More Thing 23 - Answers to the Survey

I was so excited to be finished ontime that I forgot to answer the last survey questions. Sorry!

1) My favorite discovery was TeacherTube. I didn't realize this was out there. I've already been telling my teachers and tech people about some of the cool videos I've already seen. I also liked all the blogging because I've decided to do more of it as my daughter goes to college next year.
2) This program has allowed me to grow phenomenally in the tech area. My husband is usually the tech guru at our house, but now, I'm telling him things! I also realize that technology is not static. So, I need to keep as current as possible by continuing to search and blog.
3) I did not expect all the 23 things to be so involved. Great work! I tried to do everything that was asked, watching all the videos, investigating all the links, answering all the questions. At times it just made my head spin. However, I realize that we just tapped the tip of the iceberg. I am taking away 23 new tools for my professional toolbox to help my campus communities. I really appreciate this!
4) It is hard to answer this one because the course was so good. However, maybe more how-to videos would be helpful. I had to redo some things several times, but eventually figured things out. Also, it might be good to have a thing where everyone could just share an idea with the group that has worked for them. Just an idea....
5) Yes, I would do this again, but I wouldn't get sick in the month of July. After being sick for most of July, I thought I could just jump in and finish in not too much time. I was wrong! Next time, I'll start earlier and pace myself better.
6) I describe this experience as: "absolutely necessary for the information specialist"
7) Off to post!!!

Thing #23 - Reflections of Library2Play

My first comment is that I can't believe I did it! I braved the stormy seas and didn't wipe out (too bad...) I hung in there and finished all 23 things! I have learned and been exposed to so many cool tools that I plan on using this next year and beyond. I had no idea what I was missing! Cheers to the masterminds behind this effort! I actually probably need a refresher next summer if that would be available.

Thank you millions for helping me be much more tech savvy!

Best wishes for a great school year!

musicgirl

Thing #21 - PhotoStory Concoction

I'm so glad that I found out about PhotoStory. I want to do family videos/DVD's for Christmas presents. Great way to save money! Thanks for this course!

Thing #22b - Help!

I was posting my Thing 22 when I got an error message that said Autosave did not work. Then, my Thing 21 - Photostory video just deleted itself.......I will try publishing it again!!!!!

Thing #22 - Nings

Nings are a great way to be social with only those people who have the same interest as you. It's like the virtual water cooler meeting place. I liked looking at the TeacherLibrarian Ning. I saw some cool videos I could use to teach with, as well as great threads to begin commenting on. It will be a wonderful resource for me this year! Thanks!

Thing #20 - YouTube and TeacherTube

I've already got my subscription for TeacherTube now! This is one of the coolest things I've seen this summer. Can't wait to get my friends hooked up, too! Here's one of my favorite videos from TeacherTube:




What a great way for students to learn! I love it!!!!

Thing #19 - Web 2.0 Awards

Just give me another summer and I can play to my heart's content! Wow! This is a great tool for having the "best of the best" at your fingertips. I just kept going and going......I went to health sites first, imedix, especially. We have several health issues in our family. But, getting back to school stuff, I think the Writeboard is the coolest thing for my elementary school. I had previously posted that I didn't know how students could work on the same doc simultaneously. I should have kept on reading and doing the Library Thing before posting that. This Writeboard would be a great tool for group projects! I'm definitely going to make sure my teachers know about this one!

Thing #18 - Online Productivity Tools

I am glad to find out about the powerpoint capabilites of GoogleDocs. I already knew about Open Office. We use that at home on some computers. Anyway, the free powerpoint viewer can be downloaded from Open Office and used for presentations. Now, I have other options. I just need more time to explore Google Docs. I was also intrigued by a post that said many people could work on the same doc at the same time. I want to figure that out. Sounds great for all those student projects (remembering my son's stuff) - everybody just meets at GoogleDocs instead of your house!

Thing #17 - Rollyo

Bruce did a great job on his video! Spring Branch ISD must be an awesome place to work. I also liked the way he plugged the Libraries' highly technical and professional use of the bond monies. Way to go! Okay, I created a link on the right side of my blog to my Rollyo search. I'm not sure that I did it just right, but I was glad to find a Rollyo search roll of "school libraries." I think this is a great tool. Actually, at our school, we have a subscription to Nettrekker which basically does all the searching for us. Now, I can see how using Rollyo could save us some money.....

