WEEK 9!! - THING 23!!!! - Wahoo!

I almost feel a bit giddy with accomplishment over completion of this exciting learning adventure. At the same time, it's a little sad that it's over. But wait! It's not over! I have just begun to BLOG!!

My favorite exercise was blogging, certainly. I think I had dismissed the idea that I would ever have need for a blog, so this was groundbreaking. It was great that the blog became the vehicle for responding to all our "Things," or learning experiences.

One of my lifelong learning goals has been to gain and apply as much tech knowledge as possible. This program was a huge assist. I loved having structure and support on the journey.

It was a bit surprising that everything was so "do-able." Looking at the 23 Things from the bottom up seemed to be rather monumental, but there was really not much frustration along the way.

I really cannot offer any suggestions to improve the program. Bravo to all of you! Yes, indeed, I would happily participate in another similar program.I hope the information will remain on the CSLA website over the course of the year, at least.

My one word for the entire experience would be "empowering." I just feel that this exposure to so many new concepts, resources and skills has given me power to expand what I have been doing and has opened the door to a vast number of new possibilities.

Thank you, CSLA, for a meaningful, quality learning experience!!

Week 9! - Thing 22 - eBooks and audio eBooks

Project Gutenberg is quite amazing! It is remarkable that they are dedicated to simply making eBooks available to all for practically any purpose. I was also taken by surprise by the list of the most popular eBooks. There were many titles that were unfamiliar to me. Why so much interest in The Manual of Surgery, from 1936? Hmmmm....

I'm not sure anyone in our school district has a collection of eBooks, but I could be wrong. It would be interesting to start a discussion about this.

LibriVox offers quite a satisfying volunteer opportunity, I'm sure. It's one thing to scan in pages of a book (rather than hand-typing the text), but quite another to offer the time and effort to read and record a book aloud to create an audio eBook. Wow. It would really be a labor of love.

As far as the list of best places to get free books, I would just like to quote a comment posted by someone on the page: "Yowza! Free Books Abound." Amen to that.

Week 9! - Thing 21 - Podcasts

I went to Podcast.net and attempted to listen to some podcasts. Today, as in the past, I had some technical difficulties which were frustrating. My experience is that the audio starts and stops, then starts over from the beginning. Aargh! It definitely deters me from seeking out podcasts. The podcast I attempted to listen to was just an interview with Kirby Larson about her Newbery Honor book, Hattie Big Sky.

However, I finally had success and listened to the following: "Gary Shipe of Sandusky Radio interviews Kirby Larson and Chauni Haslet, of All for Kids Books & Music in Seattle and former president of the American Booksellers for Children. As part of National Chil..."
Podcast Date: Nov 13, 2006 16:15:02

I enjoyed hearing Kirby Larson tell that she has ghost written a few books. Interesting!

Listening to a podcast is just like listening to radio. One great feature is that you can multi-task on the computer while the audio is streaming, i.e. you can play a game or post a blog, etc.

I think for kids, listening without a visual image is more challenging than "watching" something. It feels a little abstract. When you listen to a 3-way interview, there is a tendency to lose track of who's speaking. For those of us who have listened to radio, podcasts are great, as long as the technology is cooperating and you get a clear stream.

One huge advantage to creating a podcast, especially if you are doing this with students, would be that their anonymity is preserved. I wondered about doing a video book report or something like that and was concerned about student exposure on the Internet. A podcast would remedy that problem.

Week 9! - Thing 20 - YouTube

Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?

There's probably something that will entertain or enlighten just about anyone on YouTube. What a bunch of creative people there are--where do they find the time?

I picked Hollywood Librarian Trailer because it was clean, for one thing. I liked the variety of librarians that were portrayed. Apparently this is a trailer for an actual movie that can be shown by request at local libraries.

There are some instructional videos on YouTube as well as the entertaining ones. It might be fun to change the videos on a regular basis, just as a way to entice users to come and have a look at the library website to see what's new.

The Hollywood Librarian Trailer

Week 8 - Thing 19 - Library Thing

I was excited about doing Library Thing, based on other people's favorable comments in their blogs. This is definitely a fun site for this crowd. I entered most of the books I've read this summer, a sampling of which can be seen in the sidebar.

Clearly, the most popular book in my list is the latest Harry Potter. Surprise!

Yes, there was plenty of discussion about the books I enjoyed. Zeitgeist was fun. There's a lot to like on this site. Since this is a site about enjoying, not selling, books, I felt a little more obligation to participate by maybe writing a little review, getting involved in the chat.

