Week#9, Thing #23 CONGRATULATIONS

YAHOO!! YIPPEE!! HOORAY!! I did it, I did it. (Do you see me jumping up and down?)I am happy not that completing Libray2.0 was an arduous task but, rather, that I learned soooo much and that I didn't give up. I am very grateful to the school library learning 2.0 gang for getting the information out about this adventure and for offering it again to those of us who didn't get around to taking it last summer. Thank you, thank you. I would definitely suggest that it be offered again and that there is a sequel to the program that would allow us to spend more time on the topics. I feel like this is a survey course and now I want to get into more advanced assignments or at least spend more time developing some of the "things" I learned in this course.
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
One of my favorite discoveries was the online applications, specifically Zoho Writer. As soon as I learned about it, I showed it to two of my staff memebers and they immediately started using it in their classes. I have been using aspects of it myself.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I am going to contiune learning about web 2.0 applications and refine my skills.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I collaborated with two teachers who are now successfully using blogs and wikis in their classes. I am going to incorporate a blog in my library web page.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
I would be the first one to sign up!

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?
INVALUABLE. The best, most relevent professional growth class I have ever taken...and it was FREE!!!!

Week #9, Thing #22 - eBooks and Audiobooks

I spent a lot of time looking at the World EBook Fair site for FREE downloads from the Gutenberg Project. I was amazed at how much they had to offer and that many books were available in other languages besides English. Now, when patrons ask why I don't have any books on tape, I can tell them that my budget doesn't allow for it and then refer them to the Guntenbery Project web site.
I downloaded The Raven onto my iTouch. That story still gives me goosebumps!

Week #9, Thing #21 - Podcasting

I think I was the last person on earth to own an iPod. I got one as a gift a few months ago and it was worth the wait...I got an iTouch!! I absolutely love it but had not spent adequate time getting to know all of its features. This exercise motivated me to really experience the iTouch's full potential. I digressed a bit (like a whole day) from the assignment and I spent a lot of time on iTunes downloading songs from my CDs and from the iTunes site and making playlists. I listened to a lot of podcasts, subscribed to some of them and downloaded some to my iTouch. I go to the gym almost everyday and like to listen to my iTouch as I am sweating away. I downloaded podcasts (and subscribed to RSS feeds) about excerising and getting fit which I can listen to while working out...a little extra encouragement.

Two important things I learned from this exercise is that you don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts and that there are many podcast directory and finding tools from which to choose.

I read the instructions on how to record a podcast and would like to try doing that someday when I have the right equipment and something important to say!

I have included a podcast made by a library science graduate student on the importance of having students make wikis in their classes. She makes some good arguements that could be used to convince school personnel to unblock wiki making sites.

Media Literacy
http://www.podcast.net/show/19897

Week #9, Thing #20 - YouTube

Finally, I am part of the 21st century! I had never gone on to the YouTube site because of all the negative things I had heard about it (sexually related content, etc.) but it really has some good, useful information. I searched for library related sites but got an assortment of sites not necessarily related to libraries. I looked at the sites in the discovery exercises and enjoyed the library dominos and Conan. YouTube is easy to use and I read the instructions on how to upload a video. The only downside to the site is the inappropriate remarks made by viewers.

I loved the TecherTube web site and have uploaded a very powerful video about "What Teachers Make." I emailed that video to a few of my teacher friends. There were some good instructional videos like how to make better PowerPoint presentations, why students should blog, and uploading videos on TeacherTube. I subscribed to this site's RSS feed.
Teachers Make a Difference

Week #8, Thing #19 - Library Thing

I am so glad we came back to "Library Thing." I had forgotten that we explored it in a previous lesson. I had already cataloged a few of my personal books and posted them to my web. When I went back to Library Thing this time, I noticed that people had reviews on my books. I hadn't seen the reviews when I first posted the books. Very interesting how varied the reviews were. Library Thing makes cataloging and organizing a collection easy and I like that it shows the covers of the books and allows for tags. I will be putting this site to good use.
I can see using this site on my library web page as a place to announce new books entered into the library.

Zoho Blog

Week #8 - Thing #18 - Online Apps

Online applications such as Zoho or Google docs just might be the best "thing" I have learned in library 2.0 (but there have been so many it would be hard to choose)! How does anyone stay on top of all the tools available? I played with Zoho and am so excited about it I can't wait to tell my staff. Being fearful that everyone else has heard about these tools and have been using them already, I asked five teachers if they knew about them. They hadn't and are very excited about learning more. There are so many ways in which to use these tools. Students and teachers can type documents at home and open them up at school without having to email it or save it to disk. It won't matter in what program the document was created. We often have problems with students creating a document on a computer that has Word 2007 and later trying unsuccessfully to open it on a computer that has Word 2003. Other applications would be to use it for collaborating on projects, meeting agendas, and drafting proposals with other users.

 I like the toolbar in Zoho. It has just about everything and is easy to use. The other applications on Zoho (spreadsheets, meetings,presentations) were also easy to use.

I created the paragraphs above in Zoho and sent it to my blog from the Zoho site. WooHoo!!! That was fun! I'm turning into a techy!!!

Week #7, Thing #17 - Library 2.0

I loved the California Curriculum page on the wiki. I will be returning to that wiki often to get ideas and maybe some day I will be clever enough to contribute something. I posted a comment in the Sandbox. I'm not quite sure how valuable the Sandbox idea is for a library or class especially if it can't be monitored. Also not sure of what the difference between the Sandbox and the Water Cooler is. I assume the Water Cooler is for questions and the Sandbox is for comments or random thoughts. However, I thought the California School Library Association 2007 Conference wiki was a great idea! I just wished I had known about it before I went to the conference. I'll keep my eyes peeled for it next year.
The tutorials about wikis were very educational. They answered a lot of questions I had and the instructions were very clear.

Week #7, Thing #16 - Wiki

My first reaction after reading about wikis is to say, "Boy, it's a good thing I am taking this class!" I had been telling everybody how bad wikis were because they didn't come from reputable sources and to stay away from them. I always thought that the information on the wikis was mostly unreliable because anybody can put anything on it. I found out by exploring the sites in this excercise, that while it's true that anyone can submit to a wiki, their post can be edited by others who usually will correct erroneous information. There are some wikis that can only be available for editing and posting to registered members. Those types of wikis would be good for schools. I noticed that some entries on Wikipedia might have a warning at the beginning that no sources were sited and to be aware that the information contained in that particular wiki might not be authoratative.
There is a teacher at my school who is very knowledgeable about technology and really wants to incorporate it into her curriculum. I am excited to collaborate with her on using a wiki for her class. We will design a lesson plan where students will be in groups and have group projects. Each student within the group will be responsible for one part of the assignment. The students will post to the wiki adding and editing to each others. They will create study questions and discussion topics based on information from the wikis.

I would like opinions on which wiki site is good for shool lessons? I will need to get one unblocked by the district.