The Sweetest Berry

Week #9, Thing #23 copyright, creative commons, and le fin!

2009-06-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Very Funny copyright video, and yes, the irony of it all being Disney clips is certainly not lost! As librarians we have a huge responsibility to help our staff and students become responsible users of information. The fact that many teachers think that everything should be free to them makes it a bit more difficult to have their students understand the concept of fair use. I feel a teachable moment coming!

I spent some time on the Creative Commons site, watched a few of the videos. An admirable venture. Should we be directing all of our students there when they look for images? I would like more discussion on this matter. "A new world where collaboration rules."

My final thoughts...

I've just been looking through the list of other students on the blogroll tryng to see if I could identify other elementary folks (I found one) but ended up spending a fair bit of unproductive time and coming up empty. Maybe we should have tagged ourselves in some way (school, academic, Elementary etc). It would have been very web2.0ish to have had an easier way to search through the class blog content. Maybe next time.

One of you might consider going through all the links in the discovery exercises and resources...sadly, quite a few of them go nowhere. I've mentioned it when I've come across them as have others.

I so LOVE tutorials that use slides instead of video. Less time waiting for downloads!

I know that this is a very random response to the final question/thing. It's because I've writing it as I go along. In spite of all my grumbling, it has been a very useful and fun class and I hope / plan to keep referring back to it when I want to do something like a mash-up, or podcast but can't quite remember what it is or how to do it. You certainly provided us with plenty of links and learning opportunities with each thing.

That’s all folks! (wait, is that copyrighted???)

Week #9, Thing #22 - ebooks and audioebooks

2009-06-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

OK, so I took a look at the ebooks, guttenberg and worldebookfair. Maybe I've been in front of the computer for too long, but right now the last thing I want to do is read a book online. I looked at three examples and found none of them visually appealing. A Kindle? I don't think so, not for awhile yet. Seems mighty pricey. At the same time, I have encouraged my 83-year-old mother, who reads with a magnifying glass, to check a Kindle out from her local library and see if it would help.

Now, audiobooks? That's another thing entirely. I love being read to and have enjoyed many a road trip listening to books on tape. I have been intrigued by the offerings from the publc libary but have yet to put that intrigue into action.

I am listening to Libravox. So far I have listened to a random piece of non-fiction, an Aesop's fable, and The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. Not great. Free yes, but not great. With so many fantastic readings of The Raven out there, its hard to listen to one that is mediocre.

While looking at the "Best Places to get Free Books" I came across frugal reader, a book trading site I had forgotten about. Good to know about all those other places as well.

Basically I think that for me it comes down to using Listen Alaska for free at the public library (great selection, but not always available) or shell out the $$$ at audible.com - where they have an amazing selection of books with outstanding narrators.

Week #9, Thing #21 Podcasts

2009-06-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

True confession, I don't have an ipod. I'll spare you the details.

Whoa, as with so many things web2.0, you stumble across the most amazing, things. Right now I am listening to the hip-hop war report. I arrived there by going from The EPN (education podcast network) to music education, to the hip-hop war report. wow.

I found some work produced by students, but it was not well organized and not all the hits were valid... all in all the EPN is pretty random. You might consider revisiting this THING before blogroll #3 really gets rolling. The first 2 suggested links podcast.net and podcastalley.com don't work and EPN is, well, as I said, pretty random.

I switched to teachercreatedmaterials and am currently listening to a wonderful podcast on reader's theatre. She hasn't gotten into the meat of the performance yet, but has so far focused on how reading with a purpose leads to repeated reading, which leads to improved fluency which leads to improved to improved comprehension in both oral and silent reading. This is divine! The only drawback is that its on my computer. If only I had it on my ipod i cold be listening while i panted my basil and parsley. but wait, I don't have an iopd.

Ok, enough. I just subscribed to teachercreatedmaterials in my itunes

Beginner's Guide to Podcasts and Podcasting

is a must-read for those like me who are pod-clueless. I just added it to my delicious.

Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools. 3rd posting...Chapter 7: Online Safety and Security

2009-06-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

This chapter raises many real issues and solutions. I know that our district is engaged in an ongoing discussion about the use of wikis and blogs. Many of the alternative sites mentioned in the final section would appease concerned administrators and school board members.

I love the simplicity of the 5 steps to avoid copyright problems - ha! ...if only it were that simple. I plan to explore the creative commons more this year and encourage staff and students to use it. I know that teachers are incredibly busy, but they still need to take the time to discuss intellectual property, and etiquette. Not to scare them, but so that they and their students will learn to respect other people's intellectual property, and in turn to respect their own.

I liked the cyber awareness survey and would like to see it implemented. We did have a cyber-awareness assembly...the survey would be a good follow-up, or perhaps lead-in.

