GOI-BOK

Thing # 11.5 : Evaluation

2009-07-28T12:51:00.003-05:00

End of the Trail by Schizoform

This image may indicate how I feel, but as long as I am a Spring Branch librarian, I know I will never reach the end of the trail! I might fade out with a whimper, though.... This course of 11.5 Things has been a labor of love, and I have enjoyed every minute of it, and I am proud of that! I was challenged, but I didn't give up--haven't given up (see Second Life). I have faltered but never fallen. I have enjoyed moments of prideful success and instances of rueful self-doubt. There have been times when I felt dumber and denser than a fence post, but I always got to the "aha" moment, sometimes with professional help (thank you, VWB) and sometimes by reading the blog entries of colleagues. The important thing is that I did it, and if I did it, then so can everyone else.

I have mini-lessons prepared for staff development that I cannot wait to offer! I chose the easier ones to demonstrate first: wordle, screencast, slideshare, glogster. I am reminded of the impact that trading cards had on most bloggers last year. Suddenly, it seemed as if no lesson were complete without a culminating trading card or magazine cover! Was everyone doing it? Yes! Did it matter? No! Teachers felt successful integrating technology into their lessons, and students loved having a technology product at the end of a unit.

If each of us takes away just two or three great, new Things to use with this year's crop of students, then each of us will be rewarded by the harvest. When I think about that, it doesn't matter how many hours I spend on 11.5 Things. We are not paid by the hour; we are paid by the lifetime.

Thing # 11: Digital Citizenship

2009-07-28T11:15:00.003-05:00

http://www.wordle.net

What I am taking away from this lesson is that every teacher in the system is responsible for teaching digital literacy / digital citizenship. Our philosophy in Spring Branch has always been "meet the student where he is and take him where he needs to be," but I have read blog entries in which teachers advocate letting colleagues know that they, too, are responsible for teaching digital literacy, expecially when it comes to the evaluation of resources and the citation of sources.

The advice to go beyond the first few sites google spits out is invaluable as that brings back to the user the responsibility for evaluating and assessing websites. I think our district does very well teaching digital literacy and citizenship in the elementary grades, but I know that I have not done a thorough job of it in high school and am motivated to do better.

Maybe the culminating activity for such a lesson could be a wordle?

One Second After

2009-07-28T09:46:00.010-05:00

Want a thought-provoking, fast-paced, apocalyptic thriller on the order of On the Beach, Alas, Babylon, or maybe even The Stand? Try One Second After by William Forstchen.

John Matherson, a widower rearing two daughters, is a retired Army colonel who teaches history at a small college in rural North Carolina. One late afternoon, all the power goes off at once. Suddenly, there are no working cell phones, televisions, microwaves, refrigerators, generators --none of the everyday modern conveniences we are so used to--and even most cars refuse to run.

John, with his Army and military history background, becomes aware that this is not just a local disturbance of some sort. He begins to suspect that the United States has been targeted by a high-altitude nuclear bomb which has unleashed an electromagnetic pulse that has instantly disabled all electronics and made America vulnerable not only to its attackers but to its own population which quickly descends to humanity's lowest level. Chaos, starvation, and death ensue. John's background and experience push him to the forefront in his town's bid for survival.

Newt Gingrich's foreword is enlightening; the premise of this book is entirely possible.

Thing # 10: Second Life Second Step

2009-07-27T10:36:00.002-05:00

I changed emails and was able to create a Second Life account and have been able to log on. At last! I am Squatchina Bumblefoot, and I am in--except that I received this message: "Unable to upload yada yada...The server is experiencing unexpected difficulties. Please try again later." Well, I will, because I have to, but how many people who are digital immigrants will be willing to encounter this frustration every step of the way? I predict that a lot of people will just give up.

Well, it is later, and the server is still experiencing difficulties. Which server? Theirs or ours?

Thing # 10: Second Life

2009-07-27T09:34:00.003-05:00

I had read other blog entries for the dreaded #10 so that I would have some idea what to expect, and I was lulled into thinking it wasn't going to be such a scarifying challenge as I had anticipated. I was already intimidated since I am not good at video games, and I watch my son play these involved and complicated games that look just like second life to me. His avatar seems to do a lot of running, which I am not fond of, but his avatar also heals, makes things, sells things, gardens, etc. My son finds it all relaxing, fun, and entertaining, as do his friends who are also online and playing this same game.

I did have some initial difficulties--such as registering my avatar. The first time, the registration failed. The second time, the registration failed. The third time, the registration failed, and I received a message that I had too many avatars for one account. I couldn't figure that one out--how could I have too many if each attempt had failed?!

Anyway, I contacted "help." I filled out the questionnaire I was emailed, and I received a ticket number. I can check on this ticket number if I log in, but not being able to log in is why I needed help in the first place! I was able to log in as a guest, but when I tried to access the ticket number (as a guest) I was told I wasn't authorized to see that ticket with its helpful information.

I have not given up; I am just temporarily stalled. I have looked at everything I can view and read and explored what I was able to, but I have not yet been able to enter a world. Hopefully, my registration difficulties will be resolved before August 10th!

Stephanie Plum? Anyone? Anyone?

2009-07-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

If you are a Stephanie Plum / Janet Evanovich fan, you need no introductory remarks! You know who she is and what she is up to!

In this New York Times interview, click on the link below, Janet Evanovich talks about her transition from romance writer to number one best-selling author of crime fiction, featuring a mediocre bounty hunter with Jersey hair and a manicure. Evanovich's son and daughter are deeply involved in her book business, and her family has a contest each time for the best new title!

What makes Evanovich's books so popular? She thinks it is because she writes happy books about good people. Watch for her new series starring Diesel!

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/07/17/multimedia/1247463461442/a-conversation-with-janet-evanovich.html

Thing # 9: Great New Summer Reads PowerPoint

2009-07-22T08:38:00.002-05:00

Great New Summer Reads

View more presentations from benefiej.

Student VoiceThread Success Story!

