Week 9:23 Evaluation

Wow.  Dunzo (I think).  This was a great introduction to the web 2.0 tools.  Thank you Katie and Ann for getting the class in place and mentoring us !!!!!  I'd like to look again at some of the lessons and I have a list of web sites noted from the lessons and the text that I'd like to explore.  I loved the text and have read several chapters.  My head is overly full at the moment.

*  I would suggest that future students  be encouraged to "buddy-up;"  I think all of us had a least one lesson (or two) that was a struggle.  Having a specific partner to work things out with would help.   Another suggestion would be to put a voluntary meeting in place where people could come and go over sticky points or "show off" something they have discovered.  Reading blog posts often show the results but not how a person got to the results.  Perhaps an online chat would be useful.

*  Can the blog list of participants be alphabetized?  Also, could the first assignment to set up a blog include filing out the "description" and "profile?"  It would help us get to know each other better.

Thanks again.  I'm still hoping to create a school library wiki that incorporates some of these tools.  

Chapter 5: Professional Development

Sometimes my brain struggles when the authors describe the future they write about; however, they do such a good job at describing the dismal state of current professional development that I am inclined to believe the future the present.   

Teachers hate professional development; even if a session is interesting, there is no follow up for implementation.   Teachers basically have to spend their own money and their own time trying to upgrade their skills and rework their lessons --all while working.  A trainer years ago said that she felt sorry for teachers as they were one of the few professions where continuing education was on their own time and own dime.  Having professional, non-teacher friends, I see how true that is.  

No wonder some teachers are resistant to change.  Another problem is those well-meaning teachers who try and  add web 2.0 requirements to their assignments without having competency themselves and without examining how web 2.0 impacts the teaching and learning in their classrooms and without allowing for the social network collaboration which is the crux of web 2.0.

Instead of Business Ed. classes, there should be web 2.0 classes for students.  We shouldn't assume that they are digital natives just because they are teenagers.  For years I have felt that computer classes should have included internet research classes that would cover not only the various databases but how to use google effectively.  We've turned students lose on computers and missed an opportunity to really educate them on the web.

Chapter 9: New Schools

This chapter reiterates the importance of transforming education to meet the 21st century needs and states that unless we close the gap between what is and what should be, "while a few will accomplish so much, many will accomplish little, and the window for imagination and boldness will be lost."  This quote spoke to me as, frankly, I thrived under the old educational system of memorization and the accumulation of knowledge.  Yet, I realize that a lot of my peers did not fair nearly as well and I wonder how many failed and were left behind.

This chapter also has an article by David Warlick entitled, "Learning From Games."  In looking beyond the games themselves to the experience of gaming, he articulates the attributes that assist learning .  Never having played a game myself, this was a very interesting article to read.

This chapter also posits the idea that if Amazon can provide book recommendations based on an individual's purchases, why can't an education program do the same with educational avenues based on student achievement and interests.  

Chapter 7: Online Safety and Security

The best thing about this chapter  is the number of web sites mentioned that will help teachers not only understand copyright and blog & wiki issues, but allow them to use specific sites designed for classroom use.

It is obvious that adults view the internet more as a tool while teens view the internet as a place to hang out with their peers--and while they "may" understand copyright in principle, they don't let the rules stand in their way.

I was also left wondering if our district's AUP has been undated to take in these web 2.0 tools.

Chapter 1:New World, New Web, New Skills

"Today's education system faces irrelevance unless we bridge the gap between how students live and how they learn."  Web 2.0 tools have the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning in order to better educate students for a 21st century, global society.  These tools will allow more creativity and collaboration and  students can be more responsible for their learning choices.    However, for that to happen will take a revolution; and  I am pessimistic for the following reason:

1)  No matter what studies have shown time and time again, our school system is entrenched in out-modeled ways:  schools still close for 10 weeks in summer so that students can help on the family farm, educational testing and labeling is legislated to the degree that standardized tests are driving the teaching/learning in schools--and in the admission to higher education.   No matter how many studies show that teenagers need more sleep and would benefit from later start times, it hasn't happened.