The author is naive if he believes the 2006 survey results concerning online safety." 75% of homes confine home internet use to the living room or other open space." I don't think so, how about, ...an unknown but ever-increasing number of children spent countless unsupervised hours online late into the night and during the day when their parents are at work! Not that it is the school's responsibility to monitor what happens at home, but it is naive of us to ignore the downsides of increased connectivity. At my daily breakfast duty I hear many bleary-eyed students telling each other proudly abut the many hours they spent the previous night in their virtual worlds. Actually, they don't have to tell each other - they were virtually there together. Ok, I'm ranting again.

Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools. 2nd posting...Chapter 4: New Tools in Schools

2009-06-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Clearly there are many teachers in our district and nation-wide who are making excellent use of web2.0. I appreciated this chapter because it went beyond the theoretical and towards the practical. One of my continuing issues is information literacy - I bookmarked the link to ALA tech source.

While our district as a whole is making an honest effort to educate 21st century learners I see those efforts hampered by teachers who are resistant to change, and a lack of ITT support.

For me, it always comes back to what can I do, in my school, in my neighborhood. There has been increasing research on the importance of speaking and being spoken to as a benchmark for academic and lifelong success (seems so obvious). From the NYtimes this morning "One study found that a child of professionals (disproportionately white) has heard about 30 million words spoken by age 3; a black child raised on welfare has heard only 10 million words, leaving that child at a disadvantage in school". Nicholas Kristof June 6, 2009. Jim Trelease sites similar statistics.

That describes my student population. So many of our students need exposure to words, language, and the opportunity to speak. How can web2.0 help? I see digital storytelling and podcasting as potential tools. In a traditional classroom presentation the student only has one opportunity to speak. That may be adequate for many students, but is not for those who struggle with spoken language. Digital storytelling, in whatever form it takes, gives the opportunity to practice, combined with the motivation of seeing your work in a finished, multi-media presentation.

Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools. 1st posting...Chapter 2

2009-06-08T00:21:00.001-07:00

At this point I have more questions and observations than answers. Schools are definitely caught between both worlds. They buy new textbooks when a new curriculum is adopted, but clamor for money for smart boards and newer more powerful computers.

I wonder, "because they (students) have the tools at their fingertips to publish their work online they become resources for other students research". Are we throwing the baby away with the bath water? We have spent so much time preaching the "gospel of the authoritative source", can we now encourage our students to completely validate a student source?

Know-how and Know-what being supplemented with Know-where. Just because a student knows where they can find something, does that mean they know it? Solomon and Schrum assert that only an educator can process and use information wisely, but unless educators are willing to enter into the world of the so-called digital natives, will the natives be paying attention?

David Jakes asserts that the inclusion of multi-media takes a story to a place that could not be achieved by writing alone. I beg to differ. A well crafted story, whether told or written, has the capacity to resonate with all the senses. Digital storytelling may join the written and spoken word, but shouldn't presume to supplant it.

Week #9, Thing #20 Teacher Tube and others

2009-06-07T20:28:00.001-07:00

You tube, teacher tube, all tubes. I am generally frustrated by the amount of time it takes for things to download. I have DSL at home, I guess there are faster connections. But yes, there is alot of good stuff on both. The day after the presidential election I was really frustrated because I wanted to show both Obama and McCain's speeches. They were both on YouTube but not yet on TeacherTube.

I am currently downloading/watching a student made video called "digital students in an analog world". A photo montage of students complain that "99% of the teachers teach the old fashioned way. Sit down, be quiet and just listen to a lecture for 45 minutes...that stifles my learning"

Teachers complain that students can't sit still, won't focus, multi-task themselves to distraction. Where is the middle ground? Pen and paper vs visual collaborative projects, yesterday vs today, Are students who are defining themselves as visual learners merely trying to avoid the hard and necessary work of reading and writing... is there a way to cross evaluate?

What's that, you say i got off track?

Who knew it would be so easy to embed a video in my blog!
Why did I choose this video? Because I think as librarians that we really do the impossible. Deal with all components of our school and broader community, keep track of minutia, all the while being aware of the bigger picture, and on and on. I do prefer Library Goddess, but I'll settle for Super Librarian

Week #8, Thing #19.1 - Alaska's Digital Pipeline

2009-06-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess i haven't use EBSCO for awhile. I LOVE the little pop-up preview windows for each entry. Not only does it let me instantly see if the article meets my needs, it also lets me know if I've already added it to a folder with the "remove from folder" option. Well done EBSCO.

