Flickr Comment

After reading Lyle's email today about problems with Flickr, I tried to go to the website at school. As usual I typed in Disney World and was most astonished at what I found. The second picture in the list was a picture of a very large woman who was sitting on a bench eating. The caption claimed that they were talking about obesity and food addiction.

It was quite apparent by the description of the person who posted the picture ,that it was taken without this woman knowing. They made no effort to blur or hide her face in any way. My heart just sunk. How horrible is it that anyone can take a picture and post it on the Internet for everyone to see and use.

I am SICK TO MY STOMACH about this picture. I read the comments posted by other Flickr users regarding this picture and most were not very kind and supportive or related to food addiction or obesity. It was just an opportunity for people to make unkind and hateful remarks about a woman who doesn't even know her picture is on the Internet.

HOW CAN THIS BE OKAY! I was going to flag the picture but technically it did not meet any criteria that Flickr has for questionable photos. I just cannot get this poor woman out of my head and how horrible she or someone she knows would feel if they knew this picture was out there.

What is wrong with our society that makes people think this acceptable? If this truly were for the purposes of a discussion on obesity of food addiction and you truly had concern for people in her condition, you should have covered her face.

I truly am sick over this!

Is it the end or only the beginning?

 Red, we can help others too!

I must admit I never thought I would finish this project and not because it was too difficult, but simply because I was too overwhelmed to get started.  After our first day of training, I had completed the first four items but my progress quickly came to a screeching halt.  My first hurdle was long overdue - I didn't have the Internet at home.  I know it is hard to believe that someone in my position could survive without the Internet at home, I just never had a real need until this assignment.

I tried to continue working but the need to override everything and the difficulty in viewing pictures initially on Flickr brought my enthusiasm and progress to a halt.  The second workday (months later) brought me the motivation to get working again.  With the help of a wonderful friend and fellow blogger, I was able to hit the ground running.  The ease with which I was able to progress and the quiet time I have found in the library the first two weeks after the Holidays, gave me the opportunity to bust a move!  While my back is sore and I feel like a blob for sitting at my desk or on my couch for hours on end the last two weeks - I did it!  

My favorite discoveries along the way include: Google Reader, RSS feeds, online image generators, LibraryThing, Del.icio.us, YouTube, Animoto, and online productivity.  The ease with which we moved through the assignments made me realize that such new ideas and products are right at your fingertips and not so scary after all.  While the initial thought of completing 23 things was overwhelming, this format was very helpful.  Everything we needed to be successful was right at our fingertips.  I am not sure I would take the time to go out and search for online tutorials and explore such programs unless I had a direct need in my library.  By exposing us to so many programs and sites, we were able to think about new ways to use them in our library without even knowing they existed.  It seems like the authors of this assignment did all the hard work and we were simply able to "play and learn".  Thank you for making this possible. 

I would definitely continue such a discovery program and would love to have updates in the future.  One or two assignments a month would be very beneficial to our success in the library and definitely manageable given our crazy lives in the library.

I will definitely continue to use several programs on a regular basis and found them to be a great asset to my life.  I appreciate the knowledge this has given me and I have already begun to share several programs with my coworkers, family, and friends.  We must pass this information along to those we serve or all of this hard work will have been wasted.

Thing #21 Podcast

It is hard to believe that this is my last "Thing"!  I find the idea of a podcast interesting and see that it could be used in almost any educational setting.  However, I keep hearing our guest speaker discuss the idea that it is not a podcast if it is not updated regularly.  For this reason, I am not sure a podcast is something I would utilize in my Library.  I see myself using audio files instead of a formal podcast.

Having said that, I did explore several of the podcast directories and found some to be more helpful and user friendly than others.  The Educational Podcast site was difficult to navigate and I found most entries to be individual classes posting their projects.  While this is exciting for the creators, I am not sure it would be helpful for others.  I felt like I had to sift through a lot just to find anything of relevance.  Again, I think it is a terrific place for students and teachers to post items that would be useful for them, I am not sure an outsider would find a lot of that content relevant.

The Podcast.net site was much more user friendly.  However after searching a few school related topics (elementary library and children's literature) I am not sure I will subscribe to any pod casts at this time.  I would like more time to read through several entries before I add them to see if I find them to be a reliable source.  It seems to me that anyone can post an entry and much like the Internet, you must be somewhat skeptical of the author.  After reviewing some of these sites, I may decide to add them to my Google Reader in the future.

