The Reward

Love that new color!

The End?!?

When this project began I was excited but worried too. I have been learning a new position plus all this new technology. I admit that I did not work on it at first as much as I should have (actually at all), because I was so busy learning and keeping up with my new position. I wasn't sure if I would finish it or not. Now that I have finished I am grateful to have this project and my new position at the same time. Hopefully I will be able to implement some of the items, since I don't really know another way.
I found the set up for the project to be a little intimidating because I was afraid to ask for help when I encountered bumps in the road. That also caused me to work harder and dig deeper to answer my own quesions, so in reality I think I learned so much more than I would have in a tradional meet once a week class. I definately liked the format and would participate again.
Since so much of what we covered was new to me, it is hard to pick favorites. Just having a blog was huge for me, but now I feel pretty comfotable with adding anything to my blog in Blogger. I think I enjoyed del.icio.us, the image generators, YouTube, Animoto, Flickr, ZoHo Writer and RSS feeds the most. Actually it is hard to choose. As I read back over my blog, I am reminded of how many new things I learned! My next goal to work on embedding these tools into my daily life, both personal and professional. I no longer feel out of the loop with what the kids are involved with and might even appear cool for knowing a few new things. I have seen several sites I want to share with the teachers that they can hopefully pass along, Zoho Writer being one. If I can generate some excitement among students for their assignments using some of these tools, the time and effort are worth it.

Thing 23

This has been a difficult exercise. Copyright can be so confusing and intimidating. I think that is why so many people opt to ignore it. The short videos really helped me understand the idea behind Creative Commons. I had heard the term before, but did not really know how to search for items with Creative Commons licensing. I know feel like a whole new world of resources is available for me to use in preparing research for my classes and options for posting on the library website. I also like the theory of CC. In one of the videos it talked about standing on the shoulders of your peers. That creators are able to allow others to take their creations and build-upon them and share them, is just a wonderful collaborative community. I feel like this is the basis of most of Web 2.0. Collaboration is made easier through CC and much of Web 2.0 revolves around making a more integrated community. As I searched the creative commons area, I found a picture I wanted to post, but I am not sure how the attribution from Flickr would work. So I will be looking further into how to handle that aspect of CC. I still have much to learn and understand. I enjoyed the Disney video and found it an entaining way to cover copyright.

Thing 22

Animoto is so much fun! I think this might be my favorite "thing" on the list. I am amazed at how creative the video is after you upload simple pictures. The site was very easy to use. They guide you through step-by-step. I had a little trouble getting pictures from my library on my computer into a format that would easily download. The trouble was more with me and the computer than Animoto. I wish the music they have on the site was a more extensive selection, but with a little searching, next time I will try to download my own selection. I can't wait to show several friends this site because I think they would have a lot of fun with it also. I was also impressed at how esily it was to send post my video to my blog. The site made it super easy. I will probably be looking into the subscription because the thirty second shorts just weren't enough!

Italian Dream

Thing 21

I think I might have been a little disappointed in this thing. I have heard so much about podcasts, but I wasn't as impressed with the availability. I am sure it is like many other items on the web, it takes a lot of searching to find things you truely enjoy. The searching was the problem for me. It was quite time consuming. Even after I found a podcast that sounded interesting, many times they would not download or the download was very slow, from every computer I tried. I also could not find a way to know before hand how long the podcast was or the content of the podcast. I guess I am used to quick, esy searching, and the podcast did not seem to offer that. It made causual browsing hard.The EPN directory seemed to give me the most difficulty, but it also was the site where I found some useful podcasts. I am glad I know a little more about podcasts and I am sure I will hear much more in the future, but I'm not sure I will attempt to create my own any time soon. I found one technology podcast, and I have added the RSS feed to my side bar. I found the topics to be simple an easy to follow and understand.

Thing 20

I had barely looked at YouTube before. I had many videos sent to me through e-mail, etc. , but I had not searched the site for videos before. I had a lot of fun looking at all the creativity involved. Some of my favorite things to look at was clips from old television. I found the site to be very user friendly. I like the ratings on the videos and how many times they were viewed. I let that guide me at times on what to watch and what to skip. If there is a down side, it is that there are more clips than I could ever even imagine. Time would pass so quickly and I didn't even realize how long I had been exploring. I chose to add a Sesame Street clip of Cookie Monster in the library to my blog. I love that it is so dated (note the librarian stamping the dates on the books), but it still deals with all the available resources in the library. The video is just fun and nostalgic. I saw many other videos that were useful and I was able to see samples of video produced to promote the library. It gave me the idea of possibly letting my library helpers produce a video to promote our upcoming book fair or just to promote our collection. It could be fun to show school-wide and if students wanted to view it from home, they could use You Tube. I know I will continue to visit YouTube simply because I had so much fun.