2) The digital divide is too large: between states, between districts, between schools and between students (and between teachers for that matter--classroom technology is inequitable except perhaps at brand new schools).

3) I read somewhere that an incredible number of teachers  are soon to retire and the worry is that there will be a huge shortage of teachers.  This might actually be the saving grace.  New teachers who are already required to demonstrate 2.0 skills in their teaching methodologies will be the ones who transform education in the classroom.   Web 2.0 in education may actually attract more people to the field of teaching....but it is the school boards and administrators who first must embrace this new future and who must not only "talk the talk" actually walk in the 2.0 world..

Unless this educational revolution happens, more and more students, parents and communities will turn away from public education.   

Week 9:22 eBooks and Audio eBooks

Sorry, I was not impressed; although, I did like the "Best Places to Get Free Books" site.   I got hits when I used the World EBook Fair site and the LibriVox site but after waiting 5 minutes for files to load (on an upgraded broadband connection) I gave up.  Students wouldn't have lasted that long and at school the connection is so poor during peak hours it would be impossible to use.

Originally I thought either of these sites could help when teachers don't have enough sets of classic titles required in the curriculum (or that they could help a student who has lost or misplaced a text) but the obvious download problem makes it unusable.  I would definitely not consider demonstrating either site at a staff meeting and I'd warn English teachers in advance that using either site requires a lot of patience.

Week 9:21 Podcasts

I have been fascinated with the concept of using podcasts for a couple of years. In exploring the EPN (Education Podcast Network), I quickly discovered a couple of types of podcasts that can be used as examples for my school.

One is a 5-part student-produced series discussing The Great Gatsby in the context of the Roaring 20s. Since The Great Gatsby is read by 10th graders, something like this would be a better end product than the standard analytical paper they now individually produce. The classes already use library books to get a feel of the 1920s but this web 2.0 combining aspects of the book and the time period is a much better way to engage students.

Another is a podcast posted on the Hopkinton NH High School library site. Weekly podcasts booktalk the titles nominated for a particular teen read award. In the process of accessing this site, I couldn't help but notice that the school library web site was wonderful. It can be found at:http://www.hopkintonschools.org/hhs/library/index.html

Week 9:20 TeacherTube

The YouTube link for "Jack O'Connell Goes Back to School" is incorrect--it currently links to a 35 second clip of two students playing Tin Whistles. The real clip has some great school success tips at the end and is worth seeing.

Students are so visual, original or YouTubed videos would be a nice addition to a library blog or wiki site. The only caveat is to have the clips be short.

I loved "The Librarian Song" and so here it is:

Books are love!

Books are love!
Originally uploaded by janetmck

I am trying to get my Week 3:5 Flickr photo assignment to post. Let's see what happens.... I had originally entitled the photo, "Is this a way to make reading sexy?"

The only way I could redo my original posting was to create a new post, copy it then open the old post and paste the new HTML text (then delete the 2nd version leaving the 1st one).

Week 8:19.1 Digital Pipeline

The tutorials were great: short and sweet. In addition to collaborating with the English Dept. to have students view them, I will make sure they are a part of the library curriculum for my library aides. The "Narrowing Your Search" tutorial on using the "limiters" was very useful and students will like the Citation Format options since the English Dept. uses the MLA format.

In advanced search, I had always used "Alaska" as a subject search term and was interested to see the tutorial used it as a geographic search term. So I did some searches to see if it made a difference. It did but not to the degree that it made a big difference.

I created an Ebsco Account for my library topic searches and set up a RSS feed for alerts on wikis. One of the articles I saved was on using wikis to replace textbooks. I found this interesting as both parents and students complain about those "30 lb bookbags" that students have to lug home.

