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#23 Reflection

2010-01-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

#1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
Right now my favorite discovery was Delicious. I have found both personal and professional uses for it. Personally, I found it a great way to help my oldest daughter, a high school senior, prepare for applying to college. I was able to make links to the various schools and group them accordingly.
Professionally, I used Delicious to set up websites for students in my library to use when researching. My favorite was a list of websites for fourth graders to use when researching the different regions in California. They could view the sites just by their region or by topic. It was really helpful. Here's the link if you'd like to see it:
Region Links
I also really enjoyed Rollyo although I haven't used it in my work yet.

#2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program was a great example of an opportunity to continue being a lifelong learner. It was easy to use and I appreciated the ability to do it at my own pace. Juggling work and three kids makes it tricky to keep on top of new developments, but this allowed me to learn about the 2.0 tools that were available for me to use. I now feel empowered to begin sharing them with my colleagues. And..I even know what 2.o means now!! :)

#3 Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
There were many take-a-ways. I still need to sit down with my colleagues and decide which other pieces I would like to continue to explore. The biggest surprise for me was the vast number of tools that are available at our fingertips online. It never ceases to amaze me! It makes my job so much fun!

#4 What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I would encourage you to allow users to keep going at their own pace as you have. Sometimes deadlines are good motivators, but I might have given up if I'd had to meet a deadline. Also, continue with the feedback. It was nice to have 'cheerleaders' to keep me going! Thank you.

#5 If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Definitely! I really enjoyed this opportunity. It was great because I was able to use it as a tool for my professional development plan.

#6How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?

Library 2.0 was accessible, inspiring, and fun!

#22 ( Week9) E-books and Audiobooks

2010-01-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed the Project Gutenberg site. I explored the e-books. At first I wasn't sure where to begin so I looked at the "Top 100" section. You can view the top 100 downloaded books or most popular authors on the site for the past day or past seven days. I was amazed by the huge variety. Everything from 'Pride and Predjudice" to the 'Outline of Science'.
I did some deeper diggers and discovered the 'Bookshelf' section of the site where books are categorized in a variety of ways. I was pleased to discover the Children's Bookshelves and did some browsing there. I also found a collection of children's periodicals. There were copies of children's magazines from the 1870's such as St. Nicholas magazine and The Nursery. It was interesting to see how children's literature has changed over the years! This would be a good resource when teaching history to kids. They could look at examples of literature aimed at kids during a given time period.
I feel like I probably only scratched the surface, but I was able to download books easily! I'm sure I'll visit again soon to do some more exploring!

#21 (Week 9) Podcasts

2009-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to wade through the podcast directories, but I did find two podcasts that looked interesting. I subscribed to one, SmartBoard Lessons, through iTunes and another, Just One More Book!, through Google Reader. I especially like the idea of listening to book reviews! I will try listening to some episodes and see if I find that these are valuable resource. I do like the idea of being able to take the podcasts with me wherever I go. This portability makes them very useful.
At this point, I think I am more interested in creating podcasts than listening to them. I have a project I've been doing with first graders the past few years. Up until now I've been recording their retelling of wordless books using Garage Band and burning the recordings onto cds. I would like to explore VoiceThreads and some other sites to see about creating recordings. I think it would be fun to publish them online so that parents and other kids could listen to them.
I have also spoken with our Naturalist about the possibility of having the kids create podcast tours of the wetlands next to our school.This is an area I would like to explore some more!

#20 (Week 9) YouTube

2009-10-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

#20 (week 9) YouTube
I am familiar with YouTube because my teenagers often use it. I know that we have had issues with teachers wanting to access videos but are unable to because it is blocked. I recently learned about TeacherTube and StudentTube. These might be sites that are safer to use. I also want to explore Calaxy which is an educator portal for WEB 2.o tools. I would love to have kids create book reviews using our Flip Video cameras and then post them to a safe site.
I did find a video for the life cycle of a ladybug. I am going to try to embed it in this blog post.
Did it. This tutorial was very helpful!

#19 (Week 8) Library Thing

2009-10-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

I found Library Thing this summer after reading Manifesto for 21st Century School Librarians By Joyce Kasman Valenza. I thought it looked interesting but didn't really start playing with it until I got to this lesson. I created an account and added some books. I was able to make new collections so that I could add books in categories by grade level. I already use a card system to write down titles and comments about new books that come into the library, so I was thinking I could use the same system. I'm actually thinking now that I can use the tags to sort instead. I love tags now. I've become hooked on Delicious for bookmarking. It seems that I could use Library Thing in the same way. This would also eliminate the trouble I had with making sure I was adding books to the correct collection. Hmm....I'll have to explore this tool some more. Here's a link to my Library Thing so far. It's a combination of personal and school books. I would definitely like to add a link to the library website for a Library Thing. I love the way you can easily pull up the books and the covers. Very user-friendly.

