...wrong!I had to go back and study what each symbol meant. I quickly found myself only searching in the sections that were free of any restrictions besides citing credit. This will be an awesome place to get photos for student's projects. Even cooler would be to let students upload their own photos and see how many comments they get or as the students would say , see how "viral" their picture becomes. The possibilities are endless for educators. These photos will aid in all kinds of lessons.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thing #11
DiAichner3 uploaded this photo to Flickr. This along with several others I found will be perfect to use when I teach the Texas symbols unit to my kindergarten classes! It took me a while to "get" the CC part of Flickr. I thought because it was part of the CC I could automatically use it
...wrong!I had to go back and study what each symbol meant. I quickly found myself only searching in the sections that were free of any restrictions besides citing credit. This will be an awesome place to get photos for student's projects. Even cooler would be to let students upload their own photos and see how many comments they get or as the students would say , see how "viral" their picture becomes. The possibilities are endless for educators. These photos will aid in all kinds of lessons.
...wrong!I had to go back and study what each symbol meant. I quickly found myself only searching in the sections that were free of any restrictions besides citing credit. This will be an awesome place to get photos for student's projects. Even cooler would be to let students upload their own photos and see how many comments they get or as the students would say , see how "viral" their picture becomes. The possibilities are endless for educators. These photos will aid in all kinds of lessons.
Thing #10
Creative Commons is fabulous!!!! I had no idea what CC was until I became a librarian. It is sad and a little scary at the same time. I used photos, songs, and video clips all the time in my own personal projects as well as let my students use them in their projects. Did I ever ask or seek permission? No! I had no idea I needed to. Yes, my librarian educated me about copyright at the beginning of the year, but as a teacher with a million things on my plate, that knowledge was lost about 5 minutes after I learned it. I feel so guilty for "stealing" other people's shared work, but more than that guilt is the shame about the disservice I did to my students. I never taught them about copyright. I sure hope one of their teachers since then has.
Having CC at my fingertips takes the uncertainty of whether I'm doing the right thing away! After learning about it this year, I have used it many times during research with my classes. I basically have taught them that CC is a safe place to go get pictures, clips, etc for their projects. They know if they get it from CC it is okay. Getting it from somewhere else will require permission.
My goal for my second year as a librarian is to train the teachers about CC. I have a feeling they, like me when I taught, do not know about this very valuable resource!
Having CC at my fingertips takes the uncertainty of whether I'm doing the right thing away! After learning about it this year, I have used it many times during research with my classes. I basically have taught them that CC is a safe place to go get pictures, clips, etc for their projects. They know if they get it from CC it is okay. Getting it from somewhere else will require permission.
My goal for my second year as a librarian is to train the teachers about CC. I have a feeling they, like me when I taught, do not know about this very valuable resource!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thing #8
Wikis are so cool. These are probably my favorite web 2.0 tool. I already have a wiki at school for use by my teachers. This is where they sign up for the library, tell me about books they want ordered, keep track of Bluebonnet and Mockingbird reading, etc. I see many wikis in my future. I would like classes to create wikis for their research. I envision the students creating the wiki with my help and then adding in all the content that they are learning in their research. It would be cool for another class from the same grade level to read and add to the wiki.
I love how the kindergarten wiki was used just as a product. The students used the wiki the same way they would have used a power point presentation or a paper book, but instead they got the knowledge of a wiki. I commend their teacher for venturing into wikis with such young learners!
The wiki dealing with using technology in the classroom had good information but took forever to load. I think because there were so many items to load on the page that it took longer to load. I found myself impatient! When it finally loaded, I was in a bit of sensory overload. There was so much to look at (almost too much I think) it was hard for me to find the content of the page. The information was good, but I probably will not visit that wiki again.
The code blue wiki was neat. I like how it was kind of just a list of really good resources about the body on the home page. The students work was linked to view. The diagnosis assignment they did was really meaningful and relevant. I loved it.
I love how the kindergarten wiki was used just as a product. The students used the wiki the same way they would have used a power point presentation or a paper book, but instead they got the knowledge of a wiki. I commend their teacher for venturing into wikis with such young learners!
The wiki dealing with using technology in the classroom had good information but took forever to load. I think because there were so many items to load on the page that it took longer to load. I found myself impatient! When it finally loaded, I was in a bit of sensory overload. There was so much to look at (almost too much I think) it was hard for me to find the content of the page. The information was good, but I probably will not visit that wiki again.
The code blue wiki was neat. I like how it was kind of just a list of really good resources about the body on the home page. The students work was linked to view. The diagnosis assignment they did was really meaningful and relevant. I loved it.
Thing #7
Commenting...I know I should do it, but I don't! I am a self-professed lurker. I do love to read blogs and all the comments that follow, but I never really felt comfortable putting my own two cents in to the mix. After reading all the blogs about commenting, I realize how important it is to the author of the blog and to the comment conversation. I know I always feel acknowledged when I get comments and that feeling fuels me to add more posts. I need to think about that when I am reading other people's blogs. I want them to know I am paying attention and that I care. This will be something I have to conscoiusly work on but I will...I will start commenting! I am going to start with finding one positive thing about the blog and making that my comment. Maybe that will ease me into the commenting world:)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thing #6
I promise I did read a ton of educational stuff...but I also read some shameful celebrity gossip! I admit it, I am a TMZ junkie! I added this blog as one of my RSS feeds. I read about Jake and Vienna (latest Bachelor couple) breaking up! I am not surprised, but that is some good gossip to read:)
I also subscribed to a Crockpot slowcooker recipe blog. I have printed several great recipes! Yum!!!
Finding blogs was a little harder than I expected. There were so many to choose from that I had a hard time narrowing them down. It was especially hard for the educational blogs. I really wanted to find some good elementary school library and technology blogs. I did find a few, but would like some more suggestions if anyone has any.
