See you later alligator!

At the very beginning of this assignment I read Vicki Davis’ article about creating blogs. She said there were 2 types of bloggers ~ egotists & conversationalists. I hope I’m the later.

Thing 23: Congratulations!

Well here we are at Thing 23 yet I think this is the hardest one you’ve asked us to do. I’m not one about putting my reflections into words but I will try my best. please bear with me. Before I begin thank you for giving us prompting questions to help guide me yet at the same time dagnab you! lol Please forgive the bullets but I didn’t know how to best put this all into words.

• I would say my favorite discovery of this project was the online image generators & mashups but they’re not a true discovery since I already knew of them.
• The program has affected my lifelong goal of being a learner and actually taking the time to investigate what the internet & technology as a whole has for me. Case in point Prezi’s, various blog searching tools, & RSS Feeds.It also has pushed me into taking the time to reflect what each piece of the project means to me & my usages of it in the class/library.
• It’s surprising one that the  Cool Cat blog is linked to EVERY blog I looked at lol. What an influence this amazing woman has. :o) I am more aware of the fear I had of technology thereby  not using it as much as I could possibly do so. This is surprising as I’m usually sought out for help with technology & thought I had a good handle on it.
• I don’t know how to improve the program differently as with me the goal was accomplished ~ introduce various technologies so a person can indeed see what is out there. Okay, okay truth be told some of the things started to get redundant to me ~ RSS Newsfeeds & blog searching.
• I want to say a giant YES that I’d participate again. However you want honesty correct? I just don’t know if I would if someone did not hold me accountable for it. I mean the premise of the project is a great one & I believe I met it but it also very time consuming. 
• One word to describe this program ~ discovery or discovering because that what the program is about discovering the things you don’t know are out there & further discovering the things you already knew.

 

 

Thing 22: Your Turn

Argh! No I’m not imitating a pirate I’m just at wit’s end. I have no clue what I would add to the list. I found out about some amazing things & I can’t really think what can I do to add to it. I know Thing 5: Social Networking mentions Pinterest but I think someone really investigating it would be a good thing. You are able to connect with so many people, topics, & ideas at the click of a button that it’s amazing. Who knows you could also become a pinterest junkie like some of my teacher & librarian friends. I swear one of my friend’s rooms is ALL pinterest inspired & I do mean ALL. 

See what inspiration you can find on pinterest? You could create your own setting for a school book club.  ;o)

 

Another thing that I would add but is not feasible is to investigate portable devices such as Nooks, Kindles, & IPads. While investigating them you could also look into e-books & school apps that you could use in the library. Getting to know such devices is a good idea especially if your school has them. Again I know it’s not feasible since you can’t ask everyone to go out & buy one. Though who knows maybe if you put it down you might make someone very happy because they could reason with themselves that it’s for a school project. Hmmm. It did work on me when I signed up for Facebook, lol.

 

Thing 20: Recess

Ok so how could I not go back to image generators? Here’s a quick cartoon below to catch those telling little lies about where they’re homework is. The only catch is that they have to know the Pinocchio story to get it. & well it’s my duty as a teacher/librarian to tell it to them if they don’t know it. After all teaching students new things is my job. :o)

I really liked playing around on this site. http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/ It gave me a little creative outlet as I am sure it will the kids. It would be cute to have little comics like this around the library (or your class) that you or the kids made. Each comic could reflect with where in the library you placed it. Dragon comic with fantasy, skunk by abused books, etc.

Thing 20: Recess

Where to play, where to play? I did really want to go back to Prezi to work on polishing up presentations but I knew if I did it now ad mist this course I’d get frustrated since I wouldn’t have the time I wanted to do it. Then I thought ohh I just got Facebook & haven’t really played on it I could do that. Nah, it’d suck me in & I’d probably forget that I was supposed to be working. So….

I went to Live Binders.It was pretty cool & reminded me somewhat of Sqworl where I can organize websites by categories & share them. However the binders give me an extra something where I can also add documents. I know Pasadena is already using these & I can see why. :o) They are invaluable on keeping things together & organized. Also being online makes you not have to curse yourself for leaving your flashdrive elsewhere or not being able to get on the district’s network (i.e. I have to be at school.) to get it.