2009-07-20T14:28:00.006-05:00

Today was so exciting! An English class in summer school came to the library to do individual VoiceThreads as a culminating activity, and they did a great job and had so much fun! They were fully engaged all day long, an admirable feat in summer school!

After reading William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the students had come to the library to research (using both print and non-print sources) an aspect of daily life during the Middle Ages. After researching their topics, citing their sources, and creating note cards, they withdrew to the classroom to compose a short story using this research material.

In the library today, students created their free email account at yahoo.com. I had suggested yahoo because it seemed easier to get Flickr Creative Commons images if they already had a yahoo account. Most of the students already had an email account, but a few needed to set up one. No one had any trouble doing this.

Unfortunately, Flickr was still blocked this morning even though I had sent in a request to have it unblocked. I missed my best opportunity to discuss the creative commons, copyright,and giving credit to sources; we used google images instead, but I don't think anyone actually figured out how to give credit on the VoiceThread slide.

Students then requested a free account at VoiceThread.com
All that is required to register is the usual information plus a valid email account. No student had difficulty with this. (Use the K-12 link for free)

Students logged in to VoiceThread, uploaded (step 1) their 8 required images and attempted to record the story relating to each image (comment = step 2) We used the old library Dells, and most of the students were able to record successfully without an external microphone. We had some external mikes available for use by students whose machines proved uncooperative. The opportunities for re-recording are endless so one can record and record and record until one is satisfied with the result!

Sharing is step 3. One can copy the link and share it, invite friends, send in an email or embed (which is what I did in my blog) or export an archival movie version which costs $2.99 per export or buy 10 for $10.00. The students clicked on the tab that said +Add to MyVoice page
so they can locate it and present it to the class tomorrow for their assessment.

Isn't it great to see one of the 11.5 Things actually being used in the library and with such great success???

Thing # 8: Still tweaking the screencast

2009-07-16T12:34:00.002-05:00

There was a problem before with the screencast's size; it did not fit into the blog space. I tried again because Screencast-O-Matic allows you to embed code for three different sizes. The medium-sized picture was still too large. This is the smallest one. It is called "tiny." and it is, too. It is too tiny to read, but it fits. You still have the option to click to see the full size at Screencast-O-Matic.com

I still didn't re-do the screencast, so that will have to be done at a future time; it is still sub-standard at this point, but I do know now how to perfect it!

Dog On It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery

2009-07-16T08:53:00.008-05:00

This book by Spencer Quinn is one of the funniest, most refreshingly enjoyable books I have read in a long, long time, and I come from a long line of cat lovers so that's saying lot!!

Chet is a mongre-ly sort of dog with one white ear and one black ear. He and Bernie run the Little Detective Agency, which sometimes suffers from a cash flow problem.

Good, kind-hearted, environmentally-conscious Bernie is a somewhat down-at-the-heels PI and a former cop. He and Chet, who flunked out of K-9 school despite being the best leaper in the class, embark on a quest to find a missing teenaged girl whose divorced dad seems to be some kind of sleazebag developer who is financially embarrassed and involved with the wrong sort of people.

Told entirely in Chet's voice and from Chet's point of view, this mystery never seems too cute. Chet is always a dog with doggy likes, dislikes, and habits and the author never tries to endow him with human traits.

If you want a delightful read for a lazy summer day, stop by your neighborhood library or bookstore and ask for Dog on It!

Thing # 8: Do as I Say

2009-07-16T07:43:00.004-05:00

For your reading enjoyment, let me explain what you should do--not necessarily what I did!

Use Screencast-o-Matic because it is free, requires no downloads and is simple to use
Prepare a script so you know what you want to say
Practice, practice, practice until you can perform your little operation without stumbling
Use the built in audio quality/volume test
If you are not satisfied with the result of your screencast, discard it and create another one or go back to add more or cut down
If you are satisfied with your screencast, upload it to YouTube or Screencast-o-Matic or export it
You can export it as a movie to My Videos as a .avi and it will play on Windows Media Player
You can embed your screencast as AVI, MPEG, QuickTime, Real, and Windows Media 100 MB maximum size
Embed your screencast in your blog by going into Edit Html mode, clicking on the video icon, and selecting your video
Click that you agree to the terms, and upload your video
Enjoy viewing your screencast without embarrassment!

Thing # 8: A Laughable First Attempt

2009-07-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

Rats! In more ways than one....

2009-07-15T07:54:00.008-05:00

I submit this quote in reference to my previous post on blinkx.com:

VWB said...
raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...drop by sometime, I'll sing you the entire score! The only thing missing from your list is the rats!
July 14, 2009 8:31 AM

Well, I cannot believe how beautifully this works in! One of my most favorite books is Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan. It is a narrative of one year's worth of rat-watching in the alleys of New York City. Fascinating stuff.

Then, and this gets even better, I have just finished The Strain: Book One of The Strain Trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (Hardcover - Jun 2, 2009) It is a wonderful new vampire horror story that begins with the landing of a 777 on a JFK runway. Suddenly, all contact is lost,and the plane goes dark. As you may know, vampires must have help in order to cross water, and someone has helped one of the most evil and long-lived vampires of the Old World to cross the Atlantic on this very airplane. The hunt is on, and our hero, Dr. Eph Goodweather of the CDC's rapid response team, investigates the furiously multiplying vampire virus that is taking over New York.

And then--and then--at the very end of the book, the author credits Robert Sullivan's Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants with information attributed to a book character, an exterminator, as the good guys creep about underground searching for hidden vampires. By using a special light, they can track vampires in much the same way exterminators can track rats! I knew it all seemed familiar!

I had such a great idea, but I am at school and now cannot access amazon.com, although it was available earlier this morning. Not now. Anyway, there you can view a video trailer (The Strain was originally written as a movie pilot) as well as an interview with Guillermo del Toro, one of the authors. I was going to link you up, but alas! You are on your own for this one, although some would say my audience would be small anyway!

