Week 14 Thing 19 Learning 2.0
Here are the results of my Google Doc's Library Palooza survey
4 people took the survey
1) Literary Genre Character
3 of 4 picked: Gregorian English man/woman, English/French peasant, Lord or Lady, Knight in Shining Armor
1 of 4 picked: Private Detective, Military OPS Commander, FBI Analyst, Crime Scene Investigator
2) Bookmark a page
2 picked: Use scraps of paper right near you
1 picked: Dog ear the page
1 picked: Bookmarks and scraps of paper depending on where I am when reading a book
3) What Library?
2 of 4 picked : Public Library
2 of 4 picked: K-6 Elementary School
Results will be updated as needed! Thank you!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Summing it all up!
Week 15 Thing 20 Learning 2.0
This Learning 2.0 assignment for our School Library Information Access and Technology class was extremely useful. I enjoyed the self-learning pace and the discipline it took to get the weekly assignments done. It was fun to explore various technological programs and apply them in this blog. The best part was being able to incorporate some of the applications into another assignment in creating a school library wiki.
I know that all of these applications will come in handy in my own school library. The challenge will be to keep on top of changing technology, software updates and trends that students prefer as far as the use of technology is concerned. I may keep this blog alive an running if the need arises and if it fits into my school library!
This Learning 2.0 assignment for our School Library Information Access and Technology class was extremely useful. I enjoyed the self-learning pace and the discipline it took to get the weekly assignments done. It was fun to explore various technological programs and apply them in this blog. The best part was being able to incorporate some of the applications into another assignment in creating a school library wiki.
I know that all of these applications will come in handy in my own school library. The challenge will be to keep on top of changing technology, software updates and trends that students prefer as far as the use of technology is concerned. I may keep this blog alive an running if the need arises and if it fits into my school library!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Tag Clouds Palooza!
Week 13 Thing 18 Learning 2.0
Tag cloud created with Wordle using Literary Genres (Fiction and Non-fiction) and some Dewey Decimal System tag words.
All tag clouds were screen captured with Jing.
Tag "Clouds" created by Tagxedo using words from the Library Palooza Blog.
Who knew? I've seen cloud tags around the web, but who knew how fun it was to create them! I plan to make cloud tag posters for my library and online as well as teaching my students about them. It would be fun to make a cloud tag on a specific genre and tag books in that genre. There are definitely possibilities here!
Tag cloud created with Wordle using Literary Genres (Fiction and Non-fiction) and some Dewey Decimal System tag words.
All tag clouds were screen captured with Jing.
Tag "Clouds" created by Tagxedo using words from the Library Palooza Blog.
Pods From The Creek
Week 12 Thing 17 Learning 2.0
Silvercreek High School, Longmont, Colorado (St. Vrain Valley School District) has a podcast called Pods From The Creek . I choose a podcast from September 25, 2009 (Episode 7). The podcast was hosted by Mr. Goerner, the school librarian and was very informative as it related information going on around the school in the form of short announcements. It then goes on to interview Ms. Kohn, a language arts teacher at the school that is starting a new semester long online book class. Though Ms. Kohn is not in the library, I though this related nicely to a great idea that any librarian could do in a middle school or high school. Then next part of the podcast is an introduction to a new website called Drop.io, and then some iTouch/Phone applications.
The podcast is about 8 minutes long which personally I think is a good length of time as a school podcast should not be too long or drawn out (depending on the topic) or listeners may not want to tune in. My first impression of the podcast was that the host spoke clearly and not rushed, there was no background noise other than simple ambient music when needed.
The Podcast begins with Mr. Goerner the school librarian making routine school announcements to include school library happenings of which were at the time of the podcast: banned book week and a poetry slam. The host interviewed Ms. Kohn on her new online book class called "Best sellers". It works like an online book club where students choose books based on a particular genre. The students meet about 6 times throughout the semester in addition to the online meetings and could earn a .5 English elective credit.
In the first two days of the class, student will meet together for training on how to use Moodle which is a free onine virtual learning environment (vitrual campus). Several genres will be used and students can select a book from a genre then discuss the commonalities that are shared across that genre in Moodle. Some of the concerns addressed regarding the class were scheduling, adequate online training and self-discipline and motivation to stay current with the online discussions by utilizing the computer lab at school or getting online at home etc.