I also subscribed to a Crockpot slowcooker recipe blog. I have printed several great recipes! Yum!!!
Finding blogs was a little harder than I expected. There were so many to choose from that I had a hard time narrowing them down. It was especially hard for the educational blogs. I really wanted to find some good elementary school library and technology blogs. I did find a few, but would like some more suggestions if anyone has any.
Thing #5
Overwhelmed is an understatement! RSS feeds are awesome but I felt buried immediately! I skimmed and read for hours!!!!! After I finally figured out how to navigate through Google Reader and read about 50+ feeds I decided enough was enough. I can see how this is addicting!
One of my favorite finds was on the NPR site. I listened to a broadcast about the top summer cookbooks. I love to cook so this was awesome to listen to. It talked about all kinds of cookbooks from barbecue to vegetarian cookbooks. I will be making a trip to the bookstore soon to purchase a few of the cookbooks they discussed!
Summer cookbooks broadcast
One of my favorite finds was on the NPR site. I listened to a broadcast about the top summer cookbooks. I love to cook so this was awesome to listen to. It talked about all kinds of cookbooks from barbecue to vegetarian cookbooks. I will be making a trip to the bookstore soon to purchase a few of the cookbooks they discussed!
Summer cookbooks broadcast
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Thing #4
I love reading blogs because they are so personal. Since anyone can be an author on a blog, we get to hear some opinions that we might not otherwise hear.
Blog reading and writing is much different from other types of reading and writing because it is uncensored and unedited. The raw material you are reading on a blog is straight from the mind of some passionate person. When you are writing a blog you know there are no restraints on you. No one will be grading, editing, or making suggestions to change it...It is all yours!
Commenting on blogs brings so much meaning to the content. Some comments make you see another side of what you wrote about and often broadens your horizons. Other comments are reassuring and make you feel good, and still others may spark anger and create a debate.
Is there a blogging literacy? I'm not sure. Often times I see blogs written like you might write a text message... I luv u...what r u doing? etc. I think this is okay. We are living in a world of texting and technology in short hand. The teacher in me would prefer for everyone to use correct spelling and grammar, but we all know that will never happen. If you can't beat them, join them!
Blogging can facilitate learning by keeping the line of communication open between teachers, students, and parents. A teacher could create a classroom blog and update it daily with all kinds of information from homework to spelling word lists, to field trip information. Students and parents could use this as a resource other than email or phone calls. They could ask questions or comment and get feedback from the teacher on the blog. Students could create blogs about what they are studying or a book they are reading in a book club...the possibilities are endless!
Blog reading and writing is much different from other types of reading and writing because it is uncensored and unedited. The raw material you are reading on a blog is straight from the mind of some passionate person. When you are writing a blog you know there are no restraints on you. No one will be grading, editing, or making suggestions to change it...It is all yours!
Commenting on blogs brings so much meaning to the content. Some comments make you see another side of what you wrote about and often broadens your horizons. Other comments are reassuring and make you feel good, and still others may spark anger and create a debate.
Is there a blogging literacy? I'm not sure. Often times I see blogs written like you might write a text message... I luv u...what r u doing? etc. I think this is okay. We are living in a world of texting and technology in short hand. The teacher in me would prefer for everyone to use correct spelling and grammar, but we all know that will never happen. If you can't beat them, join them!
Blogging can facilitate learning by keeping the line of communication open between teachers, students, and parents. A teacher could create a classroom blog and update it daily with all kinds of information from homework to spelling word lists, to field trip information. Students and parents could use this as a resource other than email or phone calls. They could ask questions or comment and get feedback from the teacher on the blog. Students could create blogs about what they are studying or a book they are reading in a book club...the possibilities are endless!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thing #3
Web 2.0 is already affecting students at my school, but not all of them. As the librarian, I can use web 2.0 tools with every class during daily lessons and research. Students want to use technology and often times are not offered the opportunity at school. The library can be the place where students at my school learn to blog and make wikis and podcasts. Students who do not know how to interact with these tools will be behind. It is certain that to be successful in the unknown digital future, students will have to be web 2.0 natives.
Thing #2
My biggest challenge: Begin with the end in mind.
I am a "right now" thinker. It is often hard for me to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Although I know I will leave this class much wiser and more tech-savvy, it is hard for me to envision being finished. I feel like I will never be done (probably because it is summer time)! I will have to really focus on reminding myself how excited I will be at the end to go share all my new learning with my school!
The easiest for me: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
After completing my master's degree, I feel like I can do anything! Getting through some of those classes was quite challenge for me, but because I did, I gained a lot of confidence. If I can do that, I can do anything!
Most important for me: Teach/mentor others.
If I don't teach a new skill I have learned, I am prone to forget it. It will be very important to me over the summer to teach the new skills to some body. Since I will not be in school to teach the little people, I will be teaching my husband...he doesn't know it yet! Isn't he lucky? :)
I am a "right now" thinker. It is often hard for me to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Although I know I will leave this class much wiser and more tech-savvy, it is hard for me to envision being finished. I feel like I will never be done (probably because it is summer time)! I will have to really focus on reminding myself how excited I will be at the end to go share all my new learning with my school!
The easiest for me: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
After completing my master's degree, I feel like I can do anything! Getting through some of those classes was quite challenge for me, but because I did, I gained a lot of confidence. If I can do that, I can do anything!
Most important for me: Teach/mentor others.
If I don't teach a new skill I have learned, I am prone to forget it. It will be very important to me over the summer to teach the new skills to some body. Since I will not be in school to teach the little people, I will be teaching my husband...he doesn't know it yet! Isn't he lucky? :)
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