Woo-hoo!!!! I finally made it to the end after a year or so.
Creative Commons attribution "Learning 2.0 is a discovery learning program created by Helene Blowers. Content and style for School Library Learning 2.0 and Classroom Learning 2.0 have been borrowed and duplicated with permission, under a Creative Commons License."
I love this quote from the Creative Commons license (For some reason, I can't get italics turned off here.) - " This is a human-readable summary of the Legal Code (the full license)." Always good to have a little sense of humor.
When I looked at the Creative Commons License page, it said a new one was available. I looked at it and compared it to the old one but couldn't find any differences. Hmm.
Great resources for copyright issues. I'll use these when I create an inservice for teachers in the fall on Fair Use.
Thoughts on the course:
GREAT stuff! Even though I'm pretty technology literate, I was exposed to many things here I wasn't aware of. I love the diversity of it and the curriculum connections. As a colleague would say, it's a drink from a firehose so it's all a bit overwhelming but the curriculum connections really help to make it real.
As always, in exploring to complete lessons, I ran across many other items of interest that spurred thoughts and new knowledge. The trick will be to somehow get started and use some of the tools.
Like others, I'm frustrated that many tools are blocked by the district but that really just means that I and others needs to make valid educational arguments for why they should be allowed.
I would most certainly take other courses if they were offered. This has been a lot of work and taken a lot of time but it certainly has been well worth it.
A couple of suggestions.... make all the links open in new windows. I found myself often having to reopen the course windows because I'd lost it many screens back. It would also be helpful if people blogs who are currently working on the course are listed in a different place than people who have completed the course. (Actually, that may be the case but many of the blogs I looked at hadn't had entries in many months so it made it hard to find people who were currently working on the course.)
My one word to describe the course (as I'm sure others has been) is "Wow!".
Thanks for the opportunity and the encouragement and thanks for been tireless promoters, both here and in CALIB and at conferences. You really make a difference!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Week 9, Thing 22
Sigh. I had this whole post written and then the software from the British Library wacked my computer.
I've been looking at ebooks and audiobooks for about 6 months now, trying to develop some kind of strategy for introducing them at school (middle school). I have a few books on CD but they're just so "old school"!
I've found issues with both formats although the issues are a bit different.
Audiobooks - I'd like to use mp3's for these. The issue is the players, both buying them and then making sure they don't get others things put on them or have the book erased. I know Playaways might be a good solution for this but they're so gosh darn expense and of course, in this critical fiscal year I have no funds. The nice thing about putting them on CD is that you don't have the issue with circulation that you might with just an mp3 file since you can own 1 copy and have it on a specific device. I've looked at (and used) audiobooks from netlibrary and plan to talk with them about what a public school library solution costs. This seems like a great area for outsourcing to a vendor like them but I suspect it's pretty costly.
Ebooks are my other area of interest - particularly fiction ebooks since I do have access to several electronic databases which gives me access to a lot of non-fiction sources. The big issue here is the device to read them on. I can make them available on the laptops at school but that limits students to reading at school only which isn't the best solution. Some have pc's at home but certainly not most. Ebook readers are expensive which makes it a difficult solution for now. There's also the big issue with complying with copyright restrictions. I read recently that Follett has fiction ebooks available the can be managed through Destiny. This sounds like a good potential solution for the circulation issues (although it sounds like there are some glitches with this) but it doesn't solve the device issue.
I've looked at a lot of the free ebook sites and although there's a lot available, they're almost all old due to copyright issues. Although there are great classics out there, these aren't the kind of books that kids are looking for and many are just too difficult for our students to read. There are some great resources like the original Alice text that they would find "curious"! and access to the Mozart mp3 files is great, I still don't think this is what will grab students who love Stephanie Meyer. I do like the fact that it will read the text to the students, however. This certainly makes it more accessible.
Fortunately, the head tech person for the district is very much behind the idea of electronic resources so I'll have an advocate for the project.
I've been looking at ebooks and audiobooks for about 6 months now, trying to develop some kind of strategy for introducing them at school (middle school). I have a few books on CD but they're just so "old school"!
I've found issues with both formats although the issues are a bit different.
Audiobooks - I'd like to use mp3's for these. The issue is the players, both buying them and then making sure they don't get others things put on them or have the book erased. I know Playaways might be a good solution for this but they're so gosh darn expense and of course, in this critical fiscal year I have no funds. The nice thing about putting them on CD is that you don't have the issue with circulation that you might with just an mp3 file since you can own 1 copy and have it on a specific device. I've looked at (and used) audiobooks from netlibrary and plan to talk with them about what a public school library solution costs. This seems like a great area for outsourcing to a vendor like them but I suspect it's pretty costly.
Ebooks are my other area of interest - particularly fiction ebooks since I do have access to several electronic databases which gives me access to a lot of non-fiction sources. The big issue here is the device to read them on. I can make them available on the laptops at school but that limits students to reading at school only which isn't the best solution. Some have pc's at home but certainly not most. Ebook readers are expensive which makes it a difficult solution for now. There's also the big issue with complying with copyright restrictions. I read recently that Follett has fiction ebooks available the can be managed through Destiny. This sounds like a good potential solution for the circulation issues (although it sounds like there are some glitches with this) but it doesn't solve the device issue.
I've looked at a lot of the free ebook sites and although there's a lot available, they're almost all old due to copyright issues. Although there are great classics out there, these aren't the kind of books that kids are looking for and many are just too difficult for our students to read. There are some great resources like the original Alice text that they would find "curious"! and access to the Mozart mp3 files is great, I still don't think this is what will grab students who love Stephanie Meyer. I do like the fact that it will read the text to the students, however. This certainly makes it more accessible.
Fortunately, the head tech person for the district is very much behind the idea of electronic resources so I'll have an advocate for the project.
