New Computer!

Yesterday, I purchased a new toy. I am the proud and slightly off balanced owner of a Mac Power Book 15". It seems really big and spacious b/c my personal pc was smaller. So far I am in love with the backlit keyboard which makes typing while watching TV at night much easier! But besides my iPhone, my last product purchased from apple was an Apple IIc which is the computer I completed my MA on way back in 1985, ah the days. The screen was black and I think the font was green, but that sounds wrong maybe the font was white. Anyway so far I am in love... I just need to figure out how it works! Back the tutorials :)

Thing 11.5 of 11.5!

Yeah!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

My favorite was learning more about screencasts. I had seen them many times, but I didn't realize how easy they were to create. I will use this again and I have already taught a teacher/friend how to create screencasts.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

Every day that I have worked in SBISD has been an asset in my lifelong learning goals. That probably sounds cheesy, but it is true. I feel so lucky that I landed a job in a district that has such visionary leadership and is so helpful in their library program. I know people who finished library school around the same time as me (little over a year ago) and they have jobs in other districts and they don't feel half the support, encouragement and exposure to innovative teaching ideas that I have had this last year. 11.5 Things complimented all the previous learning I have had.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

One big surprise were the amount of iTouch/iPhone apps for young children. I had thought that people weren't really directing technology towards that section of the market b/c of their limited buying power - except for educational industries. I totally forgot about parents who want to occupy the attention of their PK - 1st grade children! There are a lot of apps out there that actually help with emergent literacy and even some picture books that read the book aloud to the young child. Who knew?!

Another surprise I had was how few people I know who even knew what Second Life was. I am 48 and know that I am never going to be a digital native. I usually just assume that everyone else knows more about computers than I do or at the very least I ALWAYS approach it as a learning experience. I found out that none of my neices or nephews knew anything about SL or... they wanted to keep their knowledge a secret!

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I wish some other work days were spread through the summer. It was probably just my schedule, but I was busy every day that there were group work sessions where people could just show up and work at the Media center. However, anytime I emailed someone with a question, I got an answer so it wasn't bad. I never felt all along on "the beach." I could use more help with SL and will probably try to seek out help with that because I would like to learn more about it.

Thing 11 of 11.5

I liked the part of the Cool CatTeacher's blog where he focuses on the fact that digital citizenship isn't a one time lesson but should be taught by every teacher. I think that having a digital citizenship lesson would be a good beginning of the year activity that every teacher does during that first two week get to know you period. Lots of things are reviewed and/or taught during this period and teachers can gauge the level of knowledge of these thing through the initial lesson and expand on it if needed.

Since I work with elementary students, the areas that I would focus on during a digital citizenship are as follows:

1. Safety and Cyberbullying - don't share personal information & cyber manners
2. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet - ways to determine if the site is valid
3. Copyright rules - users can't copy everything out there, sometimes it is stealing

Thing 10 of 11.5 Things

After a couple of hours of real work and many hours of reading and worrying, I have created my avatar, gone to Information Island, ran into a couple of walls, landed in the water, sat on many different things that I didn't mean to sit on I must take a break and enter the real world. Second Life is confusing. I picked an avatar that has this see-through top and big breasts. I tried to alter it and at least my breasts aren't so out there in an embarrassing type of way. I went to the Library on Information Island looking for a place to go or information to get and wished my avatar, Lee2024 Foxdale, had her iphone with her. Everything was different like I was going cross culture. I wanted to go to some interesting location or see some interesting event, but that will need to wait. I think there could be a lot of interesting applications for teachers to use with students if the teacher was really good at it. If the teacher wasn't it would just be a time waster.

I think that now that I have the basics I could use a tutor or a group session to help me on the next step of Second Life (I took a balloon tour of the island, but the first time the ballon took off I wasn't in it :). I will have to play more with this. I have a call out on my FB status that I need help. We will see if any of my friends play in SL.

