Obviously I jumped the gun when I discussed del.icio.us several entries back during Thing #11 and award winning sites. I admitted I just got things organized and tagged by dealing with my "favorites" on a couple of computers. What I have gone back and done is spent additional time searching the "popular" and "recent" categories and exploring what others have tagged or noted as worthwhile. It is certainly an idea but the individuals tag makes all the difference. Also, I tried the term "school library" with the parentheses to see if the search engine would stop using single word tags. It did not. So I got educational results and I got library results but I did not get school library results necessarily. Please guide me in the search process if you have insights.
There is no doubt that del.icio.us can help me speed things up in the library. When a teacher pops in and tells me that they are getting ready to start their "decades" project I am ready. When the class arrives, I simply open my del.icio.us acct. go to the tag "decades" and I can demo any sites that I have. I immediately know if the sites are still active and appropriate. I can quickly drop those in to a doc. that can be printed and sent home to parents. I used to maintain documents for these projects and I had to check sites before I handed it out for the current year. Also, I had to review my favorites for any additional sites I may have added during the year that did not get pasted on to the document. Yes, I know they can be added to an online resource page too but somehow people want that paper in their hand.
When I look at sites like Library Thing my status as a librarian imposter is cemented further. While it was fun to explore and enter in some of my own titles, I failed to grasp the concept for a while. Finally I realized this was something akin to my spousal unit asking me to "organize" his DVD collection. UHHH... I organize things and facilitate use of those things for a living. I'm content to live with chaos. Do I really care that he owns the movie "Hell Boy" and needs to find it quickly or would like to watch something else like it? You guess. The books in my life are in stacks. When I get to that stack, I read the books. If I need to find a particular book, we hope for the best and that the dog has not knocked that particular stack into another stack that might confuse my memory. I lend books, I trade books in, I leave books behind on trips, my daughter flagrantly steals my books, there is no blooming way my "catalog" would be correct. I am far better off just plugging in a recently enjoyed title and looking for similar tags in case my stacks have gotten low and it is time to replenish with new stacks. And another thing! What I read is like my SSN, I don't just share that information with anybody. My account would have had to be labeled private anyway. Have you caught on yet that I am a neurotic conspiracy theorist?
Monday, July 14, 2008
Week 3 # 12 Voice Thread
Well Voice Thread has certainly changed since the first time I was introduced. They seem to have added a few features and when I browsed through the multitudes of pages, it was interesting to see how people had utilized the tool. Our school is set to receive a number of new computers this August and I think the microphones on these machines would be sufficient for classroom purposes.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Week 5 Thing #11
Pardon me all while I boast, brag and bask in my current feelings of superiority. 8,000 years ago in some other class I set up a del.icio.us account and added a couple of favorites to it. I never kept up with it and did not refer to it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I stumbled from computer to computer wondering where I completed what task and that went for book marks/favorites as well. I'll have you all know my del.icio.us account is now up to date and I have taken book marks from home and book marks from my work computer, tagged them all beautifully and am all ready to roll!! There really is a time and place when we're ready to adopt new habits and skills - it may be sad, but I'm finally ready to incorporate del.icio.us knowing it is time and it will help me function better. To go one step further I taught my 16 year old about it and how it could be useful to her between home and school. Did I receive the usual growl/"whatever" that is the norm? I think not. I did receive a bit of an arched brow and a "hmmmm", yes, I can see how that could help me keep track of all the sites I use for different projects. This my friends is the equivalent of locating pot of gold the the average parent of a 16 year old. Excuse me all while I savor this moment, there just aren't that many.
I already belong to a couple of Ning's and I'm NOT joining anymore!
So sorry but the travel I.Q. game was all too stressful for me. Watching that little bar travel across the page just made me anxious. Why yes, I can find Boston, New York and Stockholm but do I really need to be chastised when I am an unspeakable number of kilometers from the correct site of Hamburg, Germany? Again, my 16 year old loved it. She has a much better handle on geography (thank you teachers) than I.
I already belong to a couple of Ning's and I'm NOT joining anymore!
So sorry but the travel I.Q. game was all too stressful for me. Watching that little bar travel across the page just made me anxious. Why yes, I can find Boston, New York and Stockholm but do I really need to be chastised when I am an unspeakable number of kilometers from the correct site of Hamburg, Germany? Again, my 16 year old loved it. She has a much better handle on geography (thank you teachers) than I.
