Week #9, Thing #20 -- Videos

What a fun experience! I enjoyed looking at so many videos -- but I had to make a choices eventually or I would still be looking at them. I selected two to share -- the first one is Julie Andrews promoting the use of the public library (Palin should make one for Alaska's Libraries). The other one I chose was "A Library As Big As Texas . . . ." which made me think that we should make one that says "A Library As Big As Alaska" (perhaps it should really read, A Library Bigger Than Texas); but this one promotes the use of databases -- we could promote our Digital Pipeline. I think that video like these and especially tutorial based videos could certain peak the interest of students to learn more about how a library functions and how to conduct research at a library. I am starting to collect videos that will be helpful for lessons I plan to share this coming school year. Wow -- to me this is powerful -- teachers could assign the viewing of these tutorials and students would certainly respond favorably -- it is the Web 2.0 teaching strategy.

Week #8, Thing #19.1 Alaska's Digital Pipeline

I've used this resources for several years now, but never knew I could have my own personal account where I could save search results. In the past I had notice the email option, but did know that I could actually email articles to myself for future use (how powerfully wonderful). Lastly, I never knew how to use the folders for temporary collection of searches -- so I wouldn't have to remember how to get back to an articles while I found others. The tutorial provided on Digital Pipeline is wonderful -- particularly the part that includes the narrowing of a search terms in the advance search option. Students who will take the time to learn how to use this database will see the benefits it could provide for them. I find many students who do not want to learn how to use databases because it is easier to "just search the web". For the coming school year I hope I will be able to present this tutorial to my staff -- to make them more attuned to the concept of doing good research -- I've heard teachers say to students, "oh, just Google it"! Also, I will propose to staff that this tutorial be presented to all freshman and sophomores at our school. I include the sophomores because I think it will take more than once for them to truly understand how databases work and are organized. After all, the sophomore's program can be a refresher program and the freshman's program the introductory program. Convincing students to use databases for research will be a big challenge during the coming school year. (Hiker taken from the Alaska Digital Pipeline Tutorial Page).

Week #8, Thing #19 -- LibraryThing

I enjoyed using this online 2.0 tool. It will enable me to organize my books -- what I've read, what I want to read, separate professional reading from pleasure reading. I also noted that it is a social network where I could contact other readers and share discussions about books and other topics. Also, I noted there was a Librarian's group which I think would be fun to join -- to find out what they are doing with LibraryThing. It is a fabulous source!

Week #8, Thing #18 -- Zoho Writer

Zoho Writer is fantastic! It would allow so many possibilities for schools and students. Rather than having to own MS powerpoint on each computer at school students could simply access the option through Zoho Writer. Also, it would mean no more having to save on jump drives or CD's which would make doing presentations easier for everyone (students and teachers). I am energized by Zoho Writer -- it was no more difficult than a normal word processor to use. Transferring this small powerpoint I made was so easy to do. WOW! This is totally awesome! Best of all, students who do not have access to technology at home (at my school 30 % of students do not have home connectivity and some without a computer at all) would be able to continue to work on projects outside of school by simply visiting the Public Library as their projects would easily be accessible through the Internet at the Public Library. It certainly would level the playing field for students -- equal access capability via the library -- I like the sound of that!!

Week #7, Thing #17 Sandbox of ideas

Fun with the wiki! I visited our own class wiki at Raven About Web 2.0 Curriculum Wiki and had a blast. I left ideas on 5 of the topic areas: Blogging and Avatars, Online Learning, Image Generators, Links Articles and Other Time Busters, and Wikis. How easy this experience was -- you click the edit button, add your idea, and save. It is that easy to do. I did have a few problems with the fonts at first, but figured those out. Also, adding an image was so easy -- easier than adding it to my blog. I liked the term sandbox because it made me think of playing in a sandbox as a child and sharing thoughts and ideas in the relaxed, natural way that children do; now we can too!