I started a folder titled Puppetry, and was then able to go back and change the title to Puppetry and Storytelling. It is very easy to add entries and very easy to move them to another folder as well. I found several great hits about telling scary stories...can't wait to try them. Many interesting articles in a the Cobblestone publication called Appleseeds. Found a couple of book reviews that prompted me to make instant additions to my LibraryThing as well as my running Follett order.

One thing that is a bit awkward is sorting out the hits into specific folders. They all went to one, and then I had to sort them out. I have no doubt that I will eventually figure this out.

I am interested in articles about school gardening so I put the search term gardening in at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The hits at Primary Search were clearly elementary, while the Middle Search results combined children's and adult magazines. High School selections took you largely into the adult world, which quite frankly, overwhelms many HS students. I checked out EBSCO animals listed under the elementary resources. The text is basic enough but the format is not elementary friendly at all. Searchasaurus has this cutesy kid friendly logo and initial pages, but a search for bald eagles took me a list of adult journal articles. Not good for MY 6th graders doing animal reports. If I limited my search to the animal encyclopedia I got an appropriate hit. Kid Search was the same thing. ...or the same no-thing.

I have been a big fan and cheerleader for EBSCO for many years, but I'm beginning to think they should not market themselves as an elemetary tool.

OK, I'll give them another chance. Let's look at the Student Research Center. 6th graders doing country reports will find manageable articles. Likewise an article about Vasco da game would be great for 5th graders doing a project on explorers...using trading cards for their visual aids of course! Maybe its more of a tool for intermediate students, not primary. Now if only I could get the teachers to collaborate with me so that I can help them guide their students to these sites!

I was very frustrated by LibrayThings ability to make recommendations for my readers of Erin Hunter's Warrior series. Novel List to the rescue! wonderful list of If you liked... titles. I got a similarly wonderful list of recommendations for my 3rd and 4th grade boys who consume Star Wars Clone Wars. I really really hope to use NoveList more next school year. It is so difficult to do anything meaningful within the 30 minute library time...but I'll keep on trying.

I wonder how many people use the automotive repair reference. A great resource, but is it used. Do tech teachers use it?

I watched the flash about EBSCO's improvements. Very impressive. I did a staff presentation on the Digital Pipeline last year and was duly un-impressed with the number of people who were aware of its existence.

Week #8, Thing #19 - Library Thing

2009-06-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

Pre-thing - I already have a Shelfari account so I will be curious to see if I feel Library Thing is better, or if I feel a need for both.

I am adding books to Library Thing, but wish there was a way to find out more about them before I add them. I want to know more about what a specific author has written, but don't necessarily want to add those books to my list.

I've got my 5+ books selected, but am finding the process frustrating. I am using library thing to seek out books on specific topics: book I don't know about yet. Library Thing still doesn't appear to give me a way to explore the book without adding it to my list.

The recommendations were moderately useful, they brought up some titles and authors i might not have found otherwise. I added a popular title from my school (the Warriors series by Erin Hunter), hoping that I would find some recommendations for my students who can't get enough of the series. They were in there, but imbedded with all my other recommendations. I'm not feeling the love.

OK, I officially like Shelfari better. One of the things I really like about Shelfari, is that it allows me to SORT by what I've read and what I want to read. That is the most important function for me.

I suppose students could use LibraryThing to build recommended reading list for their peers. That capability exists to some extent on Destiny (student reviews), so Im not sure we need to add another option to the mix.

Week #8, Thing #18 continued...Zoho on trial

2009-06-07T12:33:00.001-07:00

Hola ZoHo.

OK, so this is my document. It is Sunday morning. The sky is blue, my plants are still moist from Friday's rain, and the sun is shining. The robin nesting in my eaves is flying back and forth with big fat worms in her mouth. Does that mean her eggs have hatched? As you can see, I couldn't get the photo exactly where I wanted it to be, but I'm sure with more time I could.

Hard to tell. I jut peeked at her, and she is still sitting very still. T'would be hard to be that still if you were sitting on babies! Maybe that was her mate bringing her insects.

As I play around with this, I mentally compare it to word, the standard. Fewer fonts and font size options. But that's OK. More is not necessarily better. I got a pop-up saying that zoho writer was not supported in Safari, but so far so good.

Whoa, I just hit delete on an insert, and the whole thing disappeared...shoot, I hadn't saved it...but there is was! good job zoho. Hmmm. It tried to find the spellcheck. No luck. I went to their help, and got FAQ, (no spelling there) and no search box. Never mind. Found spellcheck under Review.

so...I just went back and looked at this and saw that my original photos had morphed into question marks. Hmmm. Tried again, but now the photos are in the spot. argh. enough already.

Week #8, Thing #18 - Online productivity

2009-06-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! Zoho looks great. I regularly edit papers,job applications/resumes for both my adult children. We currently do it in this slow clunky way where we send things back and forth as email attachments in word. Or have phone conversations where we are both looking at the document at the same time, but aren't necessarily making the same changes at the same time...AKWARD!