The next thing that was features was a website called Drop.io
Drop.io was a file sharing website, that was named by TIME magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2009. Well unfortunately Drop.io is currently out of commission after being acquired by Facebook.
Finally Mr.Goerner talked about two iTouch and iPhone applications: Worldview by CloudMade where you can search and browse webcams throughout the world and book mark them for future use. The second application was Google Apps by Google.
Obviously because this podcast was in 2009, some of the tech/web items are currently not "new" news, but the main idea was that Mr. Goerner disseminated a lot of information in a short 8 minute time frame and gave important highlights to the students of Silvercreek High School.
http://podsfromthecreek.podcastpeople.com/posts/34731
http://moodle.org/
Silvercreek High School, Longmont, Colorado (St. Vrain Valley School District) has a podcast called Pods From The Creek . I choose a podcast from September 25, 2009 (Episode 7). The podcast was hosted by Mr. Goerner, the school librarian and was very informative as it related information going on around the school in the form of short announcements. It then goes on to interview Ms. Kohn, a language arts teacher at the school that is starting a new semester long online book class. Though Ms. Kohn is not in the library, I though this related nicely to a great idea that any librarian could do in a middle school or high school. Then next part of the podcast is an introduction to a new website called Drop.io, and then some iTouch/Phone applications.
The podcast is about 8 minutes long which personally I think is a good length of time as a school podcast should not be too long or drawn out (depending on the topic) or listeners may not want to tune in. My first impression of the podcast was that the host spoke clearly and not rushed, there was no background noise other than simple ambient music when needed.
The Podcast begins with Mr. Goerner the school librarian making routine school announcements to include school library happenings of which were at the time of the podcast: banned book week and a poetry slam. The host interviewed Ms. Kohn on her new online book class called "Best sellers". It works like an online book club where students choose books based on a particular genre. The students meet about 6 times throughout the semester in addition to the online meetings and could earn a .5 English elective credit.
In the first two days of the class, student will meet together for training on how to use Moodle which is a free onine virtual learning environment (vitrual campus). Several genres will be used and students can select a book from a genre then discuss the commonalities that are shared across that genre in Moodle. Some of the concerns addressed regarding the class were scheduling, adequate online training and self-discipline and motivation to stay current with the online discussions by utilizing the computer lab at school or getting online at home etc.
The next thing that was features was a website called Drop.ioDrop.io was a file sharing website, that was named by TIME magazine as one of the 50 best websites of 2009. Well unfortunately Drop.io is currently out of commission after being acquired by Facebook.
Finally Mr.Goerner talked about two iTouch and iPhone applications: Worldview by CloudMade where you can search and browse webcams throughout the world and book mark them for future use. The second application was Google Apps by Google.
Obviously because this podcast was in 2009, some of the tech/web items are currently not "new" news, but the main idea was that Mr. Goerner disseminated a lot of information in a short 8 minute time frame and gave important highlights to the students of Silvercreek High School.
http://moodle.org/
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Online Video's!
Ms. Shugart, a math teacher at Creekview High School, reflects on the collaboration process with The Unquiet Library.
I chose this short Video because it comes from the perspective of a teacher in regards to collaborating with her school librarian. We often think about science, social studies, history or english teachers collaborating with the school library media teacher.
However, in this short video reflection, we learn how a math teacher collaborates with her school librarian on a math project for her students and how her class successfully evaluated, utilized and synthesized information learned in the library to complete their math project!
Now for something of a different "BEAT" Questions of the Heart Vimeo Library Video. A MUST SEE!!
**Vimeo doesn't embed in Blogger.. too bad :(
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Week 9 Thing 15 Learning 2.0For personal use, I do not think Twitter is for me. I'm not concerned at all about informing the world about what I'm doing every minute, or having legions of followers as I am not an online friend collecting type of gal. My most famous followers are in real time right in my own home :).