Week #7, Thing #16 -- wikis

Wikis are wikitastic! I found so many fabulous ideas about wikis while looking at the suggested list. I want to make my own wiki for my library -- mmmm! What should it include? I would place a link to our OPAC, databases we subscribe to, classroom assignments that are researched in the library with links to websites to help students with their research, bibliographic formatting information, and much more. I would also have a separate wiki just for book reviews or book suggestions that students can add to. I do think that there needs to be a manager of the wiki when tied to a library to always check for appropriate materials and to remove items that are no longer valid over time. There are so many good things that could be placed on wiki. What fun wiki are -- what a wonderful was to social connect patrons to their library and vice verso! I liked how wikis could be adapted for many uses -- conferences, classroom assignment, libraries, general information, professional standards information, career information. I also liked how wikis can be global, local, or site based. They are simply wikitastic!

Week #6, Thing 15 -- Library 2.0

I found the NextSpace articles interesting reading. My favorite two were "Into a new world of librarianship" by Michael Stephens and "Away from the "icebergs"" by Rick Anderson. These two articles spoke more about what school libraries should be thinking about and doing than the other articles. The Horizon Report could also assist school librarians by informing them as to what is over the next hill. A prior Horizon Report indicated the emergence of social networking and now what are students asking for at school -- time to social network with their Myspace or Facebook accounts. Young adults are more talented than we notice -- check out a few social network accounts and you'll see what I mean -- they think differently about connections today than we did at their age. When I went to college the big decision wasn't what computer to buy, but what typewriter (yes, I know this dates me, but it also shows that we can accept change and we must).

The overwhelming, most important idea I gathered from reading all the articles was that libraries must include input from their patrons (for academic libraries this must include both staff patrons and student patrons). How should this be accomplished? At the district level or the site level, or perhaps both? It is, I have decided, past the time to begin these conversations.

Another idea that struck me while reading was the necessity to include Web 2.0 in libraries, even if only we provide access to VoiceThread or Technorati or that we provide a list of beneficial sites on a del.icio.us account for all patrons to use. Again, the time has past -- what are we as librarians going to do to catch up with these realities. Realities that will serve our patrons more fully, without these realities we will begin to under serve our patrons.

Teaching our patrons about Library 2.o and Web 2.0 was the other idea that seemed infused in all the articles. We must step up to the plate -- we must provide learning to our patrons in ways that serve them -- not the traditional way -- bring the class to the library and the librarian teaches a lesson (please don't misunderstand me -- this must continue to happen), but we must also begin to create teaching tools that serve the young Web 2.0 student. Perhaps it is an online video linked on the school web page about how to use databases or simply telling what services the library has to offer or perhaps it is a linked website with a MLA generator that enables today's students to work faster, smarter, and with more integrity.

Reading these articles can certainly be a start for discussing what Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 can do for us and our patrons. Library 2.o means for me; that I should be exploring ways to help my students learn about the Web 2.0 tools; that I should be holding discussions with staff and students about what they want the library to do for them; that I should begin now to redesign the library I serve; and it means provides as much connectivity and resources as I can possibly acquire for the library I serve.

Week #6, Thing #14 -- Technorati

Technorati was interesting and has fabulous potential, but for me I was overwhelmed by it. There was a definite difference when using the blog posts option, the tags option, and the blog directory option. I found the blog directory the best was to go as the posts were too numerous to determine what was really of interest to me. Sometimes the tagging worked well, but only if what I defined the tag as was the same as those who used the tag to mean the same thing as I did. I don't think I will use Technorati very much, but think that it could be useful when researching information that is very recent, particularly if the need for opinions is required.
An item of interest that I found was an article about the certification of school librarians and how that relates to No Child Left Behind requirements -- this article was about possibilities for the future. I didn't think to bookmark it, so I searched again and wasn't able to find it a second time. The article also spoke about a program for school libraries called SKILL (can't remember what it stands for, but it sounded interesting and was used to help with the teaching of library skills for all ages. I have left this assignment feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