Two questions:

1. How threatened does Microsoft feel? Will there still be a place for them when the digital natives are fully planted in the job market?

2. How do all these free web applications stay financially afloat?

I just created a document on Zoho and posted it to my blog (see next post!). The formatting was a bit off in the transition from zoho to Blogger and I was pleased that I could edit, ie go in and add a space without loosing the color, photos etc. This seems like a better way to blog a more visually complex enrty as you have a bit more control over your options, inserts etc. I likes the colored background. Definitely looks sharp. I didn't co-edit this with anyone, which would be its most important intended use for me.

I looked at Google Docs. Not as flashy looking initially, or as many options (remember Nicky, more is not necessarily better) BUT, when I clicked on Learn More I got a much bigger list of tutorials than with Zoho. Both look tremendously useful professionally and personally. Our district library staff is planning a presentation at an upcoming literacy conference this fall. When we did this 2 years ago we all had to email our contributions to one person, who then had to consolidate everything. This time around we all can all work on the document together.

Week #7, Thing #17 - Sandbox wiki

2009-06-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Raven about Web2.0 wiki is great. Very helpful to have a consolidation of all my fellow classmates great ideas. I appreciated the fact that so many of them were succinct (says I, the queen of ramble). I posted a lesson idea for google maps, and after trying to add a URL link, adding and deleting it several times I remembered that it doesn't go live until you save it...duh!

In my virtual meanderings on Atomic Video I saw one great, visually appealing wiki that really was a launching pad for everything this teacher did. She describes herself as having a wiki-centered classroom, allowing her to hold everything digital in one location. We constantly use the word wiki, but what we really mean is a quick, easy to edit, collaborative webpage. I think we need to get back to that term "webpage" when we explain wikis to people who aren't digital natives, ie, many of our teachers. ..otherwise we get the glazed over look (or at least I do with my staff).

One of wikis main benefits, the ease and quickness with which one can be created, are also its drawbacks. Many wikis are unappealing in appearance, with little formatting/color that helpyou figure out how to navigate. Perhaps we need to bring some of the color and style and pizazz we all put into our blogs into our wikis.

I was less enthusiastic abut the instructional videos on teacher tube. It was easy to search for and find the wikispaces video, however the quality was very poor. I searched for the PB wiki part 1 video and many many hits, and none of them seemed to be what I was looking for. So...neither of these were great. Feeling a bit frustrated I went to Atomic Learning and found wonderful, clear concise tutorials on wikis. Have we not mentioned Atomic Learning in this class because it is not free?

ps. the third link in the discovery resources came up with Oops! Page not found...

Week #7, Thing #16...about wikis

2009-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

For starters, I like Library Success: a best practices wiki. It feels very practical and useful after all the theoretical verbiage about web2.0. I just made it deli.cio.us.

CSLA wiki...I like the idea of a wiki made for a specific event. Sort of like a chamber of commerce page about a town, but so much better, because the organizers of the event can tailor it to their users.

The ALBY staff wiki serves as a bit of a staff handbook, which is certainly handy. I followed out a link on children's programming and got to a dead end... disappointing. I liked the online opportunity to contribute to the planning process. very 2.0

Sweet, went to the blogging libraries wiki, and found the blog from BSSD...with a comment from my mentor Sue Sherif to boot. And yes, I am finally glad to see a consolidation of blogs and pertaining to school libraries, though still, most of them are high schools.

First...SOOOOexcited to see Joyce Vallenza'as wiki, great book lists got my hopes up...I went to the section on information literacy...The page cannot be found went to information access The page you were looking for was not found. So sad! Which brings me to my thoughts about blogs and wikis they CAN be wonderful if they are kept up to date and all the links are live. If they are not, they are disappointing to staff and students alike and don't do us any favors.

I started to start a wiki for school ( no that was not a typo) but am not sure if it is the best place for me to invest my time at the moment. I am just beginning to train my staff to use Destiny, our online catalog, and have placed several useful links on the initial home page. Let me re-phrase that...they are just beginning to use Destiny, even though I have been marketing it for 10 months. Though I have in-serviced my staff on these links I think they have yet to be used. Likewise I have a blog which has links that are always visible (linked from OPAC as well). I think I have a long was to go to train my staff to use what is already in place. Several of the folks at other elementary schools have very thorough wikis in place. I admire them, but for me it all starts to feel redundant. Maybe next year!

I would like to see our school have a stronger web presence and I think a general school wiki would be more appropriate at this point for our school. If I were to do a library wiki I think it would be most effective if it had a specific audience, rather than school-wide. I can see making one for 5th and 6th graders on the research process...almost like a pathfinder of days gone by.

