Thing #23

Wow! I have learned so much doing the 23 Things. On Thing #2 when we looked at the 7 1/2 Habits, I said the hardest for me was confidence as a competent learner. That has changed! I feel so much more confident now. I look forward to using the tools we have learned about in the library and at home. Thanks to all who set this program up with clear instructions, wonderful links, and useful discovery activities.

Thing #22

I looked at several of the Nings and especially liked the ones for Librarians. I like that Nings are created by people with similar interests. The groups are an excellent way to share ideas and network. There were so many groups of interest to me on these Nings. The book discussions, suggestions for new YA titles, Classroom 2.0 ideas, and hearing what other School Librarians have to share would be valuable. Great way to connect!

Thing #21

Creating this videocast was great experience for using this kind of technology. I'm glad I learned more about it. These will be great for introducing books, book reviews, photo projects...lots of uses!

Thing #20

On YouTube I found several videos for "librarians" and "library 2.0". There are amusing looks at librarians and learning videos as well. The one I selected to embed is from San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science and is instructional for Picasa.



TeacherTube offers a wealth of material that is easy to search and access. I looked at several videos for high school science subjects. The choices were plentiful and well done. The photography in the one I selected is superb!

Thing #19

Oh my, so many awarding winning sites to look at! The tool I finally selected is Spashup from the Photos and Digital Images category. Splashup is a photo editing and management tool. It works much like Photoshop, but is free. It is compatible with all browsers and allows photo sharing from other sites like Flickr. You can upload your own photos too. It is especially useful for editing and adding to photos. There are lots of creative manipulation options like filters, color overlays, and drawing tools. Text can be added to your project. Even Webcam applications work with Splashup. I can see this program being used in our high school library to enhance research projects and create displays. I look forward to experimenting more with Splashup.

Thing #18

After exploring both Open Office and Google Docs I found Open Office to be easier to use with a wealth of options. Wow! The advantage of Open Office is that it has options comparible to Microsoft Office, but is free. It is very user friendly with the icon format. The template and background choices are great. The availability of math formula symbols is super. The best part is that all documents/projects can be saved to Word, Excel, etc. I can see this as an advantage for saving homework in a format that can be used on school computers. We have had problems with kids using a different program at home and not being able to open saved documents at school. I'm sure there may be disadvantages, but I haven't used Open Office enough yet to find
them.

Thing #17

I used Rollyo to develop a customized search for a Countries Research project - World History class. Having worked with students last year on a similar project and having them think Google was the only way to go with thousands of results for each country to be researched, this will be far more concise. I got a couple sites from the Explore part of Rollyo that others had set up, but also found more to customize on my list. Each site is full of information, pictures, cultural differences, maps, and flags.

http://rollyo.com/redreader/countries_research/

Thing #16

Exploring wikis has been fun. I can really see the value of this sharing tool. In my personal life I will use a wiki for coordinating with committees. I wish I knew about this when I had all those group projects that required a bunch of people trying coordinate location and time. Not easy!
The high school library will be a perfect place to connect with wikis for bookclubs, reviews, input from students and faculty, scheduling and interacting on projects.

Thing #15

Library 2.0 brings libraries to the center stage of the digital "life on the go" style that we live in now. It encourages users to embrace the library as far more than a place to come check out books. Collaboration and involvement are the keys. As Michael Stephens points out in "Into a New World of Librarianship", librarians focus on "user needs and wants" and "breakdown barriers and allow users access wherever they are: home, work, commuting, school, or at the library."

It is exciting for the school librarian in that we can make these technologies available to all. We are part of the student's lifestyle. I work in a high school and the possibilities for student interaction and involvement are endless.

Thing #14

Searching "School Library Learning 2.0" in Technorati was interesting. The Blog Directory was less specific, lots of things on schools and connected subjects like swine flu. The Blog posts were more specific and many by local individuals. Better place to go for details on a certain topic. The tag search brought up several of the blogs I had already read.

It was fun to see the variation of popular searches. Everything from politics to men. I enjoyed the popular blogs for movies section. The popular tags didn't surprise me too much, since they were politics, news and blogging.

I found Technorati a little more difficult to navigate than De.licio.us, but I can see sites like this really help to make searches concise. That is of value to me when researching a topic. Tags help to group the subjects, which is a valuable resource.

