As I was entering a few books from my personal collection, I began thinking of more and more books I've read. It could take a lot of time to enter them all. I've considered cataloging my library before, but I'll probably never take the time. Most of the books in it are books I really love but won't have time to read again. So why keep them? I like the way they look! I share the children's books in my collection with my nephew as he gets old enough for them.
Library Thing suggests many ways it can be used with your library, book clubs, groups, etc. I found it interesting to peer into other people's libraries, but it would be better if I knew the person. This could be a fun way to share book suggestions with other teachers. Maybe there's a way to set up recommended books for certain topics. I just thought of that, so I'd have to spend some time to figure out whether or not that's possible.
Reading suggestions based on one's personal library sounds like a great feature. I only have sixteen titles in there right now, so my recommendations for further reading might not be very accurate, but with more input from the user, it's probably a terrific tool.
I'm going to try to add some books to the side of my blog, but I will probably need help. I copied the code, I'm just not sure where I should paste it! Ooh, it took a few tries, but I did it!!!
Click here for a very small portion of My Library.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thing #10 - Online Image Generators
Sites Used:
Online image generators are a tool I wish I'd known about sooner. They're a ton of fun and are useful for promotional materials in the form of posters, signs, newsletters, additions to blogs, library aide party invitations, birthday cards, and just about anything else you want to make appealing to students. Many students are probably already using them for MySpace, Facebook, their personal websites, and more.
I wasn't able to get the Smiley generator to work. After several unsuccessful attempts, I had to move on. I'll probably try it again later because I love Smileys!
Another thing I obviously need more practice with is aligning things the way I want them to appear. I think I could do that after brushing up on HTML code. I messed around with tweaking the code, but never could get it 100% like I wanted it. As with all things technology related, practice improves speed and competence. It's been a bit too long since I wrote code from scratch. I have tried every way I can think of to add space after my links. There is obviously a minor problem in the code, but I can't find it. My perfectionistic side is bugging me to keep trying, but my practical side (the one I'm trying to cultivate in order to maintain sanity) says enough of this already! GO TO BED! So off I go.
Thing #9 - Finding Feeds
This was the most difficult thing for me so far. One could spend every waking hour surfing through mountains of web content and gain very little, if anything, from the time spent. Maybe I haven't really figured out what I'm doing yet, but I had a lot of trouble finding blogs dedicated to things that really interest me. I found most of my good blog sites with RSS feeds through other blogs that mentioned them.
A search for "Elvis" on Google Blog search yielded 12,201,422 results. The same search on Syndic8 garnered 39, though I realize I'm not comparing apples to apples. I don't really understand Technorati at this point, but I've spent several hours pouring over the links for this "thing" and I really can't spare anymore time right now.
My search on Topix.net proved a bit confusing and scary. I got some results, but in the process, had to endure the rantings of a misinformed, narcissistic, self-titled atheist, who labeled all Christians "liars" and quoted Biblical scriptures out of context. The scary part about all of this is that our students are so vulnerable and absolutely anyone has the power to sound authoritative and be horrifically influential, with potentially disastrous results. With all of the test driven, mandated curriculum, how do we have adequate time and opportunity to teach our students (and children) enough to help them become intelligent Web users? Okay, so I got a little off the subject, but the more I explore, the more I realize what a huge concern this is.
I now have seven RSS feeds in my iGoogle page. I added a couple of technology blogs that I found through this search. I will try to remember to check them for several days so I can figure out how many I can actually keep up with. I guess the Google Blog Search was the easiest, but I didn't find any of them terribly user friendly.
A search for "Elvis" on Google Blog search yielded 12,201,422 results. The same search on Syndic8 garnered 39, though I realize I'm not comparing apples to apples. I don't really understand Technorati at this point, but I've spent several hours pouring over the links for this "thing" and I really can't spare anymore time right now.
My search on Topix.net proved a bit confusing and scary. I got some results, but in the process, had to endure the rantings of a misinformed, narcissistic, self-titled atheist, who labeled all Christians "liars" and quoted Biblical scriptures out of context. The scary part about all of this is that our students are so vulnerable and absolutely anyone has the power to sound authoritative and be horrifically influential, with potentially disastrous results. With all of the test driven, mandated curriculum, how do we have adequate time and opportunity to teach our students (and children) enough to help them become intelligent Web users? Okay, so I got a little off the subject, but the more I explore, the more I realize what a huge concern this is.