Week #6, Thing #13 -- Del.icio.us

del.icio.us is delicious! I think libraries could use this web 2.o tool to assist patrons with frequently asked requests, with subjects area reference, and just plain fun. What do I find? I need information on? I have a paper to write about? These questions are often heard in school libraries. Del.icio.us could help to organize the answers to these questions with links to the library catalog, to useful databases and websites, and subject matter information. This would be a marvelous collaboration project for school librarians to do with classroom teachers -- the coordination of a research assignment between librarian and classroom teacher is what I call librarian's heaven! I have started a del.icio.us account for myself to practice with at home and find it easy to use and ultimately will have me better organized.

Week #5, Thing #12 -- Voice Thread/Ning

I joined the Teacher Librarian Ning and find it a great avenue for information. I also browsed through Voicethread and find it fascinating. This will be the next step in self produced documentaries -- would be great to use for video contests. What a wonderful way to tell a personal story -- kids will love it.

Week #5, Thing #11 -- Web 2.0 Award winner, Biblio.com

I selected the Web 2.0 Award winner Biblio.com. This consists of over 50,000,000 used, new, and rare books to purchase from community businesses throughout the United States -- does include some from Canada and Australia as well. I like that it had an easy to use search tool which included a separate subject search tool. It also had a separate textbook search option and a rare book section. Some book reviews were included, but not for all titles. I would suggest Biblio.com for personal use rather than for library use as it deals in used books, but also because it simply is not geared for public school libraries. One useful features to the site was the advance search option. If you were looking to replace something old it is probably one of the best search tools around for locating it. I like how it gave details for contacting the bookstore the items is located at. It was easy to use. I also learned that Biblio.com is a global thinking company which works to build libraries in other countries. I would recommend it to others. When you have a moment try it out at http://www.biblio.com/!

Week#5, Thing #10

I used the Badge Maker at http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/badge.php and found it fun and easy to do. I also used Magazine Cover at http://www.bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php. I chose family for my examples. Both of these could easily be created by students -- then they could write about their mom or the family member they placed on the magazine cover. The woman on the badge is my mother and the woman on the magazine cover is my grandmother -- I know I could write an interesting story about both women -- just as I'm certain students could write interesting things about their family.

Both options could be used to make creative reading posters for any library and at minimal cost, but be more personal. I would need to check to see if the picture could be enlarged without loosing any quality. Both generators were quick and easy to use.

Week#4, Thing 9 -- Favorite Feed

Too much, too many, of everything! I found this particular assignment overwhelming and mentally draining. There is so much information out there that I cannot seem to assimilate it. Obviously I am an immigrant and not a native to technology like today's student -- they seem to thrive on having so many options or they know how to pick and choose what they want more easily. I did find one particular link that I really liked: http://scienceroll.com/feed/, which contains information in video format about several web 2.o technology, but also contain information about Medicine 2.0 tools that I think would help students studying biology or human anatomy. I watched all the video on the initial page and found them to be short, easy to understanding, and would help anyone with understanding the basics of a wiki, twitter, podcasting, blogs, etc. I think that finding feeds is a marvelous tool, but feel each person should limit themselves to the feeds that meet their needs and not attempt to keep up with too many. It is like the world of blogging is a game and everybody wants to outdo others -- I much prefer a bit of quiet and less competition in my life.

Week #4, Thing 8 -- RSS feeds

I was delighted to be able to locate some blogs and websites that I hope will be useful to me during the coming school year. I am considering creating a Bartlett Blog and placing blogs list, websites, and other information that will be truly helpful to my students and staff. What other tools could easily create such a collection? I would appreciate all suggestions.

I like having everything at my fingertips. I could create a blog of ideas just for myself -- a personal lifelong learning log that would allow me to include items for awhile and take them out as needed. I like that the blog is somewhat fluid - easy to include and easy to remove items. I like the RSS feed because it brings everything I want to me -- what fun! RSS feeds can truly save time in this too busy world.