Here is Sesame Street at the Library

Thing 19

I love finding the flowcharts and mind maps on the web. Both of the sites I explored were easy to use and access. The biggest plus being that I can get to them from any computer without purchasing expensive software. First I looked at Gliffy. It was very easy to use and figure out. I liked that the projects could be public or private, which allows for easier collaboration. I liked the floor plan feature. This is a TEK to explore in younger grades, but it has always been hard to have samples. This makes it easy for teacher or student created floor plans to be used. I also liked that images could be imported from the web for use in the flowcharts. There is a $20.00 a year fee to upgrade, which would be worth it if you planned to use the site often. It seemed as easy to use as Inspiration, but it has the added bonus of being accessible to students from any connected computer. I also explored Bubbl.us. I also found this to be an easy to use site. I liked the visual look of the site. It came to my mind that it might be good to use for my family charts in working on my family's genealogy. I also thought to use it for helping the fifth grade classes create timelines in Social Studies. It seems easy enough to use that the teachers would like it, and they are always looking for new products for the students.

Thing 18

The Web 2.0 Awards was a fun site. I would not have any idea about most of these sites. I spent quite a few hours exploring and will continue to look further. I was already aware of Zillow. It is a site that looks up through satellite images, the property value of homes all over the United
States. I can't really think of any reason to use this site in the library, but it was fun for me personally to play around. Another site I enjoyed personally was Real Travel.I love travel and related sites, so reading the travel blogs was fun for me. The site is a great way to hear first-hand experiences from travelers all over the world. It might add a personal touch to a student's report about a foreign city or country, but I'm not sure I would advise them to the site. The site would surely be blocked by district filters and I would not want to advise them to check it at home since some of the content might be questionable. One other site that was new to me that I liked was Boxxet. It is a mashup site much like Ning. Boxxet (pronounced "box set") is great for locating video, images, podcasts, news, etc. about pop culture. People from all over contribute so there is a wide range of items available. Movies, TV, music, sports, fashion, education, etc. are all tags for Boxxet. I found a large collection of items for Seinfeld for example and quite a few for the Cowboys. I think it is an easy to use, fun site to locate items to enhance blogs, social sites, etc. If I am looking for images associated with pop culture, I will look to Boxxet.

Thing 17

Zoho Writer is very user friendly. Creating a document was as simple as any word processing  program I have ever used. I also loved the idea of not dealing with compatibility issues. I began using Vista as soon as it came out and I am still having problem at times with my Office documents being compatible for everyone. If I used Zoho, that would not be an issue. I also think being able to easily edit and add to the same document within a group is a great feature. Distance collaborations take so much time with e-mailing documents back and forth and Zoho would eliminate much of that hassle. The writer is the only part of Zoho I looked at too much, but already I want to share it with students and teachers. I am going to attempt to post this document, created with Zoho, into my blog. We will see how it goes...

The above part of my blog was created and published from Zoho. It was as simple as a few key strokes. I tried to use the comment bubble on Zoho and I obviously couldn't get it right. It kept causing the site to freeze. I would have to totally leave the internet and then return. I will need to play some more with it I guess. I like the idea of the comment bubble, especially for helping students to edit their work.

Thing 16

The Learning Through Play Sandbox Wiki was my first time to edit a wiki. I was amazed at how easy it was to add content to the page. It made me think about setting up a wiki when conducting research. The fourth graders just created "movie posters" based on a battle of the Texas Revolution. It would have been fun for them to have had the sandbox portion of a wiki to add/post their content and creativity. I think it would provide a good outlet, plus it sparks other student's creativity. The more I learn about wikis, the more versatile I can see them become. I now need to put my mind on the creative track.

Thing 15

I finally understand wikis a little better. I know I have used them, Wikipedia and the Mesquite ISD Library Policies and Procedures, etc., but I wasn't totally clear on what it was and the benefits. The Common Craft video was a great, simple introduction. I love how collaborative wikis appear and their ease of use. They are almost like a grocery list you can just quickly add one more thing as it comes to mind. Wikis don't take speacial software and can be edited from any computer. I really like the ideas behind several of the wikis I explored. I loved the subject guide wiki by the St. Joseph County Public Library. I like that is was quick,visual and informal. I wondered about possibly doing an interest wiki based on the easy and fiction areas. Students always want scary books, or teachers want books about snow. Our catalog system locates some of those books, but others might fit into the areas also. Sometimes it is a case of matching the student's terminology and search terminology. It would also be great for teachers to share books with common teaching elements. Everyone is looking for books to support the curriculum, so a wiki woukd be a great way to share the thoughts and ideas. Another wiki I explored, McDowell's AP World History Wiki, was a great example of how teachers could use the wiki to keep all the students and parents informed and involved. Many parents in the elementary school ask for second and third copies of project guidelines because orginals never make it home. This wiki is a great way to have that information available for everyone at all times. Plus the wiki had some samples posted to show ideas on the expectations of the project. It appeared very useful, and once created, it is so easy to update, edit, change, etc from semester to semester. I will now be looking at how I can spread the word about wikis to teachers and figuring how they can be used in my library program.

