Thing # 20 Videos

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Searching through these streaming vidoes from You Tube can be a lot of fun and take a lot of time. I did a search for libraries in You tube, and it ran the gambit of fun summer reading programs, author visits, serious presentations and philosophies related to libraries-- some very amateur and some professionally created-- many enjoyable and interesting. I enjoyed some of the videos that gave a tour of a particular library-- this may be something I would like to create in the future. I especially enjoyed this renovation preview at the Library of Congress, which makes me want to take another trip to Washington, DC to see this amazing building.


I found this short and easy tutorial on student bookmaking. As the video states, these books can be adapted to use for creative writing, or student publishing of any content area or research. It could also be a student made journal. Quick, easy, and cheap. Check it out!

What a wealth of talent, information, and creativity is found in these videos sources!

Thing # 19 2.0 Awards List

I found a great little tool that won 1st place under organization in the web 20 awards! It's called backback, and it is exactly what I need since I am a monster paper list maker and love to browse office supply stores for items and gadgets that help me stay organized. I am great about making the paper lists, adding things, and then getting that gratification by marking off tasks completed. The problem is that I want all items on the same list, it gets really lengthy and messy, and I invariably end up with a list, and then a bunch of sticky notes stuck to it or the library circulation desk. That drives me crazy and I start all over re-writing the list.
This great little tool has everything I need in one free place. You just click a tab to create "to do lists", add notes of any kind, and then check off items when done. You can make dividers and add tags to help keep items seperate. You can upload files, and it has a picture gallery so you can insert pictures or maps -- then click to see them full size. I think this is just the inspiration to energize me to get things going for all of the tasks I have to do to get the library ready for the new year.
I will also use the shared group calendar. Other features include adding, viewing, and editing shared pages, reminders sent by email of meetings, etc., a message board and centralized group communications, and more.
Try it out and see what you think.
http://backpackit.com/tour

Thing #18 Open Source

I started downloading Open Office and it took a really long time. So I have "shelved it" to look at more thoroughly later when I have more time. I looked through Google docs, and of course , free is a big advantage. I liked the fact that you can save to the desktop, edit anywhere, pick who you want to have access, share changes and work in real time, and store it online. It looks like they have recently added more features and I liked the templates-- so I'm sure it will just grow more and more in time. I especially liked the school calendar feature-- I can see using that in the library all through the year. It may not have all of the bells, whistles , and options of an application you would pay a lot of money for, but for many who just need the basic collaborative aspect or templates --I think having access to Google docs will be of real use to them.

Thing # 17 Rollyo

http://rollyo.com/dstutsman/sbe_library/
http://www.rollyo.com/editroll.html

Talk about customized one stop shopping! I had the basic idea of rollyo by reading about it, but the video was invaluable in really understanding it, and so clear about setting it up quickly and easily. I wanted to make a rollyo that would be useful to students (and me) for research. I can post the link on my library web page for even easier access and one stop shopping. I saw that someone else had rolled all of the biography sites on the Library Resource Page into one rollyo, and I thought that was a terrific idea. That saves so much time and confusion especially for younger students going back and forth. So I did a springboard off of that great idea, and rolled all of the Texas sites off of the Library Resource page into one rollyo tagged Texas. I then did the expolore option to see what others had added to their search rolls. I saw many of the same ones we had, and a few more good websites that I will add later when I have more time to actually go in and look through them for content.

Thing # 16 Wikis

I had set up a practice wiki in the past at a workshop, and found it easy to do. I plan to revisit it and revive it, or just make a new one. I think I will start out using wikis with the staff at school first, to help me see problems, troubleshoot, and get used to using it easily again. I can see applications for combining grade level calendars, dates to reserve the library, planning units, sharing information and editing documents, and teacher/librarian collaboration without the usual million emails back and forth--skipping all of the problematic miscommunications and omisions that usually occur.
Student uses I can see are of course book reviews, class notes collaboration, gathering information for research in groups--really anything where multiple people need to "work together" efficiently and online. My son and his friends could have used a wiki when studying together and completing study guides this past year.
I especially enjoyed the wiki listing the different student blogs--I think I was a Library Lounge Lizard myself when I was in school. I also revisited the SBISD technology troubleshooting wiki since I am sure I will need to refer to it for help rather soon. On to # 17!