Thing #16 - Wikis

I am hooked on the teacherlibrarian wiki for elementary teachers. I was really happy to find this and am going to enjoy hearing what other librarians are doing and add my ideas, too!

Thing #15 - Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

This is a deep subject but I think I can get my thoughts together. Here goes......
I think that there will always be Libraries because they are repositories for information. The client base will change as the have's will be doing their own searches and tagging and wiki-ing. Since in America, we are outsourcing most all manufacturing, there is a need for Library assistance to those who either are in a hurry, computer illiterate or have no computer access. I think the Librarian still must be the go-to for information organization. It's just that there may be less of the population coming.
Now, about college classes and laptops.....My daughter a sophmore in college and she says in her classes, they are not allowed to use laptops or cellphones. In a perfect world, students could be blogging the lesson, tagging and doing their own notetaking with the laptop/cellphone. However, most students don't take advantage of that and just play games or facebook instead. So, there is the trust factor between teachers and students that must be addressed. I think we will have to get to students using laptops and if they choose not to follow along, it's their loss. The video with the teacher writing on the chalkboard in front of all the students with laptops looks pretty archaic.

Thing #14 - Technorati

Technorati is an awesome tool to manage blogs for your own use. It was interesting to me how the "School Library 2.0" search brought up many different things on each of the three trials. With Technorati, you can see what people are talking about and use a widget to let others know what you are blogging about. It's like a virtual pecking order of blog sites, which is good so that you know where the good stuff is happening. I will be able to use Technorati to tag interesting blogs this year. If I had all the time in the world, I could create blog hubs for my subject-area classroom teachers. Maybe someday....It is a little overwhelming right now, but it's a great tool!

Thing #13 - Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Tagging is a way of personally cataloging the internet. After reading posts and information, it can be tagged, filed and organized online with the sites like Furl & Del.icio.us. I think that classroom teachers have and will continue to benefit from this. I noticed that we have some very smart teachers already doing that in our program. And, being willing to share all their hard work with others is great, too! Everyone benefits!

Thing #12 - Blog Etiquette & Postings

I think the most important things about blogging are to make meaningful, frequent posts to a limited number of blogs (or to as many as you can manage). Many times comments made can be construed in a variety of ways. It is essential to keep a positive spin on things and make sure you are understood in the way you are intending.

I commented on several of our players blogs this summer. I wish I had more time because there is some great stuff here! I also left a comment on Blue Skunk (because he is so popular) about pdf readers. He was talking about Kindle and I had thought about buying one. Now, I'll just wait a little longer. I also posted on a blog about Kid's Favorite Stories. "The Little Black Sambo" was a favorite that is also an antique collectors item. I was interested because I love antiques!!!

Thing #11 - Library Thing

I think the "Library Thing" is awesome for my private use. I will enjoy that. I like seeing what others say about the books that I like/or am reading. I also checked out some groups and may add the Knitters, Inc. as a feed. That's my "Thing", too!

mg

Thing #10 - Online Generator

These online message generators are fun! They could be useful to promote interest in reading and learning in our libraries. I want to add some of these to our homepage and add more/change out several times a year to keep the kids looking.

Thing #9 - Useful Library-Related Blogs and Newsfeeds

This was a very interesting "Thing" to do. I spent over an hour searching and finding new sites and feeds. Here are the answers to our questions:

1) Which was the easiest method for finding feeds? I think topix.net was the easiest for me. I like the way you could select them or type in search terms. I found my local info page which I had no idea was available until tonight!
2) Which search tool was easiest? Technorati, I think. Because of the large numbers of categories to choose from, this helped me alot!
3) Which search tool was the hardest? At first, I thought Syndic8.com was the hardest, but it just took me a long time to navigate to the pages I wanted. I actually didn't have too much trouble with any of the search engines. I just needed more time!
4) Which was the most useful feed? I am going to use Atomic Learning whenever I need a quick tech tutorial. I am taking this Web 2.0 class because I need to hone my tech skills. And, having this feed as a quick resource is going to save my bacon this year!
5) What was the most unusual feed? I went to Syndic8.com, I think, and typed in "interesting people" as a search term. I found a feed called "Latest Deaths from Dead People Server" or deadpeople.info. This is info about interesting celebrities who have died over the years. You can click on links for death rolls even back to 1960 (back in the old days -the year I was born)!!!!
6) What other ways can you locate cool feeds? I would just be alert when browsing acclaimed blogs or sites and see what they are reading. Just steal from them!
Extra: I really enjoyed the Edublog Award site. It is a must see! I also got some really great handouts that I will be using this fall from the "Best Educational Wiki" group. There is a "Salute to Seuss" wiki by Jennifer Wagner that is awesome! Thanks for the help!