I now have seven RSS feeds in my iGoogle page. I added a couple of technology blogs that I found through this search. I will try to remember to check them for several days so I can figure out how many I can actually keep up with. I guess the Google Blog Search was the easiest, but I didn't find any of them terribly user friendly.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thing #8 - RSS
I like the fact that I can receive updates to Mary's posts on Bloglines, because I NEVER remember to check it or how to get into it. I realize I will still have to remember to check it, but now the headlines are right on my iGoogle page. Granted, it would be much better if I could access that page at work without getting through several filters. I set up four library blogs and one Elvis news blog that will keep me informed about upcoming Elvis week events. The most difficult part of the whole thing was finding sites I check regularly that had RSS feeds. Most did not. Even though this post is short, the preparation took several hours!
I don't think this is very usable in elementary school because of the filters. Someone mentioned using it for news in a civics class, (sorry I can't remember who) and I thought that was a great idea if the filter is not an issue. Otherwise, I think the best use for RSS feeds is to keep up with professional information and subjects of personal interest.
Libraries can set up RSS feeds to keep patrons updated on special events, new releases, etc. I checked the Nicholson Memorial Library System but was disappointed to find that they didn't have a feed.
I don't think this is very usable in elementary school because of the filters. Someone mentioned using it for news in a civics class, (sorry I can't remember who) and I thought that was a great idea if the filter is not an issue. Otherwise, I think the best use for RSS feeds is to keep up with professional information and subjects of personal interest.
Libraries can set up RSS feeds to keep patrons updated on special events, new releases, etc. I checked the Nicholson Memorial Library System but was disappointed to find that they didn't have a feed.
Thing #7 - Google Tools
I've spent entirely too much time on the Google tools, which is a problem inherent in attempting to keep up with things. As several people have mentioned in their blogs, Google is very frustrating to use at work and has virtually (ha, ha) no application at the elementary level because of the filter. The tools are interesting and might be helpful at home in keeping up with things. For example, I designed an iGoogle home page for use on my home computer. It's wonderful that you can put any number of items useful to you on your homepage, as opposed to choosing a specific homepage (mine is Fidelity Investments) and creating bookmarks for things you frequently check. Of course, sorting through all of the available choices, especially tool bar buttons, was overwhelming. I wanted to add financial buttons, but by the time I got to the third page of options, I decided I was wasting valuable time. I wasn't able to link my page, but I didn't think I could because it requires my log-in. I know I could do a snapshot of it and add it as a jpeg. I'll do that later if I have time, but don't count on it.
Here's what's on my page. I added a mapping tool because I get lost easily and frequently create maps; a Bible verse of the day to remind me that there is much beyond this frenzied world of Web 2.0 and TAKS; an Einstein quote of the day so I'll feel linked to geniousness (is that a word?); notable quotes of the day because I love it when words are put together in such a way that they cause reflection and spur motivational thinking; the date, to remind me that time on this earth is short and I should make the most of it; a gadget that counts down to summer vacation, because even though that represents days of my life that I cannot recoup, there is always something to look forward to; a movie schedule, because that saves time spent checking each theater individually; World's Healthiest Foods, to keep me motivated and give me good ideas; a dictionary; a thesaurus; How Stuff Works daily feed, because I'm always curious about something; top YouTube videos just in case I see something interesting, Funny Cat Pictures because I love cats; and top news stories because I generally don't watch the news (I've read it will shorten your life and it's mostly depressing). Posted today on the How Stuff Works daily feed was "How Web 2.0 Works." Now how's that for relevance?
I explored all of the tools in way too much depth if I'm ever to finish this project, but the other one I immediately put into use was the Google Alert. Though my alert isn't school related, it could be a useful tool for keeping up with absolutely anything.
The tool I will eventually take more time to explore later is the Notebook. I set it up, but I absolutely have to move on. I think it's something I would use a lot for both personal and educational purposes, though it obviously works best from home. But who am I kidding? I don't have much time to research anything on the Web during school hours anyway, even when it's for students! I generally do it at home where I have peace and quiet.
Here's what's on my page. I added a mapping tool because I get lost easily and frequently create maps; a Bible verse of the day to remind me that there is much beyond this frenzied world of Web 2.0 and TAKS; an Einstein quote of the day so I'll feel linked to geniousness (is that a word?); notable quotes of the day because I love it when words are put together in such a way that they cause reflection and spur motivational thinking; the date, to remind me that time on this earth is short and I should make the most of it; a gadget that counts down to summer vacation, because even though that represents days of my life that I cannot recoup, there is always something to look forward to; a movie schedule, because that saves time spent checking each theater individually; World's Healthiest Foods, to keep me motivated and give me good ideas; a dictionary; a thesaurus; How Stuff Works daily feed, because I'm always curious about something; top YouTube videos just in case I see something interesting, Funny Cat Pictures because I love cats; and top news stories because I generally don't watch the news (I've read it will shorten your life and it's mostly depressing). Posted today on the How Stuff Works daily feed was "How Web 2.0 Works." Now how's that for relevance?