Thing 14

Library 2.0 means a big shift in my comfort level. For some reason technology has always fascinated and scared me at the same time. I am afraid to try new things because I don't want to cause a problem that can't be fixed. Through these exercises I have had to learn to release most of those fears. There really isn't anything that can't be undone or fixed. As a new librian, I can see so many more areas involved in the profession than I realized. Technology is a huge part of my resposibilities to patrons. Web 2.0 has shown that I need to embrace technology and constantly search for ways to implement it to meet patron's needs. In Web 2.0, Tom Storey talked about an "open, programmable web." I like the idea that I don't have to be the one to provide it all-the new Library 2.0 is based on a give and take, collaborative process. As my mind set has been changing, I am seeing more ways to implement Web 2.0in the school library setting.

I can see some potential problems along the way. If I have had to change my way of thinking about the library and what it stands for, I am sure there will be bumps along the way with changing teacher's, parent's and administrator's views. I think the best way to overcome that is to be proavtive in using and creating excitement for the tools of Web 2.0. I am certain in the school setting, getting the kids involved will not be an obstacle. I really appreciated Rick Anderson's statement in Away from 'Icebergs", "it can be equally disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves." Web 2.0, and Library 2.0 cannot be ignored if if we are trying to meet the needs of our students and our world.

Thing 13

I really like social bookmarking. It took me a while to explore del.icio.us, but I relly like the idea of storing all my book mark in one place. I constantly search my marked sites on one computer, just to realize it is marked on another. I want to be able to access them from any computer, school, homme, laptop, etc. The tagging is a good idea also, even though I feel like it will take me some practice to tag in a way that is useful to me. I think I second guess the tag too much instead of just going with my first inclination. I really like being able to access the sites others are tagging. Many times at the computer I can't seem to locate websites that others find. This will give me another way to find what I might want to see or need. I think it will really help as I research from home and school. I will not have to continually e-mail myself the useful sites back and forth. I can just add them to one site and have them at my fingertips anytime. I am not sure that I would use it directly with my elementary students, simply because of the time involved in teaching them about it. I think it would be good for them, since many times they are in the middle of research when their computer lab time is up. This would allow them to pick right back up from home, the public library or in the classroom, without losing the useful sites. I might have to look into trying it with one sixth grade class and see how it works.I think this "thing" will be one I will use quite a bit.

Thing 12

This has truly been the hardest task so far. I really spent a lot of time looking around and exploring before deciding how comfortable I felt establishing pages on myspace, facebook and ning. It is hard to know how much info to share and how much to keep private. I felt overwhelmed by myspace. There are so many ways to customize and share on the site. I can really see the attraction it holds for teenagers. I would have been thrilled to have it available to me at that age. At this point in my life, it does not hold the same excitement. I am glad I now have some idea what the site is all about and how the social networking is used by others. Faceboook did not seem as overwhelming. It seemed to have a more mature theme over all, but it is the site I searched the least, so maybe I need to just keep looking. I really like ning. I liked that the groups are more focused. There seems to be more of a purpose. I found several other librarian-related groups. I want to look further to see what else I might find. I'm not sure I would set up my own group or not. This is the only site I can see any use for in the library. I thought you could possibly set up book a discussion group or a book club. It would offer the members a chance to discuss at their convenience. All in all I am not sure that I will maintain my facebook or myspace accounts for long. They really seem to be time consuming, but I will keep them awhile. I might be turned on to their value at some point. At this time I can not really see any way of using them in my library and I worry that many parents might see it that I would be encouraging something they are trying hard to monitor.

Thing 11

LibraryThing has been fun to explore. I loved that I can input my books and find other books that I might like or that I might need to avoid. Zeitgeist was fun to use and I already found several books to add to my to read list. I found it fun to be able to give reviews/opinions on books and to read other people's thoughts. You do really have to watch for "spoilers" if you have not read the book yet. As the books are discussed, any and all plot points may be shared. I think it would be nice to introduce some of the older and more mature readers at my school to the site. There are a few sixth graders that I can't keep in enough books, so they might enjoy browsing the site. I haven't seen a way to use it with the majority of my students, but many of the teachers would probably enjoy the site and the opportunity to share their personal libraries. The discussion forums and groups cover so many diverse areas that everyone should be able to find a place to feel comfortable to either observe or join. Here is the link to My Library Thing page

Thing 10

This "thing" was a blast. I have had a lot of fun exploring the image generators. I can't believe how many there are out there. I can see thast they are a great way to add fun and flash to our blogs and library web sites. I believe it will create much more interaction with the web site. I can also see how showing students some of the sites could help them add some flash and interest to their projects or personal sites. Thre are some many themed generators that it will be easy to match seasons, holidays or subject matter to the web site. When I found "the Generator Blog" I spent hours just playing aroud and exploring. The generators listed are around 900-1000, but not all are image. I did find some interesting image and test generators. I liked http://www.glittergraphics.us/ and used it to add a little glitz to my blog. I also found many things I liked at http://imagegenerator.net/ and http://www.imagechef.com/ic/product.jsp.

I have posted a couple of things I liked. This is the site for the candy heaart generator http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/.