Week 9: Thing #23

I may be completing the last "thing" on the list, but this is not the end of my learning journey. There is still so much more to learn! This program has assisted me in expanding my knowledge about web 2.0 tools and beyond. My desire will be to continue learning, share with others, and apply what I've learned to lessons in the library. My lifelong learning goal is to stay abreast with current trends in education and technology. The unexpected outcome of this learning experience has proven to be the ease of use of these tools. This program's format was simple to follow and the tools were user-friendly. The only improvements would be to update some of the links that dated back to 2006 and add more tools that are currently on the cutting edge. I hope more programs like this one will be added because I definitely would want to participate. If I had to summarize my overall learning experience in one word, it would be AWESOME!!!

Week 9: Thing #22

I surfed through the various links and was impressed with LibriVox. This free site is supported with donations for Project Gutenberg and volunteer readers of books within the public domain. So many classic titles written before 1923 from authors like Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, and Jack London are available for the world wide web to enjoy. I foresee more and more students downloading audio ebooks and listening to them on their computer or portable devices.

Week 9: Thing #21

Podcasts are extremely varied, but my favorites are created by students. One in particular was produced at an elementary in Australia. The students were doing a unit on Flat Stanley and had a slide show to go along with the podcast. Here's the link: http://web.mac.com/ringwoodnorthps/iWeb/ischool.net.au/www.ischool.net.au/DD139B7D-1AA6-4EA4-BA2A-B890A7F3A843.html I see this as an excellent way to showcase a project. The final product could be uploaded and accessed by links from the school webpage. I'm sure parents would subscribe to podcasts of school announcements as well.

Week 9: Thing #20

I found The Dewey Decimal Rap fun and somewhat educational.

YouTube is blocked through our district, but TeacherTube videos are accessible. I think this is wise because so much is out there and needs to be monitored.

Week 8: Thing #19

I had already created an account for , back at Thing #11. I revisited the site and joined the group: Librarians who LibraryThing. Some of the topics seem more suited for public librarians, but posting a question or concern to this group could be insightful.
Here is a widget that I had created earlier. It includes this year's Bluebonnet Award titles:

Week 8: Thing #18

Who needs Microsoft Word if Zoho Writer is around?  It is extremely easy to use and can be a great tool for those students who might not have the same software or version at home as that used in school.  I see the advantage of not having to carry around a pen drive and working on projects collaboratively.  Importing documents was a breeze so backups could easily be saved online as well.  Zoho is the way to go!

Week 7: Thing #17

I added a comment to the Region One Sandbox and I can see how this could be a useful tool by adding attachments as well. I have gone to workshops where the handouts are made available online with a website similiar to this. Now I can post a pkwiki of my own and share documents with teachers or other librarians, too.

Week 7: Thing #16

A wiki can be used for collaboration projects with input from librarians/teachers/students depending on the wiki. It seems better for use in educational settings than a blog. Others with access can easily input their information and research from outside the classroom and expand with links, video, pictures, and other web 2.0 tools. I would like to have a wiki for the library where students can link to research topics and post their findings to cited sources.

Week 6: Thing #15

Libraries will constantly be evolving. For centuries libraries have provided needed service to the community. This service may have been first lending out precious books, but now there are so many other services that libraries provide. Libraries must keep up with the digital age and provide the format most requested and desired. Today's trends will be outdated tomorrow, but libraries will adjust with the times to service the needs of its patrons. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 are developing with the input from the world community. I am glad to be a part of this change, but it will be very difficult to see libraries transform into a totally digital world.

Week 6: Thing #14

Technorati helps expand the blogosphere and showed me that there is still so much more to learn about. I searched "school library learning 2.0" as directed and found that the hits were different in blog posts, in tags and in the blog directory. I could spend hours going from blog to blog, viewing video postings, and links to other intriguing tag words. What is interesting is how authority, rankings, and fans all relate. The tags being used range from simple words to compound phrases. It is mind-boggling with the number of people involved in all of this.