Week #6, #15 Perspectives on Web 2.0

2009-06-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

"simplicity, rich interactivity, user participation, collective intelligence, self-service, novel and remixed content—Flickr, MySpace, FaceBook, del.icio.us, YouTube, LibraryThing—to name a few."

Looking at this 2006 article by Jim Storey I realize that I am an active Web 2.0 participant. I have a Flickr account (though I tend to post more photos on FaceBook than flickr), use youtube for my entertainment, to keep up with my children, and occasionally for work, stay in touch with family and friends through FaceBook, keep track of my "must reads" on shelfari etc/ But what about Library 2.0??

I have just read the first 3 of the recommended articles, and while I certainly find them interesting and intellectually stimulating, its difficult for me to ignore the fact they they are referring largely to academic and public libraries. There is one reference to a 7-12 school library, but that is it. Frustrating if I am trying to make a direct application to my professional situation.

Nonetheless the articles are thought provoking and put a name and face to what we see happening around us. The Discovery Exercise suggest that we read 2 or 3 perspectives and write about 1. Hmmm. think I'll comment on several. I really enjoyed "Away from the icebergs", particularly the reference to the "just in case" collection. I was looking at the encyclopedia collection in my library the other day, pondering purchase of a new set of Worldbook. Perhaps I should instead be on a campaign to make everyone more aware of Worldbook Online...which is where everyone wants to be. The reference to User Education struck me as well. There has been blogging in this class about the difficulty of getting students and staff to use the digital pipeline...that it takes too much training. The current search interface is certainly an improvement over what it was, but I see a need for more improvement if it is going to get used. We accept clunky, and many step searches, but the reality is, our students don't.

Reading Michael Stephens article "Into a new world of librarianship" the phrases Techno lust" and "Techno Worship" made me think about our district. While the Technology Blueprint has done wonders for responsible, appropriate allocations of materials and funds at the district level that is not what I've been seeing at the school level. Staff requests for a school-wide technology plan have fallen on deaf ears, resulting in random expenditures driven by techno-lust and worship rather than usefulness to its users.

The wikipedia links to relevant articles were good, I cold have spent much more time reading them.

What does Library 2.0 mean to me and my school? On a very basic level I see it as a potential means of communication that can decrease the isolation and stratification that exists in a school. Right now, in my school, there is collaboration between grade level teachers, but not much more than that. When we do have school-wide technology time the model is more "sage on the stage" than "guide on the side". I would like to see us have more time together to roll up our sleeves and just mess around together. People are doing cool things, but it's often in isolation. Also I think staff is so preoccupied with NCLB and AYP that they are loathe to take time to try anything new. Clearly this Thing has prompted a lot of thought on my part in many random directions!

Week #6, Thing #14 - Technorati and Tags

2009-06-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

My first thought when I look at Technorati is "AHHHHHH" - another ocean of information! That being said, I will now follow the directions in the Discovery Exercise. The Blog Directory gave me 266 hits on School Library Learning 2.0. When I used the quotes I got 0. I got 1009 results when I went into the advanced search and put "Library 2.0" in the tag search box. I would say that this site is having a few technical difficulties. It was "unavailable" 2 different times I went to it, and is slow. Their own blog talks about a physical move from one end of San Francisco to another...maybe that's the problem.

I just added the word "elementary" to my Library 2.0 tag search and came up with a great blogposting by The Langwitches... Teaching Information/Research Skills in Elementary School. It looks like just the info we all need to help teach informational literacy. And yes, I bookmarked on deli.cio.us...using my handy dandy bookmark on my toolbar.

Looking at Popular sites, spent some time looking at Boing Boing. Didn't know about it before this class, now it keeps coming up. Looked at popular tags, struck by how few of them have anything to do with moving your body, other than those muscles required to process words.

Popular books was interesting. Of the top 30, 13 were about war, and political power struggles and another 6 were about credit and small business. the balance were escapist fiction.

So what does this mean? That there is a huge amount of interesting, entertaining information out there, and while I initially found it overwhelming I can see using it to find instructional materials. I have been using the tag "storytelling" on all of these different web2.0 applications and usually just come up with digital storytelling. I did come up with a few references to the oral tradition in technorati.

That being said, Technorati is still a huge swirl of information. I don't know how often I will use it.

