications than I have with any other week's tools. While I will admit that I didn't explore sites that applied directly to libraries or literacy, I found tons of great applications for my life outside the library!
I chose www.zillow.com, a real estate application, because I am interested in buying my first home in the near future. This site is unlike so many other real estate sites because you can browse for listings by city, state, county, or STREET, which is incredible! We are interested in buying a home on a road that is several miles long, but it almost impossible to search for listings simply on that road on any other site. Also, Zillow uses Microsoft Virtual Earth to show other properties in the area that you are looking, and gives Zestimates (Zillow estimates) of approximate appraisal value. What a cool way to explore! You can also explore the map by moving around with your mouse, and explore a small area for available properties. I have spent many hours at home exploring this site for new listings, and I'm sure that I will explore many of the other award-winning sites. I already use a few, such as Urbanspoon for restaurants and Etsy for handmade items, and I love them both.
In terms of library applications, I don't see many of these things being used at my level, which is middle school. Perhaps in a public library some patrons would find these sites useful, especially when searching for jobs (Standout Jobs, Career Builder, Monster), documents (DocStoc), language tools (Mango), etc. Some of these applications could be extremely successful in aiding adult patrons, or even high school students. At the middle school level, I think that I will need to keep searching a little bit before I find applications for my students.
I chose www.zillow.com, a real estate application, because I am interested in buying my first home in the near future. This site is unlike so many other real estate sites because you can browse for listings by city, state, county, or STREET, which is incredible! We are interested in buying a home on a road that is several miles long, but it almost impossible to search for listings simply on that road on any other site. Also, Zillow uses Microsoft Virtual Earth to show other properties in the area that you are looking, and gives Zestimates (Zillow estimates) of approximate appraisal value. What a cool way to explore! You can also explore the map by moving around with your mouse, and explore a small area for available properties. I have spent many hours at home exploring this site for new listings, and I'm sure that I will explore many of the other award-winning sites. I already use a few, such as Urbanspoon for restaurants and Etsy for handmade items, and I love them both.
In terms of library applications, I don't see many of these things being used at my level, which is middle school. Perhaps in a public library some patrons would find these sites useful, especially when searching for jobs (Standout Jobs, Career Builder, Monster), documents (DocStoc), language tools (Mango), etc. Some of these applications could be extremely successful in aiding adult patrons, or even high school students. At the middle school level, I think that I will need to keep searching a little bit before I find applications for my students.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Week #5, Thing #10: Online Image Generator...so cool!
This is probably my favorite Thing so far. These tools are SO COOL! Because I'm at currently at school and I don't have access to any fun pictures, I decided to use an image generator that didn't need photos, so I created a map of countries that I've visited. The countries I visited are in pink, and the rest of the world (waiting to be visited!) is in tan.
I used the Map Maker generator at the Big Huge Labs website. Here's the link:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/
These tools allow you to make calendars, create photo cubes and image collages, all kinds of cool things. I'm thinking of making a calendar with personal photos to use at home. I love these generators! If I use more at home, I'll blog about my experiences. These tools have lots of possibilities for use in the library and displays, as well, which is great.
I used the Map Maker generator at the Big Huge Labs website. Here's the link:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/
These tools allow you to make calendars, create photo cubes and image collages, all kinds of cool things. I'm thinking of making a calendar with personal photos to use at home. I love these generators! If I use more at home, I'll blog about my experiences. These tools have lots of possibilities for use in the library and displays, as well, which is great.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Week #4, Thing #9: RSS Feeds and my Google Reader
After I blogged yesterday, I decided that maybe I was being too closed-minded about my personal possibilities with RSS feeds. Although I haven't been an avid blog reader in the past, maybe my Google Reader is just the thing I need to keep me going on the path to Web 2.0, so I decided that I would wait a few days to see how much I might use my Google Reader and check the RSS feeds now streaming into that one place.