After reading a few other posts, the idea of TLA presenters (or any speaker) posting their sessions is quite interesting.  I am not sure they would do such a thing because it may prevent further engagements thus limiting their livelihood.  However the idea of being able to review a speakers presentation is exciting.

Thing #16 Sandbox wiki

I really enjoyed exploring this site and look forward to watching it grow.  I decided to post something that I had actually worked on with a teacher in my building.  I had a 4th grade teacher come to me needing help with her spelling words for Bilingual students.  Some students were having trouble studying their spelling words and could not get help at home because their parents were not familiar with the words in English.  We finally came up with idea of a podcast or audio file.  We made an audio file that she will either post or copy on CD for those students in need.

I like the idea of a central location (the Learning Through Play Sandbox wiki) for sharing ideas within our district.  Since we do not meet as often as we used to this is a great way to share the wealth of knowledge that exists within our circle of librarians.  I will definitely be looking to the LTPS wiki in the future when I need fresh ideas to kick start my program.

Thing #15 Wikis

I must admit I have waited  to work on this assignment until the very end because of my fear of the unknown.  After watching  yet another very informative video "in Plain English" as well as many others, I have a very clear understanding of what wikis are and how they work.  

While I am not sure how many applications there are for my Elementary Library at this time, I do see the possibilities for professionals (both teachers and Librarians) to be endless.  I would love to see the Mesquite Librarian wiki continue to thrive as well as a Mesquite Teacher wiki to be created.  Teachers are so limited in time right now, but the need to share and receive great ideas is always important.  If a wiki could be created with both grade level and content areas in mind, I think teachers and students would benefit.  While some ideas are shared via the CSI curriculum, it appears to be limited to just a few authors.  We have a wealth of Master teachers in Mesquite and we need to open up a forum for these terrific teachers to share their knowledge with everyone.  This is an exciting thought that I would love to see the subject coordinators explore.  I would love to see a uniform template used instead of each coordinator creating their own to make it more uniform and user friendly.  If it is not easily accessible and easy to use, it will not be used!

I found the list of suggested wikis to be informative and added a few to my del.icio.us site so that I may explore them more in the future when I have time.  I explored the Mesquite ISD Library Policies and Procedures wiki and at first was confused how this format would be beneficial (rather than a strict document format), but after further review I found instances where a wiki format would be very helpful.  The opportunity to share ideas for Bluebonnet voting, Mockingbird ideas, Children's Book Week, etc. is great.  This is a better format than email and the manner in which it is saved is more effective than saving  or printing every email.

I guess I shouldn't be afraid of the unknown, it wasn't so bad after all!

Thing #18 Discovering web 2.0 Tools

This is the second time I have looked over the list of Web 2.0 Awards.  I first looked at Zillow and while I found it interesting, I am not in the market for a home so I am not sure I would use it at this time.  It would certainly be helpful if I were looking for a new home or trying to look at home values in my neighborhood for tax purposes.  I will be honest, I looked at the home values of friends and family and I am not sure of the accuracy (I must also say I felt a little weird, like I was invading their privacy).  I would assume they get their value from the county tax assessor so I am not sure how often it is updated based on new home builds, and additions and upgrades.

The second time I looked over the list I decided to explore Yahoo Answers and found it very helpful.  I decided to explore a more personal matter (how to remove rust and other residue from the bottom of my iron?).  This website was very user friendly and the layout was terrific.  While I certainly wouldn't set my kids loose on this website, I would certainly pass it along to my friends and co-workers.  I look forward to cleaning my iron today with a Brillo pad and white vinegar.

I decided to look over the entire list as well and was not surprised to see many of the sites we have already been exploring on the list.  While I'm not sure I would check this particular site regularly I will certainly keep it in the back of my mind in the future as a good reference tool.  I hope the Learning 2.0 website will not be taken down any time soon because I find myself using it as a great reference tool when I want to revisit particular sites.  

I will also take this time to confess that I spent several hours on YouTube the other night just "playing".  What a great place to explore clips on people of interest.  I was able to view interview clips as well as performance clips of people I might never have been able to see.  What a blast!

Thing #23 Creative Commons

While I understand the concept of creative commons, I was completely lost on the website to find the items that did contain the creative commons "license" (if that is the right word).  I watched several of the videos provided on their site as well as our assignment page and found them all to be very helpful.  One diagram made it very clear that Creative Commons is simply the middle ground between full copyright and public domain.  Another video clip said it was time to "refine the rules of copyright" which I completely agree with in the age of the internet.

