Sheepish Blogger

Getting ready for 11 Tools

2011-09-01T09:13:00.005-05:00

As you can tell by the previous post, I have not blogged for some time. Truly, it is not something I do for my personal entertainment or enlightenment, I do it when required as part of the job. For now, let's say I just wanted be sure that my previous blog still works for an adventure we will begin @ SWHS.

Thing 11.5 - Evaluation

2009-06-28T11:38:00.002-05:00

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

Taking time to work with Facebook was fun and I really appreciate learning about Slideshare, 280 slides and all the resources for videos. I will be sharing this info teachers and students and posting it on my webpage.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? Learning never ends, look at all that has changed and progressed over the length of my career (34+ years). I couldn't begin to list all I have learned through this process and other staff development along the way. Sometimes it is difficult to keep an open mind, or to feel comfortable with the technology and resources - but those of us who have survived and conquered have always had the needs of our students in the forefront.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? That 11.5 Things were a lot easier to manage than 23 Things, not so overwhelming. I think that having the new laptops were a big plus...

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? If you could keep an updated list of the resources we review, by categories in the Curriculum Wiki, it would be an easy cross reference. Thanks!

And Thanks for this opportunity. I enjoyed 10.5 of the 11.5!

Thing Eleven - Digital Citzenship

2009-06-28T11:24:00.002-05:00

Digital citizenship has to have evolved from our earlier discussion with students of Internet Etiquette. Since we have all become more global in our connectivity - digital citizenship has to be an important component of all instruction. A list of important points might look something like this...

1. Characteristics of a good citizenship in a digital world
2. Cyber-bullying examples (new DVDs in library's collection)
3. Plagiarism/piracy/copyright laws- examples of copyright friendly/free-share resources and Citing Sources (Noodletools)
4. Safety on the Internet (privacy, sharing of information, Internet friends, chat rooms (Youtube video of Facebook Etiquette)
5. How to evaluate a website for valid information (PPT in Librarian Sharefolder)
6. Discuss expectation, rules and appropriate behavior in line with district policies.

Thing Ten - Virtual Worlds

2009-06-28T11:00:00.002-05:00

This is the one Thing that I do not feel comfortable with. It will take a lot of time, effort and learning to move around and be good at this. Why? Well, to be real honest I'm not a game player. Sure board games are one thing, but way back when Pac-Man came out and my 5 year old daughter could beat me, I knew that this part of technology would pass me by. I understand the part that gaming plays in today's library (especially the Public Library) but it doesn't mean that I will be good at this. I try to learn and keep my students and staff informed of all the new resources and the new things available but I'm just not good at all of them. I will share this information with my students, discuss the possiblities - I read about the virtual field trips - I see that of being of great interest to a few on my campus.

I did do all the reading, downloaded, installed and created the avatar. I know I will find a few students on my campus who will love this and be willing to pass on some pointers. For now I will file this information for future experimentation.

Later,
Dewey Rhapsody

Thing Nine - Slideshare

2009-06-27T07:03:00.002-05:00

With a name like Slideshare how can you go wrong? I see these resources as a great means for posting the final product in such a way that everyone has easy access. Also, it is an excuse buster...there should be no reason why any of our students can say that they didn't have to means to get a project of this nature done and to the teacher. No access to the SAN server, who cares... I will definately create links on my school webpage to to Slideshare and 280 Slides.

Thing Eight - Screencasts

2009-06-25T14:05:00.003-05:00

Ok, so this was the one Thing that was the most frustrating so far. Four hours later I have decided to let this post go as is and hope that with practice I will get better. I promised myself - no stress or frustration this summer. I really hope to finish all 11.5 by the end of this weekend so I can put my laptop and desktop to rest so I can enjoy the month of July catching up on good books and R&R.

I tried several of the screencast options listed and found Jing the easier to use. Not easiest, but easier. The tutorals were helpful although I'm not sure that the embed link is correct. I followed the steps carefully. Anyway the link below takes you to a very simple example of what I would use screencasting for, just as we did when we first learned about Snagit. I guess they were one of the first to provide this kind of service? I haven't used it in a long time, I know it is loaded on my school laptop. I will revisit it and jing while preparing for the next school year.

