Saturday, August 28, 2010
Mockingjay
I had to purchase and read Mockingjay before next week's start of school, so that's just what I did! It is a very satisfying conclusion to The Hunger Games trilogy and I predict it will be very popular in school. The author certainly knows how to end a chapter with a cliff-hanging surprise! I wonder if a movie deal is in the works and if so, will they make one movie or three?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thing 23 Post
I have learned so much about the possibilities of the digital world and education this summer. Way back when I got my masters in Educational Technology you were supposed to learn how to program, but I managed to avoid this by writing the script for the big group project. Now the technical aspects are more or less hidden and the content is the focus, which has opened up the web to practically everyone. I am excited about students conducting real research and creating sophisticated projects. PowerPoint is no longer the gold standard, as far as I am concerned. And students do love working on computers.
But I have concerns about the digital divide; about re-teaching digital natives who might have picked up bad habits (cut n paste plagiarism, for example) and especially how education always seems to lag behind the real world when it comes to computers. And what happens to developing brains that are constantly being stimulated?
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?src=me&ref=technology
I am most interested in using Delicious and creating screencasts for library and research procedures and all kinds of web 2.0 booktalks and developing a library wiki and/or blog. I especially want to collaborate with teachers who also took this journey this summer (Lori, Terri, Vita???) and others. I think that I want to try pilot programs instead of waiting for mass acceptance, if that makes sense. Even in the digital age, sometimes baby steps are the best way to proceed.
I will continue to learn about Web 2.0 by reading listserves and looking at Delicious and finding more wikis to join. I also want to learn more about graphic design because it is so important in this visual medium. This was a fantastic learning opportunity and perhaps the best professional development that I have ever participated in. Thank you 2.0 for Web 2.0!
But I have concerns about the digital divide; about re-teaching digital natives who might have picked up bad habits (cut n paste plagiarism, for example) and especially how education always seems to lag behind the real world when it comes to computers. And what happens to developing brains that are constantly being stimulated?
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/technology/25brain.html?src=me&ref=technology
I am most interested in using Delicious and creating screencasts for library and research procedures and all kinds of web 2.0 booktalks and developing a library wiki and/or blog. I especially want to collaborate with teachers who also took this journey this summer (Lori, Terri, Vita???) and others. I think that I want to try pilot programs instead of waiting for mass acceptance, if that makes sense. Even in the digital age, sometimes baby steps are the best way to proceed.
I will continue to learn about Web 2.0 by reading listserves and looking at Delicious and finding more wikis to join. I also want to learn more about graphic design because it is so important in this visual medium. This was a fantastic learning opportunity and perhaps the best professional development that I have ever participated in. Thank you 2.0 for Web 2.0!
Thing 22 post
My wiki is found at https://jwmslibrary.wikispaces.com/
I started this a few years ago for another class. I only had time this morning to add some photos from my summer vacation that have a literary connection and attempt adding my screencast. The editing process seemed very very slow and I must finish all 23 things by tonight, so this wiki is bare bones at best. But I do plan to add more content and links and publicize it to the school.
A blog seems more personal and is under the control of one person, while a wiki is meant for collaboration. I want to engage teacher and student readers at my school to share their recommendations and opinions and feelings about books and I think that this wiki is a great platform. I will add to this once the school year gets started!
I started this a few years ago for another class. I only had time this morning to add some photos from my summer vacation that have a literary connection and attempt adding my screencast. The editing process seemed very very slow and I must finish all 23 things by tonight, so this wiki is bare bones at best. But I do plan to add more content and links and publicize it to the school.
A blog seems more personal and is under the control of one person, while a wiki is meant for collaboration. I want to engage teacher and student readers at my school to share their recommendations and opinions and feelings about books and I think that this wiki is a great platform. I will add to this once the school year gets started!
Thing 21 post
Describe a wiki you found that inspires you to create one of your own.
In the Examples of Educational Wikis, I found a wonderful library wiki for Cahokia High School (somewhere in southern Illinois which I found by Googling the area code.) It had great information and lots of links to resources and teacher wikis. My two favorite links were to Readergirlz (great website, but geared to HS rather than MS girls....do you know this one, J or M?) and to LibraryThing which is a website that lets anyone keep a list of books they have read or want to read which creates a community of readers, rating and commenting about books.
What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles?