I watched the Flash Movie and on my computer there was no sound. Is this right? Lack of sound made the movie endless and boring. It took me a while to find out that when I was clicking on the next arrow, it was advancing to the next topic rather than just to the next screen. Oops. The changes look wonderful but I won't be using the Flash Movie as a tutorial with students unless there is sound.

Week 8:19 LibraryThing

What a great way to develop an online library catalog.  This would be great for those very rural libraries in the state.  It would also be wonderful for a book club to use.  

I discovered that you don't have to eliminate "The" in the title before search and that you can use partial titles.  However, when I searched "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown, I ended up with not only that title but hundreds of titles that somehow related to the subject of angels and/or demons.

My personal book catalog is as follows: 

Week 8:18 Online Applications

I created my Zoho Writer account and, oddly enough, my standard and alternate user names were taken.  Another user name/password to keep track of..I need to open a spreadsheet document and start keeping a list.

I began creating  a FAQ document for my future school library wiki page.    Unfortunately, it saved as an untitled document first and I tried saving it multiple times as "FAQ" without success.  Then I tried deleting the untitled document so I could rewrite and save it as a named document but it wouldn't delete.   Once I fix this, I'll post it to my blog so that others can add questions that would address student needs.  At 57 and as a life-long library user, it is hard to think how a newbie school library user (and a teenager) would think.

I also signed up for a "30 boxes" calendar account but my email confirmation hasn't arrived...and it has been over an hour so I fear something is amiss there.  {{{sigh}}}  I would like to create an online calendar for the library in terms of classes booked and in terms of perhaps mini- after school demonstrations of some of the web 2.0 tools.

Week 7:17 Learning 2.0 SandBox

I had joined "wikispaces" months ago with the idea of creating a library wiki.  However, at that time the tutorials on the site were so vague that when I ran into problems, I had no recourse (I followed the FAQ answer to my problem but it didn't fix it).  I hope that I will now be able to be successful.  Having said that, the "Wikispaces TeacherTube Tutorial" was terrible.  The voice was way too soft and monotone and I only watched half of it.  The PB tutorials were great and I wonder how many in our district use that instead of wikispaces.

I added to the Learning 2.0 SandBox under "Blogging & Avatars," "Photos & Images," and "Wikis"

6:16 Wikis

Having struggled with HMTL and web page design, the easiness of wikis is a huge selling point.  I also like the dynamic feel of wikis.  Although there is naturally a concern over wikis being corrupted by poor or biased entries, the idea of using the power of a collective intelligence is appealing.  While it may be hard to give up control, in this day and age why try to "do it all by yourself?"

One of my favorite school wikis that I discovered last year is from East Anchorage High School and is located at:  http://easthighlibrary.wikispaces.com.  I like the box of alphabetical subject web links and have, on paper, designed my future school library wiki based on this one.

The "Sample Literary Circle Wiki" is a great example of a classroom wiki.  I hope that more teachers will come to use wikis.

Week 6:15 Library 2.0

I loved Rick Anderson's article, "Away From the "Icebergs."  He is dead on in relating the three icebergs that are looming to sink libraries.   The web has freed my small library budget from having to buy an ongoing series of expensive reference books and having to subscribe to a large number of magazines in order to build a comprehensive collection and try and meet real and potential information needs.   I agree wholeheartedly that search engines (databases) must be usable by patrons without comprehensive training.   Making the next step of placing more library services on the web and comprehensively integrating library services with patrons' needs at work, study and play.   It is interesting to have obtained a library degree 32 years ago and to be experiencing Library 2.0.  

Dr. Wendy Schultz's article, "To A Temporary Place in Time," describes libraries 1.0 (books warehoused), 2.0 (digital catalogs and downloads), 3.0 (3-D libraries--book avatars, anyone?) and 4.0 (real and virtual mind gyms, idea labs, art salons, holographic information theatres). Whew!  I have never been able to imagine the future but it is nice to glimpse it through the eyes of library futurists.  