Week 9, Thing 21
I read through one of the tutorials listed at the bottom of the "thing" that has some good information in it about how to get started so I thought I'd put the URL here.
http://forevergeek.com/geek_resources/beginners_guide_to_podcasts_and_podcasting_plus_how_to_create_a_basic_podcast_of_your_own.php
There's a good timing outline for a script here for people just getting started.
Since we use Mac laptops at school, the kids have access to iTunes so I thought I'd do some research there. I looked under Podcasts/Categories/Kids and Family and found several Disney ones. This got my attention right away since I'm a BIG Disneyland fan. I chose the first one about Disneyland and quickly discovered that just 1 episode is 192M! I guess that's what you get with 18 minutes of video. Much as this topic interests me, I can't see spending a couple hours for the video to download. I think I'll try finding a shorter one or one that is audio only.
In looking at some of the others, I saw that one of the "official" Disneyland ones rated the content as "clean". That's certainly helpful! I found one there that was still video but much shorter so I'll download it.
It bugs me that you can't listen to them (preview) before downloading (at least I didn't find a way). I thought that was a pretty standard feature with iTunes. How do I know if I want to describe or download it without hearing a sample?
Ok. I downloaded a quick Jonas Brothers podcast. (Just found out about them when visiting with my niece and nephew). It was an interesting blurb. Mostly just a message to fans who don't have microphones to tell them to go to the website to leave their shoutouts. Interesting use of podcast. I don't think i want to subscribe to them, though.
Ah! Found one. Nancy Keane's booktalks. Finding that one led me to SLJ Booktalks and Horn Book Booktalks. Gotta love those "you might also likes...". (I subscribed to this one. In the meantime, the other 2 I was downloaded an episode from disappearing from the downloading screen. Ah.... technology.
Now I'm confused. I subscribed and it looks like I can listen to them in iTunes but can I get them anywhere else? Is the subscribe for this different than an RSS feed for blogs? I guess so. (Ok - I found a feed for Nancy Keene's booktalks on the Educational Podcast Network that allows me to set up an RSS feed to my Google Reader. I guess the answer to my question is that iTunes, as always, relies on proprietary solutions.)
I think I could use the booktalks for school. I can download the ones that I have books for, then put them on my school website for kids to use when looking for books. I think this will appeal to them since so many of them love to use the computers. The only downside is that they'll have to get the actual book if they want to read it. I guess I need to go on to the next "thing" to see about getting ebooks so they can read on the computer.
(As a side note, I intend to have my Library Tech students do podcasts this year for book reviews. I think I'll start simple with audio only, then have them do one with video. We've done some like these at my school using iMovie and Garageband and the tech teacher has instructions so that should be half the battle.)
Although audio isn't my medium of choice, I do see the value for students who have difficulties reading as well as students who have become so comfortable with iPods and all things audio. I'll look around for some other feeds that might be useful to put on the library website to give the kids something useful to do when they have "free time" on the computers.
http://forevergeek.com/geek_resources/beginners_guide_to_podcasts_and_podcasting_plus_how_to_create_a_basic_podcast_of_your_own.php
There's a good timing outline for a script here for people just getting started.
Since we use Mac laptops at school, the kids have access to iTunes so I thought I'd do some research there. I looked under Podcasts/Categories/Kids and Family and found several Disney ones. This got my attention right away since I'm a BIG Disneyland fan. I chose the first one about Disneyland and quickly discovered that just 1 episode is 192M! I guess that's what you get with 18 minutes of video. Much as this topic interests me, I can't see spending a couple hours for the video to download. I think I'll try finding a shorter one or one that is audio only.
In looking at some of the others, I saw that one of the "official" Disneyland ones rated the content as "clean". That's certainly helpful! I found one there that was still video but much shorter so I'll download it.
It bugs me that you can't listen to them (preview) before downloading (at least I didn't find a way). I thought that was a pretty standard feature with iTunes. How do I know if I want to describe or download it without hearing a sample?
Ok. I downloaded a quick Jonas Brothers podcast. (Just found out about them when visiting with my niece and nephew). It was an interesting blurb. Mostly just a message to fans who don't have microphones to tell them to go to the website to leave their shoutouts. Interesting use of podcast. I don't think i want to subscribe to them, though.
Ah! Found one. Nancy Keane's booktalks. Finding that one led me to SLJ Booktalks and Horn Book Booktalks. Gotta love those "you might also likes...". (I subscribed to this one. In the meantime, the other 2 I was downloaded an episode from disappearing from the downloading screen. Ah.... technology.
Now I'm confused. I subscribed and it looks like I can listen to them in iTunes but can I get them anywhere else? Is the subscribe for this different than an RSS feed for blogs? I guess so. (Ok - I found a feed for Nancy Keene's booktalks on the Educational Podcast Network that allows me to set up an RSS feed to my Google Reader. I guess the answer to my question is that iTunes, as always, relies on proprietary solutions.)
I think I could use the booktalks for school. I can download the ones that I have books for, then put them on my school website for kids to use when looking for books. I think this will appeal to them since so many of them love to use the computers. The only downside is that they'll have to get the actual book if they want to read it. I guess I need to go on to the next "thing" to see about getting ebooks so they can read on the computer.
(As a side note, I intend to have my Library Tech students do podcasts this year for book reviews. I think I'll start simple with audio only, then have them do one with video. We've done some like these at my school using iMovie and Garageband and the tech teacher has instructions so that should be half the battle.)
Although audio isn't my medium of choice, I do see the value for students who have difficulties reading as well as students who have become so comfortable with iPods and all things audio. I'll look around for some other feeds that might be useful to put on the library website to give the kids something useful to do when they have "free time" on the computers.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Week 9, Thing 20
Here's a video about Diigo - an online research tool that combines social networking and note-taking. Looks pretty cool. Although I haven't explored it yet other than watching the video, it looks like a great way to create a cooperative research project for students.
Even using the Help on the site, it took me a while to find the code to embed this in my blog. Just another example of how quickly technology changes and how important it is to teach kids how to figure stuff out, not necessarily how to use it exactly.
