Week 8, Thing 14: Del.icio.us

I tried searching Del.icio.us for some of the report topics that my sixth grade students do. I also searched these topics on Google. There were many fewer results on Del.icio.us, but the first 2 pages of results were about on par with each other in usefulness for the assignment.  However, when I search school librarian type topics, such as “flexible scheduling”, the Del.icio.us results were much more to the point than the Google search results. I also tried searching for a few authors that teacher use in the classroom curriculum, like Ezra Jack Keats. I found mostly the same useful websites in both searches. I was surprised that Del.icio.us was not more useful. Maybe not that may elementary school teachers and library media specialists are using it yet.

Social bookmarking could be great tool for collaboration between teachers and school librarians- particularly in larger schools where more than one teacher teaches the same grade level and curriculum. I can imagine using social bookmarking rather than the current list of links on the school website for reseach projects. I like that Del.icio.us can be searched sort of like a search engine. However, it does feel less ‘contained” than the list of links only one person in the school can edit. There may be a fear of having an elementary school associated with “social” bookmarking. I may try it anyway until someone complains (if anyone even notices).

Week 7, Thing 13: LibraryThing

I am having a difficult time adding a widget from Library Thing to this blog! At least I can cut and paste a link: Link to LibraryThing

I have added a few of my favorite books to my LibraryThing. If I had a small collection to catalog, this would be amazing (though you still can’t circulate items with it). I can see how this could work well for a new books list, or for authors reaching out to readers. I may use this for readers’ advisory for myself next time I am looking for a good read, or a gift.  I enjoyed reading reviews of the books in my virtual shelf.

Week 7, Thing 12: Online Image Generators

I tried out a few online image generators, including one that I had tried out under Flickr mashups. Here is a movie poster from  http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/poster.php

Youwild.org is creepy! Here you can morph a photo of a person into one of their selected animals.

Here is a photo of me from the Warholizer

  

 

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/warholizer.php

I am curious to see if these applications are blocked at school.  I can imagine using the movie poster and the Warholizer for displays. I also looked  at other online image generators that I chose not to include in the blog, since I only have so much time to spend on the computer!

Week 5 Thing 11: Myspace Account experience

Now I officially have a Myspace page. I can see how this could be addicting. I just can’t wait to have virtual friends! Do I have any yet?, I had better check again… (That guy Tom does not count, so I deleted him.)

One could write a good science fiction novel about how communicating through SN pages became humans’ only means of connection after the great diaspora into space (or underground) caused by the alien invasion, or odd mutations of killer hamsters.

On a serious note, one of my nieces is in foster care in another state, and we have difficulty staying in contact with her.  She has a myspace account. She immediatley wrote back to me when she received the “friend” invitation in myspace.

Week 5 Thing 10 Explore social networking

Every few months, I get an email asking me to join someone on a social network page – Facebook or Friendster or LastFM.  I have not yet joined any of these sites, although I have browsed public myspace pages of relatives and odd bands I’ve heard.  I guess my lack of virtual presence on the SN will be forced to end this week! I will no longer be but a lurker!

I did look at some of the teen library sites. I found them interesting, though difficult to read. I guess I do not have good SN literacy skills. I would love to sit with my 14 year old niece to see what she thought about the sites.  I do think this kind of Web 2.0 presence is a good thing for Pulbic libraries serving teens. (Plus, the music was cool).

I work in an elementary school. We are heavily filtered (I noticed some else commenting on this).  Unlike a public libray trying to attract teens, my audience is required to come and sit with me every week for a half an hour, whether they like it or not. I try to make them like it.  I do not need to attract them virtually to get them through the physical door of the library. I can see using social networking to expand MY professional and personal contacts, but I still do not see a use for kids in the elementary school library. I can teach them what it is, so if a Myspace page comes up on a search at home, they know what SN is, I guess.

I am curious about what other elementary school librarians might think about this.

