thing 23

I am glad I began and finished this program. I had seen the program, but hesitated to do it on my own. I wasn't sure I wanted to be so open. As I went through the program I realized that some of the social aspects of different applications are only as open as you want them to be. Example: Flickr accounts can be kept private and only shared with those people you want to share with.

I went back to the 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners and looked at them in light of this adventure.

Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
The end was to finish the 23 things and learn something new. With this last blog I have accomplished both.
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
I did it only my own, but not alone. I asked for help when needed and received both help and encouragement.
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Problems - Yes, there were a few. Some had to be solved more than once.
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
I always knew I could do it, I was able to do it. I just needed the persistence to keep with it and not forget and let it slide into the background.
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Not too good on this unless you count my bookmarks.
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
I'm learning how to use new applications and things, and also when to use them and when NOT to use them.
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
This is often the best. Show someone how to use a program or application then watching them go off on their own often in ways you didn't even think about. Especially kids.
Habit 7 ½: Play
The "23 Things" have been part of my "play time" for the months. A time to do and learn something new, different apart from my regular job. I have enjoyed it.

Most of the things I had heard about, several I use.
I wasn't familiar with Image Generators but have use Photoshop for about eight years. Online applications are are good and bad. More accessible than purchased programs, but often blocked by school filters.
RSS - It is great having my favorite blogs delivered to me, especially those that don't post everyday.
IM, Twitter - Know the principles but don't have much opportunity to use them at this time.
LibraryThing, Delicious, etc - use them a little and will surely find ways to use them more
Wiki, blogs, online apps - these open real posibilities and at the same time challenges for me as a LMS. The more we move out onto the web with students the greater our responsibility to educate them in responsible and ethical use.

In the process of doing the "things" I tried to read various blogs and comment on some, although not as many as I read. I noticed that many of the blogs I read did not have many comments. Would there be a way of grouping participants (10 -12) and have them read and comment on each others blogs? The participants could be grouped by geography, type of position (public, paras, students, LMS, etc) or totally random. This would require a greater time commitment for participants.

Because of this program I made the commitment to take Michael's two web page classes in March, rather than just think about them. I am always interesting in learning "something new" but now also making a decision or commitment to learning "something specific."

Would I do it again. Yes, I would.

Thing #22 - Podcasts

I visited PodcastAlley, Podcast.com and PodcastDirectory. I liked Directory and Podcast.com, found several that looked interesting.
There were some children's podcasts that were video and audio casts. I want to look at them when I have more time. There were also several Photoshop tip podcasts that might be interesting. For now I listened to book/library related podcasts.

I added these to my RSS feed in Google Reader:
"Stories read by librarians" They have two podcasts a week. A chapter of a book on one day and short story on a second day. The recent books have been The Wizard of Oz and Wind in the Willows.
"Nancy Pearl Book Review" I couldn't pass this one up. She has a weekly show from Seattle.
I listened to one from "Bookworm Banter" which was interesting but rather rambling podcast.

I don't know how much I will listen to the podcasts or keep them on my RSS feed. Time will tell.

Thing #21 - You too can Youtube

My rather obnoxious (at times) machine does not like to play the audio on Youtube. It is working again, so I better blog while the listening is good. I wanted to put the video of Christmas Canon in D by Trans Siberian Orchestra but the one I liked had been removed. While looking I found this one by Not Your Average Bell Choir. I think it fits this group because their playing is outside the box just like our thinking should be. Enjoy!

Thing #20

I am always looking for things I can use with my students. I had already looked at the Web 2.0 Awards site and checked out some of the applications. I wanted to find something I had not looked at yet. Comiqs looked interesting. It reminded me of escrapbooking a site by Annette Lamb (who presented at the NLA/NEMA conference last fall)

Students could look at the "comic strip" about Lebron James then do their own about themselves, a family member, or an historical person. Students could look at this one about gum is an example of a short research project.

The only problem is it has to be posted to the web. Not an problem that can't be solved. Or the students can go to the site to get ideas then use another application to create their project.

Here is the link to "the cable car." Mine is just a single page. Many are multiple pages. I tried to embed the image but it didn't work.

Thing #19

I had heard of Zoho awhile ago but had not used it. I have used Google Docs a bit. Someone mentioned saving on email. This will make transferring documents to one of the schools I serve much easier. I used to have one of the students get under the table and put the USB drive in the back of the tower. Now I can just download from the internet or even have the students download.

There are so many times I start a document or other project one place and want to finish it in another. These applications will be great. I won't end up with multiple copies of a document and then have to remember which one I want.

Thing #17 & 18 - So what's in a wiki

I enjoyed the Book Lover's blog and can see myself going back to in the future. Creating a pathfinder wiki like SJCPL could be useful in a school setting. It can be used to give students resources for projects and research. It can also be used to inform students and parents about other resources on a topic to supplement and enrich the classroom work.
I think it would be a great way for students to share their comments about a book they just read, or what they learned in the latest unit in science or social studies. The openness of the wiki is both great and scary.

Thing #16 - Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

I looked a several articles for this Thing.
"Away from the icebergs": Started out fine, but when I got to the second "iceberg" I realized he is talking to a different audience. "Libraries are poorly equipped and insufficiently staffed for teaching . . . We need to focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers . . . My job as a school librarian IS to teach research skills.

"Into a new world of librarianship" gave me much to think about. do I exhibit these characteristics in my work"?

I couldn't quite get with Schultz's comparison in "To a temporary place in time." I see the library's "commodity" as information and knowledge, not books.

I decided to look somewhere else for a clearer picture of my role in this 2.0 world. I searched for "school library 2.0" and discovered "Say good-bye to your mother's school library" by Christopher Harris in the May 1, 2003 School Library Journal. So many things in this article left me thinking. He suggests re-shifting /re-working the old, not starting new from scratch.

We library professionals have continually sought to establish the media center as the central foundation of a school. We must persist in this effort. But in its 2.0 incarnation, the digitally re-shifted school library, as I call it, must transcend the physical space to bring services and programming to every student and teacher throughout the school wherever learning is taking place. Consequently, librarians, while still based in the media center, will interact more directly with students as well as their teacher peers in new spaces.

His conclusion:

Digitally re-shifting your school library is about harnessing the power of new ideas like Web 2.0 to help fulfill the mission of school libraries. It does not necessarily mean discarding the old, but rather reconsidering what works best in meeting new challenges in a changing educational world. It’s all a part of helping students become literate users of information in order for them to have successful careers in school and beyond. Remember that for some students, a rich school library experience may be their only library experience. Let’s use every opportunity to help our students engage the joy of reading and the power of information.

I need to recreate my role in a world that thinks "it's all on the internet," but doesn't know how to find and evaluate what is there. Making the work I do behind the scenes visible. Taking the lead in using Web 2.0 tools. Fight the battles if necessary to open sites and tools. (or find the right person to fight them for me) Yes, in the elementary it will be a lot of compromise and waiting.