Thing#23 Reflections of 23 Library Things

Favorites:
I loved the ease with which one could set up RSS and Cool Google Tools in such a non-threatening way for one so "computer challenged". Setting up Google Alert has brought to my attention many fascinating articles and ideas to be used with the Gifted/Talented students throughout the school year. Reading iGoogle has become an early morning ritual with a fresh brew of Starbuck's, keeping me up to the minute with happenings around the world, as well as local. I must say, I'm not missing the "silly segment" news reports from our local networks.On the more creative side, I enjoyed creating Online Image Generator and know the students will have fun being creative as well. This generated a lot of ideas for projects and for my own presentations.Another favorite was learning about Wiki and pbWiki. As previously mentioned, it will really improve collaboration among colleagues for team planning. Learning about Rollyo will greatly improve my teaching approach to research without the headache of worrying about a student journeying off to the far depths of undesirables by having the luxury of self selecting and guidance into areas known to be filtered.
Affects-Lifelong Learning Goals:
Without sounding like a testimonial for NutriSystem, I never knew I could learn all 23 Library Things is only nine weeks, and look at me (Oops, that really is from NutriSystem!) This feeling of doubt weighed heavily upon my shoulders when I first started the program, but was quickly lifted with the creation of my Avatar. With each new assignment, I continued to gain strength, holding my breath throughout all the twists and turns. Now with eyes wide open, all I can say is,"What a ride. Can I do it again?"
Tweaking:
Some of the assignments seemed redundant to me. I also think explanations for some of the assignments could be more informative, appearing quite vague at times. Although I found CommonCraft shows to be helpful with the 'what" aspect of a given tool. I would have liked a little more 'how'.(Podcast - Rollyo) After viewing Rollyo, I was still not sure how to implement this tool, until Bruce Goodner presented his Podcast, bringing about all sorts of possibilities I want to try.
One Word: Epiphany

Summer's End

MTV Summer Movies

A Reader's Dream

Things#22 Nings and Things

Nings will be another way for students to collaborate with others interested in the same book series. While reading about Nings, I think is would be fun to set up Book Club accounts for those interested in Stephenie Myer'sTwilight series, Scott Westerfeld's Uglies, Christopher Paolini's Eragon, and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (Like the Trekkie, Harry Potter fans of old) I think the students would find it interesting to hear the views of others who share similar interests from different parts of the world. I know many of the students that have X-Box Live, excitingly talk about challenging others from Great Britain, France, Canada and Germany,to name a few. Nings could also be set up to collaborate on project or hobby interests. Although i am not a Librarian, I joined the YA in School Libraries site to "lurk" at shared ways some librarians motivate students with YA novels. I did set up a Ning account for sailors who own the same type of sailboat to collaborate sailing experiences, boat repairs, and equipment used. (mainly for my husband) Out of curiosity, I checked to see if there were any NIngs accounts from my Alma mater, and was amazed at how many results came up. This will be a great way to renew old friendships.

Thing #20 You Tube TeacherTube

Reader's Theatre enables students to bring a favorite story to life, creating a powerful interpretation because the emphasis is on oral expression of the part, unlike the more traditional theatre with emphasis on acting and costumes. The less confident readers are encouraged freely by the group and feel less threatened because there is no memorization, very little movement, and a minimum of props.
The chosen videos will provide the students with models for creating 'the voice behind the page' in their own silent reading. Students are also provided a model of a live performance video of their favorite authors Avi, Sharon Creech,Walter Dean Myers and Sarah Weeks enjoying Reader's Theatre. (www.teaching books.net) I selected variations of an elementary favorite,The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka to model extensions one could make of Reader's Theatre projects.
Since it is rather difficult to find, or develop a part for every student, I have cooperative groups select their own texts to present from a collection of picture books or short stories.
Some groups get very involved and include costume, music and other props.
Another fun activity is to adapt the same story from various cultures. Cinderella is an excellent place to start. As the students become more familiar with Reader's Theatre, a gripping segment from any part of the book could be created into a Reader's Theatre with a brief introduction to set the scene.The benefits are rewarding as you begin to see an increase in their skills as readers, writers, listeners, and speakers.

The Stinky Cheese Man animated

Thing #19 Wufoo

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Thing #20 You Tube TeacherTube

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards List

Like a girl in a chocolate shop, so many del.icio.us, Monster, Facebook to choose from that, IMCooked! I Twittered my way from one site to the next until I finally gravitatied toward Wufoo. My chosen goody fix.
This tool will save endless hours spent compiling information at a click. I created a Summer Reading Survey to be used to group our students in Book Talks, by the individuals' novel choice. I also set up an account with PBwiki and will set up my site similar to several sites I previous viewed in Wiki. So, I bagged a few, but will continue to visit this shop of goodies again.