Ok, I admit it: the first thing I did today was check my Reader. I was excited at the prospect of reading updates, seeing the new winners of the SJL Battle of the Kids' Books, reading about new tech gadgets. At first, I found it hard to find feeds that I might want to read. I explored the channels suggested by SLL Web 2.0 but I didn't find much. It wasn't until I remembered A Fuse #8 Production blog from SLJ that I went to the mag's site and found a plethora of great blogs that interested me! Jackpot! I am now subscribing to RSS feeds from a few personal favorite blogs and three from School Library Journal, and I'm loving it! Being able to see the updates all in one place is convenient. I honestly think that the hardest part of the whole process was that I didn't already have favorite blogs with an RSS feed to add, I had to find some...but overall, I am very excited.
Ok, I admit it: the first thing I did today was check my Reader. I was excited at the prospect of reading updates, seeing the new winners of the SJL Battle of the Kids' Books, reading about new tech gadgets. At first, I found it hard to find feeds that I might want to read. I explored the channels suggested by SLL Web 2.0 but I didn't find much. It wasn't until I remembered A Fuse #8 Production blog from SLJ that I went to the mag's site and found a plethora of great blogs that interested me! Jackpot! I am now subscribing to RSS feeds from a few personal favorite blogs and three from School Library Journal, and I'm loving it! Being able to see the updates all in one place is convenient. I honestly think that the hardest part of the whole process was that I didn't already have favorite blogs with an RSS feed to add, I had to find some...but overall, I am very excited.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Week #4, Thing #8: RSS Feeds and my Google Reader
I will be honest--until I read this week's post, I was clueless about RSS feeds. When I first started exploring, I was still a bit clueless, and I must admit that I'm not exactly feeling like an expert at this point, but I am definitely more knowledgable than I once was!
I love the fact that I now have a blog, a Flickr account, and a Google reader account with various RSS subscriptions, but I think that I will use my Google reader the least of any of these neat new tools. While I'm an avid web explorer, I don't have very many favorite blogs or sites that I visit daily or even weekly, so I do not see myself using this tool often in my personal (or professional) life. Since I visit two or three blogs a week, it's not time-consuming or difficult to simply visit each site seperately. I don't feel the overwhelming need to get all my updates in one fast visit to my Google reader. I think it's a very cool idea and certainly a time-saver for frequent blog-readers, but this Punky Librarian is not sold yet.
I love the fact that I now have a blog, a Flickr account, and a Google reader account with various RSS subscriptions, but I think that I will use my Google reader the least of any of these neat new tools. While I'm an avid web explorer, I don't have very many favorite blogs or sites that I visit daily or even weekly, so I do not see myself using this tool often in my personal (or professional) life. Since I visit two or three blogs a week, it's not time-consuming or difficult to simply visit each site seperately. I don't feel the overwhelming need to get all my updates in one fast visit to my Google reader. I think it's a very cool idea and certainly a time-saver for frequent blog-readers, but this Punky Librarian is not sold yet.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Week #3, Thing #7: Photos and Images (Technology Tidbits)
What interests me about technology this week? As much as I hate to admit it, my new fascination is video games. When I was a little kid, I was a huge gamer. My little brother and I were Nintendo royalty, and king and queen of Mario and the many lands in which he lived. When we advanced to a new system, we had a lot of Disney games: the Lion King, Aladdin, etc. Again, I was pretty darn good. Then I reached high school and my interest in video games all but disappeared. It wasn't until just recently that my boyfriend reintroduced me to the world of gaming by means of PS3 and Call of Duty. Don't get me wrong--I don't play CoD, nor do I really enjoy watching him play. There is far too much violence and loud noise (much of which is coming from the man on the couch!). With that in mind, let me say that the technology involved with created these games absolutely blows my mind.
The fact that he can sit at home on the couch and play this game with other team members who are sitting on couches in Las Vegas, Portland, Albany, and Miami is just amazing to me. He can use his Bluetooth to chat to his friend Adam, another CoD player, about where the other team members are hiding while at the same time making plans for the weekend. He can move around the battle fields and war zones with the perspective of actually seeing through the eyes of his character, and seeing blood splatter when he's made a kill.
Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER be involved in playing Call of Duty. But it sure is amazing to watch.
