Breathing Easier

School is out and it's time for some well deserved r & r. It's been a hectic year so far. The Teacher Librarians in our district have been fighting for our jobs since January. That was when the news of the California budget was released. I do not envy the Board Members and the daunting task they had to decide what to cut and what to keep. Last Tuesday, the Board adopted a budget. Well, what a Board Meeting it was. Thankfully our jobs are safe for this year - provided the State approves the budget as is. We have our work cut out for us - why we have to justify our positions is beyond me. We are very fortunate that we have parents & teachers who understand and support our library programs. The 6 Teacher Librarians in our district will work together to promote our programs and make sure that we are visible forces working for the betterment of our students, not just background support.

Tag Cloud Makeovers

One of the advantages of reading other blogs is learning about new web tools. Thanks to Joyce Valenza and her blog NeverEndingSearch, I've discovered Wordies and have made over my del.icio.us tag. The tags don't link to anything, but they are fun to make.

Facebook????

Ok, so I finally developed a facebook page - much to my daughter's dismay. I have found it is a great way to share photos with family and friends. I have posted and shared photos using Flickr.com, but have found facebook easier to use. It's been fun linking up with people I know. I'm not sure how much I'll really use this application and really don't get the allure. In fact, this video found on librarygarden.blogspot.com pretty much sums it up...

Update

It's hard to believe that months have passed since my last post. So much has happened - some good, some not so good. Be that as it may, it's time to catch up and even learn something new in the process. Our district has contracted with a web-development company to host all of the school web-sites. It's been a challenge to fit content into someone else's framework, but I do like the consistency in the teacher sites and the ease with which content can be created and posted. I'm looking forward to summer so I can spend more time on the site and get things really set up for next year. The district has also used tech funds to purchase new circulation software for the libraries, bringing us into the 21st century. After a long, exhaustive search, the 6 Teacher Librarians came to the conclusion that Alexandria best suited our needs. Most of us had it up and running early May. There have been some gliches (like slip printers that work with Spectrum but not Alexandria) but they are a part of the process and learning curve. All in all, I'm happy with the software decision, sorry I didn't listen to Kelly (a TL at one of the other middle schools) and order the bluetooth hand-held scanner, and looking forward to the end of inventory so I can really see what is happening to the collection.

Since my last post, my co-TL, Jane & I were able to coerce one of the TOSA's (teacher on special assignment) to start on Classroom 2.0. She has set up her blog and offered the tutorial throughout our district. Quite a few teachers are taking advantage of the program. Having completed the tutorial, I am now a cheerleader. Being one of the cheerleaders gives me a chance to follow those exploring these tools, read their reactions to the web 2.0 tools and comment on their musings. I have found some of these tools invaluable and use them everyday, other applications need a second look. Isn't that what summer is for.....

Week 9, Thing 23 - In Closing

I can't believed I've finished! And just under the wire. I know now that this isn't the end of my discoveries, just the beginning. When my daughter became a Bat Mitzvah, I told her that it was not the culmination of her Jewish education, but the beginning. I feel the same way about this tutorial. My goal is to incorporate many of these tools into my daily life. Now on to your questions -


What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

As I looked back on what I've learned, it's hard to imagine my life or work before being introduced to these tools. Creating an avatar was fun, but del.icio.us, Flickr, RSS and Zoho have become a part of my daily routine.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

Just by nature of the work that we do, we are lifelong learners. This program gave a direction to my learning. It allowed me to take charge of my learning and at my own pace. There are tools I started using right away, and some I put on hold for another day. On my list are a number of to-do items -
Start another blog using it for booktalks, or maybe use a wiki for my students to add books they have enjoyed
Include podcasts - written and delivered by students
Encourage teachers (and help them) to use wikis for their assignments and to collaborate with each other
Use LibraryThing to keep track of books I've read and books I've added to our collection
Use Flickr & mashups to add interest to my presentations and handouts
Create an interactive website that my students will find user friendly and intuitive

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

What surprised me most was the ease in which I could explore something and use it immediately. Zoho is definately a "take-a-way" that I didn't expect. I found it amusing that I had been using a number of web 2.0 tools, but didn't know it. Being able to explore these tools more fully gave me a better understanding of their uses and better ways to use them.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The only thing I would suggest is to encourage participants to explore blogs of those who have completed this tutorial. I found those blogs an invaluable source of information. I enjoyed the comments from the cheer team - especially when I figured out how to respond to their comments.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

Absolutely - and without trepidation! Bring on the web 2.1 tutorial!

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?

Thank you School Library 2.0 Team for the opportunity to participate in this program, to stretch my brain and kick me into the 21st century.

Week 9, Thing 22

It is unbelievable what can be found on the web. It really is the "world wide web". I had so much fun exploring WPL, I lost track of time. I especially enjoyed the OLPC (one laptop per child) collection of 1000 eBooks for children. To be able to find illustrated text online by Kate Greenaway, Grimm's fairy tales and Baum's Wizard of Oz books is priceless. I have a number of the Oz books that were originally my dad's. Hard to believe they were written around 1916 - almost 100 years ago! And now I can view them on the web. Will wonders ever cease!?! I still don't think I want to curl up with a good ebook, but I can see their use in academic settings. My 6th graders were writing stories loosely based on existing fairy tales. WPL would be a great site to link to my website for that activity.

LibriVox was also fun. I was able to listen to "The Lost Princess of Oz" - at least the first chapter. I have a number of audio-books in the professional library. My teachers like to use the audio version for some of our core novels. I've also tried to encourage the special ed students to use audio books or download the audio file from iTunes. They just have to make sure they have the full version, not abridged. Apparently, if I download the file from iTunes (paying for it, of course) and share my account, the teachers at my school would be able to play my files in their classroom on their laptops. It's worth a try, I just have to figure out the copyright issues.

One more note regarding delivery of novels. This morning, on NPR, Liane Hansen was speaking with Scott Sigler. They were talking about podcast novels — books delivered first by audio, in serial form. Since I can't figure out how to embed the podcast of their discussion into this blog, follow this link to NPR to hear what they had to say.

Week 9, Thing 21

I've been downloading podcasts for a few years. My daughter has an IPod and my husband and I have Mp3 players. I've downloaded a few radio shows and some of my music cd's. It's great on long car rides and even during medical tests where I've had to lay still for 45 minutes. I'm a visual learner though, so YouTube is more my style.

I was a little disappointed with podcast.net. It was out of date. When I checked on my favorite radio show (Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me), the most recent podcast was December 2006. Yahoo was also disapointing. I guess I expected to be able to listen to the podcast directly from Yahoo, but the site just sends you somewhere else. Podcastalley.com was kind of confusing. It seemed to me that I would need to sign in and create an account at Podshow. The last thing I want now is another account with another username and password. I find it easier to download my podcasts of choice from the NPR website. Maybe this is why ITunes is so popular. It's easy to set up an account and set it up to save certain podcasts, including free ones.

I did have fun on EPN. I found something called YA Cast and added them to my Google homepage. Here's what the site says about them:

"This unique podcast is actually a series of audio book talks on young adult literature. The podcast is written and recorded by pre-service English teachers at Grand Valley State University as part of a literature methods course taught by Dr. Robert Rozema. For more information on how podcasting works or how to create your own book talk podcasts, please contact rozemar@gvsu.edu."

There were a number of booktalks listed. They were fun to listen to and well produced. I'd like to have students booktalk their favorite books and have the podcasts linked to my website. That will have to wait for another day.