However, on a professional level as a librarian I can see the value of reaching out to students and faculty by using Twitter as a way keeping library programs in the know, sending out book recommendations, useful online information, getting feedback, using it for a book clubs, activity announcement, reminders, and sending out fun library related topics or facts and getting feedback from followers. I also like the fact that Twitter may engage students who may be shy in a physical presence, but really feel comfortable with an online presence. Also,Twitter would allow my library to keep an online portable presence, and since using Twitter specifically for a library, it would serve a singular purpose per se, so it would be easier to maintain continuity of what flowed through Tweeting.
Monday, March 5, 2012
RSS Feeds and NewsReaders
Week 8 Thing 13 Learning 2.0 I have added RSS feeds for both of these blogs into my Google Reader, along with the blogs created by our class and a few others :)
Bog #1
http://mhms-media.blogspot.com/
The Daring School Library Blog was surprisingly a fun blog to peruse. I liked the comics look and feel of it. It is lighthearted and fun. It has had 14,209 visitors from November 2009 - Feb 2012. It was also awarded the Library Journal Innovator Movers & Shakers award in 2011. The blogger: Gwenyth Anne Bronwynn Jones keeps a very public presence on her blog. She offers up many photos of things she does in school, as well as interesting library related things outside of the school setting.
The blog utilizes Library Thing, it has gadgets for Tech Help, Homework learning Wiki's, Twitter follower and a Blog Roll. She incorporates a comic graphic of the "Daring Librarian" and the site almost takes on a minor graphic novel look sometimes. She blogs about technology, teen reads, book recommendations, meet the author, community events, free downloads, blog quizzes and more. I liked a recent lesson she gave on creating your own QR Code(Quick Response Code) see image:
The The Daring Librarian http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/ is the companion website with the same thematic structure. Here the "Daring Librarian" uses content from her school blog as well as personal and fun things that are relevant to librarianship. She does post more photos of her adventures in and out of school.
**********************************************************************************************
BOG# 2
http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/
The The Association for Library Service to Childrenis the second blog I chose to follow.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a network of
more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, children’s literature
experts, publishers, education and library school faculty members, and
other adults committed to improving and ensuring the future of the
nation through exemplary library service to children, their families,
and others who work with children.
In order to be a blogger you must be a member or staff of ALSC Association for Library Service to Children of which a blog manager will deem what is appropriate content. The blog contains photos, names and credentials of various bloggers. The blog includes a twitter link, RSS feed, Calendar of events and search box. I like the user interface as with compared to The Daring Librarian blog, this ALSC blog is simple and tailored to the experience and expertise of many library professional bloggers. With that being said, the content varies widely to include, creative educational ideas, trends, technological exploration, events, child/library advocacy, grants and fundraising, information literacy, library design and accessibility, literary and related awards, legislative and legal issues and hundreds of other topics as listed in the Categories section of the blog.
Friday, February 24, 2012
School Library 2.0 Article
Week 7 Thing 12 Learning 2.0
School Library 2.0 -Say goodbye to your mother's school library by Christopher Harris (2006)
Interestingly enough, this article was written just 6 years ago and Library 2.0 seems to be the hot topic today!
I guess we are trying to move from "Library 1.0" or even "Library 0.5" back in day to a technological fluid library of tomorrow. I wonder if someday there will be a display at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center called the "The Library of Yesterday" where it would show a peaceful, quiet, almost reverent room lined from floor to ceiling with worn books and a dusty card catalog cabinet. I kind of actually like that picture, minus the dusty card catalog cabinet.
Anyway, I think the article encourages a lot of new ideas about libraries by turning the traditional aspect of what one thinks of a library to a more patron and world centered establishment that morphs with the times and the changes in technology. However there is one downside. Funding. Sure, an espresso bar in a high school library just sounds too irresistible but will the art department give up their funding to buy a $500 cappuccino machine, and will the music department give up some of their budget to fund the coffee filters and cups? Wait, lets put the cost of the espresso bar on the taxpayer! "Novel" idea, no pun intended.
I guess the idea of all these changes in libraries really has to come from each individual school or school districts policy, funding sources etc. Granted there are grants, no pun intended there either, but how would a librarian justify an espresso bar in her library on a grant application. Okay, I'm off the espresso bar soap box because I do actually think it's a cool idea, though I would prefer a bagel bar. Back to the technology.
