Sunday, September 19, 2010
Back after a While...
I have not posted here in a while, but not becase I forgot about it. I've been really busy.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Thing 23 Hooray
I think that the blog itself has been my favorite activity. I knew some of the things, but I have never even considered blogging before. I think I will keep it up for a while at least. Kind of fun :-)
I'm not sure that it has changed my "lifelong learning goals," but I certainly want to check out what's next in the realm of "things." I've always been kind of an obsessive learner, so "things" will be my flavor of the month until I find the next "thing." One great bonus of this program is that I know new and interesting ways and places to look for great information on any weird subject that blows my way! (Zombies anyone?)
Favorite unexpected bit - I found my daughter's Twitter account. I didn't know she had one, and I certainly didn't know she was searchable. YIKES.
This program is GREAT. Maybe publicize it more? I had heard of "23 Things" but I didn't know what it was or that I would learn so much and enjoy it so much.
Keep me posted if you continue the program. I can't think of a better way to stay up to date, and isn't that what librarians are supposed to do - learn what's out there so we can share it with others!
23 Things is a FUN way to explore what's out there...
Well, it's midnight... I'm outta here! See Ya...
I'm not sure that it has changed my "lifelong learning goals," but I certainly want to check out what's next in the realm of "things." I've always been kind of an obsessive learner, so "things" will be my flavor of the month until I find the next "thing." One great bonus of this program is that I know new and interesting ways and places to look for great information on any weird subject that blows my way! (Zombies anyone?)
Favorite unexpected bit - I found my daughter's Twitter account. I didn't know she had one, and I certainly didn't know she was searchable. YIKES.
This program is GREAT. Maybe publicize it more? I had heard of "23 Things" but I didn't know what it was or that I would learn so much and enjoy it so much.
Keep me posted if you continue the program. I can't think of a better way to stay up to date, and isn't that what librarians are supposed to do - learn what's out there so we can share it with others!
23 Things is a FUN way to explore what's out there...
Well, it's midnight... I'm outta here! See Ya...
Thing 12 - Finally
Well, I've commented on several blogs. My favorites are a blog about renovating a Victorian home (I have the GT obsessive thing), my brother's band mate's blog, and one I found about surviving the End of the World as We Know It... I commented on some from class. I'll go back and finish my class commenting in a few minutes. One thing about commenting is the diffence between a great comment and just a comment.
Two things I think make a comment great are:
1. It keeps discussion going. Let the blogger know what you agree with or disagree with... Ask a question. (I'm still waiting for an answer from one blogger about where she found her super - awesome video! I want to give credit to the person who created it!) READ the blog post first though. If you ask a question that was already answered in the blog you look pretty dumb AND you're wasting time and space on the blog.
2. Post links. If you want to get a discussion going, post a link to your blog. Post links to anything you bring up that is in a web site that you mention. It is really annoying to have a great idea that you cannot take any farther becasue you don't know where the information, idea, or whatever came from!
Two things I think make a comment great are:
1. It keeps discussion going. Let the blogger know what you agree with or disagree with... Ask a question. (I'm still waiting for an answer from one blogger about where she found her super - awesome video! I want to give credit to the person who created it!) READ the blog post first though. If you ask a question that was already answered in the blog you look pretty dumb AND you're wasting time and space on the blog.
2. Post links. If you want to get a discussion going, post a link to your blog. Post links to anything you bring up that is in a web site that you mention. It is really annoying to have a great idea that you cannot take any farther becasue you don't know where the information, idea, or whatever came from!
My brother's music comment
Oh, that song was from his first "solo" album... He made it for my mom and it has Steve on everything... Guitars, drums, lead singer, backup singers, etc.
Maybe I'll post some more stuff of his later.
His band is Spain Colored Orange. He's the cute bass player.
They have a few albums on Amazon.
Maybe I'll post some more stuff of his later.
His band is Spain Colored Orange. He's the cute bass player.
They have a few albums on Amazon.
More thing 21
Ok... I lied. Here is someting I made earlier. I still plan to try out the other program, but I had this saved in my Screencast account, so I thought I would share it.
Besides, my brother likes it when I share this one. I used music off of one of his CDs.
