Challenges

Thing #23

This was rewarding experience on many levels. The learning curve was high but I enjoy challenges. One of the things that I will not allow to happen as long as I am in education is the will and motivation to stay current. I am aware that things move so fast that it is difficult to stay on top all of the time but I would like to be able to communicate effectively with students on their level and with the appropriate skills. This experience allowed me to at least be able to communicate on some level. Some of my favorite discoveries were: Delicious, Flickr, Googledocs, Photostory1 and web 2.0. Some of the exercises such as the Photo story allowed me to stretch. The most incredible thing was completing this activity without direct instuction but what I found to be a great aid was completing the activity with a partner. I would do this again but I really think that the time frame did not allow me to really research the topics in enough detail to feel a bit more competent. I am hoping to go back and stretch so that I am able to really implement some of these "things" This was probably the most relevent activity that I have completed in years.

Thank you

Diversity

Thing #22

Ning is a social networking site that allows learning to be transmitted though a strand of people. The use is unlimited; students can form study groups, students/teachers forums, students can form homework assignment networks, Course/subject themes.......

I toured the TeacherLibrarian Ning and the Teacher Ning. I commented on the "Aren't Kids Too Young for that" ning and read "Private vs Public Schools. I am thinking about tdhe ways that I can possibly use Ning for college information; I'll find something useful and relevant. Some many choices and so little time.

Just Do It

Thing #21

I thoroughly enjoyed creating the video in this activity. visuals and music are powerful learning tools and I know that kids have been extremely creative when allowed to create podcast or storybooks. I was not able to narrate the video due to lack of appropriate equipment but I know how much I have learned from viewing podcast and students will absorb the information so much faster in this particular form. I am hoping that I will retain as much as possible for the immediate future.

View Tube

Thing #20
This exercise was enlightening and frustrating;embedding the video was difficult due to the security setting on my computer but with help from a friend it finally worked. I was able to view all of the tutorials and the information was very helpful. Visual are incredible learning tools and if students have access to the information they will move forward at a easier and much faster pace. One of the video viewed "3 Steps"; strongly emphasized transforming the classroom in to a more creative learning environment. The video was also stressing the global connection, collaboration, cooperation and competition. The premise is if students don't know what the competition is doing and learning they are at a major disadvantage and therefore are not prepared to compete; an interesting notion that I believe is our new reality. The video that I have embedded was very entertaining and educational; "How Not to Use Power Point".

Organizing Thoughts and Information

Thing #19

Actually seeing a directory that can help me and others find what we need to move forward is exciting. I explored a variety of the the sites and was really excited to have a guide/directory. Some of the bright spots were "Stumble Upon" which was a visually stimulating paradise, Craiglist, Vufinder, Wikis, Yahoo! Answers and Twitter. Many on the directory have been explored in our 23 Things but I believe that the 2.o could be invaluable to me, personally and professionally. I can help students become more technologically independent with this directory because they can find the answers and the info with the directory. Actually, Yahoo! Answers was wonderful; I was able to get answers without asking and feeling a bit uncomfortable having to ask others. This can work.

Mobility and Access

Thing #18

It was obvious to me once I began reading about Open Office, which by the way was difficult to open; that access it the key mobility and access. I also toured Google Docs and the tour confirmed what I summarized in Open Office that one access material from anywhere which is very convenient and I for one will use it. There are a few peculiarities but it will work. Good info, I will add it to my favorites or delicious or rollyo.......?????

Ah Ha

Thing #17

This was an interesting activity; it seems a bit confusing. What is the difference between Rollyo and Delicious; aren't they both book marks that you can access anywhere?

Then there is the Rollbar bookmarklet where you can drag your rollyo into your browser; I'm missing the point unless it is an alternative to delicious and if one has preferences they have choices??? In any case the link to the the custom searchrolls I created is http://rollyo.com/sheilar71/myfavorites. I will have to find a few more answers so that I can understand the information better.