As stated, this is a simple snapshot of Meriwether - our OPAC, there would be infinite uses to give step by step instructions for getting from point A to point Z in just about everything we teach and share in our libraries. But like everything else, will our patrons read our instructions? I would hate to go through the motions of preparing for it to be just one more thing that doesn't get read. I know that sounds a bit negative, but I found that the easier we try to make things for everyone, the less they take the time to read carefully. I know you know what I mean...

So if you click on the link below you will see my sample of Screencasting. If it was supposed to show directly in the blog, please someone tell me how to do that and I will fix it...

2009-06-25_1412

Thing Seven - Video Resources

2009-06-25T09:16:00.005-05:00

This video so cleverly and humorously shows students the importance of Facebook etiquette. I found it in Hulu and plan to share it with students as they embark on Facebook projects as they begin the new school year.

And this one is a simple way to introduce Twitter and the etiquette that should be in place while using it. The video was found with a Google search and was posted on the Truveo site.

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Thanks for all the Fair Use documentation on video use. A bit overwhelming, but good to have for future reference.

Thing Six - iTouch Apps

2009-06-24T15:25:00.003-05:00

Thanks for all the very thorough lists and links that share some creative apps that will certainly be useful to the student and teacher especially if they have their own iTouch. I found the Apple Learning Internchange webpage to be the most informative. This is the one new piece of mobile technology that I am having a difficult time seeing being used to its fullest capacity in the short time that students spend in the library, either on their own or with a class. I still see students using the iTouch in the library to work with Facebook, podcasts, digital books, wikis, nings and other internet related activities. For now I see it as a way to get students quick and spontaneous access to the internet when they don't need to print or get to the student server thus freeing up the desktop for other students who do. So 16 more students have internet access at any given time during the day. Maybe after all the summer activity we'll be able to create some definitive lists of iTouch activities that lend themselves solely to the time spent in the library. Right now what I stated above is about all I can think of, although if the technology were to be checked out to students, the list of possiblities would be endless. I am not advocating for checkout, just stating the facts.

We were successful at downloading a variety of aps to our new iTouches. "We" means I handed them over to my favorite patient and all knowing student assistants and they had no issues doing this. Since the iTouches are out of my possession for the summer, I will try again in August. You will not see me in the Apple store at the mall, maybe Marble Slab but not Apple.

As for the info on Wikipedia, I found the posting interesting and informative. Once again we will have to reteach and help teachers rethink the possibilities that this resource provides. I know that we were all a little skeptical at first, but by all accounts Wikipedia seems to have improved and become a valuable resource. Better get familiar with this and other free resources in case of database funding dries up...

On a personal note

2009-06-16T14:39:00.002-05:00

I will be unplugged from 06/17-06/24 while I enjoy celebrating my mother's 90th birthday. I will be sharing a wonderful movie I created for her and the family with resources I learned about in 23 Things...

See you in 11.5 some time next week...

Thing Five - Microblogging

2009-06-16T14:28:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I joined Facebook and Twitter, easy enough and immediately was contacted by roommates from college - back when computers took up an entire room, the card catalog still had cards in it, and we all kept in touch with a rotary phone and pen and paper!

All the microblogging resources are a fine way to maintain connectivity globally with peers or with those in the know. I see it as a way to tap into human resources and keep connected to get guidance, share ideas and experiences. If used properly this definately opens up a world of opportunity for our students. Notice, I said properly. I'm hoping that in the 2nd year of Facebook use, our students will use it more for school and less for looking at pictures of their friends in provocative pictures. If anyone has some realistic ideas on how to manage the constant flow of kids out of class to check their facebook accounts - please let me know.

I really like the backchanneling especially when you have a library full of kids working on different projects that all have a common goal or theme, idea sharing can be instanteous - if you have the technology to support this. I think we do with the new technology that arrived this spring.