Besides, my brother likes it when I share this one. I used music off of one of his CDs.
Thing 22
I went to the Texas School Librarians Ning. The first thing I saw there was Mitch smiling and Bronwyn's cute Avatar...
I can see this Ning not only being useful for getting information about "what's up" in Texas libraries, but also being a useful tool to keep track of other librarians you know...
It is not like a bunch of school librarians work in the same building and can hang out together or run to lunch together on their "lunch hour" (that's a joke...)
This Ning could help librarians feel more connected and is better than e-mail or phone calls because it feels more like a social site - like facebook.
The blogs were cool too. Lots of good ideas and information being shared by people who are living it...
I can see this Ning not only being useful for getting information about "what's up" in Texas libraries, but also being a useful tool to keep track of other librarians you know...
It is not like a bunch of school librarians work in the same building and can hang out together or run to lunch together on their "lunch hour" (that's a joke...)
This Ning could help librarians feel more connected and is better than e-mail or phone calls because it feels more like a social site - like facebook.
The blogs were cool too. Lots of good ideas and information being shared by people who are living it...
Thing 21 or not...
I have been using MovieMaker for class and really like it.
My Sunday School kids have been working on a video this Summer. We finished a segment spoofing the story of Job in more modern terms - they called it Mean Girls - the Jo B. Story. It turned out pretty cute, and was not too bad for a first attempt. The audio on our little video camera was terrible and the kids had a fit when I said I might put it on here.
I sort of ran out of time on this one - not going to stay up much later, but I may come back and do it after the semester is over. I have a feeling that this week is going to kick my...
My Sunday School kids have been working on a video this Summer. We finished a segment spoofing the story of Job in more modern terms - they called it Mean Girls - the Jo B. Story. It turned out pretty cute, and was not too bad for a first attempt. The audio on our little video camera was terrible and the kids had a fit when I said I might put it on here.
I sort of ran out of time on this one - not going to stay up much later, but I may come back and do it after the semester is over. I have a feeling that this week is going to kick my...
Comment
The Common Craft videos are really great and funny to watch. I was expecting boring... but I usually get a giggle or two from each one I watch.
Thing 19
The Awards page had a lot of interesting recommendations. Several I already knew about and some that I had never heard of. My first thought was to visit the ones that won awards for Widgets. They were not what I was looking for, in fact, the widgets offered on iGoogle are way cooler.?. I never found anything on Yourminis or Flock that I thought counted as a Widget? Maybe I missed something.
So I decided to check out Craigslist.
During the short time I was there I found a free horse for my daughter, cheap goats, a claw foot tub, some very inexpensive craft books, and several different ads for shelving... I would assume that if I were looking for something, and needed to get it cheap, this would be a great place to look. I doubt that I could purchase anything from Craigslist with budget money though. I guess I would be on my own.
So I decided to check out Craigslist.
During the short time I was there I found a free horse for my daughter, cheap goats, a claw foot tub, some very inexpensive craft books, and several different ads for shelving... I would assume that if I were looking for something, and needed to get it cheap, this would be a great place to look. I doubt that I could purchase anything from Craigslist with budget money though. I guess I would be on my own.
Thing 18
Hooray! One I've already done :-)
We used Google Docs for a project in another class. Several of us were collaborating on one paper... Google Docs made it really easy because we could go in and edit each other's work whenever we were available and we diidn't have to meet in person as much. We could highlight parts and make comments.
It was pretty easy once all of our e-mail addresses were entered as editors.
This is another tool I can see being useful for Communication Applications. It would be great for group communication. The only problem might be that all of my students do not have an e-mail account. We had to use a fake one for their e-mail assignment from our class web site, because it would not let them post without entering a return e-mail address.
We used Google Docs for a project in another class. Several of us were collaborating on one paper... Google Docs made it really easy because we could go in and edit each other's work whenever we were available and we diidn't have to meet in person as much. We could highlight parts and make comments.
It was pretty easy once all of our e-mail addresses were entered as editors.
This is another tool I can see being useful for Communication Applications. It would be great for group communication. The only problem might be that all of my students do not have an e-mail account. We had to use a fake one for their e-mail assignment from our class web site, because it would not let them post without entering a return e-mail address.
