Sunday, June 29, 2008

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.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

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.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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.

Monday, June 23, 2008

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!!!!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

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.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

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.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

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?