Thing #18: Google Docs

This tool will save students collaborating on a group project so much time. They will be able to have a current copy in process writing of revisions made, by whom and when. The group would no longer be at the mercy of forgotten notes by the person in charge of keeping them, and the absent student will not fall behind on their portion of the project for presentation. Lesson plans for the grade level could not get any easier with the use of this tool. With each team member's contribution, revisions and additions to the lesson plans could be made throughout the week, and all would have a final copy at their disposal in preparation for the coming week(s).No more weekend writings of lesson plans:)

Thing # 17: Rollyo

At first I was not exactly sure as to how I wanted to incorporate this tool for classroom use, until viewing Bruce Goodner's "Rollyo for Dummies" version. I am so ready to try this with the upcoming Out of the Dust/ Great Depression unit! Using Rollyo will provide peace of mind, knowing the students will find relevant searches and not get distracted by the pop ups or journey to inappropriate sites. The starter kit of Searchrolls with help me get started.

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Thing#16: Learn About Wikis

There seems to be an endless amount of possibilities for using Wiki in the classroom. I plan on using the pbWiki to create a Classroom Journal of what the classroom is currently studying, special activities, as well as a podcast of students' writings and Reader's Theater. I would also like to set up a link where students would give feedback to an assigned homework reading.The Wiki will be a wonderful tool for building communication between teacher, students and parents.
Another Summer Player has already set up our grade level language arts Wiki and we have begun collaborating ideas for the coming school year. This will save valuable time for those with conflicting schedules to meet as a team. all ideas will be shared, and much more will be accomplished. No more barrage of E-mails that often go unread:)

Thing#15: Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

Library 2.0 will “boldly go where no man has gone before”, as it travels to the far reaches of Library 4.0. While en route, it discovers the black box recordings of the many loyal patrons, who view the library as a second home, reflecting on their cherished memories of sitting on the rug, listening to their admired librarian ,as she reads from one of her favorite stories. They tell of how the library is like a nurturing mother, who feeds the soul with essential nutrients required for personal, social and cultural well being. A place that improves the temper, quiets the nerves, drawing off the mind from the hurry of the day. For the college student, it is the location of choice ,snuggled in the little cubby for an“exam cram”, or enjoying the pleasure of friends gathering together in an assigned room ,for a group study session. It is a place of soft words of comfort, echoing from the pages of beloved authors, “surrounded by stories surreal and sublime”(Buffett)
Libraries must remain The Giver of stored memories, the scholar of physical and online spaces, lighting the way in this 21st century global community of rapidly changing technologies, to meet the necessities of its patrons. While our second home may grow in technological strength through its journey, it must retain the black box recordings from the treasured past.

Thing #14: Technorati and tags

I like the way Technorati has compiled a huge list of popular blogs that enables me to search tags within blogs to fine tune my search to more specific. This will be an excellent starting point to begin introducing students to blogging for a research project. The Ticker Widget I found to be of interest. This site displays a real-time feed of what users are searching for on Technorati and it's not all about Angelina and Brad, or their twins! If one has ( and I am sure you have) purchased books from Amazon.com, you are quite familiar with tags and connections made between users "people who have purchased this book also purchased...", but I like the unique feature "Search History" that tracks all of the searches you perform and enable you to hyperlink search terms with a simple click. I have also used their A9.com search page. I love their diary feature allowing you to create notes as you browse,like annotating:) I guess this qualifies me as an entry level tagger.
Although there are many similarities between Technorati and iGoogle/Google Reader,I prefer the interface and personalized features Google offers for iGoogle with Google Reader as a sidebar,and I am quite use to its large search box location.A fun feature I look forward to is the WikiHows. It's the battle of searches: Google vs.Yahoo
I claimed my blog with much trepidation knowing that I now have stepped out of the comfort zone of the Summer Players. I hope I can fly!

Thing #13: Tagging and Discover Del.icio.us

del.icio.us, furl-Oh my! Social bookmarking and tagging will definitely help me get organized and decrease the time spent searching for the right book for a reluctant reader or an avid reader in my classroom. del.icio.us will also be a great site for setting up student research projects, allowing me to guide students to more controlled sources. By accessing this account, students can use whatever tag they have assigned to the project and help them access other sites as well. By tagging my favorite sites, students could also access from home, as well as in the lab. A collection of professional articles, books, or excerpts could be tagged for easy access to be shared with co-workers in all departments.