Thing 17
I've been playing around on Rollyo for a while. It is pretty cool. I went ahead and made an account... I feel like I'm in account overload right now though. I am glad I have been using OneNote for another class. I made a place to keep all of my numerous log in hints to myself - otherwise I would never be able to get back in to any of this.
So anyway, I created a Rollyo roll of my own related to moving to the middle of nowhere... It has survival type sites, home renovation sites (we looked at an 1800s Victorian in the middle of NOWHERE this weekend! It was AWESOME!), Mother Earth News, etc. I did not really like making my own roll thing.
I did, however, check out some created by other users. They were awesome!
Chris Lindquist's Home Renovation search was by far my favorite... I'll use it again
So anyway, I created a Rollyo roll of my own related to moving to the middle of nowhere... It has survival type sites, home renovation sites (we looked at an 1800s Victorian in the middle of NOWHERE this weekend! It was AWESOME!), Mother Earth News, etc. I did not really like making my own roll thing.
I did, however, check out some created by other users. They were awesome!
Chris Lindquist's Home Renovation search was by far my favorite... I'll use it again
Thing 16
We have used Wikis and created Wikis for classes at UHCL. So I have used them as a student.
I can see how they would be useful for a teacher or a librarian who wanted to coordinate an assignment or any other class event.
Our librarian is also the National Honor Society sponsor for the school. I know that she would benefit hugely from using a Wiki - to get information to her kids, coordinate schedules and get answers. It would be som much easier to have them log in to the Wiki and do things like enter their hours or shirt sizes. Who wants to volunteer for the community project next Thursday? Just enter your name on the Wiki!
I will most likely create a Wiki for my classes next year... After all, it is almost a definition for Communication Applications! I can link it to our class web page :-)
I can see how they would be useful for a teacher or a librarian who wanted to coordinate an assignment or any other class event.
Our librarian is also the National Honor Society sponsor for the school. I know that she would benefit hugely from using a Wiki - to get information to her kids, coordinate schedules and get answers. It would be som much easier to have them log in to the Wiki and do things like enter their hours or shirt sizes. Who wants to volunteer for the community project next Thursday? Just enter your name on the Wiki!
I will most likely create a Wiki for my classes next year... After all, it is almost a definition for Communication Applications! I can link it to our class web page :-)
More Thing 15...
"No profession can survive if it throws its core principles and values overboard in response to every shift in the zeitgeist. However, it can be equally disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves. "
-Rick Anderson, Away from the “icebergs”
Even though I'm sure most of you read this article along with the others, I thought that this comment was really profound. Of course, librarians are not going to abandon the core principals of locating, catagorizing, and sharing knowledge. Of course librarians are still going to be at the leading edges of what is next - we have access to the information and the drive and desire to learn so that we CAN share.
On the other hand, any group can miss the boat on what is next. It will take hard work, collaboration, awesome and supportive administrators, and forward thinking librarians to keep up in our 2.0 world that changes every day!
Oooohhhh... thats cool! What is that? How do I use it? SWEET!!!! Who can I show this to?
Hey... I've got something I think your students would LOVE!
-Rick Anderson, Away from the “icebergs”
Even though I'm sure most of you read this article along with the others, I thought that this comment was really profound. Of course, librarians are not going to abandon the core principals of locating, catagorizing, and sharing knowledge. Of course librarians are still going to be at the leading edges of what is next - we have access to the information and the drive and desire to learn so that we CAN share.
On the other hand, any group can miss the boat on what is next. It will take hard work, collaboration, awesome and supportive administrators, and forward thinking librarians to keep up in our 2.0 world that changes every day!
Oooohhhh... thats cool! What is that? How do I use it? SWEET!!!! Who can I show this to?
Hey... I've got something I think your students would LOVE!
Part of Thing 15...
I saw this on another blog... Barbie's blog BeyondBooks... She found it on YouTube. I couldn't find it there, but I thought it was worth watching.
Thing 14
I have enjoyed other people's tags on Amazon for a while. Like I said, I check reviews and comments on almost everything before I buy it... so tags are not new to me.