Week 8 - Thing 18 - Online productivity tools

This is pretty nice. Free word processing software that looks fairly easy to use. Wow, there are even some emoticons to throw in for good measure. Let's see, how am I feeling right now? I think that one might imply a bit of writer's block, so that feels appropriate.

Aha. When I change the font pitch, Mr. Emoticon grows a bit as well.
I just clicked on the < > button, I get instant HTML! OK, very interesting. There are some glitches here. When I tri

The text above is what I published from Zoho Writer. It truncated my entry, as you can see where it cuts off. Also I'm not seeing my emoticon, but rather something that says "sealed." Maybe others can see it. I'm not sure why all that happened. There definitely seem to be some limitations here.

As I wondered about why someone might need this online word processor, it occurred to me that at school, Blogger is BLOCKED. I think perhaps you could go to Zoho Writer, write an entry and publish it. It would give you a way around the district filters. Interesting!

I explored a bit further and see that there are a variety of tools in Zoho Writer, including Zoho Sheet (spreadsheet), Zoho Show (presentation), Zoho Wiki, Zoho Notebook (didn't quite "get" this one), Zoho Planner (a calendar-type planner), Zoho Creator (allows you to set up forms and stuff, I think), Zoho Chat (kinda like I-M), Zoho Meeting (webconferencing!). Not only that, you can change the language the programs are set up in. There are several choices. Wouldn't that be helpful for students of other languages! Once again, I am overwhelmed! Wow.

Week 7 - Thing 17 - "Sandbox" Wiki

Wow--there were so many good ideas on the California Curriculum Connections wiki that I was a little hard-pressed to come up with something meaningful to contribute. However, here was my post, under "Wikis":

Idea #37 - Many of the teachers at my school loop, or have the same group of students for one grade and again for the next grade the following year. Looping has some advantages; one of them is that the students develop a strong bond with each other. A class wiki could be set up to keep students in touch during the summer vacation. Kids could report on their travels, activities, and the books they have been reading and want to recommend to others.

I think wikis are at their best when the input solicited is creative, rather than factual. Reliability does not come into question so much. Using a wiki as a source of good ideas is terrific.

Week 7 - Thing 16 - Wikis

Wikis are a great social networking concept. Using them for specific events, like the CSLA Conference, can provide a forum where everyone who would like to can contribute. It goes well beyond the informational web page, in that an opportunity and means to add your input is provided.

The idea of using a wiki for a classroom is pretty cool. The class members can make up the community, and soliciting input from them gives value to each participant. I can see possibilities for book discussions, etc.

One of the strengths of wikis, the idea that anyone can contribute, can also become a pitfall. One who uses a wiki as a source of information needs to understand that the information may or may not be valid since the contributions are not authoritative. The user must beware and verify information for him/herself.

Week 6 - Thing 15 - Library 2.0

I absolutely agree with the statement, "Others within the profession have asserted that libraries have always been 2.0: collaborative, customer friendly and welcoming." I am among the 'others.' I'm afraid, however, that that has most often not been the general public image of libraries and librarians. I see the proverbial, sour-faced shushing librarian in sensible shoes as the antithesis of collaborative, customer friendly and welcoming.

I would add "flexible" to that list of adjectives to more closely reflect what Library 2.0 is about. When I was first studying to become a librarian back in the early 70s, it would have been challenging to imagine the focus of libraries today. Even taking this class, online, no less, would have been a huge mind stretch for me. Surely unless libraries and their personnel are ready to change with the times, even ahead of the times, we run the risk of obsolescence. Someone recently defined life as "a series of changes," and success as "our ability to manage life's changes." When we view those inevitable changes as opportunities for growth and success, that attitude will keep us in the 2.0 mode and beyond.

I also like Wikipedia's statement: "With Library 2.0, library services are frequently evaluated and updated to meet the changing needs of library users. Library 2.0 also calls for libraries to encourage user participation and feedback in the development and maintaining of library services." I need to consider what this means in terms of "my" libraries. Certainly improved two-way communication is essential. The "door" needs to be open, and responsiveness is crucial.

Week 6 - Thing 14 - Technorati

The exposure to all these sites and concepts is great! I must admit I'm a little overwhelmed with new ideas, but that's a good thing.

I finally realized that in order to do the keyword search for "School Library Learning 2.0" in the various areas, Blog posts, tags and Blog directory, it was necessary to use the "advanced" search mode. Apparently the drop-down menu next to the search box, referenced in the Technorati Tour video is only available in logged-in mode. Of course the results are different. It was quite fun to see our our blogs come up in the Technorati search.