Thing Four Video Hosting

2009-06-15T13:11:00.002-05:00

No problems creating an account and uploading Animoto video. My video didn't really serve much purpose other than to practice, so I deleted it.

As we move forward with all the new technology in our library, I can see that we will be using Teacher Tube and You Tube to enhance connectivity and staying abreast of the audio and visual world that gets opened up with these video hosting sites. I'm sure the students of my school will be telling me how they will be using it. I will be posting student video products as they come in during the next school year.

Thing Three - Skype Hype

2009-06-15T07:22:00.003-05:00

Skype was easy to download and setup on school's laptop, I see it being easily used on the new iMacs and Macbooks since they have built in webcams. The articles were interesting and there are many education related applications for this service. As always it will be limited by having the technology to run it.

What a innovative way to connect with students to assist with reference questions, guidance with Library Resources, distance learning, help from teachers and interacting with authors. I will use this in my library along with all the other new technology now in place.

Thing Two Image Generators Revisited

2009-06-14T18:23:00.002-05:00

Warning, warning...

My postings this time are going to be very self-centered. Sorry folks, you are on your own trying to figure out how to use these in you own environments. I will be thinking about how these resources will help me, in my specific location to facilitate for things that I want to get another year going.

Wordle/Wordsift:
This will be a great way to introduce new concepts to Freshman and reinforce old concepts to the the rest of the crew. What a eye catcher - I plan to show our students all the new technology available to them with either a Worldle or Wordshift. Maybe create a poster to adorn my new walls with the terminology associated with our new technolgy.

Bookr:

I see this as a beginning tool to create a photo album using a set of defined images. This is great for kids who can't decide what images to use. Great of biography research and book reviews/

Thing One - Fun, Fun. Fun Again?

2009-06-10T19:47:00.002-05:00

Ok, here we go again. It has been a long while since I've added anything to my blog. But 11.5 will get me motivated to rejoin the blogging world.

Thing One shows us the importance of connectivity. Librarians share resources that build connectivity and information sharing. Students and other users will use these tools to enhance their learning experience.

Hey, I'm back experimenting today

2008-08-19T10:11:00.004-05:00

OK, It's Intense Library Experimentation day at Media Services. It has been another day to refresh and learn all those Web/Library 2.0 resources that we will be sharing with our students and teachers.

You will see no examples here, you will have to trust me on this:

1. No problems with any of the tasks in Table #1 activities. I would suggest that all the elementary group do Table #1 activities together tomorrow so everyone has pictures to start out with.
2. The tasks were fairly easy to get through, but none of us at this table were able to post our project to the wiki. Mine kept uploading, uploading, uploading. Maybe there were too many trying to post at the same time. But I feel comfortable enough to share this process with teachers.
3. Again, all fairly easy - no time to upload...

4. This one was the most frustrating. TeacherTube was painfully slow, so I pulled a clip from Discovery Education and uploaded to Moviemaker. What a wonderful resource, it will take some experimentation and practice.

Definately overloaded, need more days like this...

Thing Twenty Three - A pat on the back for me!

2008-03-12T22:39:00.003-05:00

The Sheepish Blogger has crossed the finish line!!!

1. Favorites: LibraryThing, TeacherLibrarian Wiki, TeacherTube and Del.icio.us

2. Lifelong learning? My entire professional life has been spent trying to meet the challenges that the ever changing world of libraries presents. I feel that I have been successful, but there is always room for improvement.

3. I was suprised that I was able to complete all the Things, especially when some of them seemed so out of my comfort zone.

4. Format and concept? Self paced, no actually meetings required were all beneficial. The timeframe was a bit challenging.

5. Participate again? Only during summer months or during staff development days.

6. I was humbled by this experience. There is so much more to know, and so little time to know it.

Thank you for all you did to provide this experience...

Thing Twenty Two - Ning Thing

2008-03-12T21:53:00.003-05:00

Ning - another place to social network. I found the Teacher Librarian Ning interesting enough. Another resource to tap into when you need to bounce some new thoughts and plans around. Or maybe just help someone new to the profession with some guidance or suggestions on things that still work.