Week 4 Thing 8 RSS Feed readers

I set up a Google Reader account and have placed  a few feeds in it. I like Picture Book of the Day.  I also subscribed to the local public library blog and the DCF blog. I did have some difficulty finding blogs, or rather, winnowing the blogs I might acutally read from the huge lists of feeds. Some of the blogs remind me of listserves I have belonged to in the past. There are blogs I know are out there that I cannot seem to find. Perhaps they have moved?  I know that the district technology coordinator has a blog. I would like to read it so I can keep track of what is coming down the road at our school. I was sadly unable to find it. I will have to email her and ask her where it is. I may try to look for some favorite authors blogs. 

Someone mentioned comics as RSS feeds. Can someone tell me a good one?

http://6traits.wordpress.com/ Picture Book of the Day

Week 3 Thing 7 Technology Blog

My Father gave me a webcam for my birthday. I have set it up and tested it. I have set up a Skype account. I have emailed my friends around the world to see if any of them have Skype. I have yet to actually do a video call with my new webcam, but I have participated in video calls made by other people on their webcams, always to friend and family who are far away.

I am now trying to imagine how to use Skype and a webcam with my students for educational purposed.

Has anyone out there already done this?

Are any authors willing to do video visits via Skype? (not everyone wants to trek up to see us).

Has anyone communicated with a school abroad to help students feel connected to another culture? How about an urban school in the US? What about a scientist or artist willing to talk to kids?

Here in rural Vermont we can now show students real people from other places in the world.  I love the idea of a real time conversation with video between children (who have already done some background research and prepared a few questions), and other people in the world who these kids might not otherwise be able to meet. I realize that parental permission will be involved, and other groundwork must happen, but I hope to this tool with my students!

Week 3 Thing 6

 

I have now spent too much time playing with Flickr mashups.  The spell with flickr was fun. I can imagine doing trading cards with students. I also enjoyed sketching and finding matching photos, as well as making a fake movie poster.

Week 3 thing 5

Since the rugs in the library are currently being cleaned and it is closed even to me, I must post a photo of something other than  the library. Here is a mysterious librarian buried in books. I have now officially used a photo from my new Flickr account in this blog. This post was slowed down a bit by two brief power outages! 

I enjoyed looking at Flickr images of some of the places I have been to on my travels.

 

Photo by E.R.G. 2008

Week One: Things 1 and 2

About This Program

I am happy that the 23 Things are being offered again. I finally got a decent computer at home during week 10 in the winter session. I thought about just doing the 23 Things on my own. Now I can interact with people as I learn (which is kind of the point of the whole 2.0 thing).

 

Pointers for Lifelong Learners  www.plcmc.org/public/learning/player.html

 

I think of myself as a lifelong learner on both the professional and personal fronts.  This makes some of the “Habits” easy. Habit 2 “accept responsibility for your own learning” is nothing new to me (but something I hope my students will do).  As an elementary school librarian, I teach kids daily, and I mentor other teachers (Habit 7). I can usually do Habit 3, to “view things as a challenge”.  I like working in the library because every question can be a challenge. The biggest challenge of all is limited time!

 

Time brings me to the harder Habits:  Habit 1 and Habit 7 ½.  “Begin with the end in mind” means having an attainable goal. My goals are often lofty.

I hope to use a few of the 23 Things with students during their regularly scheduled half hour “Library Time”. I can image doing podcasts of student book reviews, and teaching students to post on reading blogs as ways of promoting reading. I also hope that working with students to create media on the web will give them some idea of the kinds of information that can be on the web, the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain silly.  

My real underlying goal is to change the way the library program is viewed at my school by better communicating about what the program is and can be, so that I can change my role and schedule into what I want it to be. (Like, maybe integrated with the classroom curriculum and flexibly scheduled sometimes?).  Can I actually accomplish these goals? We shall see.

 

Habit 7 ½, playing, seems easy, but it is hard for me to find the time to play enough to learn something new.  I have many roles in life, particularly being a mother, which takes every second that I have.  My husband is also embarking on a lifelong learning journey, and needs to use the computer for the courses he is taking.  My “playing to learn” may be a challenging sell to my family.