Week 6: Thing #13

Del.icio.us is really SWEET! I could spend hours upon hours just linking to all the great sites that have been bookmarked. Also I won't have to be disapp0inted that I had bookmarked something at school and then I can't find the site once I'm home. With this tool, my bookmarks can follow me wherever I go.

Week 5: Thing #12

I made a Rollyo account and added search rolls for the websites to audio books and databases that the students access from the library. This did not work the way I expected and brought up several duplicated sites and other "sponsored links". There is too much advertising using this site and I do not feel that it would be beneficial for school usage. Here is the link: http://rollyo.com/shary_library

Select Search Engine...Research_SitesAudio_BooksSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

Week 5: Thing #11

The honorable mention went to , but I thought this site had the technology to do what I wanted, catalog books. It also had features that made it fun to use, like links to blogs, reviews, and social groups. With the two areas combined in one site, work can be fun and fun can be educational. It must be a "library thing"! Here is a widget that links to my account where I added the newest Bluebonnet Award titles:

Week 5: Thing #10

Image Chef helped me cook up this cute image. All I had to do was add the text. It did tempt me with an ad that I accidentally added to my blog. Although it was easy to delete, that was annoying. I do see this as a quick way to grab students' attention with a variety of images.

Week 4: Thing #9

Getting around Bloglines is fairly simple. I did like searching Google for additional blogs on specific subjects. I am refining my list of sites to subscribe to. I did find a great site with the RSS feed icon, but when I subscribed to it, there wasn't a feed given at that site. I liked the Edublog site the best to find highly rated blogs in several educational areas.

Week 4: Thing #8

Bloglines will be a time-saver! It is great to have all the links to websites that I actively visit on a daily basis condensed on one page. I can see that teachers would appreciate using this tool as well. Also instead of subscribing to sites, the RSS calendar feed could be made available on our school webpage. With this, parents can subscribe to view upcoming events or updates to the library webpage. Ingenious!

Week 3: Thing #7

The FLIP camera is a great gadget that is so simple to operate. You can learn on your own or watch a YouTube video that probably was recorded with this cute digital camcorder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxAIAqM5TVk

Literally just plug and play the device with the USB connection in your computer after you have recorded your video and download the clips. Put your video together using Windows Movie Maker and in minutes you'll be watching your latest creation. Keeping up in this digital world is fun and easy with technology like this!

Week 3: Thing #6

I love the idea of having trading cards for different library books with a synopsis of the story and a picture of the cover. Students will love collecting them and even making their own.

Week 3: Thing #5

Here is a picture that I found interesting on Flickr. I searched for something to go with the theme for the new school year, "Hooked on Books". This is really a cute idea that will get the students' attention. The picture comes from Cuyahoga County Public Library Independence Branch. ind_library posted this picture along with several photos of displays taken throughout the seasons.

Week 2: Thing #4

I'm on my way having registered my blog and learning more about the web 2.0 tools. My toolbox will be filled with exciting new ideas and techniques to use technology to my advantage. I can't wait to share these with other librarians, teachers, and students!

Week 2: Thing #3

Setting up a blog was easy and fun! I believe teachers and librarians in our district would enjoy using this to share ideas. Making an avatar was something new that I learned. Students would have a blast designing their own blog and avatar as well.

Week 2: Thing #2

I believe being a lifelong learner is important to keep oneself up-to-date with current trends in technology, education, and life itself! Keeping the mind active is the key. I shared the 7 & 1/2 Habits with my college bound son. Even though the steps seem fairly simple, we discussed the use of the learning toolbox. I usually turn to him to assist with technical difficulties, but in turn he helps me learn along the way. With him on his own, he must have his own learning toolbox to cook, clean and look after himself. For me the easiest habit is to teach/mentor another and the hardest is to play. By the end of this summer, I hope that technology will help make learning fun so that it is more fun to "play".

Week 1: Thing #1

It has been interesting to get started with this summer project. I know that just the first couple of days have been addicting, reading so many different blogs and postings. I like that the tasks are numbered to help keep pace with the course. Learning and using all 23 things will be my goal so that I can use technology to its advantage. In the process, I can start having fun...learning!