Week 4:8 RSS Feeds

After watching four of the listed videos about RSS feeds, I proceeded to set up a Google Reader account.  Using the search term, "books," I subscribed to four feeds:  NPR Topics: Books, NPR:Books:Podcasts, Reader's Club: Mysteries and Unshelved (for comic relief).  I al initially subscribed to 100-Must Read Books but it turned out to be linked to a blog entitled, "The Art of Manliness," which discussed such topics as, The Man's Guide to the Perfect Marriage Proposal," "Lessons on Manliness: Knute Rockne," "When Is It Okay for a Man to Cry?"..etc.  Interesting but I didn't see the book tie-in.

When I clicked on the "San Jose Mercury News Feeds," all the links were 2.0 participants from California which confused me as I was expecting news topics.

I had heard about RSS feeds but I thought that my email would end up being flooded with messages.  However, since one has to login to his/her reader account, there is some control.

Week 3:7 Technology Blog Post

Technology thoughts:  I am looking forward to learning to use my new digital camera in this class; who knows, maybe I'll even use my cell phone camera.   

So far these assignments have given me a great deal of empathy with students who have given up on a subject or a task.   I tend to think that students don't try hard enough when they earn those Ds and Fs but I can see why it also might be due to an aggregate of simply not succeeding well enough to choose to put in the time.  Sometimes it is simply easier and less frustrating to give up or to do the bare minimum.  (If you put in the time and are not going to be rewarding accordingly, why bother?)

However, as technology transforms education, students will be given new venues of success and, hopefully, it will entice learning.  This class is important for two reasons:  1) to teach the teachers this 2.0 technology which will truly revolutionize education and 2) a trainer once told me that teachers need to occasionally take a class outside of their expertise and/or comfort zone so that they can feel how some students feel in their classroom.  I'm certainly feeling it with this class!  

Week 3:6 Trading card

WOW, I can't believe that this actually loaded even though the image is poor.  I can see many uses for "trading cards" at school:  book blurbs for new books on a bulletin board, book club member cards, junior high 'book reports,'  library aide introductions  on my future school library wiki, student "I'm a Reader" cards for Teen Read week posted on a bulletin board, cards featuring titles for Banned Book week (with the title, "Have you Read a Banned Book)....

Week3:6 Flickr Fun

I looked at the following Flickr applications:  Flickr Colorpick, Flickr Montagr, Flickr Compfight.com, Flickr Pictobrowser, Flickr Postcard Browser (nice result using search term, "reading manga"), Flickr Chia Pet and The Internet Inferno.  The Internet Inferno sounded interesting...it described itself as follows:  "...as you scroll down, you visit the levels of purgatory described by Dante.  Each level shows 10 random Flickr photos which have the same keyword as the level you're in (i.e. gluttony).  When you finally reach the bottom, you see Satan."  What I learned is that people for the most part do a lousy job of tagging their photos. 

Week 3:5 Part 2 FlickrStorm

I attempted to use FlickrStorm to select various photos of "ravens" (available under Creative Commons in Flickr) to add to this blog as a slideshow.  The raven is the mascot of the high school portion of my school.  It doesn't look like it worked so I will try to add from a saved file on my desktop.....No, it didn't load from my desktop either.    Here I am again attempting to load this on July 16.   Let's see what happens http://www.zoo-m.com/flickr-storm/set/647e8144beb5d7c37f777a3548c66a14bebcbbff
Ok, that didn't work, let's try this: file:///Users/carolharris/Desktop/FlickrStorm:%20Photo%20Set.webarchive

Week 3:5 Explore Flickr

Books are love!
Originally uploaded by janetmck

Is this how to make reading sexy? I found several interesting photos I could have added to the blog under the subject of "books." I enjoyed reading the comments under the photos, the profiles of the photographers and glimpsing at other photos in their "photostreams." I also discovered how to use the "favorites" feature and to view them as a group whenever I want. I also discovered that photographers respond very quickly and nicely when you ask permission to use their photos in your blog.

However, I do feel like a rank beginner because I seem to need further steps which are missing from the instructions.

Week 2:3 Avatar

I like the idea of using avatars rather than photos. An avatar can be an visual representation of your real personality (after all, my photo would just show an overweight, old person). Teens are probably the most insecure people on earth so using avatars to represent themselves could be quite revealing."
July 16, 08: I tried changing my avatra to an animated head shot but it doesn't seem to be exporting that way.

Week 1:2 Goals/Success Habits

My goal is to utilize what I will learn in the "23 things" to create a dynamic wiki as a school library web page.  

The easiest habit among the 7 1/2 Habits I viewed is #2: "Accept responsibility for your own learning."  The hardest would be #7 1/2: "Play."  However, I just stopped painting an outdoor shed in order to get down to brass tacks and start this class.  Painting is a form of play for me, I adore it and have painted every room of my huge house and several rooms of my friends so putting down a paintbrush is not easy for me to do....

I am concerned that I will get stuck as the instructions on "creating a blog" could have used a few more steps.  I (and all of you) will see how successful I have been.