Tagging in Technorati, flickr and deli.cio.us. Pros: You can search for things others have posted in many different ways. You don't have to be responsible for remembering things when you post...just try to throw out a bunch of terms that you hope will engage your memory at some point in the future! (A good thing for the middle aged mind). Cons: There is no standardization, much repetition and randomness. I would say that overall tagging is a good thing to do, and something that I am often lazy about doing!

ps...I just read an article in the NYTimes: Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest

"According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled." hmmm

Final post

2009-06-05T12:24:00.001-07:00

I have spent much more time on this class than I would have on a paper-based course, which is of course, both the beauty and the curse of Web 2.0. Just because you can continue peeling back the layers on the onion does that mean you should? Also, I started to feel a bit inadequate and overwhelmed. While the purpose of the class was to become familiar with all of these applications I nonetheless felt that I should be using them more in my daily work. I know of course that I shouldn't compare an elementary school library to a high school library, but its hard not too when reading some blog posts. So...at the moment continue to feel overwhelmed and inadequate.

I know that this is a very random response to the final question/thing. It's because I've writing it as I go along. In spite of all my grumbling, it has been a very useful class and I hope / plan to keep referring back to it when I want to do something like a mash-up, but can't quite remember what it is or how to do it. You certainly provided us with plenty of links and learning opportunities with each thing.

I so LOVE tutorials that use slides instead of video. Less time waiting for downloads.!

Week #6, Thing #13 - Yummers

2009-06-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

My first peek at SJLibraryLearning2's Bookmarks hooked me. I found Early Word, the publisher librarian connection, and immediately found a book to send to my brother-in-law for his 60th birthday, a coming of age novel I want to read, and a new Jon Krakauer book on Pat Tillman - coincidentally on the day of General Stanley McChrystal's confirmation hearing. McChrystal was in command during the cover-up about Tillman's death by friendly fire. I checked out Early Word Kids as well and found it to be equally exciting.

In reading the local paper this morning I see that the school district is receiving 8.9 million in stimulus money. I am glad to see the purchase of technology equipment. i am happy about that. Most of our equipment is old and slow. While we have document cameras, clickers and smartboards, we don't have the computers to support them. Nevermind the bandwidth to support web 2.0 applications. I do wish, however, that I also saw the words reading and book somewhere in the article. Library collections as well (mine in particular) could use some stimulating!

Anyway, back to the site. I am totally sucked in. My time budget for this lesson is out the window. Just found a great tag called "tutorials". As I'm browsing I'm sending people emails with links to sites they'd like - not all that differnet from the informal clipping service my mother send to provide me with. Though, in the midst of all this I'm wondering...when do you deli.cio.us, versus Bloglines, versus your school wiki, versus atomic learning. And what is the danger of getting so spread out you can't find anything, or spend so much time organizing everything that you don't DO anything. I know, I'm such a Debbie Downer!

I can in fact, see that this tool could be oh so helpful for teachers who are constantly going out on random web searches, and unfortunately, model the same for their students. I would like to find a way for our school to work together more to share and find effective appropriate online sources. Many of them use the sites associated with the curricular materials, but I also see the older students doing such random searches that I know the teachers aren't providing them with good sites, making me believe that the staff are rather random in their use. I know, I guess I have to take the lead. Yes, I could present del.cio.us at a staff meeting, but I feel like my end-of-the-day presentations at those often fall on glazed eyes and ears. Maybe there could be more web 2.0 offerings at the technology inservices...or perhaps a 500 level class on just a few web 2.0 applications. OK, OK I guess if I want a school-wide deli.cio.us account I'll just have to start it!

I just stepped away (in the virtual sense) from school/work for a moment and put vermiculture in the search box...wow. 750 saved sites.

I just started my own "My Delicious", put it in my toolbar and am off and running with a great site on Alaska Agriculture in the classroom. Perfect to use with our school garden. I supose the next thing is to figure out how to network, but I'm going to save that for another day. That's it for this Thing!

Week #5, Thing #12 - VoiceThreads

2009-06-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

The possibilities seem to be many. I know that many of my students have a hard time with any type of public speaking. Narrating a photo on voice thread would give a student many opportunities to perfect their public speaking / narration without the added pressure of speaking in front of an audience.

In general, however, I have a long way to go before any of my teachers will do a project like this on their own, or work collaboratively with me. The students are probably ready for the technology, but is the staff, and what about our computers?

I am in a situation where I am building building. My schedule does not allow me any collaboration time with staff during their planning time, and they certainly don't think of coming to me to collaborate. My principal has me on duty during all the times that teachers don't have students. grrr. Do I sound frustrated? Don't mean to be unprofessional, but thinking about ways to incorporate some web 2.0 tools into my school environment has just made me realize how far I have to go to have my school community realize the potential of their library and their librarian.

But at least I know what a voice thread is now.

