I think that this social bookmarking activity may be the best discovery of this summer! I have heard about del.ici.ous before, but have not had the time to explore it. I feel like this site will make my life a whole lot easier--particularly if it is not blocked by our district! I use the "favorites" buttons lots of times, but my "favorites" list is becoming a bit clogged. Also, my "favorites" list is limited to the computer I am using (and when school computers are reimaged over the summer, all is lost if it has not been saved separately). Now I can bookmark my sites and find them from any computer--the possibilities! I have already started bookmarking my favorites from memory. Now I can go through some old e-mails that I have been afraid to delete because they have precious links! I think that my favorite part about the system is the ability to "catalog" my sites. The librarian in me loves that!
I also love the idea that I can share my del.ici.ous sites with others. Now I can make lists of useful websites for research for both students and teachers--providing (of course) that my district has not blocked this site, as well. I'm not even going to allow my mind to go there. I'm too busy imagining all of the possibilities!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thing #12
I think commenting on blogs is tough for me--I'm a natural lurker. Cool Cat mentions that it is important to comment, as long as it the comments are worthwhile. Often my thoughts on blog topics are simple responses or opinions--not necessarily "worthwhile" contributions. I think if everyone contributed responses, blogs would look more like Facebook accounts. For that reason, I keep comments to a minimum.
ProBlogger mentions that responding to comments and asking questions will help increase traffic to your blog. I think it is interesting to respond to comments because it creates conversation. I can see that keeping up with all of these threads would be time-consuming. There was some good advice on managing threads listed in these articles.
I posted comments to some Library2Play participants and checked out blogs from some authors. I enjoy reading author blogs, particularly when we have a scheduled author visit or if we are doing a book club.
ProBlogger mentions that responding to comments and asking questions will help increase traffic to your blog. I think it is interesting to respond to comments because it creates conversation. I can see that keeping up with all of these threads would be time-consuming. There was some good advice on managing threads listed in these articles.
I posted comments to some Library2Play participants and checked out blogs from some authors. I enjoy reading author blogs, particularly when we have a scheduled author visit or if we are doing a book club.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thing #11
One of my volunteers first told me about Library Thing earlier this year. She owns over 40,000 books--more than our school library! She is working on cataloging her collection through Library Thing.
It comes as no surprise that many Library Thing users are librarians. What an easy way to catalog books! I cataloged a few in my personal children's collection--and wished it were so easy at school! I don't know if I will catalog more because my home collection is rather fluid--books coming and going all of the time. I simply don't have the storage to continue purchasing books (which I love to do) and keep the old ones, as well. The librarian in me doesn't mind sharing books with others!
Although I may not use it for my personal collection, I know I'll return to the website. I wonder how the search engine will work when traditional methods fail? Perhaps non-librarian users might enter an "unauthorized" search term that will help me find a "mystery" title!
I thought the "chat groups" were interesting, too. It might be a good place to find out about new books and upcoming local events.
It comes as no surprise that many Library Thing users are librarians. What an easy way to catalog books! I cataloged a few in my personal children's collection--and wished it were so easy at school! I don't know if I will catalog more because my home collection is rather fluid--books coming and going all of the time. I simply don't have the storage to continue purchasing books (which I love to do) and keep the old ones, as well. The librarian in me doesn't mind sharing books with others!
Although I may not use it for my personal collection, I know I'll return to the website. I wonder how the search engine will work when traditional methods fail? Perhaps non-librarian users might enter an "unauthorized" search term that will help me find a "mystery" title!
I thought the "chat groups" were interesting, too. It might be a good place to find out about new books and upcoming local events.
Thing #10
The online image generator seems like something that can be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my home computer blocked some of the sites (McAfee Security Center) because it said that they had tracking devices. If my home computer is blocking it, I know our school computer will do the same. However, it would be fun to find some image generators that are not blocked and use them as story starters. Students can use a digital camera to take pictures and modify these photos--or they can create images without a photo using the available graphics. They can write about their own image, or trade images with a friend. The students can all write about the same image and compare stories. They can also use the image generator to illustrate a graphic novel.
I created my husband's college football jersey--just for fun!
Thing #9
I enjoyed Cool Cat Teacher's introduction to the importance of blogging. I especially enjoyed the part when she said, "If you were able to read the writings of Abraham Lincoln, or CS Lewis, or Gandhi, or Dale Carnegie on a daily basis, would you have done it? They are among you now. Find them and become transformed." It is a very positive perspective on this new (to me) trend.
It is nice to know that there are tools to assist in weeding through the myriad of blogs. I think that Google BlogSearch was easiest to use because I am so familiar with the Google format. I also liked School Library Blogs on Supr Glu. It helped me to focus on sites that would be most useful.
I can see how blogging in general can be a bit overwhelming to the beginner. There is so much out there. I recently joined Facebook (at the request of family members) to keep up with relatives. In some ways, it is very simple. However, sometimes I ask myself if I really need to know trivia quiz results from each person. I wonder if blogging can be a bit overwhelming, as well. I guess it is important to find and follow the blogs of writers who can keep the distractions to a minimum. I think the Edublog Award nominees may be a good place to start!
It is nice to know that there are tools to assist in weeding through the myriad of blogs. I think that Google BlogSearch was easiest to use because I am so familiar with the Google format. I also liked School Library Blogs on Supr Glu. It helped me to focus on sites that would be most useful.