There might be security or other computer issues involved with using a wiki; would it be necessary to get permission from IT or others? But I see that NHS uses a wiki, so why not any school in the town? Right now on the JWMS Infranet opening page, there is a link to teacher pages and every teacher has a separate web page, if they want one. But a school-wide wiki (sponsored by the library !?!) would foster collaboration and avoid duplication of resources. I am very excited about this idea...it could have links to resources, screenshots for procedures, slideshows for book talks, etc etc etc. Good thing school starts next week!
In the Examples of Educational Wikis, I found a wonderful library wiki for Cahokia High School (somewhere in southern Illinois which I found by Googling the area code.) It had great information and lots of links to resources and teacher wikis. My two favorite links were to Readergirlz (great website, but geared to HS rather than MS girls....do you know this one, J or M?) and to LibraryThing which is a website that lets anyone keep a list of books they have read or want to read which creates a community of readers, rating and commenting about books.
What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles?
There might be security or other computer issues involved with using a wiki; would it be necessary to get permission from IT or others? But I see that NHS uses a wiki, so why not any school in the town? Right now on the JWMS Infranet opening page, there is a link to teacher pages and every teacher has a separate web page, if they want one. But a school-wide wiki (sponsored by the library !?!) would foster collaboration and avoid duplication of resources. I am very excited about this idea...it could have links to resources, screenshots for procedures, slideshows for book talks, etc etc etc. Good thing school starts next week!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thing 20 Post
I think that non-fiction e-books are a great addition to any school library. They combine the authority and appropriate content and reading levels of books with the accessibility and ease of use of the Internet. I tried a few sites in the "Free Books" listing but did not really find much of value for middle school students; the various collections seemed to consist of mostly very old or obscure books. But the British Library collection was amazing! The ability to get clear and close-up views of priceless medieval texts was unbelievable and the brief audio comments were illuminating. And then to see and hear the original Alice was such a treat and practically impossible under any other conditions. The sensation of turning the page added greatly to the whole experiencee.
The NHS e-books are so useful for student research. They come from recognizable publishers and they are very user-friendly. A student could search for a specific term or browse through subjects and topics. Print copies of reference books can only be used by one student at a time at school, but the e-books can be accessed by many students at home or at school. I wonder if we can work out a district-wide plan so that all school libraries can purchase more e-books. I do intend to show staff and students the iCONN collection of e-books.
The NHS e-books are so useful for student research. They come from recognizable publishers and they are very user-friendly. A student could search for a specific term or browse through subjects and topics. Print copies of reference books can only be used by one student at a time at school, but the e-books can be accessed by many students at home or at school. I wonder if we can work out a district-wide plan so that all school libraries can purchase more e-books. I do intend to show staff and students the iCONN collection of e-books.
Thing 19 post
Post a link to your screencast on your blog. Describe your experience creating the screencast. What applications do you see for this in your classroom?
The screencast itself was quite easy. I did not write out a script to follow which made me a little nervous at first, but all I did was describe the action on the screen. It took a couple tries to publish it and I don't know why, but I persisted and it finally worked.
There are so many applications in library-land for screencasts. How often do I demonstrate things to a class and then find that some students were absent or at lessons or not paying close attention? They could click on the screencast and follow the directions at their own pace. I foresee a list of screencasts that cover many aspects of using the library catalog and iCONN and other resources. I really can't believe how easy it is to use Screenr.
The screencast itself was quite easy. I did not write out a script to follow which made me a little nervous at first, but all I did was describe the action on the screen. It took a couple tries to publish it and I don't know why, but I persisted and it finally worked.
There are so many applications in library-land for screencasts. How often do I demonstrate things to a class and then find that some students were absent or at lessons or not paying close attention? They could click on the screencast and follow the directions at their own pace. I foresee a list of screencasts that cover many aspects of using the library catalog and iCONN and other resources. I really can't believe how easy it is to use Screenr.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thing 18 Post
Which podcasts did you find interesting? Identify one or two podcasts and describe how you would use them in your work. (Be sure to include links in your blog entry to the podcasts mentioned.)
I love the idea of podcasts so you never have to miss a radio show again. I was less familiar with student-created podcasts. They seem to fit a very specific audience, so the value for students might be in the creation: writing and editing a script, reading it clearly and with expression, and the technical skills needed to record and broadcast it.