I explored all of the tools in way too much depth if I'm ever to finish this project, but the other one I immediately put into use was the Google Alert. Though my alert isn't school related, it could be a useful tool for keeping up with absolutely anything.
The tool I will eventually take more time to explore later is the Notebook. I set it up, but I absolutely have to move on. I think it's something I would use a lot for both personal and educational purposes, though it obviously works best from home. But who am I kidding? I don't have much time to research anything on the Web during school hours anyway, even when it's for students! I generally do it at home where I have peace and quiet.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thing #6 Mashups
Wow! The Wikipedia article describing mashups required some techno lingo knowledge. Parts of it sounded like another language. I got the gist of it, however, and explored almost all of the Flikr mashup tools. Rather than concentrate on one of them, I'm making comments about several that I particularly liked for library/student/classroom use.
Students studying United States landmarks and monuments would benefit greatly from seeing and/or placing the sites in the appropriate places on a map. I need to play with this more to figure out the best way to apply this, but there are a number of uses for it throughout the curriculum, if I understand it correctly.
Trip Planner could be very useful as a highly motivational techno tool to produce an end product for a countries research unit. Students can leave feedback about other students' trips, and teachers can post comments to help students learn or correct simple mistakes (such as noting that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is not in the U.S., as one of our sixth graders stated in his presentation).
One of my favorites, Flikr Color Picker, makes it incredibly easy to find gorgeous photos for each of the colors studied in kindergarten. Locating and printing the pictures ahead of time to use with the lessons is one way to benefit from this tool, but adventurous librarians and teachers might want to consider using this with laptops or in the lab and letting the students choose colors from which to generate the pics. My experiments didn't pull up any questionable photos, but that is something to delve into a bit further before trying it with a class. I have no doubt there are filter issues with Flikr at the elementary level, though I haven't tried it yet.
Using Motivator, Magazine Cover, Movie Poster, Captioner, and Billboard to design promotional materials for the library featuring books and students would definitely capture student interest and generate excitement.
Students studying United States landmarks and monuments would benefit greatly from seeing and/or placing the sites in the appropriate places on a map. I need to play with this more to figure out the best way to apply this, but there are a number of uses for it throughout the curriculum, if I understand it correctly.
Trip Planner could be very useful as a highly motivational techno tool to produce an end product for a countries research unit. Students can leave feedback about other students' trips, and teachers can post comments to help students learn or correct simple mistakes (such as noting that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is not in the U.S., as one of our sixth graders stated in his presentation).
One of my favorites, Flikr Color Picker, makes it incredibly easy to find gorgeous photos for each of the colors studied in kindergarten. Locating and printing the pictures ahead of time to use with the lessons is one way to benefit from this tool, but adventurous librarians and teachers might want to consider using this with laptops or in the lab and letting the students choose colors from which to generate the pics. My experiments didn't pull up any questionable photos, but that is something to delve into a bit further before trying it with a class. I have no doubt there are filter issues with Flikr at the elementary level, though I haven't tried it yet.
Using Motivator, Magazine Cover, Movie Poster, Captioner, and Billboard to design promotional materials for the library featuring books and students would definitely capture student interest and generate excitement.
Thing #5 Flckr
Flckr is awesome! Maybe I'll finally get my photos organized so I can share them! The downside to this concept is that those unfortunate people (such as my mother) still using dial-up connections can't really enjoy Flikr to the fullest extent because of the slow connection speed. Other than that, what a great concept! I've just skimmed the surface and I'm hooked. I love the applications that work with it to create all kinds of items. Some of the tools would work great for advertising and promoting students and the library program.
As some of you know, I'm an Elvis fan. This photo was taken at the 30th year anniversary celebration "Elvis Tribute Artist" contest in Memphis last August. It was a fantastic experience. The contestant pictured here placed 3rd, behind two other incredible ETAs. He placed 2nd on the summer '07 TV show "The Next Best Thing."
I've noticed that the district filter blocks my Flikr picture unless it is overridden. I thought I read somewhere yesterday that the site was being allowed now.
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