Week 5 , Thing #10
Holy smokes, I really really struggled with getting this item created and loaded. I originally tried to use a photo of my own dog and add a comic bubble. The site (www.comicstripgenerator.com ) didn't seem to be able to connect up. It kept reading "page could not be found" when I hit the browse button. I'm going to try later in case their system was over loaded or something.
The other one I created and sent to some folks because we will be meeting some of my husbands colleagues in Hawaii in 77 days. Before adding it to this blog I sent it to them via email. I made this at www.imagechef.com
I never did get www.fototrix.com to work for me but they seemed to have a lot of options available to manipulate.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Week 4 #9
Clearly the only way for me to add RSS feeds is not to actively search but to just add to my list as I come across useful things in my daily activities. Searching for things only leads me to things I didn't know existed and didn't NEED to know existed. I ended up traveling all over the place pointlessly. I added feeds for NPR news, some library stuff, some comics, etc.
As Oprah would say, this I know for sure: I don't want to RSS blogs (except maybe Valenza or Lesesne, maybe) , I'll RSS news, articles, podcasts, etc. I don't want to get a bunch of blogs to read through and then feel compelled to read the comments as well. It isn't even that I don't have time, I just don't want to give the time to people's thoughts unless I know them already. There can't possibly be enough value added to justify the time I'd spend scrolling through all those blogs. Don't worry, I really DO know exactly how crabby I'm coming across. I can live with it - it's the endless string of blogs I CAN'T live with.
Searching through Technorati drove me nuts, ads everythwhere and too many clicks to get anywhere.
I was more inclined to be interested in Topix. There still seemed to be a great deal to sort through though and strangely, one of the stories I clicked on to read more about could not be found and the site suggested it might be because it was more than 30 days old. It was on the front page of the Top Stories tab. Could have been a fluke I suppose. Still a large number of ads to look beyond. I could tell it would take me a bit of time to learn how to navigate that site and automatically filter out all the side stuff.
I went to bed, slept fine, woke up and blogs STILL bug the hoo ha out of me. I'm guessing this feeling is here to stay. In this case it should come as no surprise that Blogs Pulse - Conversation Tracker not only fails to interest me but also fails to enter my realm of comprehension. Can someone please share with me why I might care to follow a dialogue of opinions in this fashion?
As Oprah would say, this I know for sure: I don't want to RSS blogs (except maybe Valenza or Lesesne, maybe) , I'll RSS news, articles, podcasts, etc. I don't want to get a bunch of blogs to read through and then feel compelled to read the comments as well. It isn't even that I don't have time, I just don't want to give the time to people's thoughts unless I know them already. There can't possibly be enough value added to justify the time I'd spend scrolling through all those blogs. Don't worry, I really DO know exactly how crabby I'm coming across. I can live with it - it's the endless string of blogs I CAN'T live with.
Searching through Technorati drove me nuts, ads everythwhere and too many clicks to get anywhere.
I was more inclined to be interested in Topix. There still seemed to be a great deal to sort through though and strangely, one of the stories I clicked on to read more about could not be found and the site suggested it might be because it was more than 30 days old. It was on the front page of the Top Stories tab. Could have been a fluke I suppose. Still a large number of ads to look beyond. I could tell it would take me a bit of time to learn how to navigate that site and automatically filter out all the side stuff.
I went to bed, slept fine, woke up and blogs STILL bug the hoo ha out of me. I'm guessing this feeling is here to stay. In this case it should come as no surprise that Blogs Pulse - Conversation Tracker not only fails to interest me but also fails to enter my realm of comprehension. Can someone please share with me why I might care to follow a dialogue of opinions in this fashion?
Week 3 #7 Anything Tech
Recent thoughts have ventured to the overwhelming task of information management or archiving. I stink at it!
I have recently asked myself - "What computer was I on when I did that?" Then I have to search around until specific item is located. I have two desk tops at work, one at home and a lap top. I never remember where I did what and sometimes folders with a specific name on one means something different on another. Undertaking a major organization overhaul seems a little daunting. Goodness knows I've endured my share of loss - file loss, that is. It took a few times more than most but at least I learned to back up. My age shows through here but I'm still somewhat insecure without that banker box of files to reassure me of my productivity and place in the world.