One great podcast from NPR is Nancy Pearl's book reviews. (I am biased because I own 2 Nancy Pearl action figures, complete with shushing hand.) She has written Book Lust for adults and Book Crush for YA readers and also has something enlighening to say about the books she reviews. She always has a theme for her show and is just a real pleasure to listen to.
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4949408 Nancy Pearl book reviews
Another interesting podcast is this series, done for an on-line college class. The students were required to write a podcast extolling the tourism highlights of a certain region. These are fun to listen to and could be used in school as a model of expository writing or even as an exercise in following oral directions. (High school or middle school students could be asked to create a map that corresponds to the podcast.)
http://travelgeography.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=220788#
Three NAU students podcast on Maui, New York's Hudson Valley, Tourism News, and and Yosemite National Park.
I love the idea of podcasts so you never have to miss a radio show again. I was less familiar with student-created podcasts. They seem to fit a very specific audience, so the value for students might be in the creation: writing and editing a script, reading it clearly and with expression, and the technical skills needed to record and broadcast it.
One great podcast from NPR is Nancy Pearl's book reviews. (I am biased because I own 2 Nancy Pearl action figures, complete with shushing hand.) She has written Book Lust for adults and Book Crush for YA readers and also has something enlighening to say about the books she reviews. She always has a theme for her show and is just a real pleasure to listen to.
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4949408 Nancy Pearl book reviews
Another interesting podcast is this series, done for an on-line college class. The students were required to write a podcast extolling the tourism highlights of a certain region. These are fun to listen to and could be used in school as a model of expository writing or even as an exercise in following oral directions. (High school or middle school students could be asked to create a map that corresponds to the podcast.)
http://travelgeography.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=220788#
Three NAU students podcast on Maui, New York's Hudson Valley, Tourism News, and and Yosemite National Park.
Thing 17 Post
What did you like about the presentation you embedded?
I liked the combination of statistics, questions to think about and the wonderful photographs of people reading in all kinds of places, including a swimming pool. It makes its point, it is just the right length and though it was created for a specific school system it has universal appeal.
How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?
In the classroom, Slideshare could illustrate many topics for the visual learners in our school. The many examples could also serve as models for our students to follow and they could also practice their skills of criticism and compare/contrast. Slideshare would be a great way to do book talks!
Out of the classroom, Slideshare has great potential to share knowledge on many subjects. Once again, it was difficult for me to stop browsing the vast library of presentations. The best ones are engaging and informative and very watchable.
I liked the combination of statistics, questions to think about and the wonderful photographs of people reading in all kinds of places, including a swimming pool. It makes its point, it is just the right length and though it was created for a specific school system it has universal appeal.
How might Slideshare be useful in the classroom? out of the classroom?
In the classroom, Slideshare could illustrate many topics for the visual learners in our school. The many examples could also serve as models for our students to follow and they could also practice their skills of criticism and compare/contrast. Slideshare would be a great way to do book talks!
Out of the classroom, Slideshare has great potential to share knowledge on many subjects. Once again, it was difficult for me to stop browsing the vast library of presentations. The best ones are engaging and informative and very watchable.
Thing 16 post
Give a review of the tool you explored - what worked, what didn't work, how might it be used in your personal or professional life?
I tried Google fast flip and loved it! It compiles newspaper and magazine articles and lets you flip through the start of each story. It is very easy to whip through the articles and then choose one or two to read in entirety. And I had a Web 2.0 breakthrough (!) when I found an article that I wanted to read later and perhaps share...instead of sending it to my e-mail, I used Delicious and tagged it.
I skimmed the headline articles and then did a few searches for my personal and school-related keywords. Some of the articles barely touced on the subject I was looking for, and others were too local to be of interest, but I did not have to read the entire article to find out. You can either read thumbnails or zoom in to more easily read the opening paragraphs. It was hard for me to stop reading.
I could see students using this for current events or science topics in the news. The reading levels may be a stretch for most middle school students, but there is so much variety of sources that this shouldn't be a real problem. Hmmm...you could even search for book reviews from different sources to compare and contrast. I bet there are many middle school applications for this great Google feature.
I tried Google fast flip and loved it! It compiles newspaper and magazine articles and lets you flip through the start of each story. It is very easy to whip through the articles and then choose one or two to read in entirety. And I had a Web 2.0 breakthrough (!) when I found an article that I wanted to read later and perhaps share...instead of sending it to my e-mail, I used Delicious and tagged it.