The idea of copyright is something that we must continue to explain to students at a very early age.  While the idea that you can use someone else's work or ideas is very basic at the Elementary level, it must still be addressed.  As others have stated in their blogs, I would love to show the "Disney" video that explains copyright to my teachers.  The Disney clips themselves might keep the teachers interested while the very important idea of copyright is addressed.  I think we are all a bit guilty of using the "fair use" or "for educational purposes" argument because we simply do not understand the laws.  It is a very gray area and we must do our best to work our way through it and not ignore it.

As I stated, the website itself did a great job of explaining creative commons, but I would love a tutorial on where to find things that one could use with creative commons.  I would like to see a sample video clip as well as the disclaimer as to what portion one may use and how they may use it.

It could be that I am getting tired after an entire work day of "play" and it was right in front of my face, but I must continue to explore the site to see what items could be used with my students and teachers.

Thing #20 and 22 Comment

When I logged back into my blog my Animoto video shows up on my Mac but not on the PC.  Neither the Mac or PC shows my YouTube video unless I first log into YouTube using a different screen.  I want people to be able to view them easily.

THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING!  HELP!  

Thing #22 Animoto - Summer Vacation

Yet another really cool "Thing"! I know you are tired of seeing and hearing about Disney but I have a limited amount of pictures saved to my computer so you will just have to indulge me once again.

I am really skipping around as I get closer to the end and this looked like a lot of fun - and I was right! While I cannot see myself paying for a subscription the free videos are worth my time and effort on this site. It was very easy to upload pictures from my computer and after browsing through their selected songs, I thought I'd try to add my own music. Again it was almost fool proof. When I got ready to upload the video to my blog I simply looked at the Help menu to see where I could find the HTML code. I am becoming quite and expert at looking for the Help menu in each program and now that I know what key words to look for (embedding, HTML, etc.) it makes the search much easier.

I can see using this with kids to make a quick and easy "show" with many projects (shapes, alphabet items, field trip pics, etc.). If the pictures have already been taken and can be sent to a shared folder in their account this is an easy one day computer lab assignment. I would love to try this with a class this six weeks.

This is definitely a site I will keep on my "short list" of programs to come back to.

Thing #19 Go with the Flow

I registered with both bubbl.us and gliffy to begin this exploration.  I guess I have been spoiled by the fact that so many of these exercises came with a video tutorial or at least some sort of explanation.  When I first looked at gliffy I was completely lost.  I first had difficulty even entering my name and password (in fact this happened several times).  After restarting my computer I was finally able to access the flowchart.  I created a test chart and found it very easy to navigate if I am only adding shapes and arrows.  While I am not sure this would be a good use of time for the students, I can see using it in a group setting or prior to my lesson.  Sometimes I like to make my charts prior to the lesson and have them ready when the students arrive (especially with the younger kids).  While I am sure there are other features that I did not see or use, it appears to be very limiting.  

My experience with bubbl.us was somewhat similar.  The lack of training material made it difficult to navigate through the site.  I feel this program has very limited use for both teachers and students.  From what I could see there is only one product.  I found it very difficult to manipulate the bubbles and figure out how to add text.  I think I would rather use Inspiration or the old paper and pen.  Our campus like so many others has adopted the use of Thinking Maps and in order to keep my maps similar to the teachers, I would prefer to create my own using other tools.  Quite frankly, I prefer to use chart paper and markers.

Thing #20 One More Comment

I do not understand why sometimes my YouTube clip appears in my blog and other times it is a giant blank space?????  When I open a new window and log onto YouTube and then go back to the alternate window for my blog it does appear.

Anyone know why this happens or how I can fix it?

Thing #20 YouTube Comments

I find myself skipping around at this point and completing those assignments that interest me first.  I guess it is like making a list of things to do and including things you have already done so you can cross them off and feel like you have accomplished something.

Now on to YouTube...for those of you who don't know me well, I am crazy about Disney World and Wicked (thanks to our fearless leader, Mary, who first exposed me to the wonders of Wicked).  I have been to Disney (World or Land) six times in the last six years and have also seen Wicked six times in the last few years.  If you love musicals, you will absolutely love the story and music from this wonderful show.  I won't spend my whole blog discussing Wicked, because I am sure there are already blogs out on the internet about that topic.  When I had to choose a clip to embed into my blog and I first started "playing" around with YouTube it was only natural.

