Thing 15`

Lots to digest today! I am in total agreement that the web has changed dramatically from several years ago and has gone from a closed system to an open, shared network space that encourages user participation and collective thoughts. My favorite perspective about Web 2.0 came from Rick Anderson's Away from the "icebergs" http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm because I could more easily see my elementary school library through his thoughts rather than the others. The biggest obstacles now seem to be the reality of the school system with lack of student computers, lack of personnel, etc. etc. As much as I dislike having to agree with his thoughts on the "just in case" collection, I do see his perspective. The reasons I dislike this goes back to student computer availability and checking the authenticity of the sites the students use. I also liked David Warlick's 2 cents worth http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?s=Library+2.0 enough to tag it on my del.icio.us site.

Thing 14

I did not watch either video because it took waaaay too long for them to download. So, instead I read the FAQ page, which was very informative. I felt that Technorati could be useful for those that are a bit more tech savvy than me. My initial reaction is that it offers way too much information and I found it very time consuming to find anything relevant. I did several key word searches and the information that came back was a bit disappointing. However, it could be I did not input the information correctly in the search box. For the author I was searching I put quotation marks around her first and last name. In the first 5 results that popped up, only 2 were about the author. So, maybe quotation marks shouldn't be used here! For those that have the time, this site would be very useful since it indexes live web and blogs as well as sends pings if you add that feature. I chose not to claim a blog at this moment. I do not feel at this time that this site would be useful to me. However, I will save the address and in the future this may be one of those sites I can't live without!

Thing 13

I like using del.icio.us for my professional and personal use. It is very straightforward and easy to use. I like the list of tags and have decided that the fewer, more precise tags I put for each site, the better. I think I may have to add the buttons again on my home and my school computers since the computer I am working on now is not one that I usually use. I do like that once those buttons are added, I can get to my bookmarks from other computers which will allow me to work from home if necessary. I also really like being able to see my friend's bookmarks. However, I am not sure yet how to have the students use del.icio.us for their research. Again, as with other tools, I can see it being used with high school students more than with my elementary students. But, I may be underestimating my students' searching abilities.

Thing 12--part 3

The first blog I found on Google blog search was about the Grand Canyon and Sedona, which I will be visiting soon. It was neat seeing the beautiful pictures they took and posted.
http://ferventnomad.blogspot.com/2008/06/voyage-home-grand-canyon-part-5.html

The second blog I commented on, also found on Google blog search, was about the Cedar Rapids, Iowa flood. I have a very good friend who lives in Cedar Rapids and fortunately neither her family nor her extended family were negatively affected by the flood. However, like everyone else in town, they know several people who have lost everything. The blog I responded to was about a business that was lost and the secretary of that business that lost her home and everything in it. http://thetroupetheatre.blogspot.com/2008/06/prayer-request-update-on-heuer.html

Thing 12--part 2

I have now commented to 5 summer players' blogs. I skipped over several blogs because their blogs are too short to comment about or I couldn't reply with anything meaningful. The most difficult thing about commenting was find a blog that I could actually make meaningful comments about! The easiest part was making a comment once I found a blog I could relate to. Now I need to find blogs outside of the library2 site to post comments on.

Thing 12-part 1

After reading most of the comments about commenting--some were blocked on my current computer here at school--I feel the two most important to keep in mind were making the comments relevant and teaching students how to comment. I realized that phrases such as "I agree", or "great job" were not comments that were appreciated by most so I need to comment with more depth. I also really agreed with teaching students how to comment before allowing them to blog and reminding them that words can hurt and that they must be careful when posting comments. This is most recently evident by the Eagles' Read blog that is now down due to hurtful student comments.

Thing 11

I liked LibraryThing. I found 2 titles from favorite authors that have brand new books just published--off to the bookstore to get them! I can see this site as being very useful for my personal reading. I looked through several groups and the one I enjoyed the most is Librarians Who LibraryThing. I particularly enjoyed the postings of "Funny Requests from Patrons" and "Odd Things Found in the Library". I have had several similar requests, but fortunately none of the odd (and icky) things found in the library.

My favorite image generator came from Big Huge Labs, part of the Flickr site. I particularly liked the magazine cover option and can see the kids doing research projects using this as the final product. http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php There were several other items that I also could see as being possibly used with the students. My next favorite site is the Image Chef. I found some fun things to make for me, but possibly not the students, like signs for the library. I played around with getting a wanted poster because every once in a while, something in the library is not where it is supposed to be and is not marked as checked out--can you imagine! So, I could see this as a fun way to let the students and staff know to be on the look out for or return the item. The comic strip generator was blocked. Custom sign generator, Happy Face generator and Kid Friendly Image Generator were very time consuming and I couldn't produce an end product.