Thing # 7: Whiskers on kittens

2009-07-13T13:01:00.006-05:00

I am trying to remember the lyrics to the Sound of Music song--you know, the one about the rain drops and whiskers on kittens--these are a few of my favorite things.... Anyway, blinkx.com was a perfect place to make a wall of videos representing my favorite things. Let's see. Metallica, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, the Kirov, Baryshnikov and Twilight.

Safe Search was turned on, and when I spot checked Metallica for language, I didn't hear anything that would make me cringe! Making a wall is really easy. One simply selects the videos and clicks on "make a wall!" I avoided YouTube videos even though they were great. Since they cannot be viewed at school, readers might suffer keen disappointment if they couldn't see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! I also noticed that I had some duplication, probably my fault, and some of the wall is cut off on the right-hand side in the blog. Other than that, everything works great!

I am compelled to offer this additional note: At home, it all works; at school, it is iffy. There is an obnoxious Dept. of Public Safety ad about your license plate that pops up at inopportune moments, and Kirk Hammett of Metallica fame seems to be on a loop about Metallica's Hall of Fame experience. In fact, I experienced Baryshnikov dancing Nutcracker with Kirk speaking in the background. While that is not exactly impossible to imagine, it is difficult!

If you haven't tried blinkx.com then I hope you will! Please share some of your favorite things!

Thing # 7: Blinkx.com

2009-07-13T12:43:00.001-05:00

Thing # 6: iTouch Apps

2009-07-09T12:02:00.005-05:00

This was a real learning experience. I am still reeling from the wealth of information that can be delivered via this small, nearly flat device. Hoping to save myself a trip to the mall on a hot summer afternoon, I asked the summer school students if any of them had an iTouch. There were a few hands raised, but the students said they hadn't brought them to school. Right.

Suddenly one of the students working on Plato said, "That blue-haired computer guy has one!"That blue-haired computer guy patiently showed me how the iTouch works and how to download apps. Easy. It seems easy. But if iTouch is so easy, why does it need a 98 page instruction booklet? 98 pages is hardly a booklet. Tome.

Anyway, an iTouch would be anyone's dream come true. It is too bad I have to think of educational uses for it when I want to grab it out of blue-hair's hands and play, play, play!

All Twittered Out: Thing # 5

2009-07-09T07:31:00.016-05:00

http://www.turtletrack.org/

I think I like microblogging very much! So far, I have twittered, but I don't really have the hang of it yet. I get notices that certain individuals are "following" me, and I do spare them a fleeting thought. What must their lives be like if following me seems interesting to them?!

I used Twitter in an instructional setting yesterday! What kind of timing is that? I didn't even have to cudgel my brain to find a library-ish application! A summer school teacher had heard about the new graduation requirements and was worried about the impact on staffing. She went to the TEA website and trolled through without finding anything specific. So--since TEA is on Twitter, I suggested she click on the little Twitter button! Came right up....

Did you notice the pictures? Pretty little birds. In Choctaw, they are special because they are the little Chata newsbirds called bishinik. Bishinik survived the Great Flood by perching upside down on the sky. The floodwaters rose so high that they split Bishinik's tail, and that is why he is scissor-tailed today. Since the Great Flood, Bishinik has been a special friend to the Choctaw, alerting the family when strangers approach by tapping out warning messages on the trees.

I thought of Bishinik yesterday on the way home as I listened to NPR. Someone was talking about the brevity encouraged by email and about how he was still too longwinded for his employer. He had emailed important information to his boss; his boss emailed a one word reply--"shorter!" He hadn't even read the email and wouldn't until the message had been pared down to the bone.

The speaker said he had taken the message to heart and had been using it around around the office with much success. Whenever a conversation became too long, he would utter the word "shorter!"and walk off. He suggests that we all give it a try!

If Twitter can limit the number of characters to short bursts of speech, could we possibly do that in person? Looking at the length of this blog entry, I don't think I am the Twitter type. Maybe we all want to blog at length while other people should be made to Twitter!

I wonder what Bishinik would think about that? Have much experience with woodpeckers?

2009-07-08T19:21:00.005-05:00

I suppose all you will see at school is a large white block of space because that is what I see. If you do not trust me, you can open this up at home or click on the link at the end of this post! I had nothing prepared, sad to say, so I made an Animoto of my father's 90th birthday party, which took place three years ago. I had never made an Animoto before, and I certainly had never before contributed to YouTube or TeacherTube, but both were easy--surprise! I had read a posted comment that the YouTube offering would commandeer all the blog space and then some, and that turned out to be true. It was also true that the Animoto would not be as sharp / clear in YouTube. These are small things, though, and do not dim my pleasure in the finished product!

I would like to try this with something other than an Animoto, just to know that I can do it, but I need to move along or I won't finish 11.5 Things!

An additional note about the birthday party--I chose Amazing Grace as the background music because my father always loves to hear that song sung in Choctaw. When he was growing up, his father and his sisters would sit out on the porch and sing in the evenings. They all had lovely voices, and the neighbors on the farms all around would sit in their yards and listen. "Like the angels singing," they said.

My Aunt Dottie, in particular, had a beautiful singing voice, and she often performed Amazing Grace in Choctaw. What a treat it was to hear her!

90 Years Young

Image: C.seal by moon8woman

Tubing: Thing # 4

2009-07-08T19:17:00.002-05:00

Thing # 3: SKYPE HYPE

2009-07-07T12:04:00.004-05:00

Last night, after a long, hard day, I downloaded Skype and prepared myself to learn something difficult and ego-threatening, but guess what? It was easy! Still unsure of myself, I invited two friends to join Skype--Old Faithful and Terry, and I learned that they were already Skype-ing. Of course, I invited myself to join Skype, too, and am still wondering how I did that!

Anyway,

Old Faithful was offline--very unlike her, but before I could gather my wits, a message from Terry popped up! She had not even been trying to Skype; she was househunting online when my message appeared on her screen.

We had a delightful catch-up conversation. My part was to ask questions about Skype--just to give her a chance to practice, of course--and her part was to think up reasons a teacher would use it. She had the easy part, right?