Holy cow this could be addictive!  Like so many I had limited experience with YouTube but was familiar with the site.  I had seen a clip at the Mavericks game of Dirk lip singing to a Rolling Stones song and when we wanted to see it again my first reaction was check YouTube.  Much to my dismay I did not find it.  My other experiences were watching clips friends and family sent along with searching for music videos.  I can really see how programs such as this can be addictive and you can easily loose hours of your day (or morning as this has become) just playing.

All that to say, YouTube can be a lot of fun but I am not sure I would turn Elementary students loose on the site to search for clips.  I can see using such YouTube or TeacherTube to find clips appropriate for school and sharing only those clips with my students.  The idea of having someone explain a math concept in an alternate way to struggling students is exciting.  I would have found such sites helpful when I taught Deaf Ed in Middle School and had to teach several subjects that were out of my comfort zone.  It would have helped me better understand some Science topics before I tried to teach it to my kids.

While I must admit I have spent the last few days "playing" with this site and looking up fun things, it has been enlightening to know it is not all just funny clips and silly things but there really are educational tools on such sites.

Thing #20 Video Clip

Thing #13 Social Bookmarking with Del.icio.us

At first I was skeptical of the idea of social bookmarking and couldn't understand why I couldn't use my "Favorites" on my computer. After viewing the Del.icio.us podcast tutorial I can see the benefits and potential for such a program. The idea of being able to access my list from any computer is exciting. No longer will I have to drag the same computer to and from school.

The tutorial was very clear in use and purpose and made me think I could use this in my everyday life. I will say that initially I found the installation a breeze but did run into a small glitch and had to seek the advice of a fellow librarian and Debbie. While the installation of the program was simple, the icons on my tool bar did not work quite as easily. Eventually I was able to add them, but don't ask me how because I just kept pressing and dragging things and it finally worked!

Once installed, it was very easy to use. So many times you are searching the Internet for one thing and run across something unrelated but just as interesting. This allows you to EASILY save that website or article for future use without having to read or print it out at that exact moment. I also liked the idea of sharing your findings with others. This would come in handy especially when collaborating with classroom teachers.

I shared this program as well as Google Reader with a 5th grade teacher this morning and she seemed very intrigued. I will follow up by passing along the website and tutorial to her as well as a few others I feel would benefit and not be completely freaked out by the idea of yet another computer program. I look forward to sharing much of what I have learned with my faculty and hope that at least some will also discover that there are programs and websites out there that will enhance thier lives if they just take a little bit of time to learn. I will have to start small!

Thing #17 Zoho Writer

WOW!  The wonders of the internet never cease to amaze me.  (I think this internet thing might actually catch on Speed Reader!)  While I am not sure this is really practical for my needs at this time, I do see the potential.  The first thought that comes to my mind is the ability to collaborate with others and not have to email documents back and forth as well as the ability to edit and post notes to the collaborative work.  How great would this be if a teacher and librarian are working on a research project and do not have the ability to meet together during the day.  Each party can work on the document at their leisure and share their work with the other party at any time.

I found the note taking section interesting as well.  The potential for college students is endless.  They can take notes in class, compare notes with friends, and pull up their notes from anywhere.  As I stated earlier, I am not sure of the practical applications for an Elementary Librarian or Elementary students, but I certainly do see the benefits of such a program like Zoho. 

I really did enjoy the ease with which you create, edit, and save documents in Zoho.  I wish Microsoft Word was that easy.  I will certainly keep this application in the back of my mind and promote it to anyone I think could benefit from it.

Thing #14 Perspectives on web 2.0

As I reflect on the last seven years in this job I am amazed at how much it has changed in that short amount of time.  I think there has been a tremendous amount of growth and change in the last few years (maybe more so than others in that time frame) and I see it growing even more in the near future.

As I read several of those articles, I am often confused and nervous that I am not doing enough for my school.  I find myself becoming somewhat defensive of my library program, contrary to the advice of Laura Cohen, A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto.  As I read through many of the ideas in these articles, I do wonder how can I incorporate them into an Elementary library.   I find myself thinking, it may not be possible and many of the most forward thinking ideas are geared for collegiate and public libraries.