Thing #8b - Cool Blogs and more RSS

There are some really cool blogs out there. I enjoyed looking at the "Of Life, Education, E-Bay, Travel & Books" the most. She has a great blogroll listing on her blogsite....there are blogs for all types of moods that I'm in ....... Anyway, here are the answers to the questions:

1) What do I like most about RSS Feeds?
I think they are very vital in keeping time-crunched information specialists current with the latest information to help us maintain our professionalism and vitality in education. Who has the time to go searching for hours after working 2 libraries every day? I don't.

2) How can RSS feeds be used in schools/private life?
I think they could be used effectively at both places. I could have RSS feeds set up for my Laptop, but have different RSS feeds crafted for general ed teachers on the general teacher use computers. Also, at home, I would have RSS feeds relating to hobbies and entertainment.

3) How can Libraries use RSS feeds?
I think that in my Libraries, I could create RSS feeds on relevant topics for them to check. Also, I could do a special RSS for a teacher request relating to her subject area as needed.

RSS Feeds are a great way to sift through all the old stuff and get to the new cutting edge info.
Therefore, I think they are essential to my sanity and key to my survival!!!!

mg

Thing #8 - RSS Feeds

I finally got my RSS feeds going in Google Reader. I thought that the icon would show up on my blog, but it's actually on the toolbar. I can't believe how long it took me to figure that out. Duh! I liked the Bloglines choices better and did try to use them for RSS feeds. However, I haven't been able to make that work, yet. I did get it to display on bloglines.com for me. I just need to get it to the blog, now.

It is really nice to have the RSS feed telling me the latest news, saving me lots of time and energy! And, as we all know, as Librarians, those are precious commodities!!!!

mg

#7b - Google Docs

Google Docs has to be my favorite. I didn't know all those templates were just sitting there waiting for me to find! I have already started using the family budget template and am planning on doing the Holiday Video Card! I'm really glad that I'm playing with you all this summer!

mg

#7 - Google Tools

I am going to enjoy using Google Tools this year. I went into Google Scholar and looked up recent hits on my daughter's health issues. That was really helpful. I can also use this at school with my older students to keep them current with the latest information as needed. Google Maps is already a favorite. With Google Calendar, there's no reason to be disorganized!

mg

#6b - Trading Cards

I think these are really great! I could see myself using them as special bookmarks for students or gifts. I don't have unlimited access to color printing, though. Classroom teachers could also use these for incentives for behavior. Neat!

mg

#6 - Mashups & Third Party Sites

I am amazed at all the technology that I was not aware of. You can really learn how to create like a pro with some cool tools like mashups. I really enjoyed Flickrvision & Flickrmaps. All of these tools really make us a global society. I thought that the Movie Poster Maker was really neat! I could use this at school to make pictures of kids during the year reading their favorite books. It would be a great motivator to everyone else! I can't wait to go read what everyone else found!

mg

Thing #5 - Flickr

Wow! That was really cool! I did not realize what was available for sharing and networking ideas, pictures and images. I was really interested in how Libraries can work together and increase community involvement and awareness of programs. I have included a picture entitled "Nature's Barcode." It looks like my beloved pine trees from East Texas. I don't get to see them so much any more. So, with my blog, I can see them every day!

Thing #4

Now that I have created this blog, it's time for me to get started playing the game. I have been busy this last week cleaning my parents' house and getting over a bad cough. I'm going to try to enjoy the journey, now!

Thing #3: Creating an avatar

This is really cool. I did it! Just a little extra thinking, but it wasn't too bad.
I'm looking forward to learning lots of new stuff this summer!

mg

Thing #2

This will be a fun summer, I can already tell.

One of the easiest things for me to do is to accept responsibilty for my own learning. I was able to get my MLS online after being a Music Teacher for 20 years. And, I am going to do this techno-fun thing this summer. On the other hand, it is hard for me to view problems as challenges. I am working on that. Lifelong learning is exciting and I intend to keep on learning as long as possible.

mg