Terry says that a lot of people talk to friends and relatives in other countries. She, herself, maintains contact with family using other providers, but she has to set up an appointment first!Students can speak with peers in other areas of the world in real time, classes can contact an expert to interview...you get the idea!

In Terry's honor, I have posted a Flickr image from Creative Commons: Boston Public Gardens--Swan Boat by David Paul Ohmer.

Thing # 2: Bookr

2009-07-01T01:43:00.005-05:00

You must know by now that I love Metallica and that I attend every concert I can, even outdoors in 104 degree summer weather, but you don't appear to understand why being a heavy metal fan has enhanced my Library 2.0 competencies and nourished my soul at the same time! So, I have published an informational booklet which will demonstrate why attending Metallica concerts will actually help you to become a better librarian!

Still on Thing #2: VoiceThread

2009-06-30T22:53:00.005-05:00

OMGoodness! VB came over to Northbrook today, and we had the best time working on VoiceThread. One of the English Teachers will be studying Julius Caesar and will be researching various aspects of life in Ancient Rome. This, thought I, would be the most opportune time to try a VoiceThread so I have made an offering to use with students next Tuesday. I recorded my comments until I was breathless because some alien kept overtaking the microphone and commenting in the most annoying tin-can voice! I sent invitations to three friends who are obligated to comment or break off our friendship. So far, VB is still my compadre. If all goes well, you will see my VoiceThread embedded in this blog; otherwise, you can check back at a later time!

Thing #2: Wordle

2009-06-29T09:42:00.008-05:00

Thia image has been generated by www.wordle.net

During summer school, a highly energetic English teacher, a library intern and I worked together on a poetry project. Students composed a poem, determined the theme or topic, found three published selections that reflected that theme, and created a PowerPoint. For the first slide, students created a Wordle that expressed their personalities, thoughts, aspirations, etc. The results were colorful and introspective, and the students enjoyed learning a new way to express themselves creatively. I enjoyed their enjoyment and tried one for myself using one of my favorite quotations by George Eliot: It's never too late to be who you might have been.

Howdy

2009-06-25T13:17:00.007-05:00

Where did my avatar go??

2009-06-18T13:15:00.005-05:00

Okay, I am ready to vacation! (You don't really fool me; I know I am actually sitting at my desk in summer school!)

As I watched the video, I thought that most students are probably already competent as 21st century learners and that it is we who are lagging so far behind by (1) being unfamiliar with the technology they cut their teeth on and (2) by making it almost impossible for students to use such technology in an academic setting. I believe that we are so afraid of what might happen that we have made ourselves into the "anti-electronic gadget" police! When multimedia classrooms are required to post "no I-pods or other electronic devices permitted," it says to students that these items are not related to acquiring and sharing information that is educational. It gives us, as teachers, leave to remain obsolete, and we cannot allow that to happen or we will lose a generation of students.

My vision is for teachers to use available technology in such a way that students are constantly interacting with the teacher and with each other to research, to pose questions, and to find solutions so that they will be too much "on task" to get into trouble! Responsible and ethical use of electronic devices, as well as integrity of authorship, are emphasized in elementary libraries and classrooms, and we expect students in secondary schools to exhibit these behaviors, but we probably need to use every opportunity to reinforce these concepts!

I really like the terms used for the librarian's functions: Learning Architect, Modeler, Learning Concierge, Incubator, Synthesizer, Guide (Sherpa--not politically correct, I have been advised),
and Change Agent. I know that I am not sufficiently qualified to tackle all roles at once. Maybe I will start with Modeler and transition into Change Agent!

OZZFEST in August!

2008-09-17T17:00:00.009-05:00

What a wonderful experience! My son, my foster son, and I went to Ozzfest in August. We left early in the day and arrived at Dr. Pepper Stadium, I believe it was called, north of Dallas, late in the morning. It was already hot, and it would get even hotter as the day wore on, finally reaching 104 degrees! We were able to find a parking lot that still had available spaces, and I debated taking my straw hat, but the boys thought it made me look weird so I let them talk me out of it. "Mama. we are all going to get Metallica hats so you don't need that stupid-looking straw hat!"

We passed through the metal checkpoint without incident and entered the stadium to the sounds of Apocalyptica. I particularly like this group when they play Metallica on their cellos--just heavenly! We went straight to the merchandise to spend our money. I got a great new Metallica shirt that looks like the night sky studded with stars, but it is actually a skull--really nice. The boys got Metallica caps--the last two. Yes, I had to wear a towel on my head which must have made me look a lot stupider than the straw hat did! :(

I thought I might be the oldest living Metallica fan, but there were many ancients there that day, although most of them did sport tattoos and ponytails. I looked just like what I am--a little old lady Metallica fan.

Our seats were out in the open but they were on the 3rd row Out of deference to me, the boys did not buy tickets on the grass.I was very grateful.

Ozzy was in great form, and he was having a wonderful time. In fact, he ran over by 35 minutes. Metallica, naturally, was the finale, and it was after 10:00 PM by the time they took the stage, I think. They favored us with a dynamic show, as usual. They were moving constantly and roamed all over the stage. They sang a new song from their newest album, so we heard it first!!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

2008-02-14T11:57:00.002-06:00

Don't I just wish my latest project had worked out better! A fabulous sister librarian in our district had the idea of selling coffee in the library before school during National Library Week. I think I will be out of town that week, so I thought maybe I could try out the idea on Valentine's Day!

I contacted the coffee shop which supplies coffee for teachers on our campus every Friday, and they said, "Sure! No problem! We'll give you a good deal." But then, but then....I never could keep in contact. I had to call and call and call. Finally, we agreed on a price for coffee and hot chocolate, complete with cups, spoons, sugar, cream, and whipped cream. I was plenty nervous so I didn't advertise in a big way.

This morning my retired librarian friend and I were parked in front of the coffee shop at 6:30. The coffee was ready; the cocoa was ready. There were no cups, cream, or whipped cream. We made an emergency run to the grocery store. Finally, we arrived at school, and we were early enough to get a parking place in front. Sure, I had to park in the spot reserved for "The speaker," but whoever he or she may be, he/she wasn't there at 6:45! I collared two students who had the misfortune of arriving early, and gave them the opportunity to help me lug two hefty containers and assorted items up to the library, while long-suffering friend parked my car in its proper space.

