Thing #21

In think I finally have it!!

Yes I do!!

The funny thing is I teach Photostory, but totally forgot to Next--Next past the audio recording to get the screen where it asks you where you want to save it. If you click Save Project in the first window it automatically saves as an MP3 - not suitable for uploading to a blog.

And I spent two days trying to get this to work.

If I am having trouble, think about how some teachers feel, especially those intimidated by the computer, let alone Web2.0 stuff.

Thing #21

I have had SO MUCH TROUBLE getting this to work.
My partner and I spent all day yesterday putting together a photostory that we could use during the first few days of school.
To get it posted, first we tried Switchpod, but could not get registered.
Then I tried to change the .mp3 to wmv, but photo story saves as an mp3 and I was unable to get it changed.
Then I registered at podbean.com and was able to upload my photostory there - but was unable to copy and paste the code into my blog. I know that I am doing something very simple, but at this point I am frustrated.
This is proving to be one lesson where I need a hands-on training. When things go wrong, I need help, rather than fumbling around.
I will keep trying, perhaps someone has an answer to my problem.

Thing #23

I can't believe that I am finished - with just a few days to spare. I said in my original post that my biggest problem was staying focused. Looking back - I would say that my biggest problem was getting the ability to walk away from Thing.

#1 - The wikis were perhaps my biggest discoveries and the possibilities of using them in the educational setting. The HISD North Region librarians (my partner and I head it) are going to benefit from a wiki this coming year to stay in touch with each other.

#2 - I have always enjoyed going "back to school" even if it is just for a short inservice. I never want to stop learning.

#3 - One of the main outcomes was to find out just how easy some of the Web2.0 items are to master. The scare factor is gone - now the play starts.

#4 - I have no major suggestions for improvement. The timing worked out perfectly.

#5 - I would definitely participate in any project put out by the Spring Branch library services.

#6 - This has probably been the most energizing experience of my life.

Think #12

Decided to wait until the end of the course to complete #12. I found that I was spending too much time reading other's blogs! Wonderful experience.
Two points - 1) Comment, do it politely. Bloggers like to know that others are reading and appreciate comments. 2) Don't be afraid to comment. I just might have something interesting to say.

Thing #17

I finally have my Rollyo ready to go. It was very easy to set it up, but then I got stuck. Good thing I have a partner who patiently explained the next step.
I set up my Rollyo for technology in education, as I will be the librarian/technologist this year. I want to find the best ways to help teachers integrate technology into the daily curriculum, and this includes all the great stuff I have been learning in this course.

Thing #22

There I go again, getting lost in Nings and losing all track of time. My poor husband has so many late dinners, he will be so glad when I am finished with this. Little does he know, this is just the beginning.
My daughter (senior at college) has a MySpace and Facebook account. Had no clue what it was all about, and she was not about to let me see her pages!
Nings are great for connecting with others.
Was impressed with Teacher Librarian Ning and Tx. School Librarian Ning. Both had groups, discussion groups, photos, and videos. Locked in the Library: A Halloween Tale from TSLN was worth thinking about using in my classes this year.
Ning for Teachers left much to be desired. Too many ads and seemed to be made of only blogs.
Going to go back and join some of the groups and network with people of similar interest.
This is one site that will be used in the future, the ideas I saw already are great.

Thing #20

I spent more time than I should looking, and looking, and looking.
Found a good video on TeacherTube called Advocating Teacher Librarians which I might use as a teaser at an inservice.
On YouTube I found a very funny sesame street No Cookies in the Library. I have seen this before and it is just as funny as the first time. Tried save2pc but had many problems, so played with Zamzar. Again had trouble, but with some patience and experimentation, had the video converted and downloaded on my desktop.

Thing #19

You have opened a Pandora's box - where to begin. Thanks for the listings, look forward to playing with many of them.
I went to an inservice where the presenter used wetpaint as her presentation so I focused there. I was already a member of a wikispace so knew a little about that.
I have been asked to do a presentation at the next HISD librarians inservice and had been putting together a power point. That meant handouts with very little interaction in the future from those attending. So I decided to try something different - a wiki. Same ideas as those presented in the power point, but all attendees could access my presentation via the web. But most importantly, they could add their thoughts and suggestions as they made discoveries and wanted to let other librarians know.
Tried the wikispace first, but did not like the ads running on the right side, especially when they cut through my photos. Also needed to add the photos as extra pages.
Wetpaint was so easy to use, ads are on the left, out of the way. Photos are added right on the wiki space, and can be resized immediately.
I plan on presenting my wiki to my staff, hoping that they will add comments and suggestions and become active participants of the reading program.
I have already excited the kindergarten teachers with the possibilities of using a wiki as an ongoing learning experience and can hardly wait for school to start and see how far we can go with this new technology.

Thing #18

Google Docs was fascinating. Started to play with various parts, and lost all track of time. It will take some time to explore all that is available and become comfortable with it. I see no cons, only pros.
Open Office was something else though. I am so familiar with Office, both 2003 and 2007 that I would not make any sense to change to Open Office. I would need to learn all over again, and I have enough learning on my plate right now.
Microsoft Office no longer comes installed on new computers so there is the expense of purchasing the software. Open Office would eliminate that expense and thus be a major plus.

Thing #16

I had SO much trouble getting into the Sandbox. I logged on with my username and password rather than sbisd. Could not figure out why everything was protected. Would help if I followed directions. Need to remember this when students have trouble getting places. If I can't read why should I expect it from them!
I attended a wiki inservice several weeks ago where the instructor used wetpaint. Then the ideas started churning and this session of Library2 really started to jell some ideas. I have already approached two bilingual kindergarten teachers who are my biggest fans of technology and introduced the idea of wikis. Both classes could collaborate on an English dictionary. Insert pictures and a word to start with and through out the year expand on the description of the picture, thus improving both the technology and the ESL part of kindergarten.

