More Reflections....

One of the best parts was getting to know my colleagues better by reading their blogs, discovering common interests in cooking, art, and traveling, etc. I was struck by the creativity and professionalism I saw on some of the blogs posted by HEB librarians; I was also humbled by it. I discovered that you can learn a great deal from reading blogs. You Tube was another great surprise--I knew very, very little about it and had only seen a few of its films/photos. It is quite a mixed bag of modern culture.

If I were to offer a suggestion for improvement, I would allow a bit more time for participants to complete the program. It was tough to get everything finished by the due date, since some lessons were multi-faceted and took additional time. Also, perhaps a follow up class could be designed which would build on the 23 Things, but give us additional practice and make every assignment library-related.

Yes, I would definitely choose to participate again. I got a great deal out of the experience.

Reflections on HEB23

First of all, my favorite discovery was that completing the program was not all that hard once I got started. At first I tried to make it more difficult than it truly was.

My second favorite discovery was podcasting and how very basic it is. It seemed very mysterious to me before, but now that I have a little bit better handle on it I would like to use it next year with sixth graders. There is a very computer savvy teacher here who works with sixth graders and I want to try getting the students to produce book reviews and podcast them.

I also enjoyed the image generators, especially bighugelabs.com/magazine. It was fun to "doctor" up digital photos.

The program has affected by lifelong learning by reinforcing how quickly technology leaves us all behind unless we actively chase after it! But, by running after it and jumping on the bus (so to speak) we will tend to stay abreast of our patrons. Libraries must do this to stay dynamic and viable.

NetLibrary & downloadable books

Wow! I set up my account and was instantly able to download a book! Read it online with ease. I have long been skeptical of ebooks and other printed materials viewed on a computer screen, but the ebook I read tonight on the stages of development that all teachers go through as they become "highly qualified" was great reading and I didn't have to leave my chair. I can see HEB using this for staff development.

World's Smallest Horse

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/podcasts/ac360/site/2010/04/24/cooper.podcast.friday.cnn.html

I like the diversity of choices available from You Tube. I found a plethora of ecclectic film clips. However, I didn't see much organization or order to the site. I think this video of the tiny horse could be used to introduce a book about horses, such as Gabriel's Horse. In addition to students seeing the podcast in the library, by putting it on a library webpage a student could share the film footage with his/her family.

Awards List

Okay, I selected Mashable--the Social Media Guide--as the site of my exploration. I learned that European travelers stranded during the recent volcanic eruptions used Twitter and Twitter keywords to funnel information to one another. Apparently, since travelers were getting little--if any information from the European airlines, they took matters into their own hands. Using their Twitter accounts and the keyword "#ashcloud," they used sources outside the airlines to find out about the volcano's behavior, cancelled flights, available hotels, and rescheduled flights. It caught on to the point that the European air carriers eventually started using Twitter to get info to their clients.

Technology's children are really remaking the rules today!

ZOHO Writer

Although it appears that this entity was created with businesses in mind, I found it very easy to set up an account, make new folders, create documents that can easily be revised, and just generally start using Zoho. Being able to share documents online and collaborate in real time could be useful when getting input from teachers about what books to order. Every teacher on a particular grade level could send in additional titles or remove titles. The list could then be shared with administrators. The other advantage of Zoho is not having to buy or download additional programs since it is web-based.

Cult of digital narcissism?? amateurism and WIKI's

I like the way Web 2.0 can be used to encourage patron feedback and participation. Here I would love to set a WIKI, where students could post their reviews of books, or have discussions about books. Likewise, they could suggest new books to purchase for the library.

In the future, I can see myself planning lessons with teachers via a WIKI page.

Libraries as "convocations of people"

The Web 2.0 movement seems chiefly to be about meshing the services we offer with the daily patterns of our users. One writer issued a call for libraries to become increasingly "user-centric." I like that term; I think that it is far easier to sit and blog about how things ought to be than to actually change one's way of doing things, to figure how to implement new practices without creating chaos and with minimal stress to the patron. Michael Stephens made a good point about librarians needing to be trendspotters, who search out new information and new technologies and anticipate how these will impact users. It is implied that trendspotting librarians would go one step further and generate plans for dealing with changes long before they actually arrive.

Deliciously Del.icio.us

This site took me to the redesigned version of You Tube, just released today by the Google folks. It does look different to me. It's a lot less cluttered than I remember and easier to browse and search through. Though much of its content will be blocked by district filters, You Tube does have some items that could actually enrich school curriculum and would certainly pique the interest of our students.

My Take on Technorati

'Became intrigued with Technorati today. I went onto this site and watched a recorded interview with Dean Takahashi, a 20 year veteran reporter of the Silicon Valley scene. He shared his views on what lies just ahead in the path of technology--he discussed "crowd sourcing" (????), user-generated content-driven electronic games, and how social networking is being married to video gaming. When he spoke of Club Penguin, a company which the Disney folks just bought for $355 million dollars, he GOT MY ATTENTION. When he went on to cronicle how companies are currently making real money selling "virtual clothing" for Second Life avatars, he held my attention.

Part III, "Play Time"

Today, using the moniker "Little Librarian," I created a Searchroll devoted to learning about digital cameras. My present camera was a Christmas present from my daughter, who remembered that I loved taking pictures of her and family events. The problem with conventional cameras is what to do with all of those albums upon albums of photos. Quite correctly, she saw that being able to invisibly store scores of photos on the computer and grouping them into folders was the perfect solution.

I think RollYo will be especially handy for doing research on digital cameras, as I am just about ready to buy another camera, with slightly more complex features. It should be noted, however, that RollYo is not for children. I ran across a number of adult-only sounding sites.

"Play Time"

I used BigHugeLabs (online generator) to produce this magazine cover! I plan to use this softward in May to promote my book fair. An even better use would be to make souvenirs for student book reviewers who appear on the morning announcements at Oakwood Terrace. My principal is a huge fan of school newsletters, and this software will enable me to deliver professional looking results. It could, likewise, be used for field day "stars" and to recognize volunteers. It was easy to comprehend.

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Boogie to the Book Swap

Saturday morning seven families, five teachers from Oakwood Terrace, and I boarded a school bus bound for the Book Swap. All of the families were Hispanic folks, excited about being able to add to their personal libraries at minimal cost. We left right at 8:30 and found the Pat May Center alive with hundreds of adults and children clamoring for books. As the families filed back onto the bus, each child was seen lugging a bag of fresh books. What a fun morning!

Library Thing!

What a neat tool the Library Thing is!! It is a great site for looking at what's out there in the way of current fiction. I built the collection of my dreams there today.

Turning Up the Heat

On March 2 fourth graders at OTE were treated to a visit by the Euless Fire Department. The visit was part of Principal Denise Rhodes "Turning Up the Heat" campaign to triumph over the test. Students greeted the fire truck outside.

Flickr

'Found some really neat photos on Flickr tonight. I guess I am starting to see what people are so excited about. I stumbled onto Tessuti's Fabrics--fabulous!

Helping Hands for Haiti

'Just submitted a write up to the HEB webpage about how our school raised $1,000.00 for victims of the Haitian earthquake. The students and teachers raised this amount in less than three weeks. Watch for the article.

Something New

Well, this is the initial installment to Owlblogram, which is named in honor of our school mascot. I can see the ability to post blogs regarding the Oakwood Terrace library--announcing new books, letting readers post their reviews of books read, advertising about events like book fairs--as being very useful in the future.