I was set up and ready for business at 7:00! My regular morning crowd came in, and a few of them bought cocoa. They seemed to enjoy the experience, and it was nice. The atmosphere was homey and relaxed, and the hint of cinnamon was a masterful touch!

Did I make any money? Not a dime. Did people enjoy it? Yes. What could I have done differently? More extensive advertising. Take pictures! Now that I know what to expect, I can have a better experience next time!

It was fun; I would do it again.

Thing #23: Cliff Notes

2008-02-13T16:23:00.005-06:00

Oh, this has been a treasured learning experience! Thank you for making me get off my duff and tackle these "things!" Our RCE librarian is one who always just jumps in and does something with new technology--remember the "teases?" I really envied that attitude, and although it is not a "native born" trait, I feel that I am developing into the kind of person and librarian I want and need to be.

It feels so good to have done this and to understand the terminology that our geeky kids seem to have been born knowing. Today I complimented a student for helping me clean up a mess on one of the computers, and I asked him how he had become so knowledgeable about computers. He replied, "Well, I ought to be! I've sat in front of them for 11 years!" I thought, "Well, we have probably sat in front of computers the same number of years, but you are light years ahead of me. How did that happen? How did I let that happen?"

Thing #22: Ding Dong Ning!

2008-02-13T15:41:00.002-06:00

Oh, this was interesting I started with the definition of a "ning." I'd never heard that term before, and when I started Thing #1, I didn't even really understand what social networking was! At least now I know that a ning is a social networking tool that brings like-minded people together, no matter where they live!

I started with Teacher Librarian Ning because I do like that term, and I feel it describes my position--somewhat! This ning is for teacher-librarians and other educators, and some of the groups appealed to me: High School TeacherLibrarians, for example, discuss the lack of help, guaranteed research experience, and "old school" library aides. What to do? Building a Culture of Collaboration revolved around disseminating and implementing the AASL Standards for the 21st Century learner, flexible scheduling, and approaches to teaching information literacy. These are subjects that all of us wrestle with, apparently. It's nice to have company but maybe not so nice that we are all familiar with the problems!

I thought I would try to make a ning, so have a look at Nontraditional Old Maid Librarians!
It is just a start, I know, but it is fun, and the next one I make can be the "really good one!"

Thing #21: From My Pod to Yours

2008-02-12T20:28:00.005-06:00

That is the problem, all right. I have sweated blood over this one. I went to Radio Shack this afternoon and purchased a ten dollar headset with microphone from a youngster who could have been my grandson. When I told him I had to learn to make a podcast, he almost choked to death to keep from guffawing right in my face. "Oh, it's easy," he said. Right. Well, I got home with said headset and recorded my experience, leaving out the sordid and humiliating little details. Now, I only have to figure out how to get the podcast into this blog. I may be up to my eyeballs in trouble here. I could save this as a wav file but not as mp3. I wasn't able to download this "lame" thing (lame in more ways than one!) on my computer. What to do with a wav? Swim fast to the shore. I'll be back!

This is still very clumsy. I cannot see the forest for the trees!
http://www.box.net/shared/204knx9c0s/rss.xml

Thing #20: I Tube, You Tube, We Tube, Teacher Tubes....

2008-02-07T18:23:00.000-06:00

I received an email this morning from a senior English teacher who asked me to gather resources for a unit dealing with the Vietnam War. Since I was in the mood to play and since the firewall doesn't block Teacher Tube, I engaged in a little detective work! I searched for both Viet Nam and Vietnam, and almost immediately I stumbled upon this lesson plan incorporating primary source research and technology for Tim O'Brian's The Things They Carried. I hope it is embedded properly, and I hope you like it.

Although I dutifully searched for library and libraries and even more dutifully viewed what I found, what I really wanted to see on You Tube was a performance video of Anna Pavlova, and I found one! I was in heaven! Her technique was sadly lacking, but she danced so expressively and had such lovely arms and hands that she was a joy to behold! I am absolutely sold on You Tube now, and I wish I could see it at school!

Thing #19: Explore the Web 2.0 Awards List

2008-02-06T21:12:00.000-06:00

How exciting it is to see the familiar "faces" of Technorati, del.icio.us , and LibraryThing, among others, but today I am thrilled to find Medstory. Not only is it fascinating to me personally, but I wish I had known about it this past week when the biology students were researching diseases and working on PowerPoint presentations! We had enough information just using the Library Resources Page, of course, but if this one is on the Page, I missed it!

Just type in your search term, and voila! There is all the information a person could possibly slog through! Even me. I searched for fatty liver, hemochromotosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and, oh, yes! The plague! A friend of mine is currently reading Journal of the Plague Year and was asking about the two types of plague mentioned in the book: one with buboes, and one where the victim --well, never mind. The point is that we can find out the answers here!

For those of you who are participating in the district's wellness program, try peertrainer if you need information, a sympathetic ear, and moral support.Your friends are probably tired of hearing about your wellness efforts and don't appreciate the new you!

Thing #18: Online Productivity Tools

2008-02-06T20:10:00.000-06:00

Open Office turned out to be easier for me to use than Google Docs; perhaps it is more like Word? I loved dabbling with the drawing tools and making presentations. I even made a table, but I must admit that spreadsheets are not my forte no matter which program I am using! Thing #25 to learn?

I hadn't known what open source meant so I had to look it up, and I still couldn't easily explain it to anyone. Source code?? I like that it is free, and I like that Open Office is multiplatform. It did take quite a while to download, but maybe that was an individual computer problem.

These, according to Google Docs' "Basic Information" are just some of the advantages of using an online productivity tool such as Google Docs:

Invite others (by e-mail address) to edit or view your documents and spreadsheets.
Edit documents online with whomever you choose.
View your documents' and spreadsheets' revision history and roll back to any version.
Publish documents online to the world, as Web pages or post documents to your blog.
Download documents to your desktop as Word, OpenOffice, RTF, PDF, HTML or zip.