A New Path

Thing #16

I am still learning though the road traveled is unfamiliar. Wikis is great I can use it for a variety of things; many that I'm sure that I have not discovered at this time. I can use Wikis for team meeting when we are listing things that we must cover as a team or things we must bring to different occasions. I can also use Wikis for personal events; family events, excursions etc. I created a Wikis on wetpaint and I'm hoping to use it in the very near future. It's amazing how much you can learn and how easy it is to stay in the dark; choices.....

The Jetson's Era

Thing#15

I remember discussions about the Jetson's and if we would ever move into that era; though we have not fully enter the fantasy land we are quickly approaching facets of that era. What is difficult for our society is leaving the old behind and the fear of disposing of large amount of what seems to be unnecessary items or what seems to be unnecessary. As you can see I'm a bit stuck even though I know that we are in a new era. I was reading several articles and a few stood out but one in particular was "Away from Icebergs", we are stuck and afraid of disposing of all of the old and moving into the new era. The concern is that when we dispose of the large collection of the printed materials and something happens with technology, what will we do? We have to continue to move forward.

How we deliver service is always a concern when you have one foot in the old and one in the new era. I can see that keeping a large collection of books (catalogs etc) is not needed any longer but until we provide the services needed to everyone we are stuck with the "just in case" theory.


Reading about more powerful ways to communicate; collective intelligence, resource sharing networks and the blogosphere is excited and scaring because there is so-o-o much to learn and asborb in a society where training is limited and uncomprehensive.

As I try to transform my thinking and delivery of services I will use many of the resources that I have saved in this experience to move forward.

And the Blog goes on

Thing #14

Technorati appears to be a powerful site for those looking for specific blogs, video, photos etc. When I tried a keyword on Technorati I was able to see how many blogs surfaced (actual number) that were related to the keyword and the many forms that this information could be observed. As I continued to investigate I was able to see popular blogs were "Boing Boing" that Tagging has changed over time from simply using tag to identify and organize to determing what is most the popular blogs based on the size of the tag cloud; I hope I am using the terminology correctly!!! I placed Technorati in my delicious bookmarks.

I'm still learning but I am only touching the surface; I will go back to explore.

Sold

Thing #13
Creating "My favorites", that can be accessed from any place is just want I needed. I find that I am working on different projects in different places and If I can find what I need anywhere, I am sure that I can be more productive.

Tagging is also a good way of organizing my data and identifying it in my own way so that it is reconizable only to me if that is the way that I have it arranged. the implications of setting up social bookmarking network are limitless. The information that we can share as collegeaus, what students can share with each other(scary); and the connections we can make in the process.

Making a Statement

Thing #12

This was an interesting assignment which took me to sites that I would not normally investigate. First of all I am learning more about blogging and all of the parts that make it more effective. I believe that etiquette is a very important part of the process. After reading many of the articles on what is the best and most effective ways to comment on blogs; I think that meaningful comments; of course, are the most effective, even though the word effective has to be defined for many. Courtesy is also very important to me; it does not matter that someone agrees only that they justify their comment/s. I enjoyed commenting on five blogs that were Library2play participants but it was such a random excercise that the next part of the assignment was more meaningful.

I found at least 4 blogs that drew my attention which made it much easier to add comments. Two of my comments were made on the issues of Violence on Televsion and the affects that it is having on our society. I am appauled at the quality of what is being presented to us on a daily basis and the severity of the violence.

I also added comments to issues on "Punishment fitting the crime". There were numerous blogs out on whether the punishment fit the crime. One in particular was about the jockey, Jeremy Rose who unintentionally hit his horse in the eye mistakeningly while trying to hit/whip in the shoulder area. Jeremy was suspended for 6 months; the horse was not permanently damaged and although this was not acceptable, mistakes happen. I could go on and on about punishment of celebrities vs the peasants but there is not enough time.

I can see how you can feel as though you are contributing in some way if you can find the proper avenues through blogging and commenting.