Very well said! Adaptation is the key word and not all libraries have the capability of adapting to all the technological advances at once, but they key is that they are trying through librarians who are advocating such changes on behalf of their students.
School Library 2.0 -Say goodbye to your mother's school library by Christopher Harris (2006)
Interestingly enough, this article was written just 6 years ago and Library 2.0 seems to be the hot topic today!
I guess we are trying to move from "Library 1.0" or even "Library 0.5" back in day to a technological fluid library of tomorrow. I wonder if someday there will be a display at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center called the "The Library of Yesterday" where it would show a peaceful, quiet, almost reverent room lined from floor to ceiling with worn books and a dusty card catalog cabinet. I kind of actually like that picture, minus the dusty card catalog cabinet.
Anyway, I think the article encourages a lot of new ideas about libraries by turning the traditional aspect of what one thinks of a library to a more patron and world centered establishment that morphs with the times and the changes in technology. However there is one downside. Funding. Sure, an espresso bar in a high school library just sounds too irresistible but will the art department give up their funding to buy a $500 cappuccino machine, and will the music department give up some of their budget to fund the coffee filters and cups? Wait, lets put the cost of the espresso bar on the taxpayer! "Novel" idea, no pun intended.
I guess the idea of all these changes in libraries really has to come from each individual school or school districts policy, funding sources etc. Granted there are grants, no pun intended there either, but how would a librarian justify an espresso bar in her library on a grant application. Okay, I'm off the espresso bar soap box because I do actually think it's a cool idea, though I would prefer a bagel bar. Back to the technology.
"It was school libraries, in fact, that led
the way in the first wave that brought computers and then the Internet
into our classrooms. This is about adapting, once again, to a new,
perhaps even more compelling digital revolution, in which powerful new
ideas are enhancing the way in which we function in an electronic
information environment." (Harris, 2006)
"Redefining the school library is not a
response to some inherent failure on the part of the institution. It’s
an opportunity for library professionals to engage in some exciting
activities that will enable our institutions to remain effective in the
midst of fast-moving technological change." (Harris, 2006)
Change is inevitable and whether we like technology or not, the majority of students librarians work with today are digital natives, born into a digital society. It is an expectation for them to be connected via technology in some way, so why not as library professionals bring that technology into the library curriculum.
"Remember the 65 percent solution? It calls
for 65 percent of school funding to go to classrooms to support student
learning, yet in many states school libraries are not considered
classrooms in this legislation." (Harris, 2006)
Appalling isn't it. This was back in 2006, some changes have been made since then, but those who believe in school library media programs still today must lobby their state and national legislatures to gain support for their programs.
I liked Mr. Harris' ideas about how libraries are "digitally re-shifting to non-traditional educational spaces."He did not say "replacing", just re-inventing how we look at libraries with their traditional function and future capabilities. With an open mind all things are possible.
For those libraries that are just struggling to make their inadequate space work, struggling with finding funds to buy books and supplies, struggling to not be the keeper of the books, but must be because 90% of books are through cast-off donations, I applaud your resiliency and courage to make your library work.
Librarians for some reason must prove themselves 10 times over and that work will eventually pay off. Even if it means that for you to be a digitally re-shifted 2.0 Library entails obtaining one used desktop so students can finally use your online library catalog.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Technorati
Week 7 Thing 11 Learning 2.0
http://technorati.com/
Technorati is a cool name for a blog. Though at first glance one could think it's a site for expensive race cars.
For the blog lover this is a one-stop-shop!
In perusing the blog directory which was very easy to find, I noticed that the most numerous blogs were in the Entertainment (39,959 blogs), Technology (34,958 blogs), Business (31,659 blogs), Politics (15,785 blogs), Sports (11,767 blogs).
The largest blog section is called Living (53,416 blogs). All things domestic and relating to living our lives were there in 9 different sub-categories.
At first glance the one thing I noticed that "Education" wasn't listed as a main category or a sub-category for blogs. I didn't see "Beauty" as a main blog category or sub-category. Also in Sports, I think they should include a sub-category for "Running/Jogging". I think it would also be nice to see "Cultural" blogs on there as well.