Some of the library related images were fun too. I wish I could have found something to illustrate the Ning Thing. Any ideas out there?

OK, that's about it for me. My brain is definately overloaded with all this Library 2.0 stuff.

Thing Twenty One - Podcast fun?

2008-03-12T14:09:00.006-05:00

This mini-review of a few of the 2008-2009 Tayshas books is an example of a podcast created in Photostory. The script and audio was provided by a theater arts high school senior who volunteered to add her young, expressive voice to this basic example., rather than my senior voice that is anything but young! I can see myself putting together something fun and creative to start off the next school year. Maybe with leisure time this summer?

Now, I will say that I see the value in this, but this mini-project was a real time zapper. More than anything I had many issues with uploading to blogger.com. Since I refused to register to be able to get help (just couldn't deal with one more registration or login to remember), I tried uploading on a different computer and it seems to be working as expected.

So that's it for this one, podcast fun...

Oh no, I just noticed that this posted at 2:09 this afternoon, well its true that I uploaded the podcast for the third time from school today after trying unsuccessfully from home twice before. The rest of this post was published at 8:50 pm just before the blogger.com server went down for maintenance.

Thing Twenty - Videos, plenty

2008-03-09T19:57:00.003-05:00

I visit both sites. Decided to embed from Teacher Tube to avoid all the firewall issues. I found lots of possibilties. This one for example would be a fun way to introduce library resources and search strategies.

Thing Nineteen - Award winners, be seen!

2008-03-09T16:06:00.010-05:00

Award winners - there were so many great ones. Yes, I bookmarked many in del.icio.us, started to feel a bit more confident as I bumped into websites and services I had encountered before.

Here are my favorites, divided into two categories: 1. For me, professionally or otherwise, 2. To share with students and teachers.

For me:

Real book bargains and great search capabilities! http://www.biblio.com/

Various links to places to buy books, great for one stop shopping. Reading lists can also be posted here. http://www.reader2.com/

Create survey templates. See lots a future possibilities for this one. http://www.wufoo.com/

To share with students and teachers:

Write, share revise without the fear of losing or overwriting a good idea. http://www.writeboard.com/

True stories in one sentence. Consider the possibilities for creative writing projects. http://www.onesentence.com/

A great source for anything multimedia. http://www.podshow.com/

Ok, so you probably thought this one would be my favorite http://www.flock.com/
Can you figure out why?

Thing Eighteen - Open Office where have you been?

2008-03-02T08:47:00.003-06:00

Like others participating in Libray2play, Openoffice.org took a very long time to download. But it was worth the wait, maybe not for me, I'll stick with Microsoft Office (I still don't know all there is to know there) BUT, this is a product to share with students who may not have access to all the programs we do. I will be sharing this info with my campus in our next weekly bulletin. This is not an "on the fly" sort of thing. A bit of planning needs to take place.

I practiced saving in the usual formats and then opening them in Microsoft Office. Everything I tried worked fine. I will need to experiment more with Impress to see if that truly crosses over. I did find CALC a bit easier than EXCEL, maybe more intuitive for non-math types, like myself.

As for Google Docs, again you need to be registered. But, I do see this as an alternative to our district's student folder. A student can quickly upload a document here and save and continue to work on it from home or another computer. Perhaps eliminating some frustration? Again, can't do this or much else "on the fly." I also liked the fact that you could upload larger documents and powerpoints than most email services will allow.

Thing Seventeen - The Sandbox

2008-02-27T19:54:00.004-06:00

I think I posted to the Sandbox. In case it ended up in the wrong spot, this is what I posted:

As a cat person, I would never play in a sandbox...

But I do try to follow directions, so I will post to this wiki. To be honest, I'm trying to absorb all we are learning in our 23 things activities. I can't say that I have anything very creative to add at this time. But I'll try...

How about a wiki to manage all the ILL requests, especially all the ones for multiple copies? Librarians can post their requests and those who can supply can respond, eliminating the need for SO MANY EMAILS?