Thing 9

I went to several of my favorite websites, but did not see the RSS feed icon, so I did not add any feeds to my RSS reader. I went to many of the suggested search sites and found that many were well laid out and would be very useful to use with high school students, such as Topix. However, I am an elementary school librarian and do not feel that I would use most of them with my students. I did not like Syndic 8--I felt that that layout was very confusing. I got frustrated with Google Blog because even though it was very straightforward and easy to use, (and I was searching blogs), I came to sites that were not blogs, but websites-- one site was a library's online catalog! I would love a way to search for a particular person to find if they have a blog, but as of yet, I have not been successful with that. I came up with many people blogging about the author or educator, but not that particular person's blog. Either I am not searching correctly, or the people I have searched for do not have blogs. I did add one blog on my blog list that hopefully will be useful. I was disappointed that the School Library Blogs on superglu could not be displayed this morning. Hopefully that site is only down temporarily. I can see how RSS feeder would be a useful tool make your life simpler with information coming to you, but I am still trying to see how I will have the time to read all the pertinent information during my professional day.

Thing 8

I must say I am not thrilled with RSS. I think it boils down to a time issue. I don't see how I can find time in the day to add this in with all of the other things that I need to do during my professional day. I look at it as more reading to do, not a time saver. My views may change--but this is my initial impression.

Thing 7

I have signed up for severe weather alerts from google alerts. Our school system blocks Google Earth because it is "shareware". I looked at the notebook, after much work, but couldn't find the icon to let me actually use it--it was not in my browser toolbar--so then I went on to google documents. It is easier to share documents using this than making a document, saving it, and then copying and pasting it into an email. I can see this as a tool to help with getting library patrons cards made from our computer genius at the main office --but I don't share that many documents so I don't see this as useful as the items I discovered in Thing 6.

Thing 6

Well lots of playing took place today. I did not feel that some of the sites were very user friendly and many times there were no buttons to lead us back to where we started! However, I did come across the magazine cover option on Flickr that I just love. Every year my 5th grade math teacher has her g/t kids to a research unit on a famous mathematician and in the past we have had the kids make a poster about the facts they have learned following a biography poem format. This year, I want to have each student create a magazine cover for his or her mathematician. The trading cards were interesting, as were the movie posters, but not as much information can be added. Also, it is a bit difficult because they don't give samples of the different fonts, nor do they allow you to change font size. But, I am sure the kids could figure it out faster than me!

Thing 5

I really like Flickr! I can see all sorts of uses for it with my students and faculty. The first thing I plan to make is a powerpoint to support a third grade lesson about international landmarks since I found fabulous pictures of the places we ask the students to research such as the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House. These wonderful pictures will give the students a better sense of what each landmark looks like. I do however have a question about how to cite the sources. How do we give each picture the credit that it deserve? Do we ask the students to make a text box on the picture to then state the source or is there a better way?

Thing 3 continued/Thing 4

Yesterday I set up my blog and created my avatar. I had to stop my blog because of the weather, so I am continuing my thoughts today. First of all, yesterday I was trying to complete two projects at one time--not a good idea. That made me feel rushed with trying to post a blog, and create the avatar. Being rushed in turn made me feel really grouchy when things did not go smoothly like Yahoo not believing that I really DID live in that zip code and after repeated tries having to back out and start all over again. Today, I am focusing on this one project only and that is the wisest way for me to work. I am a perfectionist, and combined with the completely new learning I am "jumping into"( hence the name of my blog), when things don't go smoothly I tend to get frazzled quickly. Therefore, my goals from now on are to work on this project by itself and not in combination of trying to get other things done and therefore, without being rushed, I think it will make the problems that will come up less frustrating--hopefully. Finally, yesterday I thought I had followed the procedure to register this blog, but as of yet, I am not an officially registered player--yes, another speed bump that I am trying NOT to get too frustrated about! So, I have re-emailed my information and hopefully by tomorrow I will be officially a summer player.

Thing 3

There were a few issues with setting up the blog--but I prevailed, and it is now set up, and hopefully registered! My biggest issue was finding a blog name that was available. After that, getting yahoo to agree that yes, my zip code truly is in the United States, was a challenge! Making my avatar was fun once I got the site figured out and attaching it the blog turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. Logging off quickly because weather is coming in and we need to get off the computers.
Erica Jean

Thing 2

The easiest habit for me is beginning with the end in mind. The hardest habit for me is viewing problems as challenges and not getting overwhelmed.