I received my copy of our text, Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools by Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum today. I've determined my school is a Web 1.0 school and it is now time to move toward becoming a 2.0 school. I'm anxious to read further into the book -- I just know it will have marvelous ideas for creating a 2.0 school.

Week #3, Thing 7 -- Smart Boards

When presented with the idea of talking about anything technological I could not think of anything that hadn't been discussed before -- so I chose something new to me and that would benefit me this coming school year.

My school is due to receive 40 new smart boards -- WOW! Since we had not had smart boards previously this is a big deal -- well I knew nothing. During my research this evening I found several internet sites that could be useful to teachers or librarians working with smart boards. I would have preferred that they had been called interactive boards because that is how I see their use -- they are not just a white board (found in most classrooms today) -- they are boards that can be connected to computers to make it easier for teachers to share resources and activities with students. Below are the sites that I found:

http://www.e-learningforkids.org/

http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/smartboard.htm

http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/SmartBoard/smartboardindex.htm

http://www.ecarter.k12.mo.us/dept/elementary/fourthgrade/ccrites/etipslesson1.html

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/smart_board.htm

One of my summer projects is to gather information that may be useful to the various departments at my school as they implement the use of the new smart boards. I would appreciate your sharing any information you happen across during the course of this class.

Week #3, Thing 6 -- Flickr Extras

I really like the variety of options found at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/!! I made a badge, but am having difficulty transferring it into this blog. What a wonderful way to make special badge for students who need to come to the library during class or at lunch, but must have permission to do so. I thought about making them for the players in a checkers tournament I hold during the spring of the year -- instead of having to provide passes when the games run long.

So, I made a trading card instead -- what fun these would be for kids to introduce themselves at the beginning of the school year. Also, a special message could be place on the cards telling staff about library services and then placed in all mailboxes in the school office.

Week #3, Thing 5 -- Flickr

Flickr is awesome! What a great personal management tool this will be. I need to organize my digital photos and now I have the tool to do it. The picture I've included with this post is my husband when he was leaving for a trip to Dawson, Canada via the GS1200 in the picture with three good friends of his. They ventured to Skagway, Alaska first and at the writing of the posting are having a marvelous time and truly enjoying themselves. Yes, this is why I have completed three weeks of work in just a few days.

Week #2: Things 3 and 4 -- Blog Thoughts

What fun!! I found the avatar creation fun, but overwhelming at first! I understand now why my students love to create their own avatars -- they can be someone different every day and show their moods and wants!

I am now officially a blogger. Initially I was opposed to blogging as I felt it could lead students down a path of exposure (there are always the predators lurking out there). I think that blogging with students at school should have guidelines attached to it. First off, the students will need to be told that the blog is public, must contain only items related to the purpose of the blog (science class, history class, etc.), must always contain appropriate content (keep it clean), and students will need to know that this is the format in which they will be graded -- it is just a new kind of paper and pencil method. Also, teachers and librarians who use blogging with their students should inform parents of this learning venue and acquire signed permission for students to participate.

Week#1: Things 1 and 2 -- Getting Started

At last I have begun a component of my "lifelong learning experience"!! I was please to see that many others have joined in the fun -- I'm looking forward to reading their blogs.

Lifelong learner is so vital in today's world. As I watch young adults struggle with traditional learning I have often thought they we could instill the idea of being a lifelong learner in them if we were just able to tap into what motivates them. This was my motivation for taking the Raven at Web 2.o program. I enjoyed the slide show about lifelong learning; particularly the step of lifelong learning.

For me personally, the hardest steps will be setting a goal and then maintaining the confidence to complete the goal. There always seems to be so many distractions in life. The easiest step for me is accepting that it is my responsibility to continue my learning. As the years pass by and the time for retirement if lurking in the distance I know that even then I will want to learn more -- just that the goal of my learning will be different; perhaps more personal than the goals I set now which tend to be very career oriented.