Thing # 15 Libraries of the Future

I (and I'm sure many other librarians) have always believed and spent countless hours and effort to make my library welcoming, collaborative, and user friendly. But it has not always worked as well as I would hope for me. Schedules, life,technology-- and just little old me to staff and support all teacher and student users-- have not always made it possible to complete my "best laid plans" for meeting the on demand needs or training of each patron. I am encouraged when I see that so many of the web 2.0 tools do include attributes of simplicity, rich interactivity, user participation, and self service. As Rick Anderson points out, "services need to be easy to access without training" and we need to "eliminate barriers for research"-- so that our patrons are actually spending more time in reading and learning-- rather than getting bogged down in the teaching of research skills or how to use particular technology applications. I also agree with his statement that we need to integrate our library services into "daily patterns of work, study, and play.
I loved the comparison that Michael Stephens made when he stated that we need to make "libraries a social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience" and equates the librarian as the "strategy guide" for helping users find information, gather knowledge, and create content. I really like that term--"create content". As Stephens stated, I also believe that the "future of libraries will be guided by how users access, consume, and create content". Whether it is a first grader learning to read, a college student, or a member of the community. More than anything else I have seen on the web, I think that the simplicity, interactive quality, and user-friendly quality of many of the web 2.0 tools will make that easier than ever before. I related to the Vision of Student video since I often try to pack 26 hours of activity into a 24 hour day-- I think Librarians may have invented the term "multi-tasking" since we have been doing it for years!

Thing # 14 Technorati

Technorati is a neat tool to use to help make some more specific searches of blogs, videos, etc. I looked up a topic of interest to me-- butterfly gardening. Just searching blogs including these words resulted in 1, 745 entries-- way too many for me to sort through even for pleasure reading. When I did an advanced search with exact keywords, it gave 66 possibilities with 4 videos, and with tags, it gave 36 blogs with the same 4 videos--much more managable! The "most popular" section is really not my thing, but I know other people that really get into checking places like this daily. I was a bit distracted by moving adds on some of the locations in Technorati, but I guess that is inevitable at times. When I looked at a School Library 2.0 search, I found lots of entries for the new "All Together Now --Web 2.0" the 23 things that was launched by School Library Journal recently. Seems like we are all on the same page trying to stay up to speed with all of the possibilities of Web 2.0.

Thing # 13 Social Bookmarking

This opens up a whole new area of efficiency and organization for me-- and a convenient time-saver. Bookmarks can really pile up on me and be a problem when different computers are used in the library. For those bookmarks I used with students, lessons, or units I usually added to my library web page so everyone could access them. I tried using "I Keep Bookmarks" previously to help with the bookmark storage problem, but didn't get it going well enough to suit my needs. This seems similar except it adds so many more invaluable features-- the tags to organize and search, being able to share with others, and being able to see what others are finding on the topics you need. The part I like best is the popular and suggested tags-- that helps me keep things a bit more uniform and saves a ton of time in thinking and typing. I already added the bookmarks that I had on my laptop at home, and will start on the others at school when we return -- it will feel just like cleaning out and organizing a messy closet-- and you know how librarians like everything organized and easy to find. I can't wait to clean up the clutter and see what others are finding for school use and home!

Thing # 12 Commenting

I was glad to see some policies or guidelines set out that could be easily adapted to younger students-- and some suggestions for what to do when you have the DC try to disrupt your blog.
The most important points I think I will emphasize and model with my students will be:
1. Discuss and agree kindly
2. Ask questions and keep it open ended so everyone can participate equally
3.Set boundaries with policies and example of acceptable commenting
4.Reward comments through responses and features/highlights
5. Encourage positive participation for fun for all
As a relative newbie to blogs, I too have been reading more that commenting. But I have enjoyed the comments I have received and tried to answer all of those asking a question. Although I enjoy writing, reading, and commenting on blogs, I do have to admit, though, that this is taking much more time than I ever thought it would-- and I am so glad I chose to do it in the summer. I think the best thing that has come from it is the ideas and information gained from other teachers and librarians playing this summer. I am also going to look at the blogs of the graduates for more ideas. I was happy to fing 2 blogs of particular interest in gardening that I know I will read on a weekly basis for fun.

Thing #11 Library Thing

Library Thing is a great way to track your own books-- favorites or those reading currently. I also really enjoyed looking at the reviews and recommendations of others. I signed up to watch 2 groups-- picture books and mysteries-- one for school and one for personal interests. I added 5 of my favorite books, and was interested to see how some of my favorites were really popular, and a couple were added by less than 50 people. I had trouble getting the widget to work to add them to my blog. I will consult the kickball captains next time I see them to see how to add them. I am also interested in learning to use shelfari to add that cool graphic bookshelf of current favorites to my blog.
Random books from my library-- Favorites
Murder, She Wrote: A Little Yuletide Murder (Murder She Wrote) by Jessica Fletcher
Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas (Corrie Herring Hooks Series) by John Tveten
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Ruth Sanderson

Thing # 10 Image Generators

Wow --are there a ton of image generators out there for free. Some are hidden in and around adds, and you have to sort through some that aren't free. But I loved the long list on the Custom Sign Generator website.
Comic Strip Generator was fun and easy to use. I made some extra ones to use on a bulletin board next year. I also made a few signs to use later with reading slogans. I discussed the Big Huge Lab on a previous post-- easy and fun with lots of possibilities for home and school. I loved the Image Chef. I can see many personal uses for all of these, and some for school. Students love graphic novels and comics. Teachers could pick some comic or sign templates to spice up or add humor to a lesson or presentation. These could also be used for students to come up with a saying to go with the template to add to research projects, creative writing, or something that applies to any unit or content studied. And then there are all of the generators that enhance digital images students could take themselves-- that really opens up the endless possibilities for creativity in learning and teacher use. I can add some of these features to jazz up my library website, too.