I am not sure about the picture being visualized by "Where Will the Next Generation Web Take Libraries?"  The author states, "you and your mobile and non-movile devices--PDA, MP3, laptop, cell phone, camera, PC, TV, etc--are always online, connected to one another and to the Web."  I like my unconnected time.  :->

Week 6:14 Technorati and Tags

I recall an earlier posting where I said that Technorati was the least easiest site to use re: tagging. Since the tutorial I watched didn't match the site exactly in terms of searching on blogs, tags and the blog directory (and adding 'my favorites' as the video instructed), I need to spend more time exploring this site. However, searching for "School Library Learning 2.0" resulted in 2 hits in tags, 15 in blog posts and 282 in the blog directory.

I am still thinking that tags are problematic...kind of a "anything goes" which may seem easy but may result in unhelpful hits (or too many hits)

One thing I did not like about Technorati was all the ads including a flashing window announcing that I was the millionth user and could claim a new laptop.

Week 6:13 Del.icio.us

I viewed the del.icio.us tutorial as suggested but found related tutorials on YouTube that I liked better.  I then spent a couple of hours using del.icio.us, establishing my account and going through 35 screens (out of 95 screens) on SJLibaryLearning 2.0.  I also searched using tags....I ended up with 20 items in my personal account utilizing 24 tags.  All dealt with professional topics: library 2.0, web 2.0, books, reading, research, professional opinions, tutorials and webinars.  I look forward to examining the sites I saved at a future time.  Delicio.us is something that I had heard about but had not taken the time to set up and use.  It is truly very easy and is a wonderful way to organize bookmarks and make them accessible.

I've taken spring semester off school but I recall that our building technology person was setting up a teacher del.icio.us account to add helpful websites for the staff.  Certainly this has applications also with setting up an account for student research sites.

Week 5:12 Voice Thread

I watched several of the Voice Thread tutorials, it is so easy....one just needs to have time to set something up.  It could be used for a book club... members could comment in general terms about the book being read (like/dislike/etc.).  It also might be useful as a "virtual library suggestion box" or as a virtual survey about various school matters. 

 I will be the new VP of our school's PTSA in the fall and establishing a blog and using Voice Thread might be a good way to share information and to gather opinions as few people have time to attend meetings.

Week 5:11 Web 2.0 Award Sites

When I was checking out the award winning sites, under "Fun Stuff" I went for the honorable mention (http://www.onesentence.org).  The site describes itself as: "true stories, told in one sentence."  This makes for fascinating reading and would be a good writing exercise for high school students.  

I wish something similar could be created as an exercise for students to post a book blurb about a book they read. The blurb could introduce the book or a student could take on a character's identity and create a post to entice readers to the book.

I joined the gotbooks.ning.com ("a network for librarians") and I am awaiting approval....

Week 5:10 pt 2 Comic Strip

Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com

Success!

Week 5:10 Text Generators

Well, I googled "text generators" and at the bottom of the screen were a lot of related searches....I chose "animated text generators," and found the Ninja Text Generator  at the following (sorry, I don't know how to link) http://www.fodey.com/generators/animated/ninjatext.asp

I learned about wordle.net from the rosie.com blog and have enjoyed using it to create word posters.  This would be a great site for students who have to create personality posters of themselves.   Here is a poster I made about reading (you can click on it): 

Week 4:9 Library Blogs

Least liked tools:  Technorati.com and Syndic8.com.  Easiest search tools: Blogdigger and Google blog search.  Topix.net was a news screen that had Fairbanks featured which was intersting.   While I did add librariansmatter.com/blog to my Google Reader account, there is so much out there it is overwhelming.  Also, you can get a lot of personal and/or not useful hits which further adds to the problem of having time to truly sort through everything.

In Technorati.com, I searched for "school librarians" and except for the top three posts, I got hits on a lot of weird stuff:  solar power, NAZI message, various text gibberish that had "librarian" somewhere in the posting. 

I had typed in "retired school librarians" to see what I'd get....and I got several funeral orations ...not what I had in mind.