Thing 9 of 11.5 Things

I think it would very important for students to use Slideshare. The bonus of it being an online app instead of a desktop program can help them keep a portfilio of their work as they grow up. It can also aid in the sharing of information as well as working on things outside of the classroom. With the ability to email the presentation, students who don't live near each other can still be assigned a group project either emailing the project back and forth or creating an account to use for that particular assignment.

authorSTREAM seems great. I am a bit confused and need to reread some things but it seemed like the authorSTREAM was more advanced than Slideshare, but I think I remember seeing someone upload their presentation to Slideshare so perhaps the two are separate. I will need to learn more...(always!)

As far as 280slides.com - who needs PPT anymore?

Thing 8 of 11.5 Things

Wow! This was really fun. I explored a few people's blogs to see which screencast program they used and read the few blogs and settled on two: Freecast and then Screencast-O-Matic. I created a short screencast to use with teachers who frequently ask me "Do we have _____ in the library?" I guess that they are use to librarians knowing all that is in the collection, but being new (and I don't like to clog my brain with that information since I can access it easily enough)I don't know. Anyway, here is my screencast for the teachers. It was great fun to make and super easy. I think kids could do all types of these to show other kids how to do things. I can't wait until I can have a few work some different screencasts like the steps to taking an AR test.

Thing 7 of 11.5 things

Wow, talk about a time sucker! These video collection sites got me really off track. I watched an old Battlestar Gallatica on hulu, looked at a number of things on the national geographic site and was determined to find something that I could use next year.

I found two interesting things on the National Archives site within the Eyewitness Ehibits. The first was about Laura Ingalls Wilder which would be good to use with the 4th and 5th graders next year. The second was a short video from Apollo 8 where the astronauts are showing the moon. This would be great to use to introduce the second graders to the moon and space and show them where that section is in the library. We are lucky to have a fairly large section on space, planets, moon and the sun in both English and Spanish so many students could enjoy the books. I couldn't figure out how to embed that clip, but the URL is as follows: www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/ One must enter the site then click on the Contents tab and then it is located on the bottom right hand side. I really wish there was a direct link or a way to embed the video somewhere.

The second video I found that I want to use is really an idea that I think I will need to do myself because after looking at about 10 different videos none of them really showed what I wanted them to show. After many years of having the library at CBE arranged in a leveled variety many adults and all the students have practically stopped using the online card catalog. They have relied on the asking the librarian. Being new to this library, I used the catalog, but then the hunt began because things weren't shelved in the typical library fashion. So I want to do some type of instructional video for teachers and students to show them how to use the online catalog. However, the video that I embedded is an example of something like I want to do content wise. I don't like the camera angle or the keyword search he uses as an example. I wish I could have found one I liked and use that because I just hate reinventing the wheel. I love to give credit to those wonderfully talented people who do things and learn from them!

Links for Apps Mentioned in Thing 6 of 11.5

Upon a challenge by VWB in a comment for me to encourage others to provide links to the different apps they found, I had to brush up on my skills in order to provide links for the apps I mentioned. They are listed below to the best of my ability! :)

Here is a link for the free Shape Builders app that I mentioned in Thing 6's post.

After exploring the Math Drills Lite program I mentioned, I was unable to find a link on the web for the Lite version that the iTouch/iPhone will let you download. The exact title is Instant Interactive Math Drills Lite version 1.3.

The ever so fun iWriteWords would be great for kindergarten students.

Lastly, I mentioned the US Presidents app for those students who LOVE to learn about past leaders.

Thing 6 of 11.5 Things: iTouch Apps

I have had an iphone since December and I have to say it has changed my life. I never thought I would be one of "those people" glued to their phone, but I am. I always have a book to read, internet connection, my calendar, a weather report (complete with radar), music to listen to, a camera, a few games to play, a way to keep track of the Cubs and Astros, and many more things some with educational purposes and some just for entertainment.