I take comparatively few digital photos compared to most I know and I still have trouble organizing them well - folders, names, dates... I admit, my old shoe box method with the prints wasn't always the best either but sorting through those somehow seemed easier than sorting through jpg files for the one I'm looking for. I'm not satisfied with just computer back ups of precious photos so then I need to label, organize and store CD's in a logical manner. That "logical" manner currently consists of a stack sitting on the back of my desk. I'm curious to hear what methods others use to manage and organize digital memories.
I have recently asked myself - "What computer was I on when I did that?" Then I have to search around until specific item is located. I have two desk tops at work, one at home and a lap top. I never remember where I did what and sometimes folders with a specific name on one means something different on another. Undertaking a major organization overhaul seems a little daunting. Goodness knows I've endured my share of loss - file loss, that is. It took a few times more than most but at least I learned to back up. My age shows through here but I'm still somewhat insecure without that banker box of files to reassure me of my productivity and place in the world.
I take comparatively few digital photos compared to most I know and I still have trouble organizing them well - folders, names, dates... I admit, my old shoe box method with the prints wasn't always the best either but sorting through those somehow seemed easier than sorting through jpg files for the one I'm looking for. I'm not satisfied with just computer back ups of precious photos so then I need to label, organize and store CD's in a logical manner. That "logical" manner currently consists of a stack sitting on the back of my desk. I'm curious to hear what methods others use to manage and organize digital memories.
Week 3 Thing 6 (maybe?)Mash ups,etc.
Can someone, anyone, tell me what I'm supposed to do with Montagr?? I played with it, clicked on different colors, etc. but I don't get what to "DO" with it!!
The flickr magazine cover maker those absolutely cracked me up!! The trading card thing would be a hit as well. I created an entirely inappropriate magazine cover of my friend last summer standing outside a pay only lavatory in Venice, Italy and called it "Happy Euro Traveler's Monthly" - and no, I'm not posting it because she'd be furious! Each fall as a classroom teacher I spent a great deal of time on team building activities and I continue to watch my colleagues do the same. There were a variety of activities, but one inevitably involved an interview and publishing activity amongst classmates. Wouldn't it be fun to complete the interview process and the end product be a magazine or trading card that someone created about you? How would it differ than one you created of yourself? Teacher's are always taking photos at the beginning of the year anyway. What a fun display for the halls.
Magazine covers would have been a fabulous campaign poster for my daughter who ran for a student government office.
Last year I spent time creating READ posters for our entire staff - everyone enjoyed them a great deal. The magazine covers could be a new twist that reveals even more about the staff member and in a fun way. The halls would have an interesting look. Can you tell I love the magazine covers and trading cards? There are a couple of personal family photos I can't wait to get my hands on!
It seems the trading cards could be turned in to study aides if students were able to use pics found on the net. EX. Each group could be assigned a continent, they must download a map and then concentrate critical study information in to the card. Groups exchange or create a card for each of the other groups so everyone has a complete set. Just a knowledge level review tool.
The flickr magazine cover maker those absolutely cracked me up!! The trading card thing would be a hit as well. I created an entirely inappropriate magazine cover of my friend last summer standing outside a pay only lavatory in Venice, Italy and called it "Happy Euro Traveler's Monthly" - and no, I'm not posting it because she'd be furious! Each fall as a classroom teacher I spent a great deal of time on team building activities and I continue to watch my colleagues do the same. There were a variety of activities, but one inevitably involved an interview and publishing activity amongst classmates. Wouldn't it be fun to complete the interview process and the end product be a magazine or trading card that someone created about you? How would it differ than one you created of yourself? Teacher's are always taking photos at the beginning of the year anyway. What a fun display for the halls.
Magazine covers would have been a fabulous campaign poster for my daughter who ran for a student government office.
Last year I spent time creating READ posters for our entire staff - everyone enjoyed them a great deal. The magazine covers could be a new twist that reveals even more about the staff member and in a fun way. The halls would have an interesting look. Can you tell I love the magazine covers and trading cards? There are a couple of personal family photos I can't wait to get my hands on!
It seems the trading cards could be turned in to study aides if students were able to use pics found on the net. EX. Each group could be assigned a continent, they must download a map and then concentrate critical study information in to the card. Groups exchange or create a card for each of the other groups so everyone has a complete set. Just a knowledge level review tool.
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