I just made a very basic VT...one voice only. Very fun, though I felt a little silly. I am very impressed with the quality of the microphone on this little MacBook

Week #5, Thing #11 Web 2.0 Awards List - Google Maps

2009-06-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't follow directions right from the start. I didn't pick just one - I have been browsing the whole list, seeing some interesting sites, but so far have not found anything that feels like I can connect it to work - Some of the sites are ones I already use on a regular basis (facebook, craigslist, google earth to plot my earthquakes). The cooking sites looked good, but really, who has time to watch all those videos! The genealogy site started to suck me in. Basically, there is alot of amazing stuff out there, but as it is, even without exploring all of these here-to-for unknown applications, I feel like am spending ever increasing amounts of time in front of this screen, in lieu of what I both want and need to do. OK, enough ranting

Although there are many great sites for me, (I really enjoyed the Urban Spoon...maybe its time for dinner) I decided on Google Maps as a tool to explore for school use. People are generally intrigued by maps, and the students at Hunter Elementary are no exception. They regularly pour over the big atlases and always want to check out "the map books". At the same time many of them are not aware of the environs past there own street. Google maps provides such a great opportunity to start at the most local, and spread out from there. I could imagine a non-fiction writing assignment using GM which would involve direction, sequence, landmarks etc. Could tie in perfectly to the 2nd grade curriculum where they have to write with words like, first, then, next, as well as learn about local government. Good thing the 2nd grade teacher is my buddy.

Oh yes, and I joined the Teacher-Librarian Ning and added it to my Bloglines feed. I can see some possible applications there, though not necessarily at the elementary level. Possibly for staff.

Thing #10 continued...

2009-06-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

OK...so the possibilities are endless. Student created cartoons could be the jumping off point for a writing project...a magazine cover could be the closure/reward for a project well done. Students could design magazine covers advertising a library book, or genre etc... My only concern is that so many students are getting away from original artwork that I would be looking for ways for original student artwork to be incorporated into all of these online image generators...which it obviously can be.

Week #5, Thing #10 Image generators

2009-06-01T15:51:00.001-07:00

Now this is just plain old too much fun!

Week #4 Things #8 and 9...It's addictive, so be careful!

2009-06-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

RSS feeds...the reference to addiction is not mine, but a quote from the online tutorial at BlipTV. I have just spent the better part of the morning looking at various feeds and reading Preetam Rai's blog. Her discussion of the many faces of RSS feeds was clear and extremely user friendly. While I only added blogs and news updates to my list of Blogline feeds I can certainly see the usefulness of some of the other applications, ie, following specific news stories (like , why have there been so many earthquakes in Ester in the last week!) In fact, I just went to Feedster to see if I could track Ester Earthquake stories, but Feedster was unresponsive. Some of her suggested uses are over the top (to me at least). I don't feel a huge need to track photos on Flickr etc...but perhaps some do.

Anyway, about those feeds. I added several of the feeds from the Bloglines Quick Picks and then went forth onto the web to find some library related blogs of my own. I spent a fair bit of time looking for something on storytelling. While I did find and add a few useful sites on digital storytelling there was little of use on the oral tradition. The sites I did find were not in current use, and had few initial posts to boot! I found a blog from the teeny tiny librarian and the accompaning teeny tiny reading room which I added. She also had links to many other librarians blogs..so that one was a score

Meanwhile, I just went to the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer to check out their RSS feeds. Nothing earthquake specific...only "latest news". I tried to add it but Bloglines said the feed link wasn't working. I did find a newsminer sponsored blog called Alaska Gardening Roundtable. It looked promising...and that's what I'm off to do!

I'm Back!!!

2009-06-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hello - after many months of absence I have returned to try and finish my remaining "things". My garden is calling as well...I can hear the parsley and mint clamoring to be transplanted, so I am facing away from the window so that they can't make eye contact!

My trading card

2008-07-15T15:46:00.001-07:00

librariantradingcard
Originally uploaded by The Sweetest Berry

What more is there to say!

Pabellon de Africa

2008-07-15T12:55:00.001-07:00

Pabellon de Africa
Originally uploaded by sergutel

OK...occaisionally all mothers have to brag...this is a building that my newly-minted architect daughter helped design...my photo of the pavillion was not very good, so I was glad to find this one on Flickr. This building is part of EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain....so reassuring to know that there was someone out there who took the photo I didn't take!

Week #3, Thing#7...anything technology

2008-07-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

OK, my general musings. I was at a party the other day, discussing my job with several people, and trying not to get defensive as intelligent, well meaning people asked "well, what do you do in a library anymore...I mean, isn't everything online now?". I gave my tried and true response that while there is much information online, that librarians continue to act (among many other things) as navigators, helping to guide people on a successful, productive path through the vast and overwhelming amount of available information. The assembled masses nodded politely...yawn. All of which does continue to raise the question about the continuing role of our chosen profession.