I tried searching "Training for a 10K race"
In the blog post option I actually got no results. In the blog option there were 5 blogs and 4 out of the 5 looked like they weren't much of anything, no recent posts or pictures etc..
So I tried the words "running 10K" and got 86 pretty reputable blogs and no blog posts on the topic. It seems if you search by blog post, you need to be highly specific or use a lot of key words.
Technorati is definitely a useful site for finding specific blogs that are reputable and that have a reputation for longevity.
http://technorati.com/
Technorati is a cool name for a blog. Though at first glance one could think it's a site for expensive race cars.
For the blog lover this is a one-stop-shop!
In perusing the blog directory which was very easy to find, I noticed that the most numerous blogs were in the Entertainment (39,959 blogs), Technology (34,958 blogs), Business (31,659 blogs), Politics (15,785 blogs), Sports (11,767 blogs).
The largest blog section is called Living (53,416 blogs). All things domestic and relating to living our lives were there in 9 different sub-categories.
At first glance the one thing I noticed that "Education" wasn't listed as a main category or a sub-category for blogs. I didn't see "Beauty" as a main blog category or sub-category. Also in Sports, I think they should include a sub-category for "Running/Jogging". I think it would also be nice to see "Cultural" blogs on there as well.
I tried searching "Training for a 10K race"
In the blog post option I actually got no results. In the blog option there were 5 blogs and 4 out of the 5 looked like they weren't much of anything, no recent posts or pictures etc..
So I tried the words "running 10K" and got 86 pretty reputable blogs and no blog posts on the topic. It seems if you search by blog post, you need to be highly specific or use a lot of key words.
Technorati is definitely a useful site for finding specific blogs that are reputable and that have a reputation for longevity.
DIIGO gets my EGO. . .
Week 7 Thing 10 Learning 2.0
After watching the Diigo tutorial, I thought that it appeared to be fun, organized and efficient. It's a great idea to store everything in your "cloud" and be able to access the same personalized information from different electronic devices and not miss a beat.
My first thought was that Diigo would work best for those who could afford and actually use different technological devices and for those who as the tutorial said are high consumers of online information.
Upon initial use of my brand new Diigo account I felt a little lost and overwhelmed. I used the help menu and tried a tutorial of the toolbar for starters, but it seemed like there should have been a video tutorial but nothing materialized, so I ended up scrolling down to the written tutorial and it was okay, but not as detailed as I would have liked so it wasn't very helpful. I looked through some other tutorial subjects and it was the same thing.
I did like the Diigo toolbar versus the Diigolet that you install on your browser's toolbar. I liked the ability to capture, highlight, filter and mark items "to read". I love the fact you can just save snippets of things you read as well and add personal notes.
So I just clicked everywhere to see what things did. I finally found the drop down Diigo Menu that listed my library, lists, groups etc. Then I saw the "hot bookmark" option and started there.
The hot bookmark option brought up the hottest articles, searched items that had been bookmarked by other Diigo users and it listed how many users had bookmarked the article. I actually found a great article related to 21st Century Learners and tried to bookmark it myself and highlight a few things on there. I don't have any other devices such as an ipad, or iphone etc. to test out my Diigo findings on this article. I may have to borrow one from someone. :)
I didn't get far with Diigo bookmarking one article, but I can absolutely see the capability of it's applications in a library media center that is equipped with adequate technology. It would be wonderful to have students collaborate as a group on Diigo on a research project, or to just have a "club" that is interested in a certain subject where they can have a virtual outlet for their interests. It also provides another type of technological media format for students to delve into, however I can see that it may not be for all students. There may be some students who in the instance of reading may only read manga, and in the case with Diigo, there may be students who like using technology for online communications, but only like facebook.
As far as personal research it would make organizing and categorizing information much simpler and allow you to see what others have found on the same kind of research. Diigo would be able to put all that information in one place instead of bookmarking tons of websites on your browser.
I think for me, it would take some time before I felt comfortable with Diigo. I would absolutely need a good reason to use it personally and would use it more professionally, as I noticed a lot of the users, at least in the 21st Century Learner article I pulled up were educators and/or professionals in that field.
Google Custom Search Engine - Vroom Vroom!
Week 6 Thing 9 Learning 2.0
Here is the link to my Google Custom Search Engine entitled Fiscal Fitness.