On the other hand, the tools we explored for the 23 things - Delicious and Technorati are new to me. The ways that tags are used to help people file and locate information are used in ways I had not thought of before. I know that the tag searches could really help with research with a small time investment up front, you could make your students' search experience go more smoothly.
I thought that it was funny that the honchos at Technorati said that the top 100 bloggers are probably the top 100 weirdos that never walk away from their computers... Seems like if they really felt that way, they would figure out a better system of locating the top 100. I scanned through the top 25 or so - didn't really see anything I couldn't live without reading.
To me, Technorati seems more difficult to use than Delicious. I found the tags to be more searchable and more useful on Delicious. I tried some related to things like homesteading and country living. Not much on Technorati - wrong crowd I guess. :-)
On the other hand, the tools we explored for the 23 things - Delicious and Technorati are new to me. The ways that tags are used to help people file and locate information are used in ways I had not thought of before. I know that the tag searches could really help with research with a small time investment up front, you could make your students' search experience go more smoothly.
I thought that it was funny that the honchos at Technorati said that the top 100 bloggers are probably the top 100 weirdos that never walk away from their computers... Seems like if they really felt that way, they would figure out a better system of locating the top 100. I scanned through the top 25 or so - didn't really see anything I couldn't live without reading.
To me, Technorati seems more difficult to use than Delicious. I found the tags to be more searchable and more useful on Delicious. I tried some related to things like homesteading and country living. Not much on Technorati - wrong crowd I guess. :-)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thing 13
These bookmarking sites are pretty cool. I found a lot of information linked to the tag ALA while I was at Del.icio.us. (I also found a lot of interesting things linked to the tag Twilight.)
I can imagine these types of sites being very useful for my students when we are doing research on controversial topics for our panel discussions. Not only did the information I found all seem very relevant, the additional tags might give students more ideas for widening their searches and thinking outside of the box for their topics.
For instance searching for tagged items with marijuana came back with ideas like - politics, history, health, law, activism, and so forth. Most of my students would never get beyond the obvious - but this site would make it easier to go more in depth with the topic.
I can imagine these types of sites being very useful for my students when we are doing research on controversial topics for our panel discussions. Not only did the information I found all seem very relevant, the additional tags might give students more ideas for widening their searches and thinking outside of the box for their topics.
For instance searching for tagged items with marijuana came back with ideas like - politics, history, health, law, activism, and so forth. Most of my students would never get beyond the obvious - but this site would make it easier to go more in depth with the topic.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thing 20
I couldn't resist anymore... Most of these are my babies :-)
I like the "tubes." We use SchoolTube at school beacuse YouTube is blocked.
I like the "tubes." We use SchoolTube at school beacuse YouTube is blocked.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Bad Joke... Mid Thing Humor
Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini...
Bartender asks... Olive or twist?
Bartender asks... Olive or twist?
Thing 11
I went to Librarything and followed the directions. I added several books from my personal library. It was very easy to join and to use.
I can imagine using this to keep up with what I have read. I would probably keep a section for books I want to recommend to patrons.
The recommendations and connections sections seem like good places to look for books that might be of interest related to books you have already read.
The groups would probably be fun to peruse when I have more time. I dropped in on a few. The Green Dragon looks like one I will probably go back to some time in July :-)
I can imagine using this to keep up with what I have read. I would probably keep a section for books I want to recommend to patrons.
The recommendations and connections sections seem like good places to look for books that might be of interest related to books you have already read.
The groups would probably be fun to peruse when I have more time. I dropped in on a few. The Green Dragon looks like one I will probably go back to some time in July :-)
Thing 10
I tried out some image generators. I especially liked the ones Mitch suggested in his blog. (My son liked the zombie by the way.)
Here are a few that I did.
created in Spiffy Text
Created in Comic Strip Generator
* My computer suggested that Comic Strip Generator was a "suspicious site"
Here are a few that I did.
created in Spiffy Text
Created in Comic Strip Generator
* My computer suggested that Comic Strip Generator was a "suspicious site"
Thing 9
The Google Blog search was the easiest for me, which I guess is weird, because I’ve been reading in some of the other blogs that I’m following that they thought it was the most difficult. I did not care for topix. Even though it was about my “area,” I found it difficult to navigate to anything I was interested in… I did like Technorati though. It was fun to browse and just see what is out there.
