Thing #23 Summarize Your Thoughts about This Program

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

Blogging is completely new to me. I found just learning how to do that was taking the mystery out of it for me. I have several friends who blog and 1 who brought it into her curriculum this past year to give the students writing practice. I am considering doing the same in my classes this year.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I have been complacent the last couple of years in bringing anything new into my classes. Almost everything I learned in 23 Things is relevant to my classes (computer applications) and I will certainly be using some of the Web 2.0 applications in my classes.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I had no idea how time-consuming this course would be. I spent much more time on this than the 18 hours of professional credit I will receive.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

The format and concept worked for me!

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

Definitely!

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?

Eye-Opening

Thing #22: Nings

Whew, almost there. I viewed 2 of the Educator Nings and then went off on my own to hunt for Gardening Nings. Wow, I found such a neat video on no-dig gardening. A process that I will try this next week before going back to work.

Thing #21: Podcasts and Videocasts

My VideoCast highlights a trip to the zoo with my only grandson. This was great practice. I just happened to have these photos handy.

An amendment -- when I first posted this video, it was working fine and I came back the next day and all I am seeing is a white box. I tried adding the video again and it is still not working! Urgh! I deleted it and uploaded it again. Still not working. I have a witness -- Charlotte Charles of 'Take a Deep Breath and Go' commented on my video.

Thing #20: Explore YouTube And TeacherTube

The following video came from YouTube and I thought it was very apropos for my computer classes:



I was surprised to find many very educational jewels out there that I could use in my classes.

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards List

Write a blog post for Thing #19 about your findings. Consider these questions when organizing your thoughts. What is special about the tool? What are its useful parts, especially with regards to Libraries and school? How might you use this tool in your own setting?

I was drawn to CareerBuilder.com because I am a CTE (Career and Technology Education)teacher. I was impressed with the filtering capabilities of the site. Students are able to filter to categories of careers that interest them in the city they live in, by the companies who have job listings. Job descriptions are given and many times the pay scale is also noted. Students can get an idea of what pay scale is offered in the fields they are interested in and the demand for that career at this time in the city they want to live and work.

Thing #18: Online Productivity Tools

I just got an e-mail from Lisa S. (a colleague of mine) today regarding Google docs and Open Office. She said:

"I did Google training this week at Summer U, and we have some major changes about to happen regarding that. I'll fill you in next week -- even Jim didn't know about all this yet when I emailed him. Basically everything is going to be Google docs based and the student SAN folders are going away - kids will use Google docs or Open Office instead of Office (not in our classes, of course, but in the core classes and libraries). Students will all have a "@mysbisd.com" gmail account. Interesting ... and a substantial learning curve ahead."

I am worried about cheating. It seems anything on-line could be easier for fellow students to access and thereby use to cheat. On the other hand, these on-line tools will be available to all students at home or at school regardless of their ability to pay for expensive software.

Thing #17: Rollyo

I created a rollyo titled Houston Gardening so I could have sites handy as I continue working to create a backyard year-round vegetable garden. The link is:

http://rollyo.com/search.html?q=Houston+Gardening&sid=639246

Thing #16: Wikis

I used the sbisd library sandbox. Wikis seem very easy to use. My mind is racing with ideas on how to use this technology in my computer lab. I love this thing! Wikis seem to be an answer to a lot of ideas but I didn't know exactly how to set them up. Collaboration with colleagues, student team collaboration, check for understanding.

How does this sound:

1. After a lesson, students use the course Wiki to list things they learned from that lesson
2. I could use their 'check for understanding' input to create a quiz/test
3. Students could go back to the Wiki and use their own input to review for the test

All electronic -- no handouts.

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

I just spent a luxurious week reading 3 novels and felt thoroughly entertained and psyched out! The television was forgotten, the house was quiet and peaceful. I ate when I was hungry, allowed only essential interruptions, and feasted on my fictional delights. The Internet was down at my house and I couldn't work on this until Comcast got to us. I feel like I finally got my vacation. The Thing 15 articles had me imagining libraries without walls, students accessing library content with laptops and cell phones. This seems to be the direction we are going, however, I treasure my week without Internet or television and fully intend to do it again -- my vacation with books.

Thing #14: Technorati and How Tags Work

1. Take a look at Technorati and try doing a keyword search for “School Library Learning 2.0”
When I did the search and used "School Library Learning 2.0" there were no results. When I amended the search keywords to be "Library Learning 2.0" I got 2 results, they were the same results in both tags and blog directory.
2. Explore popular blog, searches and tags. Is anything interesting or surprising in your results?
When I tried to do this activity, I got this message at the site: Technorati's Popular section is currently unavailable. Popular features will return in the near future.