I can see how blogging in general can be a bit overwhelming to the beginner. There is so much out there. I recently joined Facebook (at the request of family members) to keep up with relatives. In some ways, it is very simple. However, sometimes I ask myself if I really need to know trivia quiz results from each person. I wonder if blogging can be a bit overwhelming, as well. I guess it is important to find and follow the blogs of writers who can keep the distractions to a minimum. I think the Edublog Award nominees may be a good place to start!
Thing #8
It was very interesting to read about RSS and Readers. I had no idea that these existed. I always wondered how people keep up with all this information--now I know!
I do not spend a lot of time reading blogs and news feeds. Most of this is blocked at work, and I'm usually too tired when I get home! However, I can see how Readers can minimize this task. I set my Google Reader up with library sites and news sites. Maybe I'll actually get to keep up with them!
I will have to see how blogs and Readers are blocked at my school so that I can assess how useful it will be for me there. We have such tight filters that I find that many sites are restricted. If they are accessible, I can keep up with professional blogs. Many of our visiting authors have blogs. It would be interesting set up a Reader to keep up with those blogs with our students.
I think the Readers will be especially helpful for faculty--we have so much going on in our lives--anything to simplify is always appreciated! They are very easy to use.
I do not spend a lot of time reading blogs and news feeds. Most of this is blocked at work, and I'm usually too tired when I get home! However, I can see how Readers can minimize this task. I set my Google Reader up with library sites and news sites. Maybe I'll actually get to keep up with them!
I will have to see how blogs and Readers are blocked at my school so that I can assess how useful it will be for me there. We have such tight filters that I find that many sites are restricted. If they are accessible, I can keep up with professional blogs. Many of our visiting authors have blogs. It would be interesting set up a Reader to keep up with those blogs with our students.
I think the Readers will be especially helpful for faculty--we have so much going on in our lives--anything to simplify is always appreciated! They are very easy to use.
Thing #7
Wow! I thought I loved Google already--now I love it even more. I was aware of some of the applications already. However, I learned a lot more exploring these tools.
One Google tool that our family has already explored is Picasa. My husband has had the opportunity to travel with his job quite a bit. He has a Picasa site so that we can see pictures while he is traveling. Our family has enjoyed that. We've also used Google Earth at school. I know that there are some books linked to Google Earth--you can "travel" to the places mentioned in the books. I haven't tried this yet with students, though I hope to get to it this year.
Although I have used the advanced function before, I never noticed that you can search by file format. That is very nice! I would love to see SMARTboard formats added to the list. I searched "Dewey Decimal" and "ppt" file format--I may never need to make another PowerPoint again! At least I won't have to start from scratch!
I LOVE Google Scholar--I had no idea you could search that way! I often need to see research on various topics--how convenient! I typed in "Accelerated Reader"--lots of hits as you can imagine. That will definitely be useful.
I explored iGoogle--practiced setting up a custom homepage. I wish I could set that up at school! I know we can't do that. Fortunately, I can still access Google, though!
This was one of my favorite activities so far!
One Google tool that our family has already explored is Picasa. My husband has had the opportunity to travel with his job quite a bit. He has a Picasa site so that we can see pictures while he is traveling. Our family has enjoyed that. We've also used Google Earth at school. I know that there are some books linked to Google Earth--you can "travel" to the places mentioned in the books. I haven't tried this yet with students, though I hope to get to it this year.
Although I have used the advanced function before, I never noticed that you can search by file format. That is very nice! I would love to see SMARTboard formats added to the list. I searched "Dewey Decimal" and "ppt" file format--I may never need to make another PowerPoint again! At least I won't have to start from scratch!
I LOVE Google Scholar--I had no idea you could search that way! I often need to see research on various topics--how convenient! I typed in "Accelerated Reader"--lots of hits as you can imagine. That will definitely be useful.
I explored iGoogle--practiced setting up a custom homepage. I wish I could set that up at school! I know we can't do that. Fortunately, I can still access Google, though!
This was one of my favorite activities so far!
Thing #6
We just got back from Alaska and I decided to use some photos from our trip to create this mosaic in Mosaic Maker. Downloading the photos to Flickr was easy, but took a bit of time. I think the Mosaic Maker site was having issues because it kept closing while I was uploading the pictures. This process took far longer than I ever would have imagined--however, it worked in the end! For that I am thankful!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thing #5
I explored Flickr--what a neat site. I have been meaning to take a look as my daughter's Girl Scout troop set up a Flickr site to share troop photos. I LOVE the Creative Commons portion. I am an elementary school librarian at an Australian-themed school in the U.S. It is not always easy to find great photos of the land down under for our research projects. I found lots of stuff I can use--including this photo of a sea turtle, Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia by In Veritas Lux. Unfortunately, it is probably blocked by our school district. I'll have to check on it when school resumes.
Thing #3
Just finished creating an Avatar of myself. That was fun! I like that I can change all of the varous aspects--particulary couture! It was easier than I expected.
Thing #2
I just finished viewing "7-1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Learners" posted by the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Public Libraries. I really liked step #1, begin with the end in mind. As a library media speicalist, we teach kids to do this any time they are trying to learn something new. It makes sense that we should continue to do this outside of the formal research process. We need to set goals for ourselves (then remember to monitor progress toward these goals). I think the most difficult step is step #3--view problems as challenges. Sometimes I get so caught up with the crisis that I have to remind myself that it is a learning opportunity. Funny thing is that once I remind myself of the opportunity to grow, the stress of the crisis diffuses. Now if only I could eliminate the initial panic...
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