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.