I skimmed the headline articles and then did a few searches for my personal and school-related keywords. Some of the articles barely touced on the subject I was looking for, and others were too local to be of interest, but I did not have to read the entire article to find out. You can either read thumbnails or zoom in to more easily read the opening paragraphs. It was hard for me to stop reading.
I could see students using this for current events or science topics in the news. The reading levels may be a stretch for most middle school students, but there is so much variety of sources that this shouldn't be a real problem. Hmmm...you could even search for book reviews from different sources to compare and contrast. I bet there are many middle school applications for this great Google feature.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Thing 15
How might you use this tool in your personal and professional life?
Sometimes it seems like Google seeks total world domination, but Google Docs is a great product for true collaboration. It streamlines the process and lets even the most casual computer user become a competent user. I think that most work in the future will be team-based, since everyone will be connected to each other and to every possible source of information. But now we are in a transition time and I think that schools are much slower to change than business or individuals. Still, the ability to work together at home and at school using Google Docs should be explored by students and teachers.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?
I am concerned with the digital divide; not every student has access to a home computer. It also takes maturity to focus on homework when using the computer (even for me who still sometimes takes a Solitaire break) though I guess students would be multi-tasking. Also there must be a way to keep students accountable for their individual work in a group project without too much effort on the teacher's part. Maybe Google Docs could keep track of when a person signs in and how long they stay on the site. Plus the issue of student e-mail addresses and other privacy/security issues, though I do not think there would be bandwidth issues which is the beauty of the Cloud.
Sometimes it seems like Google seeks total world domination, but Google Docs is a great product for true collaboration. It streamlines the process and lets even the most casual computer user become a competent user. I think that most work in the future will be team-based, since everyone will be connected to each other and to every possible source of information. But now we are in a transition time and I think that schools are much slower to change than business or individuals. Still, the ability to work together at home and at school using Google Docs should be explored by students and teachers.
What issues come to mind about using this tool with students (ie, they need email addresses to log-in)?
I am concerned with the digital divide; not every student has access to a home computer. It also takes maturity to focus on homework when using the computer (even for me who still sometimes takes a Solitaire break) though I guess students would be multi-tasking. Also there must be a way to keep students accountable for their individual work in a group project without too much effort on the teacher's part. Maybe Google Docs could keep track of when a person signs in and how long they stay on the site. Plus the issue of student e-mail addresses and other privacy/security issues, though I do not think there would be bandwidth issues which is the beauty of the Cloud.
14 Things
What did you join? Why?
I was already a beginner level member of Facebook (less than 30 friends) mostly to stay in touch with relatives and friends that I do not see often. It's a fun way to see what is going on with various people, but again has the potential to use a lot of time. I had one of the best experiences of my life this summer, thanks to FaceBook. My best friend from childhood contacted me and we arranged to meet when I was in Florida this summer. We had not seen in each in close to 40 years and had a 4 hour lunch catching up with each other. It was simply magical.
Has your opinion about social networking changed since working on this Thing?
Not really. I am by nature a private person and so I had already turned off most of the settings that allowed anyone to see my info. The news story about the new superintendent in East or South Windsor was shocking to me; that an adult could be so careless and not realize that FB is not as private as one might think was unbelievable. So that reinforced my caution.
What do you see as the educational possibilities (if any) for social networking?
Social networking could be another way to share information, but I might want to use it for purely personal reasons and use other platforms (like Delicious) for professional purposes. Though I am thinking that younger generations won't make such a distinction, I think it will work for me.
I was already a beginner level member of Facebook (less than 30 friends) mostly to stay in touch with relatives and friends that I do not see often. It's a fun way to see what is going on with various people, but again has the potential to use a lot of time. I had one of the best experiences of my life this summer, thanks to FaceBook. My best friend from childhood contacted me and we arranged to meet when I was in Florida this summer. We had not seen in each in close to 40 years and had a 4 hour lunch catching up with each other. It was simply magical.
Has your opinion about social networking changed since working on this Thing?
Not really. I am by nature a private person and so I had already turned off most of the settings that allowed anyone to see my info. The news story about the new superintendent in East or South Windsor was shocking to me; that an adult could be so careless and not realize that FB is not as private as one might think was unbelievable. So that reinforced my caution.