Thing 21: Online Image Generators

In my Thing 19 Mashups post I mentioned how students could do a trading card on one of their book’s characters based on what they read. I don’t think I need to tell you who this card is based on. lol I used Big Huge Lab to make this. Since I’ve been to Big Huge Labs before I had an idea of the different choices they had for projects. I just played around with various one but I choose this one since I had previously used it before. (Why invent the wheel?) It’s a GREAT resource for a variety of projects you should DEFINITELY check it out:  http://www.bighugelabs.com Enjoy :o)

Thing 19: Mash ups

There are many ways to use Mashups in your classroom & library program especially since it’s very user friendly. Currently in my class we use the Big Huge Labs for a variety of projects (Mosaics, motivators, trading cards, etc.) but one of the main things we use it for are parent gifts. You understand right? I mean what grandparent would not want to have the mosaic picture below? Let me get back on topic though. In the library you could use the mappr feature to highlight where in the world or U.S. a book is set in. This would encourage students who are curious about a particular place to read a book from that area. (We did something similar in my grade level when every time we read a book we would pin on the map where it was set in ~ Alaska, England, Scotland, etc.) I could see using bookr for kids to make their own books & put on display or for quick book reviews. Of course they could take a character from a book & turn it into a trading card based on the characters’ personality. The uses are limitless as long as you use a little imagination. :o) 

Thing 19: Mashups

Blue Bonnets

Thing 17: Ning

I feel as though these Ning’s were like Blogs on steroids.(Future of Education, Teacher Librarian Ning) They’re organized into different sections that appeal to the target audience of that particular Ning & it overwhelmed me. I saw things from articles to blogs to feeds/tweets. When I opened Ning for Teachers  I thought I had the wrong link because the first thing you saw were resources teachers could use in their classroom. 

When I first read what a Ning was & the 7 Things I Need to Know about Ning’s article I thought oh cool I see so many uses for this technology in my class. I thought it is like a chatroom setting for a project or forum for students to go to discuss however you don’t need an invitation to join. This setting could allow teachers to come in & voice their thoughts in a secure setting that no one could misconstrue as anything except staying on track with the topic. It also could allow other individuals from across the world to come in & add to the topic. This would give students an extra bonus for hearing what someone else thinks outside their class or school setting. Before using Nings a protocol would have to be set about the behaviors in a Ning. 

Thing 15: Bluebonnets

Soooo I’m thinking you have to take my word for it but WordPress requires me to upgrade i.e. pay $$ for me to embed any videos I’ve created. Sorry I’m cheap & don’t want to pay $99 for the year just so I can upload Thing 15 to this blog. However this does explain why it hasn’t let me embed or post all the other slideshows & Shelfari. :o) I don’t feel so dumb any more just cheap. This is one of the pictures that is in my Photostory.

 

Thing 16: Video Sharing

I liked the TeacherTube because it gave you educational related videos without having to weed through any hoaxes or “pretend” videos. You could also use it with a clear a conscience that nothing inappropriate will pop up. Having video access in the school setting is very valuable and not just because you can watch a Magic School Bus video on a rainy day. It allows us to find real life examples of things being put to use. It also can explain things better than we can sometimes. For example I could show kids pictures all day long of a sailfish swimming in the ocean but it doesn’t even begin to compare with showing  the students a video of the sailfish swimming through a school of fish. Being able to have immediate access is great because sometimes the idea of showing students a swimming sailfish happens after you’ve planned your lesson. Having to wait to get a video on it (if it’s even available or your school has it) lets that teachable moment slip away. 

Thing 16: Video Sharing

Why Does the World Need Librarians?

Rah, Rah for Librarians!! Doesn’t this video sum up the awesomeness of librarians? Now if I could just play that clip for everyone who asks “Will we still have librarians with ebooks & the internet around?” 

Thing 15: Podcast & Vid Cast

I liked using this program it was so simple to use that I felt as though I was in an editing room on a big movie set, lol. Thank you by the way for linking the tutorial video up that helped a bunch. At the end of the year we always have a faculty slideshow & now I know their secret to creating a seamless video…Photostory! This would be cool to use in the classroom for numerous things: book reviews, tutorials, slideshows, tours of the campus, etc. Cross your fingers the video links up. We all know how much WordPress hates me & well any links. Next time I make a blog it will not be through WordPress.  