P.S. Yesterday I downloaded Open Office, as I told you, and today a student came in with a WordPerfect document. Our library computers wouldn't read it, and she was really stressing. I thought I would try to open it with Open Office, and it worked!

Thing #17: Learning 2.0 Sandbox Wiki

2008-02-06T16:46:00.000-06:00

I played in the Sandbox this afternoon, and being a fur person, I wonder whether anyone will come by with a scoop and fresh litter!

The pbwiki tour link did not work for me. I am staying late and working on a school computer; perhaps that is part of the problem. Anyway, I would have enjoyed taking a tour to learn more about this! I was intimidated because everyone can see what I wrote, and it wasn't really all that intelligent! Taking these risks is sometimes very uncomfortable for me, but I will just have to suck it up and GOI!

Thing #16: Wiki, Wiki!

2008-02-05T20:21:00.000-06:00

I am not sure what is supposed to be "wiki wiki" (fast) but I am not it! I have read several of the suggested wikis ,and all the information just vanishes as soon as I go to sleep. Like the girl in "50 First Dates," I start each day as a blank slate and begin re-reading. Finally, it occurred to me--take notes!

I investigated some of the suggested wikis, starting with Library Success: A best practices wiki. I looked at the suggestions for book club reading guides and found BookBrowse.com Reading Guides, Reading Group Guides, both of which are useful, and S.C.O.R.E. Cyberguides, directed primarily toward teachers and no longer updated.

Some teachers are doing remarkable work with students. This Holocaust Wiki Project is so good and so interesting that I would like to join in myself! The Holocaust Museum Houston (Holocaust Museum Houston : Home) is always adding to their database of resources for school projects, and I know the librarian will be very pleased to learn about this one!

Other wikis such as Core Competencies wiki are devoted to staff technology training, although this one may have been accessed but not added to. Others are developed for librarians especially interested in library instruction.

Thanks to a certain individual who keeps me on my toes, I have had a bit of experience the past few days on pbwiki. It isn't really hard to get started, but the formatting can be difficult, and I am very glad that formatting wasn't my part of the project! My friend tells me that one has to let the wiki be a wiki and do its thing, and I was very grateful to be the follower rather than the leader in this adventure!

The project my colleague was working on was a wiki for interdisciplinary research with a resources bank which teachers could add to. I can see the benefits for both teachers and students as they share their information.

Thing #15 Reflection Pool

2008-01-29T21:26:00.000-06:00

This was the most fascinating "Thing!" I watched the video "A Vision of Students Today, " thought about it for a couple of days, and mulled over some of the many comments about the film. Some bloggers thought it was anti-technology; others thought it was totally pro-technology. The students bemoan the fact that they have inherited problems not of their making, but who among us hasn't? Fact of life; get over it. They buy textbooks they never use, they pay tuition but skip class, they bring laptops to class but use them "off task," and they put in over 26 hours in a 24 hour period. How can they do that? They multi-task. For me, one comment kinda summed it up: are we using technology but teaching in the same traditional manner we used to? From the looks of the video classrooms, the answer is, "Yes."

Another comment, from a librarian, asserts that stimulating curiosity is in the domain of the teacher. So true. Questions lead to other questions. For example, if the traditional educational system in the United States is non-productive, and if we need to incorporate technology and teach according to learning style and encourage interaction with the teacher and with classmates, why are traditional educational systems in some other countries graduating scholars, doctors, engineers, and scientists to a greater degree (no pun intended) than is the United States? Everyone has an idea about this; I would like to hear yours.

I just had to laugh at myself when I read Away from the "Icebergs" by Rick Anderson.That is so me! Not only am I dealing with the "Save the world's clutter" here at home, but I am also suffering from it at work! I need to take Anderson's words to heart; a library is not a museum, and I need not save every book "just in case." My mother, from whom I inherited the clutter gene, has purchased a book to help her eliminate the clutter in her home. She, as did the author's parents, lived through the Great Depression and remembers how her own parents saved everything "just in case they needed it." And, the author continues, guess what? They never did need it.

My retired librarian friend, who shares this character flaw, and I have made a pact to get rid of one thing for every new one brought into the house. We don't have it quite right, though, because I give mine to her, and she gives hers to me! :(

Thing #14: Technorati

2008-01-24T21:04:00.000-06:00

A keyword search for "school library learning 2.0" resulted in 1,593 hits. School librarians in another state are doing just what we're doing--investigating web 2.0 to see how we can prepare ourselves to assist patrons who are more technologically proficient than we are!It's a really big thing, isn't it? I viewed both videos, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the views of the Technorati staff.Of course, I had to use a non-Spring Branch computer to see the second video! Our kickball captains have really done a remarkable job of making these "things" both interesting and motivating. Kudos to you, Cap'ns!

One comment that stays with me is that we are able to "talk" to "regular" people, the unwashed masses as they were called in the 2nd video.The Technorati employee said she no longer reads reviews by so-called professional reviewers. She prefers the opinions of us "regular" folk. Well, we have choices, don't we, with the internet? We have access to experts as well as to everyday bloggers who set forth their opinions, and we can choose whom we wish to believe. We really are living in an age of marvels (says she, sitting in her rocker and listening to the drip, drip, drip as the rain leaks into her bookcase, of all places)

Out of 19 blogs about 'school library learning 2.0' I discovered that we are all on the same journey! I got mixed up searching tags. Anyway, there was one blog with the tag 'school library learning 2.0' that I got tickled by. The writer had the same instructions for Thing #14 as we did, and he/she answered, "Yes, the results were different."

Tagging is fundamental. With all of the blogs and posts out there, how else are we to locate and organize information?

Technorati Profile

I am claiming my blog. Any claim jumpers out there?

Thing #13: Tag! You're it!