Thing#12 Creating Community Through Commenting

Two important points made for "newbies" that caught my attention when commenting to other bloggers were:
1) Write meaningful comments that will engage others to share their thoughts, not for the need of traffic. Comments that catch readers' attention makes for continued conversations.
2) Invite readers to comment by leaving topics open-ended and then interact with comments left. Bloggers need "food for thought" Feedback is very important. Since conversation is two-way, leave comments. Don't be a "lurker" (a "read-by"-read without comments)
Many of the comments were things taught as a child on the topic of politeness. Like the old adage,"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it." (or at least be tactful)
I responded to others' blogs from our Summer Players as well as Blue Skunk-Doug Johnson

My Recent Reads Thing#11

I had some difficulty copying and pasting the HTML to my blog. An error
appeared indicating"HTML could not be accepted: Tags cannot enclose
tag script language "javascript". After a few adjustments were made, Voila...
book titles and covers appeared. This will definitely be a place of enjoyment
as I see a Book Club in the making. This site could also be used for Group
Chats with other classes who are reading the same novels. So many new
things to orchestrate for the new school year!

Thing #10 Online Image Generator

celebrity
Originally uploaded by dairyland darlin'

" No matter how smart you are, you spend much of it being an idiot!"

Thing #10 Online Image Generator

celebrity
Originally uploaded by dairyland darlin'

These two images were created from Custom Sign Generator. When I have more time, I want to play around with this, using several overlays. Students could become very creative when using these tools for creating a Book Talk , Graphic Novel or with a Power Point presentation. Caution will also be taken when assigning this project,as I can also see this used inappropriately.

Thing #10 Online Image Generator

Thing #10 Online Image Generator
Originally uploaded by dairyland darlin'

Thing #10 Online Image Generator

With the use of Mosiac Maker and Google Images, I was able to create a Mosiac of The Dust Bowl. Normally, this would be a relatively easy task, however, the difficulty occurred after all sixteen spaces were copied and pasted, only to find blank spaces when viewed. Several selected images had not copied, because those people had opted out of Big Huge Labs.com Another problem I faced was trying to adjust the book cover of Out of the Dust, either cutting off the title or the cover appearing too big. I finally settled for a smaller size. There are so many different ways students could use this valuable tool for novel projects. This would also be an excellent way to write a memoir using old family photos:)

Thing # 9 Useful Library Blogs/ News Feeds

I really liked the Topix tool for keeping abreast of local news happenings. I subscribed to Bloglines and have placed many subjects of interest on this site. I especially liked the Annick Livebrary Blog and placed this in my blogline account. I am anxious to try the Do-It-Yourself Video Project from Full Team Ahead with my students.I also liked the Edublog's list of nominees, but was disappointed not to see Mike Falick's blog listed. While visiting this site, I enjoyed viewing the Steampunk movie from Alice and the Podcasts- New York Times information.
The Syndic 8 tool was very confusing to me, so I will need to study this a little more to fully understand its usage for me.

Beach fire

Beach fire
Originally uploaded by borealnz

Hear the Beach Music?

Thing #8 RSS

What I like about RSS is that it is everything the name implies,"Really Simple Syndication". Before learning about this valuable tool, I spent far too many needless hours surfing the web for varying sites, then bookmarking them like crazy! With Google Reader, I can now view new information instantly from all the websites I access on a daily basis. I also loved learning about labeling. Being able to swap genre feeds and using the shortcuts will save me even more time.

I will use this tool in my personal life, as well as at school for students to access feeds to various YA book reviews, or they could provide their own review of a recently read S.S.R. book. This will also be a great way for them to expand their knowledge of news around the world,far beyond their MySpace news:)

Thing # 7 Cool Google Tools

I discovered a whole new world of fun by customizing my iGoogle homepage with You Tube, news feeds, gadgets and Google calendar. It will be great to have all this information at the click of a mouse. I also set up several alerts for NCLB happenings, as well as any new YA Sci-Fi and mystery books approaching the stands. I would like to set up a shared document with fellow colleagues, listing their interesting classroom books. With a sudden interest in the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld and the Rick Riordan Lightning Thief series, many students from other classes would borrow my books for S.S.R. Between Stephanie Meyer's Twilight
series and The Battle of the Labyrinth, I had a waiting list going!

Thing #6 My 15 Minutes of Fame-Thanks, Andy

My creation
Originally uploaded by dairyland darlin'

"Have No Fear ...The Camera's Here"
Every Friday in my Language Arts class we have a "Get Your Shine On" ,where willing students are spotlighted as they share their published piece for the week. This site will be used to share their writings with family and friends in a "Writer of the Week" spot. In the past, I have used Trading Cards with our Trojan War/Greek Mythology unit to help separate the Greeks from the Trojans, along with important facts of each character. It is a great reinforcement tool, as well as a fun way for the students to check their comprehension of what is going on in each chapter .