In Rick Anderson's article, Away from the "icebergs", I am intrigued by his idea of the "just in case" collection.  I immediately begin to think about the Reference section of my library.  In the past we were told that you should keep several sets of Encyclopedias in your collection and that none should be more than a few years old.  With the influx of online references there is no need to keep as many on the shelf.  I do however feel it is important to keep one or two sets on the shelf so students can use them both in the library and in the classroom when necessary.  We cannot completely abandon the idea of teaching our students how to find information in print format.  Just last month I discarded several sets of outdated Encyclopedias and have decided to purchase my first new set in several years.  This decision has come with much internal debate due to our declining budget and the use of online resources.  But I do feel it is important so I will use other funding sources to purchase this new set.  While I feel I am beginning to "jump" in to many of the web 2.0 ideas I still cannot completely get my feet out of the shallow end!

The  other ideas in his article also I find difficult to absorb in elementary library setting, "Reliance on user education" and the "come to us model of library service".  In a Title 1 setting I am not sure how many of my clients would really use a web based library program for their day to day needs.  While I do feel there are some aspects I would like to incorporate and have already begun to plan with friends, I cannot believe that my users will stray too far from the books on the shelf at this time.  I don't know what the future holds, but at this time I will continue to keep my eye on new trends and try and figure out how to incorporate as many ideas as I can.

The other article that I found intriguing was A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto.  Many of her ideas have caused me to stop and think about not only other's perception of the library but my own.  I must continue to go out and seek ways to involve my program and myself into the everyday classrooms in my building.  It has been a very stressful two years in our district with TAKS and new program initiatives (CSI) that many teacher's are just trying to survive.  I must continue to make the effort to alleviate the stress and help infuse the ideas of web 2.0 into our classrooms.

I look forward to this adventure and hope that I continue to be a leader on my campus in both mind and example.  I hope I can help bring my fellow teachers along for the ride!

Thing #11 LibraryThing!

I find myself catching up on several blogs today that I started last week, including LibraryThing.

I found the website itself to be VERY user friend.  I am not sure I have ever joined something with so few questions and found it to be very refreshing given the amount of sites we have had to join during this assignment.  The ease with which you can search for books and add books to your "library" was wonderful.  They definitely have made this a simple, user friendly site.

While I am not sure I would take the time to catalog my entire personal library, I can see where some would enjoy this feature.  I could see it being used as a tool to share recent books that you have read and your thoughts on each title with friends and colleagues.  I do not see myself searching this site and finding generic reviews for titles, but if I had a group of friends that joined and we created our own personal "group", I can see this being a fun site to use.

I have two friends at work that are avid readers (more so than I am sad to say) and they discuss recent titles often so I look forward to sharing this site with them. 

I must also add that I was very nervous about what I wrote on my "reviews" at first and kept my site private.  I realized I couldn't keep it private if I wanted to invite certain friends to view my personal library.  My low self esteem with regards to my reading habits made me nervous.  I was afraid people would judge me and I didn't want to embarass myself or my profession.  I am not one that can recall every detail of a book long after I have read it.  I usually only remember my feelings while reading it and did I like it or not.  For this reason, I am not sure I would be able to give good reviews for the general public to see, but wouldn't mind sharing it with close and personal friends.  Now that I have said all of that here is the link to my site for all to look at!

Thing #9 Finding Feeds

I spent some time searching through the assigned Blog search sites again today.  I had searched some last week, but my findings seem to be the same again today. 

Blogline's Search Tool - There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to what sites they offered.  Given our current situation, I decided to search for "Dallas Cowboys".  When I briefly looked over the descriptions of the latest blogs I found most to be junk.  They seemed to be individual sites where people just wanted to rant and be ugly.  Not very helpful for someone who just wanted to gather the latest information on the game, not necessarily personal opinions.

Edublog's Award Winners - while this site did not provide a place to search for blogs but only review award winning blogs, I did find the format helpful.  The design of the site made it very easy to browse through and very user friendly.  It seemed to be very limited in content though.  But I think this would be a great source to use occasionally.

School Library Blogs on Suprglu - The content of this site appears to be more professional than what I found on Blogline's.  I did add this as an RSS Reader but when I clicked on the icon it did not give me a confirmation or tell where it will go. so I am not sure it worked.  If I can figure out how to have this sent to me or added to my Google Reader, this is a site I would like to browse through the titles to see if any interest me.  This has potential.