How about a wiki to plan a research project that involves several teachers, all with different perspectives on a similar task.

How about a wiki to discuss ways to implement things learned in Library2Play in our DNN webpages?

More thoughts on Library2Play and the 23 things can be found on my: http://sheepishblogger.blogspot.com/

Thing Sixteen - Wiki, wiki, wiki

2008-02-26T18:34:00.013-06:00

I enjoyed this Thing more than some of the others. There was lots to read, and I clicked on all the links, and the links within those links and bounced off from there to other things to read. The bottomline...wikis seem to be an easy way to edit webpages and offer simple possiblities for collaboration. I understand the concept, I can see librarians buying into the process, it may take teachers a bit longer. It may start as simply planning for student instruction that involves the library. We'll see what I can come up with and then I'll be sure to add it to a wiki...

I found great ideas within The Teacher Librarian Wiki
My favorite was Copyright Friendly Image Source
I also found a great list of Graphic Novels for Secondary Libraries. In Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki the section on Selling your Library - wow, some great ideas. I bookmarked several of the sites in Del.icio.us. See, I learned something useful...

Thing Fifteen - Library 2.0 (No clever rhyme, this time)

2008-02-24T18:02:00.004-06:00

There was so much to read, think about, and absorb in the tasks of Thing Fifteen, I decided to remind myself that this is supposed to be fun. Life just isn't the same without Bob Barker!

First of all I could not connect to the video that we were supposed to watch. But in true Library 2.0 fashion I went to the Rollyo search on LRP and searched and found it and was able to watch. I couldn't help but think that the procedures and policies that are so much in place in public schools do not allow our students to take full advantage of the Web/Library 2.0 world. If students can't use a cellphone or MP3 player in school, checkout a laptop, check email, or have access to all appropriate websites, we are definately not "getting with the program." There has be change all around.

I read all the articles. I still think that librarians will always serve as a guide to finding information in whatever format it comes in, and we will continue to coordinate collaboration at all levels. As for the "Just in Case" syndrome - nothing will ever replace the feeling you get when you place the right book, in the hands of a student. Even if that book sat on the shelf for decades. It was waiting for that one reader.

Thing Fourteen - Tags and more Tags

2008-02-23T15:47:00.005-06:00

Technorati - this was not one of my favorites in the quest to be literate in Web 2.0OK, I get it, the blogs are organized here, but there seemed to be so much trash to shuffle through. I tried the keyword search and tag search - the tag search was so much more cleaner. I get it, the tags are like subject headings, the more you use, the better the chances are that the book, webpage, article, blog, podcast, etc., etc., can be located and used.

I will not be adding this site to my Delicious account, I don't see myself using it, but I'm sure that blog gurus will find this useful.

2/3 of the project completed! I need an organizer for all the logins and passwords...

Thing Thirteen - Tasty and so Delicious

2008-02-23T15:04:00.004-06:00

This one I definately get! I will need to grab all those wonderful bookmarks I have collected over the years from my work computer and send them off to my new Delicious account. There is some comfort in knowing that much of my stuff will be safe there (at Delicious.com) as we work towards our distict's laptop rollout.

Thing Twelve - Rollyo - Holio Molio!

2008-02-23T13:49:00.003-06:00

I really struggled with finding a real purpose for this Thing. But I completed the task in an effort to get back rollyoing on to the next Thing and back on schedule...

Thing Eleven - Librarything has lots to bring...

2008-02-20T18:54:00.008-06:00

The LibraryThing has lots of potential for all booklovers. This will be one site I will spend a lot of time exploring. The tags for the books make searching "real" for everyone. I also see this as a way to make a library webpage "pop" with book suggestions. The Librarian's who LibraryThing group posts were fun to read. I especially enjoyed "Funny requests from patrons." Take a look...

We were asked to add 5 books, which I did but only 4 are showing. I have redone this task two times. Time to move on to something else. What did I miss?

Thing Ten - Time for this when?