I find that streaming video loads pretty slowly at home, even though I have a DSL connection. My husband taught me that if I start it then hit Pause, I can wait until it's downloaded to play to avoid the stuttering. Smart boy!
This is another situation that I find overwhelming. I'm amazed that people follow this (YouTube). At the risk of sounding like an old fogey... where do they find the time?
I've looked at TeacherTube before and am generally much more impressed with it for use in schools. At least you don't have to be too worried about what kids will run into there. And much of the content is curriculum-related. And our district doesn't block it! I like the book reviews that have been done on it. Since we're getting a pod server next year, I'll likely have students put their videos on an internal server but I will certainly have students look at this site for models.
Even using the Help on the site, it took me a while to find the code to embed this in my blog. Just another example of how quickly technology changes and how important it is to teach kids how to figure stuff out, not necessarily how to use it exactly.
I find that streaming video loads pretty slowly at home, even though I have a DSL connection. My husband taught me that if I start it then hit Pause, I can wait until it's downloaded to play to avoid the stuttering. Smart boy!
This is another situation that I find overwhelming. I'm amazed that people follow this (YouTube). At the risk of sounding like an old fogey... where do they find the time?
I've looked at TeacherTube before and am generally much more impressed with it for use in schools. At least you don't have to be too worried about what kids will run into there. And much of the content is curriculum-related. And our district doesn't block it! I like the book reviews that have been done on it. Since we're getting a pod server next year, I'll likely have students put their videos on an internal server but I will certainly have students look at this site for models.
Week 8, Thing 19
Got an account at LibraryThing and added the books I've reviewed so far this summer for school. Create a widget. Here it is. Let's see if it works.
Other things - I looked at the LibraryThing for Libraries with the examples. I clicked on 4 or 5 of them and couldn't figure out for any of them where LibraryThing was being used. Maybe I just missed something.
I liked being able to load my books in since I was keeping them on a spreadsheet anyway. I'm wondering if you can keep private reviews on the books which I'd like to do. In the edit section, I saw something about comments but need to look at it further.
(Ok. Published post and the widget showed up. Yippee! But I notice that the textbox I added in my last post is creeping around on the blog and not staying in its original location. I also just noticed that the picture I put in Zoho got cut off on the right in addition to taking forever to load and the emoticon I put in not only disappear but so did the text that was originally there. Ah, technology)
I put 15 books in. All of them had other readers, ranging from 1 other to 562 others. Several had user reviews.
Still thinking about how I could integrate this into my school library. Because all books in the library have to go through a review process, I'm a bit nervous about opening up something that has no "age appropriateness" restraints on it. Although I personally think kids will read what they want and self-censor if it's not right for them, I'm not sure about defending some of the recommendations to parents. Perhaps because it's a 3rd party site and I don't have the books in the school library, I don't need to worry as much about it.
Ah! Just found a space in the book edit section for private comments. Looks like that's where I could keep my things. Another question - can you set it up to only make this information available to "friends"? It would be useful to set up a network of district librarians with access to comments about books that weren't necessarily available to others (including students).
Looks like "groups" might be the place to do this. You can set up a group that only specific people can access. Something to look into.
More good stuff.
Other things - I looked at the LibraryThing for Libraries with the examples. I clicked on 4 or 5 of them and couldn't figure out for any of them where LibraryThing was being used. Maybe I just missed something.
I liked being able to load my books in since I was keeping them on a spreadsheet anyway. I'm wondering if you can keep private reviews on the books which I'd like to do. In the edit section, I saw something about comments but need to look at it further.
(Ok. Published post and the widget showed up. Yippee! But I notice that the textbox I added in my last post is creeping around on the blog and not staying in its original location. I also just noticed that the picture I put in Zoho got cut off on the right in addition to taking forever to load and the emoticon I put in not only disappear but so did the text that was originally there. Ah, technology)
I put 15 books in. All of them had other readers, ranging from 1 other to 562 others. Several had user reviews.
Still thinking about how I could integrate this into my school library. Because all books in the library have to go through a review process, I'm a bit nervous about opening up something that has no "age appropriateness" restraints on it. Although I personally think kids will read what they want and self-censor if it's not right for them, I'm not sure about defending some of the recommendations to parents. Perhaps because it's a 3rd party site and I don't have the books in the school library, I don't need to worry as much about it.
Ah! Just found a space in the book edit section for private comments. Looks like that's where I could keep my things. Another question - can you set it up to only make this information available to "friends"? It would be useful to set up a network of district librarians with access to comments about books that weren't necessarily available to others (including students).
Looks like "groups" might be the place to do this. You can set up a group that only specific people can access. Something to look into.
More good stuff.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Week 8, Thing 18
This is my simple document on Zoho. So far, it seems very similar to Googledocs which I've used before. I see that they have templates available on this screen. I'm not sure Googledocs has that. Just clicked on it and found out there aren't any template there.
Looked through icons and found that this has equation editor. I don't know if Google has that or no but it seems pretty sophisticated.
Zoho Website (Note: This "surprised" was supposed to be an emoticon. It didn't translate over in the publishing)
(Note: Shrink to fit was selected but the picture wasn't reduced significantly in size since it still takes a very long time to load.)
I don't see a spreadsheet or presentation document application. Oops. My bad. Just found them under "Switch to" along with bunches of other document types. Clicked on Zoho Show. Seems to be a whole different application. Interesting. This seems to be a very robust application.
Looked through icons and found that this has equation editor. I don't know if Google has that or no but it seems pretty sophisticated.
Zoho Website (Note: This "surprised" was supposed to be an emoticon. It didn't translate over in the publishing)
| Example of a table | Cell 1 | Cell 2 |
| Line 1 | Tommy | Bathsheba |
(Note: Shrink to fit was selected but the picture wasn't reduced significantly in size since it still takes a very long time to load.)
I don't see a spreadsheet or presentation document application. Oops. My bad. Just found them under "Switch to" along with bunches of other document types. Clicked on Zoho Show. Seems to be a whole different application. Interesting. This seems to be a very robust application.