FINRA the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Education Foundation (they are the guru's who regulate Wall Street) recently donated $1.2 million dollars in grants to public libraries to support financial literacy.
See the article here:
Libraries and Financial Literacy.. two of my loves. Well, libraries rate a little higher :)
Now.. if we could only get FINRA to do the same thing for school libraries think of the possibilities!!!!
*********************************************************************
Just FYI.
There are so many fun school age books related to financial literacy education.
Check out the website at Utah's own financeintheclassroom.org (you can find it on my search engine) created by the Utah Education Network.
You'll find ton's of fun books that teach financial literacy concepts for grades K-12. The website features this with lesson plans, games, printouts and more. All lessons meet the Utah State Educational curriculum requirements for teaching financial literacy in the classroom. Who knew? I did!
p.s. Financial Literacy would be a great month long school library theme and all those fun books could be featured.
Skype- Hype
Week 5 Thing 6 Learning 2.0
Skype is fun, free and user friendly. I do like the Skype group feature and this could be very useful in a school library. Listed below are a few ideas I came up with on why Skype is a great tool and how Skype could be used in a school library:
Skype is fun, free and user friendly. I do like the Skype group feature and this could be very useful in a school library. Listed below are a few ideas I came up with on why Skype is a great tool and how Skype could be used in a school library:- Location, Location, Location- Skyping with an author would not be limited by location.
- Interactive Technology - This allows students to see a different use of technology that they're familiar with. Sure, texting or video chatting with friends and family is pretty normal nowadays, but how cool would it be to have the actual author of the book you read be able to talk and interface with your class.
- Storytelling- A great idea would be to have storyteller tell a story through a Skype session. There are many kinds of storytellers and it wold be fun to have a storyteller halfway across the country or the globe visit your classroom and share their talent.
- Special Occasions - Black History Month, Banned Book week, National Bird Day, Chinese New Year, Dr. Seuss' birthday. All of these fun occasions can be celebrated by a guest speaker or storyteller via Skype.
- Skype Pals- Interacting with students from another school in the United States or another country. Classes could pre-pick topics of interest and Skype about them and compare similarities an differences in those topics and be facilitated by the librarians.
- Student Book Groups - Sharing ideas with other classes around the nation about books they've read would be fun! Librarians and students could pre-select a reading list and reading schedule then classes Skype together and talk about the books they've read.
Friday, February 10, 2012
LIBRARY THING- I'm in personal book catalog heaven!
Week 6 Thing 8 Learning 2.0
http://www.librarything.com/
A personal book cataloging website. Where have I been? It enables you to create your own book catalog. You can catalog up to 200 books for free, then it's $25 for a lifetime. It's so much easier than keeping a library journal of books I've read in a word document! I wish it didn't cost anything, but look below for another cataloging website that's free!
I do like the fact that Library Thing pulls books from different sources and then gives you the publishing information, book jacket photo, even allows you to choose a whole series that you may have read instead of adding each book at a time. It does have some useful editing features of adding tags, and categorizing your books into collections.
I'm still trying to figure out how I can add multiple different books at once instead of one book at a time, some books in a series can come up individually and can be a pain to add them one at a time instead of all at once. So if anyone knows that trick please let me know!
Library Thing widget is customizable and it is fun to see it in a blog. Very useful! Library Thing also tells you how many other people have cataloged a certain book, who has the highest number of books cataloged ( it's about 47,000 in a personal catalog), it can connect you to other Library Thing users, help you find and save reviews and much more. So if you are willing to pay a fee you can have unlimited cataloging access!
*********************************************************************
Another great personal library cataloging website is GoodReads. You can access it at:
It is very user friendly and you can add friends and see what they are reading. There is no charge for unlimited use that I know of and it comes with a bunch of library/reader friendly options.You may requests friends and see their reviews and book recommendations. You can also categorize your reading lists into various subject areas which is very nice. There are great control features as well so you can show as many book features, or as little as you want (publishers, ratings, reviews, dates read, dates books were added etc..)
Image Generator Fun! Week 6 Thing 7 Learning 2.0
There's a gazillion image generators to choose from.. narrowing it down was tough!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)