#21 (WEEK 9) Podcasts (No iPod Needed)

This podcast will self-destruct NEVER!!!

At MacWorld, with a fellow CSLA web 2.0 blogger.

You may not need an iPod, but Garageband sure makes it a lot easier!

#16 (Week 7) Discover Wikis

Wikis are a perfect example of how to be an effective Web 2.0 publisher. Two rules stand out for me:

1. Be clear in your purpose for creating and maintaining your wiki. Your audience is using your wiki for a specific purpose. Putting too much into your wiki is like visiting a restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine that includes Russian delicacies because the restaurant felt that the menu needed more items. Adding more stuff in a wiki acknowledging the the purpose just adds to the confusion.

2. Keep it simple. The more a user has to scroll, the more likely a user will get lost and not locate the information they're searching for.

One wiki I particularly enjoyed was Library Success: a best practices wiki.
Clear in purpose, easy to navigate. This wiki would have been a perfect reference for students in a library teacher credentialing program, featuring collection development to technology uses in the school library environment.

Now if only I could be that clear...

Out.

#14(Week 6) Technorati

Technorati is very helpful. So many blogs. Finally some organization. Something that surprises me is that the more I search for relevant blogs, the more I get pointed in the same direction. Today I searched for more K-12 education blogs. I found Infinite Thinking. This blog refers to Warlick's, Wagner's and Fryer's blogs in the first two posts I read. It's all in the technology circle of life. Or maybe I should call it one stop shopping.

I do know that great blog posts are usually short and concise.

Thank goodness for Google Reader!

Out! For now.

#13 (Week 6) Del.icio.us and Tagging

Tagging? I thought tagging was illegal!

Del.icio.us has quickly become a fan favorite with some of librarians. Many of our teachers have been creating hotlists of websites for standards based research projects. California missions, endangered animals, and colonial economics, to name a few. 

We found that it was easy to create del.icio.us accounts for each of the subject areas. We simply log into the account when we're working on the standard and update the links. Tagging is awesome because it quickly narrows the number of links for the student. This is helpful if the teacher is focusing on providing accurate information for each student.

To help differentiate for each school and make sure the del.icio.us account name is available we use the abbreviation of the school in front of the subject area, e.g., http://del.icio.us/bvesciencefair will take the learner to Burton Valley Elementary's science fair website selections. Http://del.icio.us/bvemissions will take a Burton Valley fourth grader to teacher selected websites about California missions.

A next step for me is to put these lists into Rollyo search bars. Then I can really make this an efficient process. 

It all depends on what you want to accomplish.

Out!

#15 (WEEK 6) Read some perspectives on Web 2.0. Future of Libraries

"This librarian creates and nurtures a living, breathing technology plan."

Michael Stephens

Those of us in education realize that any plan, for it to serve the intended audience, must be flexible. Plans must have goals that empower those that it affects. Great plans involve compromise and a can do spirit.

All too often dealing with teacher librarians can be like dealing with red and blue states on a political map. There is no middle ground. Either you're right, or you're off your rocker. The consequence? We spend a lot of time debating, yet accomplishing nothing. Sometimes this debate becomes books vs. technology. We need all of it!

I really appreciated what librarians Rick Anderson and Michael Stephens had to say about library collections and technology. I believe that both addressed the issue of how libraries are changing due to technology. Is the introduction of technology bad for libraries? No, of course not, but I all too often run into teacher librarians that are too one-sided in their thinking. "Kids get technology in other places, the library should be for literature." Are these librarians wrong? No. Are they too narrow in their thinking? I think so.

Today's information seekers want efficient and accurate access to information. The the place they should be able to count on is their school or public library. Rick Anderson reminds us how technology can be used to expand the amount of accurate information through the development of an electronic collection. Michael Stephens speaks to the necessity of being thoughtful and quick when implementing new technology in your library.

One should think of their library as a collection of resources that reflects the needs of the community it serves.

Out!

#12 (WEEK 5) Roll your own search tool with Rollyo

I have to admit that I was excited about getting to this task after reading LatteLover's blog and using her "What's for Dinner?" Rollyo. What a perfect way to combine your Favorites or Bookmarks folder in the browser!

This past week a fifth grade teacher at one of the school's in my district wanted his students to do a "quick" research project on endangered animals before they attend outdoor science school. The teacher clearly defined his goal in the computer lab. This project was not intended for the students to practice search skills. He wanted each group to read selected websites for specific content. The librarian made a del.icio.us list, but now I see how a Rollyo search box would have provided a way for each to pick and choose their preferred search result.

I'm sharing this one at the next computer specialist meeting!

Select Search Engine...Endangered SpeciesSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

#11 (WEEK 5) Explore Web 2.0 award-winning applications

http://www.onesentence.org


When asked to name the one person absent from her life that she missed the most, she responded, "The person I hoped I'd be by this point in my life."

This is but one example of a one sentence story. Read, think, fill in the blanks, and/or submit your own one sentence story. A simple idea that has truly taken off. One Sentence was created on the premise that best part of any story, regardless of length usually boils down to one key sentence. So why should you waste your time reading the "rest of the story". As Shakespeare once proclaimed, "Brevity is the soul of wit." Web 2.0 does exist for those of us without much time to read, write, or create! From now on, I want to be the king of the one line blog.

Out!

#10 (WEEK 5) Play around with online image generators

I have to admit, I love the Image Generators. What a wonderful way to share the news.

#10 (WEEK 5) Play around with online image generators

Las Lomas High School
NCS Champs 2007 - 2008
Football and Basketball

#8 (Week 4) Learn about RSS feeds and set up a blog reader account

I thought this would save time, but I was wrong. I still want to read EVERYTHING!

One of my favorite features is how you can set up your iGoogle homepage to display your Reader. One quick check everyday and I can quickly decide if I'm interested or not. Only problem...
Is this just like "judging a book by its cover?"

Out

#6 (WEEK 3) Flickr fun, mashups, and 3rd party sites

It's funny how easy it is to become sidetracked. I was all excited about Winter Fun 2.0 and was ready to go. I had just finished my administration credential in January and was going to use all of my free time to Winter Fun 2.0 blog.

It was then I discovered that I realized that I had nothing to add to the collective brain that is Winter Fun 2.0. I spend my time using other people's ideas. Not creating my own. So what to blog?

Nothing. I did have fun creating my own magazine cover. My family and I are going to New York this week and I loved the trip planning mashup using Flickr. Reading comments from other families is giving me a good idea of where to go and at what pace for my 7 and 10 year old.

So here goes...
My sister and I sent in a video tape for the Amazing Race. I guess we just scared them off!