Just added this to check out what the Layers icon did. This seems pretty sophisticated also. A texbox, basically. I couldn't find a way to make the background of the box transparent like I wanted it to (just discovered that when it's deslected, it is transparent)
and moving the box around crashed Firefox.
and moving the box around crashed Firefox.
Week 7, Thing 17
Idea #7: Students can create an avatar for a character in a book. They would need to explain (on their character's blog?) why the avatar looks as they do. Great one! I'll suggest it to LA teachers. I bet they're impressed! Thanks for making me look like a hero.
Trading cards - great idea about using this for 6th grade god and goddess reports. I'll either suggest it to the history teachers or just help some kids to create them in the library and develop interest subversively!
Using LibraryThing with a blog to keep the list of approved books. Good idea. I'm not sure how helpful the blog is since it appears you can keep the same information on librarything. I guess part of the helpful aspect would be for books that aren't picked. It would be great to have both district librarian reviews for approved books as well as professional reviews for use in collection development and possibly also in marketing to kids.
www.fodey.com Way cool! Have Library Techs (or other kids) create newspaper snippets. They look great and would be a fun way for kids to respond to something.
www.dumpr.net How fun. A website that will add various effects to your photos. I'm always looking for fun sites that kids can go to on their own time that still have some academic connection. This looks like one.
fastr tag game Looks like lots of fun and a good way to help kids understand tags and search terms and how subjective they can be. Unfortunately, I think this is one that I won't be able to use since Flickr is blocked at school.
WIKI page. (Extra credit geek points if you can add to the this list using the form Idea#_: in bold Format Normal, Font Arial, Size small then your idea Format Normal, Font Arial, Size small) I LOVE THIS! What a great way to try and keep things organized without coming off heavy-handed or controlling. 1000 extra credit geek points to whoever thought this up!
Idea #2 for history class. One of our 7th grade teachers has students do a biography. Several students study the same person. It would be fun to have them compile notes this way, then have each student write his/her own paper. How do you make sure each student contributes for grading purposes?
Wiki - Use a wiki to post minutes and other info from the district library association so members can see what's going on.
Idea 5. Instead of a presidents paper report, or an explorer's paper report, have you class create a NING with the students representing their president, explorer, etc. in a social network. Students could add pictures, comment one another etc... Good idea for 8th grade history. This is right up one teacher's alley.
IDEA 9 - LibraryThing is a great tool for students, too. It could be introduced to students in the beginning of a year and could be set up with categories of books read -- course-related, entertainment, extra-curricular (or a better sounding name.) Over the years, each student will see how much they've read/grown, what their friends have read, and so on. Lots of possibilities. This could become a school literacy strategy. ANOTHER GOOD IDEA TO TRY WITH LA TEACHERS. If they're not on board, try it with library regulars.
Gosh. There are just so many good ideas. As is the case with so many other things in life, sometimes you just have to get started and use one rather than spend the rest of your life evaluating which one might be the very best idea.
Trading cards - great idea about using this for 6th grade god and goddess reports. I'll either suggest it to the history teachers or just help some kids to create them in the library and develop interest subversively!
Using LibraryThing with a blog to keep the list of approved books. Good idea. I'm not sure how helpful the blog is since it appears you can keep the same information on librarything. I guess part of the helpful aspect would be for books that aren't picked. It would be great to have both district librarian reviews for approved books as well as professional reviews for use in collection development and possibly also in marketing to kids.
www.fodey.com Way cool! Have Library Techs (or other kids) create newspaper snippets. They look great and would be a fun way for kids to respond to something.
www.dumpr.net How fun. A website that will add various effects to your photos. I'm always looking for fun sites that kids can go to on their own time that still have some academic connection. This looks like one.
fastr tag game Looks like lots of fun and a good way to help kids understand tags and search terms and how subjective they can be. Unfortunately, I think this is one that I won't be able to use since Flickr is blocked at school.
WIKI page. (Extra credit geek points if you can add to the this list using the form Idea#_: in bold Format Normal, Font Arial, Size small then your idea Format Normal, Font Arial, Size small) I LOVE THIS! What a great way to try and keep things organized without coming off heavy-handed or controlling. 1000 extra credit geek points to whoever thought this up!
Idea #2 for history class. One of our 7th grade teachers has students do a biography. Several students study the same person. It would be fun to have them compile notes this way, then have each student write his/her own paper. How do you make sure each student contributes for grading purposes?
Wiki - Use a wiki to post minutes and other info from the district library association so members can see what's going on.
Idea 5. Instead of a presidents paper report, or an explorer's paper report, have you class create a NING with the students representing their president, explorer, etc. in a social network. Students could add pictures, comment one another etc... Good idea for 8th grade history. This is right up one teacher's alley.
IDEA 9 - LibraryThing is a great tool for students, too. It could be introduced to students in the beginning of a year and could be set up with categories of books read -- course-related, entertainment, extra-curricular (or a better sounding name.) Over the years, each student will see how much they've read/grown, what their friends have read, and so on. Lots of possibilities. This could become a school literacy strategy. ANOTHER GOOD IDEA TO TRY WITH LA TEACHERS. If they're not on board, try it with library regulars.
Gosh. There are just so many good ideas. As is the case with so many other things in life, sometimes you just have to get started and use one rather than spend the rest of your life evaluating which one might be the very best idea.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Week 7, Thing 16
Checked out SJCPL Subject Guides. Great stuff! Looked at edit function and saw that it was locked down to librarians only. I wondered how they would keep it valid. Also saw that the last edit for biography was 2006. It seems like one of the difficulties with Wikis, just as it is with webpages, is how to keep them current to make sure you continue to have visitor traffic - especially when visitors can't edit the page. This isn't necessarily a topic that would change frequently or that visitors would need to check out daily but it's a thought... especially for school sites. I'll look further and see how others handle it.