Thing #13

I found social bookmarking sites, in particular Del.icio.us, to be good resources for organizing and streamlining information. The tutorial for Del.icio.us made it easy to understand set-up and features.
This is a great tool for research assistance, as it allows for collaboration with peers and saves lots of time normally spent searching websites. The fact that bookmarks can be accessed from any computer is very useful, as they are available at all times from all places. Librarians and teachers can take advantage of social bookmarking sites for sharing common interests, research topics and to collaborate. These sites allow for concise organization of information.

Thing #12

One point for successful commenting that is important was suggested on Blue Skunk. That is to react to bloggers. This lets them know that you think their comments are important and they are open to several viewpoints. The other point if found very important was on Cool Cat Teacher. That is to make your comments meaningful. Take time to think about what you have to say. Don't waste time with comments that aren't relevent.

Commenting on Library2Play blogs was fun since we're all in this together. I have gotten lots of great ideas from others' posts.

For my outside blog comments I found interesting programming ideas on Library Goddess. LIS News.org had interesting Web 2.0 and how it is being used for interlibrary loan programs.
I used Google Blog Search to find these topics.
http://librarygoddesses-programideas.blogspot.com
http://www.lisnews.org/impact_digital_world_cataloging_systems

Thing #11

I found LibraryThing to be easy to use and full of up to date book information. I can see using it for information about books I am interested in reading and to keep up with books I have read. The reviews and comments from other readers were most helpful. At the high school level, LibraryThing will be good for student book clubs. I looked at several of the groups and found some that share my interests: Librarians Who LibraryThing, Read YA Lit and Book Talk.

Thing #10

These image generators were fun to explore. Lots of interesting things! I experimented with many, some easier to use than others. I can see using image generators in the library for beginning of the year introductions, for promotions of events, to highlight new books and for getting the students involved.

Thing #9

Edublogs' award winners was the easiest search tool for me. The various categories of blogs provide excellent sources. School Library Blogs on Suprglu was also easy to use.

Syndic8.com was more confusing, in that it was overwhelming. I felt it had too much information to sort through. My searches came up with less specific results than with other search tools.

I found several useful feeds, including Hey Jude:learning in an online world which has up to date information, provides ideas, and shares student projects. The Loud Librarian:Book Brags is a upbeat source for ideas, book reviews and student comments. Youth Voices is excellent for seeing how high school students are using techology. It shares projects and discussion.

More unusual, but very helpful to me was Nik's Learning Tech Blog which is geared for ELL/ESL teachers. Very good examples for projects.

Thing #8

RSS and readers are major time management tools! What a great way to receive specific information without spending time searching and searching.

The blogs I subscribed to pertain to what is important to me in the library. I'll use this
technology to stay current with library programming, book reviews, updates on cataloging
and new uses for 2.0 technology.

Libraries/teachers/administrators can use this technology to stay current, while managing
valuable time. The user friendly format of Google Reader, for example, makes it easy to
keep up with pertinent subjects for our 21st century learners.

Thing #7

After looking at all the Google Tools, I set up my iGoogle page and some Google Alerts. I like the personalization options for iGoogle from local weather to subjects of interest. I like the option for Google Alerts to be sent to the iGoogle page. The alerts were easy to set up and have provided up to date information in several formats for the topics I requested. Super timesaver! I would use the iGoogle feature for students to set up homepages. Google Alerts are an excellent way for students to stay connected with current events.

I also found the Google Advanced Search feature to be helpful, especially for selecting a format like Powerpoint. There were several good examples from reputable sources on Copyright, for
example. Good tool for teachers and librarians.

Thing #6 (continued)

Forgot to add my trading card. A look at one of our National Parks.

Thing #6

Several mashups intrigued me, each offering a different outcome. I especially liked Mappr for personalizing maps with travel photos. This would certainly spice up geography research projects. Mosaic Maker would be an excellent way to focus on new books and authors.
The Trading Cards would be super for Dewey practice (as shown in one of the "librarian trading
cards" section), learning about authors, or to feature the E-Books in our library.

Thing #5

Very exciting possibilities with Flickr! I chose the Monet "Water Lilies" painting from the Louvre in Paris to show the magnitude of its size, which I think students would find impressive. Also I found a photo of the lily pond in Monet's garden which served as the inspiration for several of his works.

Thing #3

Wow! Setting up my blog was interesting...thanks to the clear directions. The avatar selection was fun. I can really get into this!

Thing #2

The 7&1/2 Habits summarizes very well expectations for lifelong learners. Good for us to review and pass on to students. The easiest habit for me is to accept responsibility for my own learning. If a person isn't open to learning, it won't happen. The drive has to be there. The hardest habit for me at present is to have confidence as a competent, effective learner. By the end of these 23 Things, my goal is to gain that confidence!