Sunday, June 29, 2008

Thing #14

1. I used the advanced search option and typed in the tags area. I found a blog of someone in our Library 2.0. I did not find anything else that I thought was useful to me. The blog directory just led to sites that gave very little useful information. I don't think I understand yet how this search works. Previously, I have read some helpful blogs, but when searching for facts and relevant information within a reasonable time frame, I think I would do better with experts and professionals, as opposed to "the "human experience--raw and uncut."



2. This site was not helpful to me. I did not find helpful information on any of my searches. If I had unlimited time, and the inclination to connect with people I do not know, I might enjoy spending time reading blogs. I think Technorati is beyond my current tech skills too.



3. I attempted to "claim" my blog but the e-mail verification did not work. I did send an e-mail to the contact desk and will wait to see if I hear from them. I still do not understand widgets or pings either--maybe in my next life, this site will make sense to me. I do not see using this site in my library.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Thing #13

1. I love the idea of social bookmarking. Sharing sites someone thought were good on a subject helps the next person. I found some great ones on the subjects I searched on Del.icio.us.



2. The tags worked well in my professional field. Teachers could use these tags to find lesson plans and other information in their subject.



3. Del.icio.us offers an easy tool to add bookmarks. I also like the fact that you can tag with subject headings and add notes. That you can "carry these bookmarks with you" by logging in at another computer makes it preferrable to just bookmarking on your local browser. This is a great tool for sharing research with classmates. It is an easy tool to teach too. I also liked Furl (although the tutorial is more tedious to watch), and I liked Ma.gnolia, which has a nice, clean interface. I found a great site where teachers can post their class notes so that absent students can go to them at any time. It came up on one of the popular lists (I think).
http://www.classnotesonline.com/

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thing #12

1. I loved Cool Cat's observation, "(Commenting) is like having a vote on the topic." When you vote you release power to make a difference. So I think our responses to blogs can add credibility to the writer--or as cited in some of comments--change or modify a writer's point of view. Another point Cool Cat makes is that commenting gives credibility to your own blog. This reminds me that I need to work on my profile. I don't need to give out personal information, but I need to development an identity to connect with readers. The 3rd point I saw that I would like comment on is the book Here Comes Everybody, which observes that technology is changing the way we form groups: "people given tools to do things together without needing traditional organizational structures." What an awesome insight.



2. I am used to responding to my "circle of wise" internet community. There is something in me that wants to respond to someone who has somehow inspired me, taught me something, or showed such a generous spirit that I must send out a response and say, "Hey, I hear you, or thank you, or yes! keep at it, you can do it!" I will continue to keep responding--and try to adhere to those suggestions to be specific, to add knowledge and ideas, to encourage.



3. I will add to this request as I move through the 23 Things experience.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Thing #11

I joined LibraryThing and joined one of the groups. I plan to edit my profile to change my user name. This option is not currently working, but I will keep checking. When I change my username, I will add more to my profile and add a review to a couple of the books in my library collection. I got hooked reading some of the talk postings. In fact, I found the group I joined through a comment on a post. I see lots of possibilities in this site. I will set up a group this fall for my Name That Books students to share their comments on the books they have read.

Thing #10





1. No longer will Microsoft clip art be the main source of my graphics for the weekly newsletter I send to the staff. I had fun with all of the Discovery Resources as well as ones I found along the way. The easiest to use was Comic Strip Generator. Here are two I did with this link: http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/











2-3. I also loved Custom Sign Generator as it led me to Glitter text, then to Warning Sign generator. My high school students like this sort of graphic. Here is the link to the warning sign generator: http://www.dangersigngenerator.com/











This map marking Iran and and Afghanistan comes from Big Huge Labs' Map maker: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

I was able to save all of these images in a folder I have on my desktop then import them into my blog--very easy.
4. In addition to using these image generators in my newsletters, I will share these sites with staff and students, who will be able to use these for their own projects. I think the Big-Huge Labs will be very helpful for their many projects.




Sunday, June 22, 2008

Thing #9

The easiest way to find feeds is through lists. Technorati had a blog directory with topics. My favorite site was Edublogs's Award Winners. I couldn't get off this site. I placed many of the blogs in folders on my Google Reader.

The Search tool that was easiest for me was Google Blog search. Bloglines provided helpful sidebars for my searches.

The most confusing was Syndic8. It opened with links such as "XML of syndicated news content," Quality of measurement...," etc. I do not have the technology base that makes this a friendly site for me.

I found so many useful feeds. I added many to my Google Reader: I added Wikispaces: Web Tools and set up a folder of blogs that I want to share with teachers including The Cool Cat Teacher blog. Cool Cat suggests that bloggers register their blog with Technorati. I also enjoyed Vicki Davis' guide to "immerse ourselves in the the circle of the wise." She reminds her readers that "we become like those in (our) circle." The most interesting find for me, however, was Atomic Learning. You can purchase a subscription for Web-based software training available 24/7and other educational resources, but there are many free tutorials for both Mac and PC. I plan to return to this jewel often for the mini tutorials.