Looked at their one on Antiques. I like the consistent format and the links to community resources. Makes access easier. Goes along with the idea of using signage and other things to increase accessibility. Good stuff. I can see using this for a curriculum map/resources for a school library.
Interesting. The Book Lovers wiki was created to post book reviews for a summer reading program. They've discontinued it because they now put book reviews in the catalog. This seems like a great idea. Since the catalog exists and patrons are directed to it, the information stays in one place. I've pondered this as our district has written a proposal for an information portal. Now that there are so many tools available for collaboration and information sharing, it seems like the next move will be to figure out how to bring them all together to improve accessibility and lessen info overload.
Library Success Wiki - Like the idea that this is user driven but it seems to suffer a bit from inconsistency in format. When you create this type of wiki, it seems like it would benefit the user to create a fairly tightly structured format... not to restrict them but to increase usability.
Alby Staff Information Station - Like many others collaborative tools, this seems to suffer from have no leadership. In my experience, someone has to be responsible for guiding people, reviewing what's there, providing structure and championing the cause (much like the CSLA staff for this course!) This is a great idea for a district, though. Our handbook is still on paper only and lessons plans are shared via email. How much better it would be to have a place to keep these things and encourage all to participate.
Blogging Libraries Wiki - I'm still having trouble getting into Blogs. It just doesn't seem very efficient to me. It's nice to have a place that lists all the links.
Westwood wikispaces (Sample School Wiki) - This site makes me thing about the difference between webpages and wikis. At some point, I think they'll merge to become a new entity. Some information/data will be maintained solely by the owner/editor and other portions will be editable by all. Information (and links to information) will be in one spot. I was just thinking about some notes I wrote for a steering committee meeting at the end of the year. I wrote them up then emailed them to all the faculty. I then took a look at the "Scribe Award" on this wiki and looked at the post in question. There in the blog were notes for a class session that the appointed scribe had written. This makes MUCH more sense. Notes are available for all. There's an archive of what went on and there's the capability for people to comment on them. I think I'll propose this in the fall. I like this.
History Wiki - Looks like Webquest, Phase 2.0
TeacherLibrarianWiki - Good stuff. Again - the trick is to get people to really belong and continue to contribute in meaningful ways. Again - I think part of the issue is just too many possibilities leading to inaction. Seems a bit like the VHS/Beta issue.
Good "thing".
Looked at their one on Antiques. I like the consistent format and the links to community resources. Makes access easier. Goes along with the idea of using signage and other things to increase accessibility. Good stuff. I can see using this for a curriculum map/resources for a school library.
Interesting. The Book Lovers wiki was created to post book reviews for a summer reading program. They've discontinued it because they now put book reviews in the catalog. This seems like a great idea. Since the catalog exists and patrons are directed to it, the information stays in one place. I've pondered this as our district has written a proposal for an information portal. Now that there are so many tools available for collaboration and information sharing, it seems like the next move will be to figure out how to bring them all together to improve accessibility and lessen info overload.
Library Success Wiki - Like the idea that this is user driven but it seems to suffer a bit from inconsistency in format. When you create this type of wiki, it seems like it would benefit the user to create a fairly tightly structured format... not to restrict them but to increase usability.
Alby Staff Information Station - Like many others collaborative tools, this seems to suffer from have no leadership. In my experience, someone has to be responsible for guiding people, reviewing what's there, providing structure and championing the cause (much like the CSLA staff for this course!) This is a great idea for a district, though. Our handbook is still on paper only and lessons plans are shared via email. How much better it would be to have a place to keep these things and encourage all to participate.
Blogging Libraries Wiki - I'm still having trouble getting into Blogs. It just doesn't seem very efficient to me. It's nice to have a place that lists all the links.
Westwood wikispaces (Sample School Wiki) - This site makes me thing about the difference between webpages and wikis. At some point, I think they'll merge to become a new entity. Some information/data will be maintained solely by the owner/editor and other portions will be editable by all. Information (and links to information) will be in one spot. I was just thinking about some notes I wrote for a steering committee meeting at the end of the year. I wrote them up then emailed them to all the faculty. I then took a look at the "Scribe Award" on this wiki and looked at the post in question. There in the blog were notes for a class session that the appointed scribe had written. This makes MUCH more sense. Notes are available for all. There's an archive of what went on and there's the capability for people to comment on them. I think I'll propose this in the fall. I like this.
History Wiki - Looks like Webquest, Phase 2.0
TeacherLibrarianWiki - Good stuff. Again - the trick is to get people to really belong and continue to contribute in meaningful ways. Again - I think part of the issue is just too many possibilities leading to inaction. Seems a bit like the VHS/Beta issue.
Good "thing".
Friday, June 27, 2008
Week 6, Thing 15
Thoughts on Library 2.0 readings.
As I read the articles, I took note of ideas that particularly struck me.
1. "simplicity, rich interactivity, user participation, collective intelligence, self-service, novel and remixed content" This is a great, simple overview of what Library 2.0 is about. This really helped me to take a huge concept and narrow it down to something approachable.
2. "as Web 2.0 reality continues to emerge and develop, our patrons will expect access to everything – digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts, etc. You think they can’t have everything? Think again. This may be our great opportunity." This is a big challenge for traditional librarians who have focused on the issue of authority and collection development. How do we deal in a world where students can have access to everything? We need to help students develop "information, visual, and technological literacy". We can't "give" them the information anymore. We can only teach them how to get the information and assess it.
3. "Perpetual beta" Great concept! Coming from a programming background, this one is tough for me to swallow but I think it's oh so true. Things just move too quickly anymore to expect that we'll have time to perfect offerings. And... I think kids are more willing to accept things that are in a state of flux. They're used to things moving quickly.
4. "users add value" - This is a tough one for people who have been trained for many years to be the providers of information and added value. But even as I grapple with a bit of reluctance to accept this, I read reviews of products and hotels and other items by "regular people" in order to decide what to purchase.
