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.

Week 9, Thing 20

I love YouTube. This is a source that I've used to share videos with friends and family. I've never created my own video - I'm not that creative. I find this source invaluable when looking for current topics (Obama's speech, to name one) and just for fun (Jon Stewart for another). Here's the latest video that my friends and I have been viewing - Enjoy



I also find videos found on various sites helpful and instructional. I love the videos done by Lee LeFever at commoncraft.com. These are simple, straight-forward, instructional videos. This is one on "California School Finance" I thought was relevant to our lives.

Week 8, Thing 19

I was introduced to LibraryThing a while ago and began to enter my books from home. That project ended quickly when I realized that I don't have room for all of our books, keeping only those that I really "need" to have. I've chosen instead to set up the account and use it as a way to keep track of new books ordered for the library. I might set up 2 different accounts - one to introduce new titles, linked to my blog and the other to keep track of books I want to read. This would be a good way to keep track of titles I need to order for AR.

I've also established a Shelfari account. I like the display better, but it seems more commercial. I might use Shelfari for home and LibrarThing for work. The jury is still out on this one.

Posting a Zoho doc to a blog - save our jobs

What will our students and teachers miss without a full time TL at each school:

a.    No AR
b.    No Independent use - that includes students having somewhere to take make-up tests, work on projects independantly, etc.
c.    No Small groups
d.    No professional to oversee textbook distribution
e.    No Orientations
f.    Very limited instruction (2 – 3 times per month, no option for on-demand, collaborative, research skills, or curriculum-driven instruction)
g.    No one to maintain a curricular driven print and electronic collection customized to the specific needs of each school
h.    include increasing clerk time
i.    no one to run Alexandria effectively – an $85,000 investment  – with a global vision
j.    it has been tried and didn’t work at Calabasas
k.    Value of collection –with inadequate professional staff to safe guard
2.    Legality
i.    Because of need to have students supervised by credentialed staff, there will be no individual student or small group student visits to the library, only whole class accompanied by teachers
3.    End with Krashen quote

 

Week 8, Thing 18

Online productivity tools - the inventors should be given awards, achieve sainthood, something wonderful for creating these easy to use, soon to be can't live without tools. I'm in the process of going through my documents on one of my computers to figure out what should be saved and what I can live without. In the process of getting new computers, I realized that the hard drive of the existing computer is my life (or what it has been for the past 6 years). I've been transferring important documents to a newer computer, but now, I can create them in Zoho or Google Docs and work on them ANYWHERE!!!!! So, it's out with the old-fashioned and in with the new online tools. One of our teachers has been using Google Docs. I've just created a spreadsheet for one of her projects and invited her to edit and/or add to it. The Teacher Librarians in our district are working on a presentation for the next board meeting. We've gotten together to discuss and create the presentation - I can see that using Zoho would be a good way for us to communicate our ideas and be able to edit and comment on entries. I've published a draft of what would be missing without us there. I think using Zoho would be a good way to create an interactive library calendar that could be posted to a blog or wiki - one that teachers would be able to access. I like the feature that allows you to invite people to read or read/edit your docs and that you get an email when changes are made to your docs.

Week 7, Thing 17

That was easy! Here's what I added:

Idea #16: I can see how middle school students might use some of the Flickr tools to create posters and/or trading cards of their favorite books. Or they could use Flickr mashups for their school projects - especially my 6th graders on their biome reports. I imagine they could create trading cards for the animals found on their biome along with the links for the food chain.

My only concern is the possibility of vandalizing the wiki all too easily. Is there any way to protect the information and preview what is submitted before posting? If not, then a blog may be more appropriate for middle school.

Week 7, Thing 16

Boy, do I wish I had completed this part of web 2.0 during Winter Break. I've been working with the 8th grade language arts teachers on an author project. Setting this up in a wiki would have made our student's research so much easier. Not only could the project directions be posted on a wiki, students could add information and web sites they found helpful. I could also see setting up an online book club using a wiki. I just wonder if there is a way to preview student entries before posting. I had a blog set up last year for students to post reviews of books they had read. 2 or 3 students submitted reviews, another student used the blog to try out inappropriate language. That blog ended quickly:( There are a number of projects assigned to my students that would fit the wiki model. Time to get to work!

How I'm Feeling Now

Week 6, Thing 15

I am bound and determined to finish these 23 things before April 1. I keep getting bogged down by all of the links I follow while working on each activity. That's what I love about the web - exposure to additional information is possible and easy to do - akin to flipping through the encyclopedia looking for specific information while being exposed to so much more. That being said, certain concepts from the articles I read struck me as relevant to what we do.

The article 3 Icebergs by Rick Anderson discussed 3 "things" that affect the way I view my work. "The “just in case” collection" speaks directly to my view of collection development. I no longer feel that there are some items that every library should have. Books and materials, including online databases, are chosen with emphasis on supporting the curriculum and State standards. I also tend to put more of our budget (what's left of it) into online resources. It may seem extravagant to pay yearly renewal fees for an online encyclopedia, but I justify the expense realizing that the online version is updated more often and used more often by my students than any print resource.

"Reliance on user education" spoke to the fact that there is no way to reach all of my students (1 of me/900 of them). I work with small groups, teach them appropriate skills and watch with amazement while they teach their friends. I try and make the library as user friendly as possible - from selecting books to read for AR to using my web page to help guide them through their research. Even though our jobs are on the line, the district has just purchased new user friendly circulation software soon to be installed. One thing I've learned is that if it's not easy for the kids to use, it doesn't get touched.

"The “come to us” model of library service" again speaks to collection development, including online databases. We need to provide students with tools they can use from the library, classroom or home.

Michael Stephens article Librarian 2.0 Controls Technolust really hit home. All too often our district buys technology without thinking things through - buying computers and presentation systems for all of the teachers without thinking of how they will incorporate this technology into their teaching, having a computer lab (apart from the library) without someone to oversee and problem-shoot. The list goes on and on.

I think school libraries have always been 2.0. As teacher librarians we work to create welcoming and friendly spaces (physical & virtual) for our kids to explore, learn and develop skills that will be with them forever. We don't operate in a vacuum, but with the support of our peers and continual feedback from our toughest critics - our students!

Claiming my blog

Ok, so I'm a sucker and have to try everything at least once. I'm creating this post to claim my blog to be tracked by Technorati. Let's see if it works.
Technorati Profile

Week 6, Thing 14

I've done this activity at least 6 times and keep coming up with the same conclusions - people have too much time on their hands. I've been away from this tutorial for so long because life happens (besides trying to save the positions of the secondary teacher librarians in our district). As often as I've played around on Technorati, I'm still confused as to its purpose. I suppose looking at popular blogs is an interesting activity, but what concerns me most about blogs is the content - it is someone's opinion - loosely based on facts, if at all. I teach my students that they can find supporting documentation on any viewpoint and this is especially true of bloggers. I did a search on "California budget" and came up with comments about articles that were in this morning's paper. I suppose that reading editorials the same day as news gives me an edge, but why? I like sitting with my coffee and newspaper in the morning. I also searched using other terms and came up with interesting results depending on the way the blogs or posts were tagged.

I do think that there are advantages to tagging. Since using del.icio.us I utilize tags more often than before. It helps to organize entries and makes it easier to sort through multiple items. I really can't see any disadvantages to tagging, although I do have a tendency to skimp on my tags and that might limit my searches.

I don't foresee using Tecnorati at school and I certainly can't see my teachers using this search engine. I have already seen blogs show up in Google searches, so we now have to teach our students to be even more diligent when it comes to evaluating web sites.