Thing #13: Learn about tagging and discover Delicious

The concept is awesome, but I could not figure out how to get set up in Delicious. I am going to call on one of my colleagues who did this program last year and see if she can help me.

This would be very advantageous in a computer lab where students might have to change to a different computer occasionally. All their shortcuts (or tags) would still be available to them wherever they had to sit.

Thing #12: Creating Community Through Commenting

1. Explain two of the points about Comments that you think are important.

Cool Cat said "Remember the Power of Words" and even gave a name to those people whose comments are abrasive -- Darth Commentator.

Blue Skunk said "Make it Relevant" and "Don't be a Troll."

Both important points dealt with good etiquette and also containing your comments to the subject and not rambling. It is nice to know that there are people trying to set up rules of etiquette regarding commenting and blogging.

2. Choose at least five different Library2Play blogs and make at least one comment to each.

I found some comments to Library2Play blogs were easier to manuever than others. Is it because the different templates have different methods of sending comments?

3. Thing #12: Find two blogs about a subject of personal interest and comment.

I commented on Tom Margenau's article regarding Social Security offsets.
I also asked a planting question of Jeff Rugg.

Thing #11: Take a look at LibraryThing

Interesting! I can see where you could connect with other readers of a book and start up conversations -- maybe even start an on-line book club!

Instead of doing a skit about Library Thing, I did a Wordle about Library2 Play 23Things. Here it is:

Thing #10: Play around with an online image generator.

Some images I came up with in my allotted time:

Discovery Process: This is right up my alley! I loved using the different image generators. I will definitely go back to Glogster and try that out some time -- just not enough time for that today. The links I would recommend to others include:

http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/maker.asp

http://www.imagechef.com/

http://www.dumpr.net/

http://www.wordle.net/

http://www.glogster.com/

Use in the classroom -- My BIM-II students will be making a portfolio website this year. Many of these image generators would be great for making their websites unique.

Thing #9: Useful Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds

Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
Google Blogs and Topix
Which was more confusing?
Sindic8
What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?
I found a few gardening feeds -- that's all I was hunting for right now, as I am planning my fall vegetable garden.

Thing #8: Learn about RSS feeds

What do I like about RSS and readers?
This could be a way of keeping track of your interests efficiently.
How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
I love to garden. This year I renovated my backyard to allow more space for year-round vegetable gardening. I believe this would be useful feeding me information about when to plant certain vegetables and fruits and when fertilizing and pruning should be done.
In my career, I am a computer applications teacher and I could use this technology to help search for tutorials and lessons on the programs I teach.
How can libraries/teachers/administrators use readers or take advantage of this new technology?
I can see where Social Studies teachers might use this technology as a means of keeping up with current events in their subject matter to bring into their curriculum.

Thing #7: Google Tools

I've heard about this and wanted to try some of these applications. I am definitely going to calendar some time to come back and discover how to use some of these apps. I am expecially intrigued with Google Docs and Picasa Web Albums. The two Google apps I explored for this assignment were the translation feature on the Google Search page and the Google Alerts. 1) Under More, on the Google search page Google has a translation feature. This could come in very handy when you are trying to communicate with a student who can not speak English. 2) I also used Google alerts to alert me on any news regarding a stock that I own.

Thing #6: Mashups and 3rd Party sites

You could spend YEARS browsing all this stuff! Big Huge Labs is awesome. I made some trading cards and a couple of puzzles and was intrigued with the 'booker' application. What a treasure trove of custom gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, showers, and Christmas.

Thing #5: Explore Flickr

Flickr -- I didn't even know of it's existence. What a great site! I tried to 'save picture as' but nothing showed up when the file was opened. I guess they have that ability blocked somehow.

Thing #4: Register Your Blog

Registering your blog: I was wondering how I was going to get credit for this course work.

Thing #3: Set Up a Blog...and Make an Avatar

Thing 3 is very time-consuming and can also be confusing. Navigating through this step can be a throw-up-your-hands and give upper for computer illiterates. I enjoyed creating the avatar -- COOL!

Thing #2: Pointers from Life Long Learners

In my journey as a lifelong learner, I have found accepting responsibility for my own learning has been very useful to me. I am a computer applications teacher. As technology has changed, programs upgraded, and curriculum is constantly in flux I have survived by becoming a self-taught student. Many times what I need in my field is not available in professional development and so I have to provide that for myself.

Thing #1: Read This Blog and Find Out About This Program

Getting started was a little confusing. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I think an overview of the course might clear this up for future users.