5. "The features of Amazon and Google of interest to students and scholars ought to be incorporated into the services libraries make available. Libraries should welcome the submission of reviews, assignment of keywords (“tagging”), addition of scholarly commentary, and other forms of user participation." Users add value. Although I always look at the "scholarly reviews" of books on Amazon, I also frequently look at the user reviews to see what "regular people" think. After all, it's regular students who will be using these sources.
6. "user tagging" Now. To figure out how to make this happen and see if it works. I think it would be a great thing to have students tag books and electronic resources for curriculum related projects that would help other students (and me) find out what has been the most useful.
7. "Storage (archives, treasures); data retrieval (networks—reference rooms); and commentary and annotation (salon)" I loved this summation of what libraries are all about and the way it reaches back to collect the "old" image of a library with the new ones. After all, human beings are still human beings no matter how they access their information.
8. "Grassroots video, collaboration webs, mobile broadband, data mashups, collective intelligence, social operating systems (network organization based around people rather than content)" Five trends. Great summation again of what's happening in 2.0.
Very helpful reading on Library 2.0 and good placement in this course. I like the idea of giving participants experience in some of the tools then taking a step back to put it all in perspective.
As I read the articles, I took note of ideas that particularly struck me.
1. "simplicity, rich interactivity, user participation, collective intelligence, self-service, novel and remixed content" This is a great, simple overview of what Library 2.0 is about. This really helped me to take a huge concept and narrow it down to something approachable.
2. "as Web 2.0 reality continues to emerge and develop, our patrons will expect access to everything – digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts, etc. You think they can’t have everything? Think again. This may be our great opportunity." This is a big challenge for traditional librarians who have focused on the issue of authority and collection development. How do we deal in a world where students can have access to everything? We need to help students develop "information, visual, and technological literacy". We can't "give" them the information anymore. We can only teach them how to get the information and assess it.
3. "Perpetual beta" Great concept! Coming from a programming background, this one is tough for me to swallow but I think it's oh so true. Things just move too quickly anymore to expect that we'll have time to perfect offerings. And... I think kids are more willing to accept things that are in a state of flux. They're used to things moving quickly.
4. "users add value" - This is a tough one for people who have been trained for many years to be the providers of information and added value. But even as I grapple with a bit of reluctance to accept this, I read reviews of products and hotels and other items by "regular people" in order to decide what to purchase.
5. "The features of Amazon and Google of interest to students and scholars ought to be incorporated into the services libraries make available. Libraries should welcome the submission of reviews, assignment of keywords (“tagging”), addition of scholarly commentary, and other forms of user participation." Users add value. Although I always look at the "scholarly reviews" of books on Amazon, I also frequently look at the user reviews to see what "regular people" think. After all, it's regular students who will be using these sources.
6. "user tagging" Now. To figure out how to make this happen and see if it works. I think it would be a great thing to have students tag books and electronic resources for curriculum related projects that would help other students (and me) find out what has been the most useful.
7. "Storage (archives, treasures); data retrieval (networks—reference rooms); and commentary and annotation (salon)" I loved this summation of what libraries are all about and the way it reaches back to collect the "old" image of a library with the new ones. After all, human beings are still human beings no matter how they access their information.
8. "Grassroots video, collaboration webs, mobile broadband, data mashups, collective intelligence, social operating systems (network organization based around people rather than content)" Five trends. Great summation again of what's happening in 2.0.
Very helpful reading on Library 2.0 and good placement in this course. I like the idea of giving participants experience in some of the tools then taking a step back to put it all in perspective.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Week 6, Thing 14
Wow! Information overload. For someone who tends to be a browser rather than a person who has a targeted need/desire for information, this is just overwhelming. The tool is certainly a good one for finding out what's out there but gosh... just how much info can one take?
The Top 100 idea is interesting. I wonder if it tends to lead to conformity, following "news" fashion trends.
I explored Boing, Boing based on it being the top blog. It was pretty amusing although I don't see myself having the time or inclination to read it on a daily basis.
Tagging - the upside is clearly that the power to categorize something is left to individuals rather than some potentially too academic authority. On the other hand, letting subjects be deemed by individuals certainly has the potential to muddy the water and allow related topics to be missed due to inaccurate linking.
There are certainly some educational applications for this (assuming the district allowed access to blog sites) but there's a lot of work to be done with students to help them evaluate sources for bias and accuracy. Even more so than with websites, I think, since blogs tend to be so personal and informal. However, given that this is the world they'll live in, we need to be helping them to navigate it using good critical thinking techniques.
The Top 100 idea is interesting. I wonder if it tends to lead to conformity, following "news" fashion trends.
I explored Boing, Boing based on it being the top blog. It was pretty amusing although I don't see myself having the time or inclination to read it on a daily basis.
Tagging - the upside is clearly that the power to categorize something is left to individuals rather than some potentially too academic authority. On the other hand, letting subjects be deemed by individuals certainly has the potential to muddy the water and allow related topics to be missed due to inaccurate linking.
There are certainly some educational applications for this (assuming the district allowed access to blog sites) but there's a lot of work to be done with students to help them evaluate sources for bias and accuracy. Even more so than with websites, I think, since blogs tend to be so personal and informal. However, given that this is the world they'll live in, we need to be helping them to navigate it using good critical thinking techniques.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Week 6, Thing 13
Found Dipity - a timeline creator. This would be useful for middle school students. A creative way to present information. I created an account and bookmarked this on del.icio.us. (My first observation about this site is that I can't seem to remember where the dots go in the name!) - adding in a link to this site at the suggestion of the team. Great idea for keeping track of things you're interested in. http://www.dipity.com/
I like the suggestions for tags. It helps keep you from creating tons of different ones because you forgot what you put something under. I also like the convenience of having the buttons to mark sits you want to keep.
I also like the comments and tags given by others. It gives some sense of the value of the site. In this case, since the people commenting have bookmarked the site, the comments (presumably) would be positive. I've been on many other sites where people give reviews (similar to comments) and the reviews run the gamut, making it hard to
figure out what reality is. I wouldn't give up the ability to read the comments but it's sometimes easy to get so caught up in reading them and trying to evaluate them that you get bogged down.