Thing # 9 Blogs & Feeds

I used the keyword searches in both Google Blog Search and Blogline's-- they both were the easiest to use, but I found that Blogline's found more blogs that fit exactly what I was looking for a little quicker than Google. It may have just been the particular ones I was searching, but both were easy and had tons of results to sift through. The most confusing parts were not the search tools, but some of the blogs that were so techy that the content was greek to me at this point.
I found this to be true with most of the Edublogs-- except for the ones from SBISD folks. They were great, and I used many of them to springboard off to other blogs. I found Guusje's blog on suprglu.
The more I look at what other people are reading, the more possibilities I see-- and I know I have added more to my feeds and blog subscriptions than I can possibly read-- for school and for my gardening pleasure. I just stumbled into the blog of one of my favorite gardening writers-- I didn't think she had a blog and so it was a real find. And then there are always a few when you search that make you wonder, "How does this relate to what I am searching for?" Like the feed that came up under "children's books" that discussed current issues in the US Securities and Exchange Commision???

Thing #8-- RSS Feed

The first and most obvious advantage to feeds is that it will save time and hopefully help sort through some of the vast amount of stuff out there to zero in on topics that are most important or needed in a timely manner. I subscribed to some feeds and blogs from SBISD people that looked interesting, and those they shared for professional development or ideas to try for the library. I am sure I will go through later to sort some out and add others. I then subscribed to about 6 for me personally-- gardening of course. As I was searching-- a feed came in about the fire at Cornelius Nursery-- one of my favorite places to plant shop:(
I like reading the feeds and blogs because they are short and sweet-- I don't have much time to sit at the computer each day-- so it is more like just picking up a quick magazine or newspaper article to browse. Now-- off to the gym!

Thing #7

Google tools have really come a long way since I used some of them last. Several tools looked useful to me as a professional-- the notebook to gather information and the docs pages to share with others. I would be cautious to do the alert because I am afraid I would get many more emails than I could handle reading right now.
I looked closer into the advanced searches to find powerpoints in curricular or literary areas. I was pleasantly surprised to find some useful ones for elementary levels! I set up an account in picasa to upload some family history photos that I had scanned previously. I have it set to only share with my family.
But Google Earth I think has so many possibilities for geography and science-- even math. I have used it a bit with the activboard and it lends itself nicely. I was able to zoom in so much on our school that I could see the butterfly outline of our garden in the school courtyard.

Thing #6

I loved all of the additional tools in this thing. I can see quite a few of them that could be used to quickly spice up any research project or provide a visual that could go with a more indepth report-- or just give the quick facts if that is all that is needed. I loved the trading cards for research facts, or "about me" activities at the beginning of the year. The trading cards, mosaic, magazine covers, or cube could be used for really any topic. I wonder if there is a way to leave blank spots in the mosaic or cube to insert or write text/info. Mappr would be great for state or country reports with post card type info, or book covers inserted for stories from different countries. I also liked the movie poster idea for a book review/report or an extension for an original piece of student writing. I liked the calendar idea for me to use for library events and schedules, and the photo badge for "about me", student-made desk/cubby nametags, post with student work on bulletin board, etc. There is a lot to try out-- the possibilities are endless-- and the best part is they are so easy and quick to use with students--and FREE!
TRADING CARD: I just planted one of the pipe vine plants at my home this year. I discovered about 20 of these pipevine swallowtail caterpillars on it this week. I am eagerly awaiting some of these beautiful butterflies flying around in my garden. Butterflies have amazing instincts -- the black swallowtails found the 4 small parsley plants and the one pipevine plant in my back yard on which to lay their eggs!

Thing #5

Flicker is a wonderful additional resource for pictures! Although Flicker didn't have the large numbers of photos that you may find on Google, I was pleasantly surprised with the clarity and quality. I'm sure it will grow in time. I loved having a larger thumbnail format to preview. I did not see any inappropriate photos as I searched through some science and social studies topics, as well as some topics of interest to me personally. I found the keyword searches to be fairly accurate and specific considering all of the different sources adding photos. I can see many applications for even the younger students where these pictures will be easily used-- especially photo story. I am curious to see how some of these will work when projected in activboard flip charts for teaching purposes. Anyone tried that? And would you save it as a different size to get good clarity when it is projected?

This photo is the Blue Morpho Butterfly-- one of the largest and most popular butterflies we have at the butterfly center where I volunteer.