Thing 14: More Online Applications & Tools

http://prezi.com/qa16nibivx7p/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

Who would of known this was one of our 23 Things?!? I’ve used it twice thus far on presentations for class & it does give a nice streamline when presenting & its nice to be able to have it online in case you forget your flashdrive at home. (I promise this hasn’t happened to me as I’m always in such a panic to make sure I have it that I check a 1,000 times before I live, on the way there, & once I get there.) I definitely plan to go back to this after class is over because I want to figure out the different features so I can make them more engaging. Also so I won’t get as frustrated using it when I insert my powerpoint into it & I have to move things around.

 

Thing 13: Online Applications & Tools

When I went to Google Docs it was already open to my husband’s account so I just played around under his name. Funny he had no clue he even had an account OR that people had shared a document with him from 5 years ago lol. This reminds me of Prezi (my new presentation go to system) where I can begin a document or presentation & send it to someone else to review simultaneously. I explained to my husband how it worked since he often reviews articles & emails them back & forth to people. (& well I was also under his name) In his documents under Microsoft Word there is a place where you can add comments & such but I would think this would be easier to use since you can get the more recent copy sooner than by email. 

I’ll have to play around with it more but I could see using this to share documents ~ articles, newsletters, etc. with colleagues or in one of our courses for each of us to review. It’d be cool to use since again you can share comments & see the most up-to-date version without the hassle of emails back & forth. All those emails can get on my nerves as I’m sure you know. You have to also think that you must first open the email then the document only to see 1  copy of the article & have to review everyone’s revisions & put it into 1 document BEFORE you can even read it to make your own revisions. Needless to say this can get tedious & frustrating.Students could also use it in similar fashion since sometimes they aren’t able to get together due to time or distance. 

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Sorry this is what I think of when I hear “tweet”. Needless to say this song is in my head quite often. ;o)

Thing 12: Microblogging

When I told my husband that I had to sign up for a Twitter account for Thing 12 he got excited. No it wasn’t because tweeting could help me in the library it was so he could send mean tweets to celebrities & hopefully end up Jimmy Kemmel Celebrities Read Mean Tweets on yet it’d all be under my name. Isn’t he such a sweetie? lol

Tweeting wasn’t so bad. It reminded me of a combo of Facebook & texting all in one. Many times during the day my grade level team will group text with questions, thoughts, etc. so it seems that we are all holding a conversation. Of course there’s the problem of texts coming in at different times so text B would come before text A & all would be confused. Tweeting has the same aspect of tweets coming in at different times like this. The whole idea being similar to Facebook is because everyone I know posts EVERYTHING on Facebook & that’s how they keep up-to-date on things. However they have to take time to post going minutes, hours, or days between posts whereas Tweets are immediate. Tweets can have spaces between time as well.

I don’t think I’ll go back on anytime soon because it could be easy to get sucked in. When or if I did I definitely would use it to stay current on things. I could see using tweeting in the library to keep students or patrons up-to-date on things going on in the library. (new books, events, etc.) I saw that the Manchester Library even used theirs as a way for people to see if a book was in or not.

Thing 18: Shelfari

http://www.shelfari.com/o1514703495

Sorry you miss seeing the cute little bookcase I built & all the cool books I had. I’ll have to give you this clipart so you can imagine.

Thing 18: Shelfari

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! It reminds me of Good Reads where people are able to comment and recommend books to one another. I just spent 20 minutes on this site just exploring & had to pull myself away before I got sucked in. I loved the book covers & just adding, adding, adding books I’ve read & plan to read. I will warn you though I didn’t put all the books I’ve read recently on the shelf.  ;o) Shhh! I’ve never read a romance novel before 2 weeks ago needless to say the 4 I’ve read is not on the shelf. Cross your fingers the link works….

Thing 11: Playing in the Sandbox

This is what I was hoping Playing in the Sandbox would be like as you know I was wrong. Oh well looks like Piper gets to be the one who feels the sand between her fingers. After FINALLY being able to get on the site I see it’s a way to communicate & collaborate for learning purposes. The group I was a part of was the Pasadena ISD Librarians so of course all the information pertained to them. I did get very exited to see a wiki about Apps for Kindles thinking yes they’ll tell me some I can download for myself! HUGE disappointment when it was only a sign-up sheet someone had created for others to put in the free apps they had found. Similar to Eddie I was in shock when I saw that there was over 533 forums & thought do we have to read all of these?!? Poor Eddie I thought he was going to die until we found out it’s a culmination of all forums that has ever been on there. & no we didn’t need to read them all.