By searching Blog posts, I got 1729 results, most of them from our own CSLA participants. It made me feel right at home. Results are listed by the most recent posts, and by clicking, you go to the actual blog page. I did notice that if you go down to about page 3 or 4, you start coming across seemingly random generated words in a blog that bring you to a page of advertisements, not a bona fide blog. But by far, searching Blog posts yields the most hits.

Searching tags, I came up with 3 blog posts and some visual media. Apparently it would require someone using "School Library Learning 2.0" as a tag in order to be located by Technoriti's search function. Fewer of us have used that more cumbersome tag.

The blog directory resulted in 7 results. When you click on one of them, you get a sampling of the blog along with a link to the actual blog.

Looking for a "popular" blog. Hmmmmm. There are thousands of blogs out there that are of no interest whatsoever to me. It's actually quite fascinating to see what people do with their time (I should talk...) and what grabs their attention. Looking at the list of popular blogs, I am left a little cold. They are predominantly about extreme high technology or rabid politics. So I decided to start from the bottom of the list and search up. Aha. I settled on this one. Ths author just seems to be a down-to-earth ordinary person, with some tech skills, no doubt. She makes comments on her daily life and what is going on in the greater world. This is probably a little ho-hum for most of you, but I found it to be less demanding than most. Simply a slice of life.

Thoughts about tagging: Tagging is powerful. We librarians who deal with subject headings all the time know how important they are for indexing. Those of us who have been tempted to create our own subject headings and divert from Minnie Sears should be thrilled by the opportunity to go wild and create tags that are meaningful to us. However, we need to rely on our training with standard subject headings to try to keep those tags fairly mainstream so that they will be useful.

Beelerspace's article on flat hierarchies was interesting. However I'm not sure I entirely "get it" yet.

Week 6 - Thing 13

First of all, our 2.0 team knows that the Del.icio.us tutorial link isn't working, right?

Viewing what other people have bookmarked in Del.icio.us was a giant diversion (read: way to lose track of time)! I found myself delving into "100 Tips to Improve Your Life." Yikes! Each of the tips had a link to a larger article, sometimes with additional lengthy lists. Whew.

More later. I still have about 64 tips to explore!

I can see that this is a powerful concept for accessing useful websites. By tagging, a user can access targeted information and locate sites they might otherwise miss. It goes beyond simply using a search engine.

For those of us who use computers in different locations, it is handy to be able to have access to personal bookmarks wherever we may be.

Librarians are information brokers. As we try to find information-rich, appropriate sites for students and also teach them how to do their own searching, De.licio.us is a nice addition to our bag of tricks!

Week 5-Thing 12

Creating a Rollyo for Kids' Books was easier than I expected. I just used sites that I had already bookmarked.

Select...Kids' BooksSearch The Web

Help from Rob was appreciated for getting it posted here!

Week 5-Thing 11 - Ning

OK, I joined the Teacher-Librarian Ning. This is something I wouldn't have done without a nudge from School Library Learning 2.0. I think the library listserve suits my needs quite well, and I haven't really felt the need to join a network community of this sort. It's interesting though, and I will have to pursue it a bit before dismissing it so quickly.

Week 5-Thing 11 - Web 2.0 Awards Winners

This is a cool staircase from the Edgartown Bookstore in Martha's Vineyard, for your enjoyment.

Having just spent quite a bit of time on airplanes, I have been thinking about social interactions and non-interactions. Looking at some of these social networking sites and tools, I am struck by the issue of physical and virtual proximity. Consider the relationship between two people who might spend hours together seated uncomfortably close on an airplane, for example, who might never speak or interact with one another. Unless these travelers decide to engage in conversation, their sole apparent common link is that they are on the the same flight and are sharing that experience. It can be a bit like the non-relationship among people on an elevator, but the duration is different.

However, people seated in front of their computer monitor, quite possibly isolated from any physical human contact, can opt to join a community based on common interests. Relationships can grow and flourish and can even become intimate, though a physical meeting might never take place. The only thing that comes to mind that existed prior to the advent of the internet is a pen-pal relationship. But those communications would have been relatively few and far between.