2008-01-23T20:37:00.000-06:00

del.icio.us
is lots easier than finding subject headings in those big red books! Just kidding; I know the title. Really. The only sidestep I had to make was to read the text version of the video because it wouldn't play on the school's computer. I had fun seeing what showed up when I searched for my favorite tags! I must confess that even though the instructions told me to limit my tag to one word, I had previously used the tag "book reviews." According to information gleaned here, I could have used "bookreviews" or "book.reviews." I may need to go back and make those changes, but it isn't currently a high priority! :)

This was a restful, relaxing "thing!" I was so glad because at 2:00 this morning, my ceiling sprang a leak. Guess where? Yep, the water dripped down my bookcase and cleaned up some of my favorite books! It took two hours to relocate my collection, which had just been cataloged on LibraryThing, and to begin the drying out process. I started out the day tired!

Thing # 12: Rollyo

2008-01-22T20:34:00.000-06:00

Well, that went pretty well so I must have done something wrong! My Rollyo Searchroll is called My Bookpeople, and I used one of the starter kits and someone else's hard work! My Bookpeople is meant to feature authors, books, and book reviews. When I tried it out for the first time, I thought, "Oops! This isn't giving me the information I am seeking!" I was searching My Bookpeople for titles of books, and only Amazon was coming up with the correct title. I tried putting quotes around the title in the search box, but it made no difference! I was getting results for individual words but not for titles. Then, I entered an author's name (last name first) and hooray! I found the information about the book I was interested in!

From school, I was unable to add the RollBar Bookmarklet to Internet Explorer. I could get it to the top of the page but not onto the browser toolbar. I tried another computer at home but was still unsuccessful with Internet Explorer, although I was able to add it on Firefox.

http://rollyo.com/benefiej/my_bookpeople/ This is the link to my Searchroll. Have I linked this properly? It isn't pretty, but it works!

We had our first Faculty Book Club meeting this afternoon, and it was surprisingly well-attended. After delicious refreshments tastefully (!) served, Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Book Shop, presented several popular book club titles for us to choose from: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan; Water for Elephants; Peony in Love; The Glass Castle; Suite Francaise; Founding Mothers; Kabul Beauty School; Garden Spells; The Year of Living Biblically; People of the Book; and The Whistling Season, which was our first choice! Have you read any of these? I have read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and it is a fascinating read, especially the part about footbinding. Can you imagine having feet 3" long? See link below, but reader beware!!
http://www.shoeblog.com/blog/friday-shoe-history-corner-footbinding-not-for-the-faint-of-heart/

My Bookpeople Searchroll has already been helpful. By searching for the authors (last name, first name) I could read book reviews and comments on the books Valerie presented today.

Thing #11: LibraryThing

2008-01-21T20:31:00.000-06:00

I loved playing around with LibraryThing! When I first read that we had to catalog our books, I thought, "We don't do enough cataloging as it is? Now we're going to catalog our own books?" Imagine my delight when I realized that our lists of books could link us to others with the same tastes in literature! Yes! There really are people out there who read the same fascinating disease and disaster books that I do! Weirdos of the world, unite!

I did find a group, Read YA Lit, that has some excellent suggestions and comments that I can use. The group has over 1100 members so it should prove a valuable resource. As I read and study further, perhaps I will be able to use a LibraryThing widget to feature new books on my library's website, which is another thing I need to be working on--guess I'll call it Thing #24!

Thing #10: Online Image Generator

2008-01-21T17:09:00.000-06:00

Ah, smell the roses....It will soon be Valentine's Day, and, in the library, I will be featuring literature's great romantic duos. Over the 3-day weekend, I attempted to view one of the greatest of all time--Romeo and Juliet--but I couldn't get through it. The film starred Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard. Juliet, Norma Shearer, was 37, and Leslie Howard as Romeo was a real stretch, too. Despite their talent, they were just too old to be convincing! Suggestions for great YA romances will be gratefully accepted!

Since I have already used the trading card maker several times, I tried Happy Face Generator and Comic Strip. I didn't get much done with the Happy Faces, but I made my little anime girl with the Comic Strip Generator and feel that it will be useful in the future.

One of my students has pretty designs shaved into? onto? his head. It doesn't appear to violate our dress code, and I kinda like it. I tell him I am going to put a design on my head when I retire! Image Chef allows me to see how I would look!

Thing # 9: Information Overload

2008-01-21T11:10:00.000-06:00

It is Flex Day. No, I am not going anywhere special. I am sitting in my rocker with a laptop, and I am watching The Plague episode which is airing on The History Channel. That reminds me .... My retired librarian friend just purchased a copy of Daniel Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year at Barnes & Noble, and Valerie Koehler, of Blue Willow Book Shop, recently purchased a book she thought I would like: The Pesthouse by Jim Crace. A man and a woman, in what was once the land of prosperity, join forces and traverse the United States, which in this future time is sparsely populated and rife with lawlessness. Valerie was right; it is my kind of book.

All righty then. Blogs. I started looking for blogs by seeing what other people have listed. That could be construed as cheating, I suppose. You see how much that bothered me. Then I went to Google Reader, which, after trying the others, is my favorite because it is the least complicated. Next, I tried Syndic8, which interestingly lists 5 random syndicated feeds, 10 random headlines, 5 most recent actions, and 5 most viewed feeds, among others. I searched for blogs dealing with "YA Lit" and subscribed to " Teen Reads," which I may or may not keep. Topix permits searching by keyword or phrase. Again, I searched for blogs dealing with YA Lit, but I didn't find any I wanted to read on a regular basis. As you can see, I listed few blogs--not wanting to get blogged" down!

Thing #8: All Googled Out

2008-01-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

Following directions is for linear sequential people; I like to jump around. Maybe that is why I get confused! Anyway, I made friends with Google Reader and added blog sites and RSS feeds. This is WAY too much information to digest at one time. That is why Google Reader is such a great idea. I can read what I want when I want.