Blog Entry - 2.0

2009-10-08T12:32:00.001-07:00

#18 (Week 8) Zoho Writer
I am familiar with Google docs which, I believe, is very similar to Zoho writer. I think this has many possiblities for creating and saving documents online. I have found that Google docs sometimes has some quirky issues so it's nice to know of other options that are available. I was amazed at all of the different options in Zoho Writer: email, wikis, calendar, documents, tasks, etc. I've been using tasks with Entourage a lot more this year. I suppose Zoho writer is nice because then you can access the account from any computer. I am feeling like I can begin using these tools more now. I was very proud of myself because I used Google docs at the end of the school year to create and distribute my year-end survey for classroom teachers. Always fun to try new things!
Wow! I even posted this directly to my blog from Zoho Writer. It's amazing how everything is connected!

#17 (Week 7) Add an Entry to Sandbox Wiki

2009-08-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

I was excited by the resources in the Curriculum Wiki. This will be a great tool to get me motivated to begin using 2.0 tools with my students. This demonstrates the power of wikis and collaborative sites. I would like to explore the potential of using a wiki to share teaching practices within our school site. We usually choose an area of focus so this would be a great way for teachers to quickly share ideas and a rich resource for other teachers to access.
I added an entry under podcasts and video ideas. I struggled at first to figure out the password but had success!

#16 (Week 7)

2009-08-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

When I first starting looking through the wiki resources I noticed that often the wikis were used for a specific project or purpose. It seems to me that this is probably the best use of wikis. My only previous experience with wikis was to use it for developing the technology plan for our district. It worked well for that purpose although we ran into some technical difficulties. This seems very similar to Google docs. Would Google docs be considered a wiki? I'm not sure I see applications to use with my elementary students yet, but I could definitely see it as a tool to use with the staff at my school for working on collaborative writing projects or as a tool for gathering resources in one place that everyone can access.

#15 (Week 6) Future of Web 2.0

2009-07-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

I am still grappling with trying to define Library 2.0. I found the different perspectives and the Wikipedia definition to be very helpful with getting a grasp on this term. After reading the articles the key idea that I came away with was a sense of a user-centered library where the focus is on providing an interactive structure that enables users to access information and services when and where they need them. I can see that the Web 2.0 tools can provide an environment that allows for increased interaction from users. My goal is to harness some of this energy and use it to actively involve my students in our library. One of the articles mentioned the concept that the library is not in a community, it is a community within itself. I like this notion and would like to build on it. Another factor that I am constantly wrestling with was mentioned in the Horizon Report- the ability of students to use new 2.0 tools continues to outpace the ability of faculty. I find this is true of both my students and the younger teachers. I have to push myself to learn new tools that are second nature for them! Luckily, I love a challenge!

#14 Technorati (Week 6)

2009-07-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

I found this tool a bit overwhelming. I can see how tags are being utilized, but didn't see any practical application for my personal use or for use with students in the library.

#13 Delicious (WEEK 6)

2009-07-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am constantly amazed at the number of tools that are evolving in 2.o. I had never even heard of Delicious before! An interesting tool. I think it definitely has some possible uses with students in terms of creating a shared site that they can use to access websites that have been selected and saved for research. I am already able to do this on our library portal page, but this might be a nice extension. I especially like the ability to tag sites and search for similar sites. It creates an online community of shared resources that are easy to access. I will share this tool with some of the teachers at my school who like to provide websites to parents for use at home with students. This would make it easy to put everything in one place and the ability to annotate makes it even more useful.
I was able to use the tags to explore 'information literacy' and found an interesting blog entry from Joyce Valenza about being a 21st century librarian. You can find it on my Delicious bookmarks if you're interested.

#12 (Week 5) Rollyo Search Tool

2009-05-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Cool tool! I created a Rollyo around the California Gold Rush. I was really excited by the results. I can definitely see using this as a tool for student research. This will allow students to search mulitple sites at once to find relevant information. This allows the sites to be handpicked.
One thing I noticed was that it's important to be specific when choosing websites to make sure that the searches remain relevant to the topic. For example, I linked to PBS and got search results from other pages linked to the PBS site. I'd like to experiment to see if it's possible to maek it more specific.
I was also successful adding a Rollyo link to my blog!

#11 (Week 5) Web 2.0 Awards

2009-05-24T17:39:00.001-07:00

I visited several websites on the Web 2.0 awards list. I discovered that some such as Backback were subscription-based sites. I really liked the possibilities of Google docs. I had actually played a bit with Google docs after a recent technology meeting. I like the idea of being able to post work online that others can work on collaboratively. I see applications for this with both colleagues as well as with students. I also found that presentations can be created or uploaded on Google docs. This helps with the issue of compatibility when sharing student projects with parents. I'd also like to play with the form function to create student surveys. I look forward to playing with Google docs more in the future.
I successfully joined the Library 2.0 Ning.