2008-02-04T18:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, I admit that this is fun, but once again - addicting. One could spend hours and hours customizing this stuff. I started playing with it on Sunday and didn't finish until Monday. My computer thinks that I have gone off the deep end. I had so much open at one time, it wasn't sure what to do. So I just made this simple smiley cartoon. It goes along with the smiley collection - its a long story.

Thing Nine - RSS and newsreaders are fine!

2008-02-03T11:15:00.000-06:00

To answer all the questions about finding feeds and the tools to find them... I'll stick with Google - it seems the easiest and the most comfortable since we are using it for most everything. I played with Technorati a bit, and found a few posts that pop up on the first screens to be a bit "adult" so I probably would encourage students to use Google (like they need encouragement.) Now, I must start reading all the articles that have been fed to me through the RSS activity!

Thing Eight - RSS a reason to be late?

2008-01-27T17:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, I went through all the steps and still had trouble subscribing. After reading all the help suggestions, it became clear that I needed to download a newer version of Explorer or Firefox to see everything in Google Reader. I almost had to give up on this to spend some time with the family. But, I trudged through and I now have 8 subscriptions in my Google Reader. I can see all of this becoming very addictive. Is this a legitimate excuse for being late to work? I was busy reading all my RSS feeds. Is that an option in GUSS?

Anyway, I see this feature as an aid to keep us updated and informed on a daily basis both for our personal and professional growth. Perhaps with a daily dose of information. we as librarians can continue to stay sharp in the workplace. This is a nifty way to save time by organizing our interests into one link. I do fear though, at about the time we get comfortable with this, something else will take its place.

Thing Seven - Google in Heaven?

2008-01-21T13:43:00.000-06:00

Is there anything that Google doesn't do? I changed my homepage (which I have never done to any of my home computers, and we had many over the years.) Anyway, I believe that this new Google homepage and all its wonderful gadgets is an attempt to keep us glued to our computers, off the streets, out of the malls and fascinated by all there is to be fascinated by. I love the daily quotes, jokes, smiley faces, and wonderful photos of worldly places.

Thing Six - Too many tricks!

2008-01-20T16:46:00.000-06:00

OK, so the Flickr toys were overwhelming and the 3rd party stuff could keep you online for more hours than there are in any one day. So, I will just say that I will file this info away in my old storage cabinet of a brain, and will share with students and staff when the time comes. I did experimene with the nametag thing. Lots of possiblities there.

Thing Five - no jive

2008-01-20T15:43:00.000-06:00

The tour through Flickr was fun, found some pictures I might want to use for 9th grade library orientation next school year. I didn't practice uploading pictures or using it personally, my family is already using a similar (but not so sophisticated) service called Clark Color Labs. http://www.clarkcolor.com/
There's something to be said for being able to see pictures almost instantaneously, not having to go pick them or or wait for them to come in the mail! Flickr, as well as other services of this type, provide a simple and easy way to share pictures for educational purposes as well as personal.

Thing Three - Yipee

2008-01-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

Setting up the blog and creating the avatar were fairly easy. I had quite a bit of trouble importing the avatar since the instructions didn't match up with what I saw on my screen. But I figured out that I needed to click on Page element and add the option for HTML/Java Script. This may be an issue for other players.

Thing Two - Me too

2008-01-16T19:30:00.000-06:00

Setting goals for lifelong learning is not a problem - but a long life of viewing problems as problems and not just a challenges is a challenge. It always just seems to work out well in the end!

Thing One - Great Fun!

2008-01-16T19:28:00.000-06:00

Thing one great fun
Can't wait to be on the run
Watch out Thing two
Here I come...

Thing Four - Blogging for Dinosaurs

2008-01-06T13:41:00.001-06:00

Technology has certainly changed and evolved during the past 34 years that I have been a public school librarian! Once again our "seasoned" professionals are especially challenged to learn something new and make this learning meaningful. I am really struggling with this particular task because it involves being very open with our thoughts and opinions. But like all the other challenges, this old dinosaur will do her best to find her place in the world of blogging.