Computer technology is such a double-edged sword for me. I love that fact that I can renew my library books without having to drive into town...but I also love the energy that I get when I actually do go to the library and interact with real live human beings. As an extrovert, I am fueled by these experiences, so while my computer connection is helping with my consumption of fossil fuel, it is not helping with the development of my spirit. And yes, while I love the access that I have with the web, and yes, I'm proud of the fact that I can now post my own photos on Flickr, so that I can share them with family and friends far and wide, I often feel that I am spending more time time clicking on my keyboard than actually living.

A final thought. I read some more of my classmates blogs today and, while no one has posted their age, it is possible to surmise which of us have learned to use computers as adults, and which of us have grown up in a web 2.0 world. There are those who question the value of all the new "must have" equipment ( mm projectors, smart boards, document cameras etc.) and those who are frustrated at the lack of funding which prevents access to the latest technologies, which they perceive to be necessary to engage students...so not only is there a digital divide, there is also a perceptional divide.

Week #3, Thing #6 Flickr Fun

2008-07-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

Right off the bat I was intrigued by the map option ...I recently went to Expo 2008 in Zaragoza Spain. While I did take photos there were many things that I missed. By going to the map option I was able to find and share photos that I hadn't taken. While the Flickr Color Pickr is oh-so-cool, it is a huge time sink and I would much rather be outside with real color at the moment, but still very inspirational. A great tool to share with art teachers...just to show another way to gather and look at color.

Spent more time than I should have on all the Flickr toys..got sidetracked looking at camera reviews. I finally got around to making a trading card, uploaded it, but now none of my pictures are showing up in Flickr...arghhh!

Great footbridge

2008-07-08T23:40:00.001-07:00

Great footbridge
Originally uploaded by The Sweetest Berry

This bridge crosses the Ebro River in Zaragoza, Spain: site of Expo 2008. The photo is from my Flickr account...I really wanted it embedded into my last entry, as I was able to do with the photo file ...but I couldn't get it to work. Any suggestions? Guess I'll keep trying.

Week #3, Thing # 5 - Flickr

2008-07-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to go on a rafting trip on the Canning River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Looking at other people's photos of the Canning on Flickr has helped me get more excited about the trip than I already was. I initially looked for photos of people reading in tents (as I am sure we will have some rain days), but I found that many of the interesting ones included people, and as I did not have their permission, I did not add them to my blog. I'm going to post a picture with just a tent...no faces!

OK, I lied. I didn't post off of Flicker-instead I posted a picture of my son crossing a river in Washington, not Alaska, that was already on my computer. I tried to post from Flickr, but to no avail. I will now try again! Arrgh! I am having a very difficult time uploading off of Flickr. I will now try to upload a picture off of my own Flickr account...Forget about photos of the Canning River for moment. As you can see, I have not been successful in adding a Flickr photo to my post...not sure why... I just got a box with an X in it...which will take you to Flickr if you click on it...but that's not what I want...I will consult the Web 2.0 masters.

Week #2, Thing #4 - Registration

2008-06-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, all done, sent my email to Katie and Ann, and I'm taking a break for the day.

Week #2, Thing #3 - Blog and Avatar

2008-06-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, that took some time! Actually, it was great to do the blog, make some mistakes, and to see how easy it was to edit them. I have posted to other blogs before, but never managed my own. I spent quite a bit of time on my avatar, and am not really sure I like what I got, ah well. It was difficult to decide which of my "selves" to use for the avatar...the grubby gardener..., the skimpy summer look,... the completely clad librarian...I know, I know, I can create several and save them in my favorites and use them in the appropriate moment! My avatar was briefly a yard worker, rake in hand, which is what I'm going to do right now while there is still a bit of blue in the sky.

Week #1, Thing #2 - Lifelong Learner

2008-06-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

The term Lifelong Learner is an interesting one... I've often used it when describing what I wanted my students to be, but I guess I never stopped to consider that I was one myself...actually I prefer "well educated in the school of life"!

I have always had an easy time putting people and books in my tool box, but am not so good at using technology to my advantage (thus the appropriateness of this class). I think that as an adult I am more aware of setting specific goals for myself than I was when I was younger. Before I think I accumulated knowledge in a more serendipitous fashion...but both ways work quite well.

Week #1, Thing #1 - Raven about Web 2.0

2008-06-30T14:14:00.001-07:00

Like so many others, I find it difficult to find, or make the time to sit down and learn a new technology application. I always feel like I am wasting time and that I should be doing "real work". To that end, doing RAW 2.0 as a summer class is much better for me than doing it during the school year. I am very glad for this opportunity because clearly, as a librarian I should be familiar with the web 2.0 tools - it's great to be able to learn about them in a supportive atmosphere.