To locate news feeds, I would use topix. It has a very busy homepage, but the tabs make it user friendly, and it seemed to have everything.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Thing #8

1. What I like about RSS is the fact that I do not have to search websites to find what I want; the updates come to me. I love Google Reader because everything is easily accessed. I love the choice of Expanded and List View tabs at the top. Google Reader is very easy to use.

2. I can use this technology in my school or in my personal life to save time. With so much on the internet, having these RSS feeds marked for easy access helps.

3. Libraries can take advantage of this technology to set up blogs and see which patrons respond and when they respond. This response can help with assignments and patron satisfaction. Acquainting students with Google Reader will make their work easier also because they will not have to search a variety of websites to find their information.

I made all of my RSS feeds public on Google.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Thing #7





I set up a google severe weather alert ("as it happens") in Houston. My library has no windows, and I never know how bad the weather is getting while I am busy with students and classes. Houston has some severe rains (not to mention the hurricane warnings), so I will keep my e-mail up to receive these alerts. It was so easy to do. I also like the calendar. Currently, I use Express, but I liked Google's better. It has clear graphics and is very easy to use. The tabs at the top with week, month etc. view is easier to use that Express. I added a holiday calendar too. You can merge the two calendars or keep them separate. I tried to put the holiday calendar on my blog but so far have had no luck doing so. I keep copying the HTML code they give me into the blog composer, but it is not taking. So you will not get to see this calendar. I can see it when I log on to google. My searches with the google scholar were not as successful as the ones on the excellent databases purchased by our school district. I researched topics that the teachers have used in my library such as critical articles on author's works and the significance of these authors. Most of what I found, however, was available only through purchase. If you wanted to read beyond a preview, you had to buy the book or buy time at a website. I downloaded Google Earth and love it. I have a friend who is going to Aberdeen, Scotland this month and one who is going to Qatar. I spent a lot of time on Google Earth "touring" the terrain, zooming in on the sites, buildings etc. Touring the streets, I felt as though I were in Aberdeen.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Thing #6




Thing #6


This card was easy to make with the trading card flicker toy. I used an old picture of students in my library. I can see this as a motivation perk to encourage students to read. Teachers could have students design cards to show math formulas, TAKS objectives, vocabulary flashcards, and many more curriculum connections. The trick is learning to use these databases.




I spent many days working with the flicker toys. I made a collage but am unsure how to give credit to the flicker pics so am hesitant to post it. I selected pictures of political figures. I can see a teacher using this for an introduction to a unit in which students have to match the picture to the correct name. At the end of the unit, the students would be able to recognize the people and be able to explain their significance to the area of study, place them in a timeline etc. It took me days to make the pitiful collage. As I thought of students identifying the people in the collage, I kept thinking of the Jay Leno people-on-the-street skit he does. The "Jay All-Stars" are often given a picture of someone to identify--like Ted Kennedy--to which the "Jay All-Stars" will guess--"the Pope?'' or "John Wayne?"











Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Thing #5





I plan to use this photo in a booktalk. Getting teens to read is a challenge, but reading is the basis of all we do to learn. I have had great success with booktalks. I want to learn to do digital booktalks with pics and music, and I think Flicker could be helpful. I searched for pictures of haunted houses, castles, and teenagers--I found so many that would work with books to spark student interest as I booktalk. I found cool pictures of castles and haunted houses, but teenagers seem to like pictures of their peers. There is so much in Flicker; I could spend days on this site. I love fd's Flicker Toys too. In fact, when I first went to the site several days ago, I uploaded one of my own pictures that I wanted to give to a friend who is moving away. I personalized the photo with a caption from Locat generator. Then I printed the picture, put it in a frame and gave it to her. I am playing with all of the "toys." What a cool site.

Thing #4

I have registered my blog and am on my way to completing the rest of the steps (I hope). If I am not, please let me know.

Thing #2

I have no idea how I got here--suddenly I'm blogging. My first assignment is to comment on the hardest and easiest steps of the 7 1/2 steps of habits of highly successful people. The hardest for me is number 4--having confidence in myself--especially when it comes to technology--but I am going for it anyway. The easiest is number 7, teaching and mentoring others (I can't wait to share what I learn)--also easy for me is #2, accepting responsibility. I look forward to learning a lot in the Library2play experience. Yes, I'll make mistakes, but so what. I'll get out of the steps what I put in, and I'll use what I learn to help others learn also.

This is a copy of what I put for my second entry. I redoing this because, again, I put Infomaniac for the title. Now I am following directions.

Thing #1

I have already done this, but I did not title it correctly--I just kept putting my name (Informaniac) in the title space--just want to use the correct format.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Thing #3

I finally got the avatar from Yahoo. Creating the avatar was fun--I did several before choosing the poodle skirt girl who has fond memories of sock hops in the school gym. I had no difficulty creating the avatar and in getting it to the blog page. I am having trouble remembering the various accounts I now have--yahoo, google, blogger--maybe I will all sort all of this out as I continue to practice. It is now 11:43 PM (Central time) so will continue to work on my blog page tomorrow. None of this is easy for me.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Infomaniac

June 13, 2008

Week 2: Thing #3

I attempted to create an avatar. I ended up at ZWinky where I "designed" my avatar--a cheerleading librarian. But I can't copy the darn image to post on the blog. I don't think I have the clearance to do so. Any suggestions?

Infomaniac