The fact that he can sit at home on the couch and play this game with other team members who are sitting on couches in Las Vegas, Portland, Albany, and Miami is just amazing to me. He can use his Bluetooth to chat to his friend Adam, another CoD player, about where the other team members are hiding while at the same time making plans for the weekend. He can move around the battle fields and war zones with the perspective of actually seeing through the eyes of his character, and seeing blood splatter when he's made a kill.
Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER be involved in playing Call of Duty. But it sure is amazing to watch.
Week #3, Thing #6: Photos and Images (Flickr mashups)
Well...Flickr mashups. So many cool things, so much time to waste. Maybe I just don't spend enough time "wasting time" online, but I think that most of these tools, while very fun, are things that I could use for about 2.4 minutes and then think, "You're wasting time. Be more productive." Now, it is true that the concept of wasting time is unique to one's perspective. I'm sure that many people could spend several hours on Mappr or Montagr and have a thoroughly enjoyable time, but I often have a hard time spending more than a few minutes using a tool unless there is a reason behind it.
I did, however, find a third party app with my name written all over it: Yahoo! Travel Trip Planner is allowing me to plan a glorious trip back to jolly old England. After my trip, I can come home and upload all my trip photos to a set on Flickr that connects to my trip done on Trip Planner. This is what I'm talking about! While the mashups are certainly quirky and enjoyable, I don't see myself using them much unless I can justify the time that I'm putting in. Thank you, Yahoo! Trip Planner, for exposing me to a third party Flickr app that allows me to "waste time" in a constructive way. I can almost taste the warm scones with clotted cream and see the beautiful city photos on Flickr right now.
I did, however, find a third party app with my name written all over it: Yahoo! Travel Trip Planner is allowing me to plan a glorious trip back to jolly old England. After my trip, I can come home and upload all my trip photos to a set on Flickr that connects to my trip done on Trip Planner. This is what I'm talking about! While the mashups are certainly quirky and enjoyable, I don't see myself using them much unless I can justify the time that I'm putting in. Thank you, Yahoo! Trip Planner, for exposing me to a third party Flickr app that allows me to "waste time" in a constructive way. I can almost taste the warm scones with clotted cream and see the beautiful city photos on Flickr right now.
Week #3, Thing #5: Photos and Images
For this week's discovery exercise, I decided to do all I can to learn about Flickr, so I created an account. You can view my Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepunkylibrarian/.
The photos in my STMS Library set on the right are in chronological order from newest to oldest, but I haven't figured out how to do something very basic--change the order of photos in my stream once they are uploaded. Ahhh, technology. I need to keep playing and I'm sure that I will figure it out, but so far I have learned that Flickr is much easier to use than I originally anticipated. Uploaded, editing, and doing tasks such as tagging and creating sets are straightforward and I am having tons of fun exploring the groups option. I had no idea that so many different groups existed! Before yesterday, I assumed that Flickr was simply a photosharing site for family and friends, but it is possible to join groups, send messages, comment on photos, and really explore the world through other people's pictures. I found tons of groups dedicated to sharing pictures of craft show displays and set-ups, one of my current loves/frustrations. This group helped my brain start moving with ideas!
As I grow older (currently at the ripe old age of 26!), I am finding that sites such as MySpace seem to cater toward a younger group of users; Flickr would be a great place for me to continue photo communication with my friends and family around the country.
The photos in my STMS Library set on the right are in chronological order from newest to oldest, but I haven't figured out how to do something very basic--change the order of photos in my stream once they are uploaded. Ahhh, technology. I need to keep playing and I'm sure that I will figure it out, but so far I have learned that Flickr is much easier to use than I originally anticipated. Uploaded, editing, and doing tasks such as tagging and creating sets are straightforward and I am having tons of fun exploring the groups option. I had no idea that so many different groups existed! Before yesterday, I assumed that Flickr was simply a photosharing site for family and friends, but it is possible to join groups, send messages, comment on photos, and really explore the world through other people's pictures. I found tons of groups dedicated to sharing pictures of craft show displays and set-ups, one of my current loves/frustrations. This group helped my brain start moving with ideas!