What do you see as the educational possibilities (if any) for social networking?
Social networking could be another way to share information, but I might want to use it for purely personal reasons and use other platforms (like Delicious) for professional purposes. Though I am thinking that younger generations won't make such a distinction, I think it will work for me.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thing 13
Where did you create your account - Diigo or Delicious? Why?
I already had a Delicious account from a previous class. I considered Diigo, but I am just not that social yet. I feel that I already spend a lot of time on the computer and I think that Diigo, with its communities and message sending capabilites, would be a big time user. I think that Delicious is all that I can handle right now.
Reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching.
It is a great way for teachers to share websites with each other and with students. I have seen teachers give out web addresses to students to type into their computers with mixed results; one misplaced letter throws everything off. A teacher or a team could have a Delicious account to keep track of all their relevant web sites. Students could also use Delicious instead of My Favorites to have better access to websites. I just worry about middle school students handling the social aspects...
I already had a Delicious account from a previous class. I considered Diigo, but I am just not that social yet. I feel that I already spend a lot of time on the computer and I think that Diigo, with its communities and message sending capabilites, would be a big time user. I think that Delicious is all that I can handle right now.
Reflect on how you think social bookmarking can be used in your teaching.
It is a great way for teachers to share websites with each other and with students. I have seen teachers give out web addresses to students to type into their computers with mixed results; one misplaced letter throws everything off. A teacher or a team could have a Delicious account to keep track of all their relevant web sites. Students could also use Delicious instead of My Favorites to have better access to websites. I just worry about middle school students handling the social aspects...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thing 12 post
Is tagging a useful way to organize your digital resources and why?
I think tagging has great potential to be helpful for personal and educational situations. I have many favorite websites at home and at school and I try to keep them organized, but it seems to be a losing battle. Generating useful tags will help people doing keyword searches because the idea is the same. I think that trying to be not too specific and not to general when creating a tag can be learned over time. I do like the hint of seeing what others use for their tags. You don't want to be so unique that no one else follows your thought process.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?
As a librarian, it seems radical to let just anyone create tags...what about the official LOC subject headings? What about looking for 'cars' when the correct subject heading is 'automobiles'? What would Dewey say??? The advantage is that ordinary people can help organize the Internet and not wait for professionals. However, one disadvantage is that taggers could be ignorant or even deceitful, so I wonder if there is anything like an authority file. Or will bad tags self-extinguish since no one else will follow them? But anything that helps to organize the Internet is a good thing.
What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
You want to be clear and concise and free from bias or judgement. You also want to be on the border between too general and too specific, but that point can be helped by assigning numerous tags. I wonder if there is a perfect number of tags per site, or a recommended number?
I think tagging has great potential to be helpful for personal and educational situations. I have many favorite websites at home and at school and I try to keep them organized, but it seems to be a losing battle. Generating useful tags will help people doing keyword searches because the idea is the same. I think that trying to be not too specific and not to general when creating a tag can be learned over time. I do like the hint of seeing what others use for their tags. You don't want to be so unique that no one else follows your thought process.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages?
As a librarian, it seems radical to let just anyone create tags...what about the official LOC subject headings? What about looking for 'cars' when the correct subject heading is 'automobiles'? What would Dewey say??? The advantage is that ordinary people can help organize the Internet and not wait for professionals. However, one disadvantage is that taggers could be ignorant or even deceitful, so I wonder if there is anything like an authority file. Or will bad tags self-extinguish since no one else will follow them? But anything that helps to organize the Internet is a good thing.
What is important to think about before assigning tags to bookmarks or other Internet content?
You want to be clear and concise and free from bias or judgement. You also want to be on the border between too general and too specific, but that point can be helped by assigning numerous tags. I wonder if there is a perfect number of tags per site, or a recommended number?
Thing 11
Are you getting comfortable with embedding code? All I had to do was cut and paste, so I am quite comfortable. But I don't think I know how to fix it if anything was wrong, so that is one downside.
How can widgets enhance your instructional practices? I mostly think of widgets as cute or fun extras. On my iGoogle homepage, I have the Daily Puppy, which always makes me smile. I liked the PBS examples, but some of the other educational widgets seemed questionable or silly. I really like the creativity that so many people have expressed in making and posting widgets. It would take time to find widgets that are useful without being distractions.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thing 10 post
What is the value of Twitter?