I don't know if I am doing something wrong or they truly are as confusing as it feels to me.  I did not find any of the other sites to be helpful if you were searching for a generic term (elementary school librarians, school librarians, mesquite isd, etc.).  When I typed in a generic term I had thousands of things pop up but they all seemed to be individual websites.  Maybe I am expecting something different.  I did find a few links to newspapers and other news organizations and those seemed to be easy to navigate and read.  

I am not sure how helpful these search tools are unless you are VERY specific in your search.  It seems to be very time consuming and I might have just as much luck searching google.  As I stated in an earlier post, I can see myself adding sites to my Google Reader only if I happen to stumble upon them.  I am not sure this is something that I would necessarily go out and search for on my own in the future.

My state of confusion makes me wonder if I my expectations are off and I don't really understand what RSS feeds are????  I thought I had an understanding after the Google Reader assignment and I have enjoyed using that service, but the further I searched these sites today the more confused I have become.

Thing #12 Social Networking

While I am enjoying this process and do appreciate its value, my brain is often overloaded and my stress level is climbing with each new assignment.  I think that when I have completed everything there are certain parts of this assignment that I will definitely carry with me in both my professional and personal life and some things that I will never use again.  Don't get me wrong, I DO see the value of this assignment so that we can be leaders in technology in our campus and in our district.

Having said all of that... the whole idea of social networking makes me a bit uneasy.  While I have asked my friends and friend's children to be my "friends" on myspace, it frightens me to think of all the children who are left unattended on the web.  Fortunately every "student" I asked had no qualms about allowing me to be their friend which means they probably have nothing to hide.  

However, after looking at pictures and profiles of others on myspace, I am truly amazed at what people will put out there for the world to view.  I guess I am a prude in this area, but I am utterly amazed at what young kids think is appropriate for others to think and see about them. I think it has created an environment where kids can "hide" behind a computer screen and not think about the consequences of their words and photos.  I had a friend whose nephew passed away last semester and when I looked at his myspace account, it left me thinking... is that the lasting legacy he or his family wanted to leave.  No one knew his password so that IS the last impression the world will have of him and I don't think it is completely accurate.

I will probably keep my myspace account open if for no other reason to keep an eye out for these kids that I care about, but will probably not update or use it very often.  I do not have any one in my family that uses it so I am not sure I would use it to communicate with them.  I have a fairly small family so we keep up with one another easily by phone and email at the moment. I do see how so many can become addicted to myspace and I can fully understand how kids enjoy their time, but if they are not watched I think it could become a very dangerous place.   

Now on to Ning...  I think this would be a place more to my liking.  I joined the Mesquite Library and Friends page.  My initial thought is that this is an easy place where we can all get on and discuss current issues and questions.  While we do email one another it is often difficult to keep up with answers to questions and discussion following a question.  The format of Ning makes it easy to see how others responded to a question and to watch the development of their conversation.  I can see this becoming something we would use in our district.  The format was easy and not as many distractions as myspace (background, pictures, music, etc.).  Maybe I am becoming "old" beyond my years, but this seems to be more my speed.

I feel Social Networking sites are something that we all need to be aware of in order to protect our students and loved ones.  I have been curious about myspace and how it works and I am sad to say that my fears were only confirmed - unless children have someone watching out for them this has the potential to be a very dangerous place (bullying, inappropriate pictures, sexual predators, etc.).  I would encourage my friends to keep an eye on their children, because with the appropriate supervision this can be a fun place for kids (and adults) to "play".

I'll get off my soap box now!  

Thing #8 RSS Reflection

I can see myself becoming slight addicted to RSS. I wasn't sure what sites to sign up for so I started with things that I thought I might actually read: Dallas Morning News, Mavericks, and Disney.  I don't get a traditional newspaper at home and of course don't have time at work to browse through the copy at school.  I found myself searching the Dallas Morning News site several days a week to catch up on local events.  The layout of the RSS reader makes this search a lot easier.  I didn't have to keep navigating back to the homepage and search for titles of interest.  The headlines are in a simple format that makes it so easy to search for a story of interest, click and read and back to the list.  I LOVE IT!

The Disney site was also formatted the same way (maybe they all are?) and while I didn't read as many stories, it was fun to search through and read those of interest.  (The link is for you SpeedReader and Junior Master Margaret!)

The site that surprised me most was the Mavericks Blog by Mark Cuban.  I assumed it would be primarily about the basketball team, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  I started with oldest entry it provided and worked my way up (okay it was talking about Dancing with Stars I admit).  I was surprised as I worked up to the more recent entries that he also included entries about some other interesting topics (i.e Facebook, My Space, Google Open Social, and You Tube to mention a few).  As it has gotten somewhat late, I didn't take the time to read all of his entires now, but I really do look forward to going back and reading over his opinions.