I visited Blue Rectangle, which received an honorable mention in the Book category. The best part of the site for me was the video book reviews. Wow. This bumps up the concept of voluntary book reviews, such as those at amazon.com, to a much more personal level. With a video of the reviewer, you are able to see facial expressions, hear voice intonation and get a better sense of their personality. Here's the link for children's book reviews. It was especially fun to see kids' books reviewed by a real kid. The site gives you the opportunity to purchase the books through Alibris.com. A person submitting a video would have to be willing to put themselves "out there" much more than simply writing a review. I wonder if some of the book vendors, Barnes & Noble or Amazon, might consider posting video reviews.

Week 5-Thing 10 (and this concludes my Thing 10 fun)

OK. This is the last one--I promise! But I just felt I needed to break loose from the food imagery. (I went ahead and ate lunch--I think that set me free.) Everyone loves to read bumper stickers! These and vanity plates are hard to ignore.

This also came from RedKid: http://www.redkid.net/generator/bumper/

Week 5-Thing 10 (one more!)

OK, I'll admit I'm fixated on food. But isn't this cute? Alphabet soup and fortune cookies--combining two of my favorite activities, eating and reading. Maybe you could use these as wallpaper on a computer desktop and change it periodically.

By the way, images certainly enhance blogs and grab your attention, don't they?

This also comes from RedKid.net. Here's the link: http://www.redkid.net/generator/soup/in case anyone is interested.

Week 5-Thing 10

After spending quite a bit of time browsing through the possibilities, I came up with this one. Fortune cookies are just FUN! And people actually read them. I think it could be a great attention getter. Here's the link: http://www.redkid.net/generator/fortune/

Actually I have attempted making my own fortune cookies but never found a workable recipe. Instead, I found that if you microwave them for a short time, you can remove the fortune and insert your own, but you have to be fast! Sometimes it's just frustrating. This was much easier! I suppose there would be a way to make several of these and perhaps personalize them for students and/or staff.

Week 4-Thing 8

RSS-ing!I've been away for awhile, so it's good to get back and move forward. I signed up for 5 feeds, and this is pretty exciting. I chose to share one item from "Library Thing." Check on "Shared Item" in the upper left corner of the blog. It made me laugh because I have TOO many cookbooks. The irony is that I hardly ever cook. If I do, I generally search for a recipe online. Yet I cannot part with those cookbooks. Sigh...

I'm going to have to live with RSS for a day or two and see what I think. Setting up is one thing; keeping up is another. I'm not a huge web surfer, so this is actually going to expand my horizons rather than narrow them.

Week 3-Thing 6 again

Five of the six pictures on the revolving cube below are of the table decorations classes did to celebrate this year's primary level CYRM, as I mentioned in a previous post. In case you didn't notice, you can click on the cube to stop the action and look at a single photo, or you can actually make it a slide show. This is a fun way to display pictures. I have a feeling kids would love it.

Check out my Slide Show!

Week 3-Thing 7

I should probably already know this, but I would like some information from someone who knows for sure what are the implications of using book cover images. Would it be a violation of copyright to use a book cover on a poster in the library, on a website, in a newsletter? I suspect it is, but it would be good to have that confirmed.

How about getting permission from the publisher of the book? Are publishers likely to be generous with the use of book cover art or not? Do they respond in a timely manner, generally speaking? What has been your experience?

Week 3-Thing 6

Trading card
Originally uploaded by bibliotekaria

Going public already with the trading card!

Week 3-Thing 5

luckyday
Originally uploaded by bibliotekaria

I had the pleasure of attending "A Chocolate Tech Affaire" last week in San Jose. Fun and Yummy! It was excellent and gave a great overview of some of the Library 2.0 tools we are using, including Flickr. Rumor has it that it will be repeated in Contra Costa County in August. Don't miss it! However, it might be repetitious for those who have completed School Library Learning 2.0. The chocolate would still be worth going for.

So this is the photo I uploaded from Flickr. We have developed a tradition of inviting classes (usually 2nd grade) to decorate a table based on each of the California Young Reader Medal nominee books. They are on display during Open House and bring lots of traffic into the library. It's fun and the kids get excited about their creations and "their" books.

I will play around with some Flickr stuff maybe later. I know there are some amazing things that can be done with this tool. At least I set up an account and managed to post all 5 CYRM photos.

Week 2-Thing 3

This is a little unnerving for someone who is a bit of a private person to publish my own thoughts on a blog! One of my goals in life has been to "keep my name out of the paper," so I'm not entirely comfortable here.

Anyway, I guess it's a good thing that CSLA is encouraging us to stretch, learn and grow, even if it hurts a little.

Got the Avatar up and running. Whew. I'm glad I could include my cat. It feels good to have a little company.