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!