Think #15

Houston Independent School District is very fortunate to have at the helm of the big library ship a very progressive and capable administrator. Through him libraries are entering the Web 2.0 age. Yet not all principals have bought into the ideas of our administrator, and it is up to the individual librarian to steer her/his boat.
Last year I moved into a new, much larger library and immediately became overwhelmed with the size and the number of books. It seemed that all I was doing was checking books in and out. Reading scores improved drastically, but I was really stressed, and spend many Saturdays shelfing books. There just was no time to do anything other than manage a "Just in case" collection. I am also the technologist, but everything I wanted to accomplish took back stage to everyday routines.
This year I am very fortunate in that I was able to convince my principal and assistant principal to add another librarian position at our school. I asked for, and got, probably one of the most capable, energentic and fantastic librarians to join me. Both of us are taking this on-line course, and the ideas we have generated will move our library from a book collection into programs which will integrate our services into our students and teachers daily lives.
We have moved our little boat from handing out books to an integration of books and Web 2.0 services - at least we are going to do our very best this year.

Think #14

I understand the logic behind Technorati, but have not played with it enough to understand the true value. After entering "School Library Learning 2.0" I found a lot of blogs, some of which I visited. Blog posts gave me a list of URL's but tagging narrowed my search. I definitely plan on spending more time on Technorati after I finish this course when all parts of 2.0 start to gel.

Thing #13

I have become addicted to Del.icio.us!. Imagine not needing my flash drive anymore to carry around web sites. How many times have I wanted a web site and it's on "the other computer". My fellow librarians can do major sharing now.
My husband has returned to school and has research papers at various times. In the past we just bookmark sites and try to remember what is on each site. This should cut down on the time spent trying to remember where things are located.
I made an account at Del.icio.us, but have viewed the tutorials for Furl and Ma.gnolia. Each one seems to have something special, so I may join all three and tag to each.

Think #11

Set up my account with Library Thing and entered my five books. Houston ISD is doing a Millinaire's Club in August. All teachers and students who have read at least 5 books will receive a t-shirt. Good way to keep track of what books I have read in an organized way.
Looked at the Groups and joined Librarians who Library Thing. Some comments were very comical and some were very informative.

Thing #10

This is my third try - the pictures posted, but none of my writing.
Frustration is growing, and I know that I need to walk away and it will all work out next time.
For the Frame I used http://www.imagechef.com. This will be great for rewards, etc. for special achievements.
For the Badge I used http://www.bighugelabs.com. I put the student's barcode ID on a manila folder as a hall pass and for circulation. I always take a student's picture and upload to the circulation system so will have a picture available to make a badge. Students won't forget folders again.
I need to move on, time is quickly passing, but plan on coming back to this again and again.

Thing #10

Thing #7

I suddently realized that I had not completed, or even looked at Thing #7. A friend sent me some information in a google notebook and was amazed at what could be done.
So I spent a long time looking at all the google stuff.
Opened a calendar, something a really need to keep myself organized. I have one in outlook which I use to schedule things with teachers but am looking forward to using google this year.
I customized a home page with iGoogle. Very neat and concise pages for things that interest me. Should save me hours of looking around the web.
I know that I need to keep moving forward, time is running out, but I plan on coming back to Google and really spend some time here.

Thing #9

I need more than the time I am allotting to really get the grasp of RSS. I get started in one direction and find myself in a totally different area.
Google Blog Search was easy to use since it followed the look, etc. of regular google. Atomic Learning was really neat. Find what I want there rather than re-inventing the wheel when I want to do a training.
Found Salute to Seuss in Edublogs' award winners and may end up using it this year.
Technorati was rather confusing and Topix.net did not hold my interest for very long.

Thing #8

RSS is fantastic. I never know that there were so many journals and blogs that I could search. Now that I have selected a few that look really good, I can spend my time reading them rather than searching.
Mary Ann, a professor from Sam Houston State, has a blog. She always has very interesting and pertinent information on the Texas listserve. Adding her to my RSS means that I have great information at the tips of my fingers.
Since I will be combining my duties as librarian with that of integration technologist this year, I have already started to mention RSS to a few teachers (in particular the counselor) and the advantages of using RSS. I think that the RSS will make life easier for many who will learn how to use it, and it won't hurt to score a few brownie points in the process.

Thing 6

I had so much fun playing with everything and found it hard to stop and decide.
Finally settled on using Trading Card Maker to make book marks for my students. Will take a picture of a part of the library and put the info on the trading card. Perhaps turn it into a game. We use AR and the students accumulate points. After accumulating a certain number of points, the students received one of the trading cards. See how many students can obtain all the cards by a certain date, with a big prize to go with it.

Thing #5

The pictures were endless. Need to learn a way to do a more effective search. Did a regular search first and found a picture I wanted, but then was unable to find it when I sent directly to the group. Forgot to write down the tags. Next time I will remember.

Thought this was so cute, never too young to read.

Think #3

Setting up the blog was not that hard, but getting my avatar into the blog was way harder than I expected. At least I finally finished it and it does not look too bad. I am having a lot of fun learning something new.
Looked at other blogs and saw things that I might incorporate later (pictures) as I get better and understand things more.

Thing #2

The 7-1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners was very informative.
The hardest habit is forming a goal and planning toward the end. The goal is easy, but I have found that I must be very flexible with my planning. There always seems to be something else that needs done, either of my choosing or anothers. I must learn to focus more on the plan to the goal and not get sidetracked.
The easiest habit is to teach or mentor others. I really enjoy working with teachers to help them learn how to integrate technology into the curriculum and learn better, faster ways of doing routine duties.