This could be a valuable tool to use with my students in learning to evaluate websites. As the students research for a topic (especially in teams), they could create their bookmarks and then have teammates comment about their choices, stating their evaluation of them. Teachers could then assess students ability to evaluate the sites by reading the comments. Since the students del.icio.us name is listed, it would help keep inappropriate posting down. The more I think about this, the more I like it!!! I think I'll suggest it to one of the 8th grade history or science teachers for next year. Yippee! Something to make me look cool!!
As a side-note, I started using Google bookmarks lately. It seems to work in a similar fashion although I haven't explored comments or tagging.
I like the suggestions for tags. It helps keep you from creating tons of different ones because you forgot what you put something under. I also like the convenience of having the buttons to mark sits you want to keep.
I also like the comments and tags given by others. It gives some sense of the value of the site. In this case, since the people commenting have bookmarked the site, the comments (presumably) would be positive. I've been on many other sites where people give reviews (similar to comments) and the reviews run the gamut, making it hard to
figure out what reality is. I wouldn't give up the ability to read the comments but it's sometimes easy to get so caught up in reading them and trying to evaluate them that you get bogged down.
This could be a valuable tool to use with my students in learning to evaluate websites. As the students research for a topic (especially in teams), they could create their bookmarks and then have teammates comment about their choices, stating their evaluation of them. Teachers could then assess students ability to evaluate the sites by reading the comments. Since the students del.icio.us name is listed, it would help keep inappropriate posting down. The more I think about this, the more I like it!!! I think I'll suggest it to one of the 8th grade history or science teachers for next year. Yippee! Something to make me look cool!!
As a side-note, I started using Google bookmarks lately. It seems to work in a similar fashion although I haven't explored comments or tagging.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Week 5, Thing 12
Rollyo - Having created several Google Custom Search engines, I was familiar with the concept. They both seem to work fine. The nice thing about Google is that it's integrated with so many other apps. I also like the toolbar addition that Google has, letting you go to the site and add it to your CSE from there. The other nice thing is that Google's version allows you not to have ads for education searches.
I've used these quite a bit with middle school students. Although it makes it so they don't have to do nearly as much website evaluation, it helps keep them out of Google overload and gets them to better info.
I've used these quite a bit with middle school students. Although it makes it so they don't have to do nearly as much website evaluation, it helps keep them out of Google overload and gets them to better info.
Week 5, Thing 11
Checked out the Teacher-Librarian ning and spent quite a bit of time there. I was glad to find a middle-school group since it applies directly to what I'm doing and the concerns are quite similar. This is the first thing I've found where an RSS feed might make sense to me.
Del.i.cious - I've started using Google bookmarks but wanted to check out del.i.cious since it seems to be so popular. As far as I can tell, the difference is in the social aspect. Google keeps track of your own stuff where delicious gives you the opportunity to see what others are bookmarking. I think if I could get it fine-tuned enough, this could be helpful but it seems like just one more aspect of information overload to me. Too much stuff and too many ways to do the same thing.
Lulu - I've done a couple of books on Blurb so when I saw this was a bookmaking site, I figured I already knew about it. After some browsing around though, I see that this is really a much more robust site than Blurb. I like the general tone of Blurb and I think it's great for photo/travel books but Lulu seems more well-rounded and also cheaper. Doing a search on Mesopotamia, I actually found a play of Gilgamesh written for teens that would fit with the 6th grade curriculum. I just bought it and will share it with my 6th grade teachers. It would be a great extension activity for some kids. $5.99 for purchase - $2.99 for download. Now to see if I can catalog it.
Google docs - Already using it. Good stuff but lack of formatting bugs me. Maybe I haven't explored it enough?
Twitter - you've got to be kidding. I don't care that much what I'M doing every minute, let alone what others are doing every minute of their day. Too connected for me.
Last FM - can't find any rating labels or information about whether lyrics are explicit. this is a problem for schools.
Yahoo Answers - cool stuff but it seems like it has all the built in trouble with Wikipedia... and more. Anyone can answer you? If they point you in the direction of reliable answers, it seems ok but if kids blindly rely on what someone tells them here, it seems like this could be a problem. Good way, though, to tap into an expert network that might not be very accessible elsewhere.
Whew! There are A LOT of sites. A drink from a firehose.
Del.i.cious - I've started using Google bookmarks but wanted to check out del.i.cious since it seems to be so popular. As far as I can tell, the difference is in the social aspect. Google keeps track of your own stuff where delicious gives you the opportunity to see what others are bookmarking. I think if I could get it fine-tuned enough, this could be helpful but it seems like just one more aspect of information overload to me. Too much stuff and too many ways to do the same thing.
Lulu - I've done a couple of books on Blurb so when I saw this was a bookmaking site, I figured I already knew about it. After some browsing around though, I see that this is really a much more robust site than Blurb. I like the general tone of Blurb and I think it's great for photo/travel books but Lulu seems more well-rounded and also cheaper. Doing a search on Mesopotamia, I actually found a play of Gilgamesh written for teens that would fit with the 6th grade curriculum. I just bought it and will share it with my 6th grade teachers. It would be a great extension activity for some kids. $5.99 for purchase - $2.99 for download. Now to see if I can catalog it.
Google docs - Already using it. Good stuff but lack of formatting bugs me. Maybe I haven't explored it enough?
Twitter - you've got to be kidding. I don't care that much what I'M doing every minute, let alone what others are doing every minute of their day. Too connected for me.
Last FM - can't find any rating labels or information about whether lyrics are explicit. this is a problem for schools.
Yahoo Answers - cool stuff but it seems like it has all the built in trouble with Wikipedia... and more. Anyone can answer you? If they point you in the direction of reliable answers, it seems ok but if kids blindly rely on what someone tells them here, it seems like this could be a problem. Good way, though, to tap into an expert network that might not be very accessible elsewhere.