As I grow older (currently at the ripe old age of 26!), I am finding that sites such as MySpace seem to cater toward a younger group of users; Flickr would be a great place for me to continue photo communication with my friends and family around the country.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Week #1 and 2, Things #1-4: Blogging (7 1/2 Habits)
I think that this online tutorial was a wonderful way to begin learning the 23 Things of Library 2.0. I liked the various aspects of the tutorial, including the fact that there was a slide, sound, and text, so I could "rewind" the tutorial as I needed to review different points.
I am happy to report that, much to my surprise, I seem to embody the profile of a lifelong learner! Of the 7 1/2 Habits, there were only one or two that didn't immediately remind me of an aspect of my personal life and the way that I respond to learning or new learning situations.
The easiest habit for me is Habit #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I love to learn and am considering going back to school to work on a second Masters degree, but I find myslef learning new things everyday if less formal settings. The various aspects of this habit, including taking training or classes, being an active participant, reading, and asking questions, seem to be second nature to me. I am baffled by the amount of "useless" and highly useful knowledge I have acquired by reading; I find that there is no more empowering or englightening activity than choosing a book and reading to discover new lands, new characters, and new information. Being an active participant and asking questions are characteristics of many of my most diligent students. Rather than sitting back and letting knowledge come to them, they take charge of their own learning by volunteering opinions, facts, and asking questions, and I am happy to say that these are my own habits, as well.
The most difficult habit for me is possibly Habit #1: Begin with an end in mind. While I understand that this is probably a logical step, as illustrated in the example of learning to speak Spanish, I don't agree that a highly specific end is always neccessary. I began this course as a way to learn new technology and new tools that would allow me to be a better school librarian and a more informed person. This is fairly general. I have not set an end such as "Learn how to create podcasts and use them in my lessons." If this is an end result of my goal, wonderful! If I learn other tools instead, wonderful! I suppose that I do begin with an end in mind, but it's usually not as specific as the tutorial would seem to want from someone with the 7 1/2 Habits.
I am looking forward to learning more in Thing #2!
I am happy to report that, much to my surprise, I seem to embody the profile of a lifelong learner! Of the 7 1/2 Habits, there were only one or two that didn't immediately remind me of an aspect of my personal life and the way that I respond to learning or new learning situations.
The easiest habit for me is Habit #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I love to learn and am considering going back to school to work on a second Masters degree, but I find myslef learning new things everyday if less formal settings. The various aspects of this habit, including taking training or classes, being an active participant, reading, and asking questions, seem to be second nature to me. I am baffled by the amount of "useless" and highly useful knowledge I have acquired by reading; I find that there is no more empowering or englightening activity than choosing a book and reading to discover new lands, new characters, and new information. Being an active participant and asking questions are characteristics of many of my most diligent students. Rather than sitting back and letting knowledge come to them, they take charge of their own learning by volunteering opinions, facts, and asking questions, and I am happy to say that these are my own habits, as well.
The most difficult habit for me is possibly Habit #1: Begin with an end in mind. While I understand that this is probably a logical step, as illustrated in the example of learning to speak Spanish, I don't agree that a highly specific end is always neccessary. I began this course as a way to learn new technology and new tools that would allow me to be a better school librarian and a more informed person. This is fairly general. I have not set an end such as "Learn how to create podcasts and use them in my lessons." If this is an end result of my goal, wonderful! If I learn other tools instead, wonderful! I suppose that I do begin with an end in mind, but it's usually not as specific as the tutorial would seem to want from someone with the 7 1/2 Habits.
I am looking forward to learning more in Thing #2!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Beginning to blog...
Good morning, world! As a brand-new blogger, I am very excited to explore the 23 Tools of School Library Learning Web 2.0 so that I may become a better, brighter, and more punky librarian. I am about to embark on a journey filled with neat little gadgets and tools that will surely make both my life and library more exciting.
I'm about to learn the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. Here I go!
I'm about to learn the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. Here I go!
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