As you can see by my enthusiasm I see a lot of future use of RSS and newsreaders in my personal life.  While I have not found many too many professional sites that I want to subscribe to at this point, I now know how easy it is to do and what to look for on future sites of interest.  I will certainly keep my eyes open for more professional related sites that I can add to my Reader.  When I add those sites it will allow me to keep up with current trends and pass that information along to my campus.  As we continue to say, time is of the essence in the classroom now so anything I can do to provide pertinent information in a more timely fashion for my campus would be great.

This is certainly one new tool that I know I will continue to use now and in the future!

Thing #7

I thought I would need several days to reflect on Google Reader and a few of the blogs I subscribed to, but I can already tell you I AM HOOKED!  I will try to organize my thoughts and answer the prescribed questions and keep this to the point.

I chose to work with Google Calendar and Google Alerts.  While Google Calendar was very easy to use I do not see the purpose of it for someone in my position.  Like so many others have mentioned, I prefer to use a handwritten calendar for my personal matters (that Shutterfly calendar from my niece and nephew each Christmas is just too cute) and an Excel document for my library calendar (that sounds so old).  If I had to share my calendar with others I can see the benefits of such a tool, but for someone like me I just can't see myself taking the time to add events and update a calendar such as this.  I also had difficulty sharing it with others in my family as they do not have google accounts.  So for the time being, I'll stick to my Shutterfly calendar and Excel spreadsheet.

Now to Google Alerts...  WOW!  I am surprised to find how fun and easy it was to check all the blogs and newsreaders that I had signed up for last night.  The ease with which you can access all of your blogs and keep them organized is wonderful.  It is truly your one stop shopping location.  I do think this would be an excellent tool for those in education who like to keep up with current trends, current publications, authors, etc.  I think items sent to one's email can too easily be deleted without being read.  It is far more convenient to go out and check all of your sites at your own convenience.

Thing #10 Last One I Promise

I promise this is my last picture, but given the emotions of many of my teachers I couldn't resist.

Thing #10 Comic Strip Generator

This was my second attempt at an online image generator and found the Comic Strip Generator to be far more user friendly.

I found the layout of this website to be far more pleasing to the eye and less cluttered for my already jumbled mind.  I liked the ease of choosing topics and I also liked the related topics they provided next to each picture.  I also enjoyed being able to see each option on the initial page and not having to click another link before viewing.   I did not have any difficulty adjusting the size and placement of the text.  The Comic Strip Generator was by far my favorite!  I would like to try and add images from these sites to my school and library web page for some variety.  Due to the constant need to override these sites, I am not sure how feasible it would be to use them with the students.  I think it would be a great resource for teachers to print off particular cartoons and ask the students to provide the appropriate text.  

Thing #10 Online Image Generators - Custom Sign

This was my first attempt at the online image generator and I obviously chose the Custom Sign Generator website.  Luckily the Cubs sign was at the top of the list and being a Chicago girl it made my initial decision easy.  Clicking on this link and finding where to change the text was simple, but  I tried several times to adjust the spacing, size of font, placement of font and finally after 15 minutes on one picture - I gave up.  I was unable to find directions on how to make it fit into the space properly.  

I tried to search for other signs within the site, but found it to be TOO OVERWHELMING.  There are far too many choices and the layout of the website was too cluttered.  I also understand the need for advertisements on websites, but found the amount on this site to again be too much.  I then moved on to another website.

Thing #7, #8 and #9

I set up all of the required blogs and RSS readers last night and will comment on these after a few days of receiving the information.  My biggest concern is an influx of information on an already busy email account.  However after one night and few emails, maybe my concerns are for not.

I will keep you "posted" on these activities after a few days.

By the way, the 23 Things can go on the road and out to dinner.  I spent an hour and a half last night at Panera Bread with Kickin Librarian working on our 23 Things.  What a great way to get out of the school to a quiet place with great company and food.  Who knew "play" could be that much fun on the road (the Cinnamon Roll didn't hurt)!

Thing #6 Trading Card / Magazine Cover

This is something I would certainly enjoy using for both pleasure and work.  After reading a few other's posts regarding Flickr Color Pickr, I have to agree.  While it is a lot of fun to look at the beautiful pictures for each shade and color, I am not sure of the usefulness in my life.  If I were really artistic I could see making a picture using small mosaics of color - but I am in no way that talented.