I don't have a smart phone, so all my tweeting would be done from home and so I think that would be boring. And I am not really that curious about what other people are doing; however I would be a follower of a business or restaurant if it got me free stuff. And for school, it could be interesting to follow an author or a scientist, or arrange for a question and answer session.
Select one of the sites that you explored from The Best of the Web 2008 or Time's 50 Best Websites of 2009. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any educational applications for it?
For personal use, I tried Supercook and was very happy to find recipes. It was very easy to use and conected to the actual recipe. I can imagine joining this site and having it keep track of all my ingredients so that I always have new recipes to try. For school, it could be used for a FACS or health class. I also looked at Get High Now which has fascinating audio and visual illusions, plus it explains the brain science behind them. Very very cool, but an unfortunate title that would provoke giggles in middle school. I peeked at World Wide Telescope, but did not want to download the program it needed right now. However, it did appear to have amazing visuals and commentary from teachers and scientists. I bet this could be very valuable in science classes!
I don't have a smart phone, so all my tweeting would be done from home and so I think that would be boring. And I am not really that curious about what other people are doing; however I would be a follower of a business or restaurant if it got me free stuff. And for school, it could be interesting to follow an author or a scientist, or arrange for a question and answer session.
Select one of the sites that you explored from The Best of the Web 2008 or Time's 50 Best Websites of 2009. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any educational applications for it?
For personal use, I tried Supercook and was very happy to find recipes. It was very easy to use and conected to the actual recipe. I can imagine joining this site and having it keep track of all my ingredients so that I always have new recipes to try. For school, it could be used for a FACS or health class. I also looked at Get High Now which has fascinating audio and visual illusions, plus it explains the brain science behind them. Very very cool, but an unfortunate title that would provoke giggles in middle school. I peeked at World Wide Telescope, but did not want to download the program it needed right now. However, it did appear to have amazing visuals and commentary from teachers and scientists. I bet this could be very valuable in science classes!
Thing 9 post
It always comes down to theory vs practice for me; I am so excited by the possibilites of Web 2.0 in teaching and learning, from K to college, for finding information, collaborating and creating exciting projects, but how does a school transition to this new world? I would love to have students work together on multimedia projects, sharing the planing, writing, editing, and visual tasks, but how to assess, how to make certain everyone contribures and what to do about students without their own resources are just a few problems that jump out. But maybe all it takes is one teacher and one small pilot project...
I think that most educators feel that they are covered by "fair use" because they operate in an educational, not a commercial, enviroment. We can make sure that sources are always cited (any visual in a PowerPoint, for example, or any background music) and that students learn about Creative Commons. Hopefully once they learn how to protect their own creations, they will be less likely to steal (borrow without attibution) the creative works of others. Or will the 'cut and paste' mentality be such a part of their digital experiences that it will not be seen as wrong? I do not know.
I think that most educators feel that they are covered by "fair use" because they operate in an educational, not a commercial, enviroment. We can make sure that sources are always cited (any visual in a PowerPoint, for example, or any background music) and that students learn about Creative Commons. Hopefully once they learn how to protect their own creations, they will be less likely to steal (borrow without attibution) the creative works of others. Or will the 'cut and paste' mentality be such a part of their digital experiences that it will not be seen as wrong? I do not know.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thing 8 comments
I first saw this video on my librarian list-serve, plus a sexier man-in-the-shower one. They made me smile and appreciate all the creativity that is out there. I remember way back in 5th grade some classmates wrote a hilarious Star Trek parody. Now they would shoot a video so the world could see it instead of just the kids in their class. But a good video still requires a script, a storyboard and other forms of writing, so I don't think we need to fear the end of the written language. Will we eventually teach video composition in elem. + middle schools along with written composition? Or will some students pick it up on their own and others be left without, as in the digital divide.
Library commercial (a la Old Spice)
A great advertisement for libraries!
from Brigham Young University, Utah
from Brigham Young University, Utah
Thing 7
You Tube is an incredible phenomenon which went from nothing to everything + everywhere in only 5 short years. (I looked it up) It is a big time waster and an incredible resource. I laughed so hard at Carol Burnett and loved laughing baby, but I found my attention span shrinking. I often did not watch a video to the end.