Food for the Soul

Thing #11

Though we were not instructed to post an image I just wanted show what I've learned as well as show the glee. I really enjoyed this exercise though I only added my library of books which is extensive and will take more time to complete. I will definitely reap the benefits of this particular exercise; personally and professionally. I have added 20 titles tagged the majority of them and will go back to rate them. I was able to automatically receive related titles before sharing so this will be an experience.

Who am I?

Thing #10

I realize that I tend to over analyze things which makes things a bit more difficult. This was an interesting assignment. I also enjoyed the comic generator and the image chef. I found Mother Teresa on this specific site http://www.famousdefaces.com/famous.asp after perusing www.SignGenerator.org

Adding visuals always add a little pizazz to text; it also gives the person reading the article a glimpse into the author of the article. Pictures, whether animated or not helps kids remember the intent of the information provided.

Useful Feeds; Grazing through the Reads

Thing # 9



The easiest method was to create categories and add feeds that appeared useful.

My most favorite was the Google Reader; it's user friendly and visually uncomplicated.

The most confusing site was the Syndic8

One of my favorites appeared on The Cool Cat Teacher Blog; I think I may enjoy visiting this site again.
I'm not sure why I would use some these blogs. Are we saying that news is news not matter who publishes it? Have we been conditioned to think that the only news that is reliable is from the media? How do we sort what is news worthy and what isn't? How do we track reliable sources? This is all confusing.

RSS?

Thing number 8

I'm not so sure that it is a Really Simple Syndication but the Google Reader is phenomenal. You have to sort through the items that are not useful but it this is better than the millions of items that you would have to sort when simple going online. I have added 5 blogs to the reader and I must say that I have found useful items that will be helpful with the college process; my life's work.
The last question is how can libraries take advantage of Google Reader or RSS; are you kidding? There are unlimited ways to educate kids and to use the reader for categorizing themes.

Excellent!!!!

oodles of Googles

Thing #7

I am fascinated with all of the useful tools that Google has to offer. I created a weather alert that will provide comprehensive information to me me once a day. Now that I am thinking about the amount of alerts that I may receive I think that I will edit the alert to news only. I also created a calendar and added US holidays which is always soemthing that is useful to me. There are a variety of ways to use the tools I have chosen. The weather alert are self explanatory but I can pass this information on to my students so that they are aware of what is going on in their world and the world around them. The calendar is useful in my world as a organizer and can help students organize their lives. It can also be shared so that others are aware of your projects and can try to contact you or get involved in some fashion; great exercise. I will have to go back and spend more time.

The creation

Thing # 6

I am really learning, which is exciting and frustating because the process can be difficult. I created a mosiac which was wonderful but had difficulty uploading the picture.

Though I have been using Mashups for quite some time I was not familiar with the term. almost everything that I have used in powerpoint presentations and illustrations for students include mashups. What I have discovered in this process is that there is more and for this particular instance, more is actually better.

A Moment

Thing #5

This has been a really good experience because I was able to view only the most pleasing photograh categories. I learned how to download the photo to my blog and I am sure that I will be able to use this site for other educational purposes.

I chose this particular photograph for because trees has always been a source of strength and inspiration.

Get Ready Set Go

I am having a bit of trouble understanding how this all works; some of it appears to be clear but many thing are confusing. Isn't it amazing that what seems so easy to some can be the most difficult for others?
I have created this blog with the end in mind hoping that I will be able to complete the tasks. I am a life long learner which should be apparent at this stage but this particulary journey seems to be pretty lonely. I am hoping that things become clearer as each step is taken. I have completed things 1,2 3 and 4. I welcome the challenge but the most difficult of the 7 1/2 Habits will be to create my own learning toolbox though difficult as it may seem someone is out there to help me; right?

Clean Slate

I was just wandering if there is such a thing as starting over with a clean slate. Can a person actually begin again; leave the past behind and start anew? What about the baggage that they have been carrying for years, how do you throw it overboard? When a person is starting over can you actually decide what from the past you will keep and what you will discard?

What about those incarcerated; how do they start over when what they've done in the past is what leads when they enter the door. Clean slate; fact or fallacy?