I am sharing three items that appealed to me: a video of a volcano eruption; a video about climbing Everest; and, a news item about malaria. My favorite is the Everest video, although it is rather long. I have just finished reading Peak (couldn't find the underliner and didn't look very hard) which is about a teen whose father is an Everest guide and renowned climber. Dad wants his son to become the youngest person to climb Everest. I have read a handful of books about Everest and the people who climbed it (him? her?) and thought this was a credible novel for YAs. I would use the video, or a bit of it, as a hook. Oh, I know how to climb Everest, but I would need to borrow a different body!

Thing #7B: Lost in the Desert

2008-01-09T14:57:00.000-06:00

My father once told me that the hardest thing he had ever done was to leave me in Gabbs, Nevada, my first attempt at independent living as a completely single, relative-free adult. Using Google Earth, I placemarked this isolated desert community so that you could appreciate my father's apprehension. Google Earth allowed me to fly directly to Gabbs as if perched on an eagle's wing for a bird's eye view. Imagine my surprise when I recognized the site of my first teaching position! Do you see the orange speck in the top photo? That is Gabbs School, where I taught grades 7 - 12. There were 6 classrooms in the secondary school! I lived in a teacherage which consisted of 4 units to a building. They were furnished and rented for $45 per month! I understand that, now, teacher housing consists of double-wide mobile homes.

Thing #7A: Full Metal Alert

2008-01-08T20:25:00.000-06:00

This posting has taken me a long time to prepare because over Winter Break, I fell and broke my glasses. Not being able to read or see television allowed me to hone my conversational skills but did little toward getting Thing #7 published.

The Social Studies teachers used Google Earth the week before Winter Break so I knew a little bit about it, and I had used Google Scholar in attempts to locate obscure articles for teachers, but I decided to please myself with the Google Tools assignment and created three Google Alerts: Metallica, WWE, and Houston Ballet. You will be glad to know that all three entities are thriving--I have kept up with breaking news!

My first Google Alert arrived this morning. I just love getting mail about something I enjoy! Although I hadn't planned to make a curriculum connection, I did! Was it the Music Department? Nope. The Physics Department!

Scientists riff on fabric of the universe

Guardian Unlimited - UKTheir music may be the scourge of parents, but the thrashing guitars of heavy metal bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden could help explain the mysteries of ...See all stories on this topic

So--tonight I am sitting in my rocker listening to Metallica and contemplating String Theory. Oh, yeah.

Thing #6: They'll Be Sorry!

2007-12-13T17:10:00.000-06:00

Ok, guys. You are going to be very, very sorry that you encouraged me to learn about Flickr and mashups (such weird terminology) because I am having the best time you can imagine, and I have been sharing my fun all day with "Barry" and "LKP" and that other one! I had to print out the Wikipedia article and go through it with my highlighter at the ready, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made :)

My favorite experience today was making the trading cards. I made two: Anime Librarian and The Singing Red Men in honor of my father's 92nd birthday on December 19th. I thought they would come out small like real trading cards, but the ones I printed out were almost 8 1/2 x 11. Perhaps I have overlooked the obvious.

As for library applications, I, myself, would not make trading cards of librarians, but I would teach students to make trading cards for authors, scientists, sports figures, Texas heroes, insects, animals, and the like. It sounds like a fun learning experience and would provide the students with a "showy" final product. Perfect for trading, awarding, collecting, etc.

My second favorite activity was making a jigsaw puzzle of my attack cat, Attila. I usually get up and walk with a friend for an hour before school, but we were rained out this morning, and I slept later than usual. When I opened the door, Attila stalked in. She was very hungry, very vocal, and very ticked off! When I turned around, she bit the back of my leg! (Yes, there is a point) When I created the jigsaw puzzle, there were chunks missing, and the caption read,"That was tasty. Got another puzzle?" It looked as if Attila had made a meal of it. I gather that if one is willing to pay almost $20.00, one gets all the pieces.

I am even enjoying my mistakes! That is as introspective as I get....

Things 3, 4, and 5: OMGoodness!

2007-12-12T13:44:00.000-06:00

Where shall I start? With all the things I got mixed up on? The list is pretty long! Some people you just have to hit over the head or spoon feed! I prefer spoon feeding, but Vaughn might think smacking me is a better motivator! At any rate, she added a PowerPoint to help with behind the scenes "stuff" and put it at the bottom of the Blog Archive on Library2Play. She calls it "Other Help." Be sure to read it--first....

OK. Here goes. I thought I had completed my blog, but I needed to add a subtitle (haven't done that yet) and create an avatar. Hope you like it; it is my inner spirit. Scary, huh? Vaughn asked me how long I had been an Afghani accountant. Whoooooooooa! Be sure, in your profile, to select a country and a profession, or you, too, will be an Afghani accountant!

I explored Flickr, and I really need to keep working on that. I registered, decided on a password I hope I can remember, uploaded two photos of Attila, my attack cat, added the tags "cats" and "strays" and created a group called Grendel's Cavedwellers. I have invited Vaughn and my sister to join my group so they can say nice things about Attila. When I know more about this, I will invite the rest of you to join my group.

That's all for now. I am having a blast, but one reaches a point when taking some R & R is a great idea! I am eager to see how everyone is doing!

Thing 1 and Thing 2: Posting, Posting...Is anybody there?

2007-12-11T15:29:00.000-06:00

Lifelong learning...well, we have all heard a lot about that these past few years. My assignment is to tell you which habit is easiest and which habit is the hardest for me. Ha! Most of the time Habit #1 is no problem for me. I get bored with inventory, so I do it back to front. I read the last chapter first and don't feel guilty. On a to-do list, I usually start with 10. In this case, however, Habit #1 is the hardest for me because I seldom begin with the end in mind. I live from day to day and moment to moment and probably have never had a goal that I could verbalize. My plans always went awry anyway. So--that is the hardest one for me.

The easiest is Habit #2. I have never had problems accepting responsibility for my own learning. I have a cousin who, when he moved to Alaska, told me he took advantage of every learning opportunity so that he could find work and be able to stay in a place he loved. I took that to heart and have always taken advantage of free opportunities to learn. It always becomes one more thing I know how to do. Besides, I found out that other people pay big bucks to learn what I am taught for free!

That's enough for a first post.