People sure have a lot to say…
People sure have a lot to say…
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Thing 8
What do you like about RSS and readers?
This was something I had not used before. I found my daughter's Twitter... interesting.
It is cool to be able to see lots of things that interest you in one convenient spot.
How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
I am not sure that I would use this at school, but it would be good to keep track of my family and real estate news for San Augustine.
How can libraries/teachers/administrators use readers or take advantage of this new technology?
It would be a good way to keep track of all of the things that are going on in a high school.
You could subscribe to feeds dealing with sports, arts, and academics.
It would be a neat way to keep up with professional development too.
This was something I had not used before. I found my daughter's Twitter... interesting.
It is cool to be able to see lots of things that interest you in one convenient spot.
How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
I am not sure that I would use this at school, but it would be good to keep track of my family and real estate news for San Augustine.
How can libraries/teachers/administrators use readers or take advantage of this new technology?
It would be a good way to keep track of all of the things that are going on in a high school.
You could subscribe to feeds dealing with sports, arts, and academics.
It would be a neat way to keep up with professional development too.
Thing 7
Well.. I am not fond of Google to begin with. I do not normally use it.
I found Google Scholar to be a useful tool. I think that students using Google Scholar would find more useful links and information than they would using just a "regular" search engine. I noticed that there were not any advertisements in the search results.
I did not want to sign up for or download anything I do not plan to use, so I did the iGoogle, because you did not have to do either of those things to use it properly.
I was not terribly impressed with it. The hamster was cool, but I did not find anything in their preset list of topics that I was actually interested in... I finally selected technology just to have content on my site.
Anyway, my conclusion is that I will probably not use Google any more than I did before.
I would really prefer my students use the databases in the library. I might suggest that they use Google Scholar if we cannot find anything on the databases.
I found Google Scholar to be a useful tool. I think that students using Google Scholar would find more useful links and information than they would using just a "regular" search engine. I noticed that there were not any advertisements in the search results.
I did not want to sign up for or download anything I do not plan to use, so I did the iGoogle, because you did not have to do either of those things to use it properly.
I was not terribly impressed with it. The hamster was cool, but I did not find anything in their preset list of topics that I was actually interested in... I finally selected technology just to have content on my site.
Anyway, my conclusion is that I will probably not use Google any more than I did before.
I would really prefer my students use the databases in the library. I might suggest that they use Google Scholar if we cannot find anything on the databases.
Thing 6
I looked through the mashups / 3rd Part Sites. One that I found really amazing was the Flickr Color Pickr. I could see lots of uses if you could save the pictures and import them into a project. I can just see awesome mosaic projects going on in the classroom...
I sent KrazyDad, or Jim Bumgardner, an e-mail. I am interested to see if he will reply.
I sent KrazyDad, or Jim Bumgardner, an e-mail. I am interested to see if he will reply.
PS to Thing 5
Paint Chip book Uploaded on March 28, 2010by Urban Woodswalker
and
Bookcase Desk Uploaded on May 13, 2007by bowena
and
Bookcase Desk Uploaded on May 13, 2007by bowena
Thing 5
I liked this picture. It sort of makes me feel at home. I am missing my desk. I like to sit down after the kids are gona end drink tea.I can see the Creative Commons being really useful for our book trailers next year!!!
My students love to download pictures, and having one more copyright issue resolved is a beautiful thing...
I like the paint chip book beacuse my daughter has been looking for crafts where she can recycle materials. I think she will like making one of these.
Thing 3
It was much easier to create the blog and the avatar than it was to export the avatar to the blog. Thank you Thema for your help!
I enjoyed creating the avatar. I have another avatar created at a different site. It talks, but it did not have anywhere near the selection in wardrobe...
I would have preferred the ability to change the features of the actual character more though.
I enjoyed creating the avatar. I have another avatar created at a different site. It talks, but it did not have anywhere near the selection in wardrobe...
I would have preferred the ability to change the features of the actual character more though.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thing 2
This was a really neat video. I did not see anything on there I found too difficult. I think having 4 kids with such varying ages (2 years to 17 years) makes it a little easier!
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