#10 (Week 5) Online Image Generators

2009-03-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

I played around with online image generators today. I found the Flikr Toys to be very easy to use. I made a name badge, trading card, comic, and cd cover. The cd cover will work well for the storytelling project I do with first grade. I can create covers for the cds they create based on the wordless book "One Frog Too Many". The name badges would be fun for my student volunteers. I'm not sure how to apply the trading cards yet. Maybe they could make trading cards related to their reading interests...favorite genres , books, authors,... I'd like to play around with the tools on Flikr some more.
I thought the map maker was fun and would be useful for second grade when they study ancestors, but I think only the html code can be copied and put somewhere. Not sure how to print it out at that point.
Lastly, I tried Image Chef. I was very proud of myself for figuring out how to imbed an image I created into my blog!
These are definitely FUN tools!

#9 (Week 4) Rss Feed Searches

2009-03-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I have become much more aware of Rss newsfeeds now that I know what they are! I discovered that the California Learning Resource Network that I heard about at a recent tech meeting has rss feeds for some of their services. I signed up to receive web information links. I've already a viewed a few of the links and the reviews. This will definitely be a useful resource for finding effective websites to use in my lessons.
I tried using the different search vehicles. I found most of them a bit overwhelming, but was able to find a few tips and tricks. I like the way topix allows you to search by zipcode to find local news stories and then allows you to search by topic as well. I found the Google search the least overwhelming and user-friendly. I also searched in the award winning blogs and liked the Creating Lifelong Learners blog
because there was a list of categories to browse by grade level. This helped to filter the information I was viewing. I'll try to use rss feeds to help me find resources for my lesson planning in the future.

#8 (Week 4) RSS Feeds and Bloglines

2009-01-26T17:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! My brain is feeling rather full after "playing" with rss feeds and bloglines. I set up a Google Reader account and subscribed to several blogs and news feeds. Through my Google Reader account I can now follow the blogs of my library colleagues, the events at my kids' schools, and the local news. I'm not sure yet how I feel about getting so much information. Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming!
I noticed that I can either use my blog to mangae subscriptions or the Google Reader. I was able to import the subscriptions to both places. It was quite easy to do .
I also noticed that I could use Google Reader to search for blogs to subscribe to or I could input the URL. This is a nice feature.
I am eager to explore the use of these tools in the library. I'd like to hear how others use these tools with students or in planning. I can see that they might be helpful for personal use to keep track of everything that's happening. I suppose I could set my Google Reader as my homepage and then I could check it daily before I check my email.
Hmm...a lot to think about!

#7 New Technology

2008-12-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

At the CSLA conference I attended a session lead by Jane Lofton about a 2.o tool called VoiceThreads. VoiceThreads is an online tool that allows you to upload photographs and many other types of documents and to add a voice recording to them. She showed us some examples of booktalks that kids have done. Here is an example if you want to take a look:
http://voicethread.com/#q+Lindero.b25559.i142271
It seems like there are many different possibilities with this technology. I am really eager to find different tools to do online booktalks with kids. I'd love to hear any ideas that other people are using.

A little "light" reading

2008-12-08T21:03:00.001-08:00

A little "light" reading,
originally uploaded by LIP_Photography (Karen Ackles).

This image truly captures the magic of reading. I remember the inability to put down a really good book, sneaking a peek under the covers after Mom has left the room. That's how you know when a book is really good!
This is what we wish for all of our students/children...that they will find books that inspire and intrigue them...books that are worth staying up late to enjoy and escape into!

Starting anew!

2008-11-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I can't believe it's been over a year since I started this process! Time sure does fly.
I am now committed to completing this process with thanks to my team. I know it will make such a difference having support and encouragement as I go.
In rethinking about the 7 1/2 habits I find that my views having changed all that much since July 07. I still feel that my willlingness to play and my ability to see problems as challenges are my strengths as a learner. I find this is increasingly important as I learn about new technological tools!
I would like to develop my confidence and my ability to trust myself as well as my "toolkit" of technology tools.
I look forward to completing this journey!

Thing#2,LifeLong Learner

2007-07-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm getting to this a bit late in the summer, but I guess it's better late than never! I am eager to begin my journey. :)
LifeLong Learner Reflection:
Strengths: My strengths as a lifelong learner are my willingness to Play! and to view problems as challenges. I tend to be an optimist, so when I run into a problem I try to see it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. This tends to be helpful working in a school library since there are MANY opportunities to learn!!!
Areas for Growth: I think the areas that I need to strengthen are my willingness to see myself as a competent learner when I am encountering a new task. Sometimes I'm hesitant to get started because I want to do it "right" the first time. This is especially true when I am collaborating with others. I feel that others see me as the "expert" and so I want to know it all! In addition, I don't feel that I've begun to use technology to my advantage. There are so many tools that I've yet to explore. I am eager to find new ideas for using them with teachers and students in the library.