Whew! There are A LOT of sites. A drink from a firehose.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Week 5, Thing 10
BlogPulse -
Name badge feature is cool. Since I already have the Library Techs create a badge, this would be a good tool to use for that.
Jigsaw puzzle - fun but too expensive to buy ($40)
Mosaic Maker - Ok but Blurb's bookmaking tool is better
Magazine Cover - cool tool. Options fairly limited but still produces a nice product
Movie Poster - looks like more fun for kids
Customized Frame - nice feature. Could make students work look much more professsional. Kids might spend lots more time fooling with pictures than content, however.
Name badge feature is cool. Since I already have the Library Techs create a badge, this would be a good tool to use for that.
Jigsaw puzzle - fun but too expensive to buy ($40)
Mosaic Maker - Ok but Blurb's bookmaking tool is better
Magazine Cover - cool tool. Options fairly limited but still produces a nice product
Movie Poster - looks like more fun for kids
Customized Frame - nice feature. Could make students work look much more professsional. Kids might spend lots more time fooling with pictures than content, however.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Week 4, Thing 9
Well - in my wandering about looking at RSS feeds, I ran across Blog Pulse. I like this alot! It lends itself to doing searches when I'm trying to find opinions about various things. I looked for current information about the Amazon Kindle and was able to find various opinions about it.
I like Google Blog Search - probably because I'm familiar with the search format. The others seems more difficult to use with lots of information on the page. There seems to be a combination on them of blogs for RSS subscriptions along with news-type items. It all just feels like information overload to me.
Somehow with all this information available, I don't seem to have time to actually read things like books! I find myself with my laptop in my lap for most of my evenings... sometimes doing actual work and other times just getting lost in stuff. I'm not sure this is a good thing. Much as I like technology, I do think it's a double-edged sword.
I like Google Blog Search - probably because I'm familiar with the search format. The others seems more difficult to use with lots of information on the page. There seems to be a combination on them of blogs for RSS subscriptions along with news-type items. It all just feels like information overload to me.
Somehow with all this information available, I don't seem to have time to actually read things like books! I find myself with my laptop in my lap for most of my evenings... sometimes doing actual work and other times just getting lost in stuff. I'm not sure this is a good thing. Much as I like technology, I do think it's a double-edged sword.
Week 4, Thing 8
RSS. This is a tough one for me. Since I generally tend to look for information when I need it rather than keep track of various periodicals, I've not had much success using RSS feeds although I've tried them a couple of times. I just don't seem to make the time to look at them and read them. Maybe I just haven't found the right sites. I do keep up with CALIB and to some extent with LM_NET which seem somewhat similar. I guess I'm comfortable with email and its "in your face" nature.
I did click thru to some of the feeds with people writing blogs about various library 2.0 techniques that I found interesting but my general impression of blogs is that it's like reading someone else's diary - something I've rarely had any interest in doing.
I was interested to read one entry about the mobile internet and basically being an IP address as a human being. That makes sense to me as I'm still struggling with whether to pay what it costs to be more connected on an ongoing basis. It's hard for me though to justify the cost.
I'll keep at it, working to consider what piece of the RSS feeds would be of value to library services.
I did click thru to some of the feeds with people writing blogs about various library 2.0 techniques that I found interesting but my general impression of blogs is that it's like reading someone else's diary - something I've rarely had any interest in doing.
I was interested to read one entry about the mobile internet and basically being an IP address as a human being. That makes sense to me as I'm still struggling with whether to pay what it costs to be more connected on an ongoing basis. It's hard for me though to justify the cost.
I'll keep at it, working to consider what piece of the RSS feeds would be of value to library services.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Week 3, Thing 7
So much changes so quickly with technology. It used to be there weren't tools to do what you wanted. Now, there are way too many tools to do what you want. There are so many things available to do what you want, that it's easy to get lost in the exploration just seeing what's out there or to just choose one for efficiencies sake and ignore the rest.
I continue to be frustrated (as do many) by the fact that many of these tools are blocked by the district. On the other hand, it looks like they're beginning to figure out how to put the technological capabilities "behind the wall" in the district for safety reasons. Perhaps in the near future, things will open up. In the meantime, there are certainly plenty of technology apps available that I'm not taking advantage of.
I continue to be frustrated (as do many) by the fact that many of these tools are blocked by the district. On the other hand, it looks like they're beginning to figure out how to put the technological capabilities "behind the wall" in the district for safety reasons. Perhaps in the near future, things will open up. In the meantime, there are certainly plenty of technology apps available that I'm not taking advantage of.
Week 3, Thing 6
The 3rd party apps have changed a bit from last year. I'm still intrigued by the trading card app and thinking about how I might use it for book reviews or in the curriculum for my TA's. I also like the Name Badge idea since I'm collaborating with a teacher to create an orientation for TA's. I'd like to have them create their own name badge, killing two birds with one stone.
Last year after I stopped doing the tutorial, I created a book using Blurb to showcase my trip to China. It worked out great! I couldn't believe how professional-looking it was and how easy it was to create. Although the cost is fairly high, I can certainly see using this as a culmination of a class project on some visual topic... especially since you're able to combine text and photos. It might even be used as a fund-raising project. I'm amazed at the things that I see sell that I would never believe there would be any market for.
Last year after I stopped doing the tutorial, I created a book using Blurb to showcase my trip to China. It worked out great! I couldn't believe how professional-looking it was and how easy it was to create. Although the cost is fairly high, I can certainly see using this as a culmination of a class project on some visual topic... especially since you're able to combine text and photos. It might even be used as a fund-raising project. I'm amazed at the things that I see sell that I would never believe there would be any market for.
Week 3, Thing 5
Wow! Back again - almost exactly a year later! Better late than never. I was reading back though my blog and saw that my Flickr picture disappeared so I decided to remind myself how to do it. The picture ended up as its own entry but it's there. Onward and upward!
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