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.