I looked for middle school book trailers and found some very nice ones. I would love to try some with my middle school students. There are endless possibilites for school use, but I do think it is blocked at JWMS. Access and appropriate content are the big roadblocks, I think.
I looked for middle school book trailers and found some very nice ones. I would love to try some with my middle school students. There are endless possibilites for school use, but I do think it is blocked at JWMS. Access and appropriate content are the big roadblocks, I think.
Thing 6
First I had to go back and name photos from 3 separate trips that were only ID'd by number. This taught me to name them when you save them! I was not comfortable with sharing any recognizable people pictures just yet, so I chose scenery and one gorilla photo. I have a friend who is very good about creating albums and writing descriptions of each picture, but I am not there yet.
There are many potential applications for school, especially since students today are so visually oriented. Again, I must think about access at home, availability of school computers and keeping middle school students on task. I can imagine asking students to create a magazine cover featuring an inventor or scientist, but then keeping them focused on the task could be difficult. I know that the computer lab has the program which enables the teacher to see all the students' computers on the teacher station; maybe we need this in the library and the other computer lab. But if we only think about the problems, then we won't do anything, ever! I should be more trusting of my students while anticipating potential situations.
There are many potential applications for school, especially since students today are so visually oriented. Again, I must think about access at home, availability of school computers and keeping middle school students on task. I can imagine asking students to create a magazine cover featuring an inventor or scientist, but then keeping them focused on the task could be difficult. I know that the computer lab has the program which enables the teacher to see all the students' computers on the teacher station; maybe we need this in the library and the other computer lab. But if we only think about the problems, then we won't do anything, ever! I should be more trusting of my students while anticipating potential situations.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thing 5
I am very interested in all things Asian, so I searched for pictures of Tibet. It is such a beautiful corner of the world with limited access, so Flickr seems a wonderful way to take a virtual vacation there. It is difficult to stop looking at this scene.
Thing 4
I already have an iGoogle custom home page, so I looked at gadgets to add to it. I already have weather, day + date, BBC news (for a different perspective), daily quote from the Dalai Lama (for inspiration), and the Daily Puppy picture because they're so cute. I added an interactive calendar that I can fill with birthdays and important school events.
I think that I would want to have a separate 'professional' custom home page that would not be so personal. I am conscious of keeping a wall between my personal and professional lives (just ask that superintendent who went on Facebook to tell about his first day at work!) But I can imagine all sorts of educational and/or library gadgets, such as a daily posting from the Library of Congress. Well, I just added "Children's Book of the Day" to see what that turns out to be.
I think that I would want to have a separate 'professional' custom home page that would not be so personal. I am conscious of keeping a wall between my personal and professional lives (just ask that superintendent who went on Facebook to tell about his first day at work!) But I can imagine all sorts of educational and/or library gadgets, such as a daily posting from the Library of Congress. Well, I just added "Children's Book of the Day" to see what that turns out to be.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thing 3
I am very interested in using blogs in the school library as a way to connect students and teachers with books. The library catalog has interactive features that I demonstrated to many classes last year, but I was disappointed that its use dropped way down after the initial demonstration. A few students wrote book reviews throughout the year, but not as many as I hoped. I should talk to the teachers to find out how a library blog might tie into their classes and how digital book reviews could be treated as assignments. But then I would be concerned about students without home computer access, so library access would have to be built into this plan. I really want to figure out a way to make this happen because I think it is one of the best ways to use technology to promote reading.
Thing 1 and Thing 2
I am participating in 23 Things to learn about using new technology in the school library. It is now so easy for students to locate all kinds of information, but librarians and teachers are needed to help them use it in creative, collaborative and appropriate ways. I do not tweet and have never even texted, so I hope to explore all kinds of interactive media.
Thing 1 showed an ideal situation. It is very exciting to think about all the possibilities, but schools are still constrained by budget, access, security and accountability questions.
I remember writing out first drafts by hand and then typing the final copy, so writing on a computer is a piece of cake. I just have to remember to go back and re-read everything before hitting 'send' in order to catch typos and other mistakes.
Thing 1 showed an ideal situation. It is very exciting to think about all the possibilities, but schools are still constrained by budget, access, security and accountability questions.
I remember writing out first drafts by hand and then typing the final copy, so writing on a computer is a piece of cake. I just have to remember to go back and re-read everything before hitting 'send' in order to catch typos and other mistakes.
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