Both the magazine maker in FD Toys and Trading Card Maker were my favorite not only for the product it produced but for ease of use.  I chose to use some of the few pictures I had on my computer at that time instead of pictures from Flickr.  

I think the kids would have a blast with both of these tools!  Both could be used as a culminating activity for biographies, state reports, animal research, Holiday research, and many more research units and classroom activities.  I even think in small groups you could get the Kindergarten kids to create a Trading Card for the animal of their choice at the conclusion of our research unit.  It seems that both of these could be used in conjunction with other activities as well for a final activity.

I would love to introduce this to a few of my more "open minded" teachers and see what we could come up with for the kids.  This may be something they would buy into as it could be a short activity and possibly completed in one visit to the computer lab (time is of the essence).

Thing #8 RSS

When I first started this exercise I was looking forward to having several of the news and sports pages come to me instead of me having to search them each day.  The first video I watched about RSS in Plain English was VERY helpful as an explanation of what an RSS Reader is and does.  My excitement only continued to mount at this point.  The second video I watched from Capture the Conversation was specific to Google Reader and made the setup and use very easy to understand. This video started strong and about 7 minutes in, lost me (and my interest).

When I went to Google Reader to set up my services the first two were fairly simple.  I chose to do a search for the Dallas Mavericks and it then provided several choices for me.  This was helpful as it provided articles from a variety of sources and perspectives.  The first two entries were quick and simple.  My enthusiasm died quickly at this point.  I then tried to load The Top Shelf by copying and pasting the web address.  Twice my computer got "blogged" down and would not continue.  After 10 minutes and much frustration, I was finally able to add the blog to my Google Reader list.

I don't know if it is exhaustion or frustration, but I had a difficult time finding two more sites that I wanted to add at this point.  I looked over several of the SLJ choices but at this point did not find any of interest.  I finally just decided to add two more news sites to complete my list of five.  I know that I will find sites in the future that I want to add but at this point it was a stretch to think of something on the spot.

I am curious how often I will check Goggle Reader and how it will effect the amount of time I spend reading the newspapers via this site as opposed to going to the site directly and navigating through it.  One video I watched said this is a good way to avoid adds and other non-pertinent information.

We shall see!

Thing #7 Google

While exploring the variety of tools that Google has to offer I found some to be useful and others more effort than I care extend.  The first tool I chose to explore was Google Alerts.  I set up an account and I look forward to receiving my first Alerts but chose the daily option so I'm not sure when it will arrive.  

I am a bit worried about the amount of information that is being sent to my school email with this service as I already seem to be overwhelmed in this department on certain days.n  My first personal Alert topic was of course the Dallas Mavericks.  I can see using Google Alerts in the work setting to keep one informed of current authors, current trends in reading, and particular books of interest (i.e. banned book discussions).  If you are trying to gather data or information about any of these topics this seems to be a quicker way to gather that information than having to do the search yourself manually.  

I will post more as I begin to receive these Alerts and see how easy or difficult it is to manage them in my daily life.

Thing #6 Magazine Cover

Thing #6 Trading Card

Thing #5 Thoughts

I thought this day would never come but two months and a few weeks later, I have finally completed something on my blog. I actually did try to begin the Flickr assignment back in October but struggled to complete it at work and quickly gave up. I was not able to view any of the posted pictures at school and even went home one evening and had the same problem there.  

After speaking with several other people who were also experiencing the same problem, I just gave up.  When I came back a few days later it had been fixed.  I don't know if the district or Mary reset something but it now works.

While I enjoyed looking at other people's pictures, I am not sure that I would feel comfortable posting my personal pictures on a site like this.  If I wanted to share photos from a vacation or other even with family and friends I think I would use Shutterfly where I send them the link.

I might post scenery pictures on a public site like this.  

I did like the Bilingual aspect on the Flickr site was nice and would be helpful for my bilingual teachers.  While the pictures can now be viewed at school I am not sure the teachers would use it.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm not sure they would use this at school due to time!

Looking forward to Summer!

disney world's boardwalk
Originally uploaded by daisynme

As I very slowly get back into the 23 things I find myself dreaming about my summer vacation. Yes, I will be at Disney World again this summer. Thank goodness I have friends who love it as much as I do!