I am looking forward to getting the iTouches in the library and have already been thinking about the possiblity of using them with multiple users. Most of the things that I read talk about users as being older, but when exploring the apps, I spent a bit of time looking for apps to use with younger students since I am in an elementary school. All these apps were free. A couple of really good apps I found were "Shape Builder Lite" and "i write words." The first one is puzzle pieces that the user slides into place. It makes a satisfying click when it has reached the correct place and then when the puzzle is finished it has a little saying such as "D says d like dog" and then one hears a dog bark. Fun and educational! The kindergarteners will love it! The second one has the user trace over a letter and actually has the user follow the correct form for writing the letters. Each screen has them spell a work such as sheep then when it is finished a picture pops up and the letters fall down and the user must tilt the screen so the letters fall into a trash can type thing (good small motor practice). For older students I found Math Drill Lite and Presidents. Math Drill is just what it says while still remaining fun. There is a reteaching option that can be turned off which is called "pit stop" and has race car sounds. The Presidents app would make any of those children who can't get enough of the presidents happier than pigs in ... well you know. There is even a quiz mode and flash cards. This would be good to use to support those worksheets that some teachers do. Speaking of support... I was recently on vacation with a avid crossword puzzler. She is now 81 and her memory isn't what it use to be. She found it great fun to give me some strange scrap of a clue from one of her puzzles and have me use google to find the answer. At first I thought she might think it was cheating, but she just thought of it as another way to learn! Which got me thinking... great use in the library! After a couple of tries of this I got so good at my reading I never had to go to the actual sites I could almost always get the answer from the small google bit.

I found some other good free apps that if I would have had internet access I could have downloaded them because they were over 10MG which could easily be done at school. One of the apps had to do with birds which would be great for that 2nd grade project.

Locating good apps takes time! That is why I am hoping that at one of our early meetings we can make a list with names and short descriptions about good apps to download.

11.5 Things/ Thing 5

Microblogging is a quick way to stay connected. I am still a bit unsure as to how it would be best used by teachers with students but I can think of a couple of ways and I have seen a number of facebook profile projects that teachers have done with students on famous people.

Personally, I was terribly reluctant to have a facebook page (kinda like when the cell phone man said to me about 5 years ago "lady, you can keep that analog phone, but in about a month none of your calls will go through" see at that time I had just figured out how to use all the bells and whistles on that phone and I didn't want to progress. Now, I talk to strangers if I see they have an app on their iphone that I don't recognize and I think I might want it!) Anyway, back to facebook... when my 85 year old aunt (my only full-blooded living relative that is older than me!)got a facebook account I figured I had to also. It has been great fun keeping up with nieces and nephews, not to mention my aunt and other friends! It is quick way of staying connected with people that are important to you. I am still learning about the different levels and how to "unfriend" some that I have decided are just a bit to racy for this school librarian, but overall it has been great. The "group" function at the bottom is new to me. I didn't know that SLJ had a facebook page that will be an area that I will enjoy exploring more about.

I have had hardly any experience with twitter except to know what it is and a few features. I have been trying to convince a friend who is a college coach to get a twitter account because she is always complaining that her players don't answer phone messages or emails. I am still trying to convince her that she needs to consider her audience and change the way she sends her message, if she wants her message heard.

11.5 Things/ Thing 4

I think there are some great advantages to having teaching/learning videos available online. I am a perfect example. When I don't know how to do something (technical or otherwise), I have often turned to YouTube or TeacherTube. Students could also take advantage of learning in this manner. If they have internet at home, homework might be a bit more fun if it wasn't talked about in school but the teacher directed his/her students to a video to watch that either gave the assignment or watching the little video taught them the lesson for the day. I have seen some pretty elaborate teachertube videos by different science teachers that would be great to use in the classroom. I also think if students uploaded their own videos they would take some extra pride in their work since it was really published. Teachers could even require other students to view a number of classmates and evaluate each other's work - so long to using up 2 class period to do oral book reports like I use to do once a year with my middle school students!

I uploaded a animoto of a recent trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame to my account on TeacherTube (not very educational, but fun!). I got a popup message that said they would view it and post it in 24 hours. If they okay it, I will post the link.

Thing 3

Just a brief forward: I am sitting in a beautiful public library, Gail Borden Public Library, in Elgin, IL and the temperature outside is about 65. This has been a nice break from the TX heat!

Skype and other tools such as seem to have some value in the library and the classroom much like our other tools we have been looking at. I thought the skype manual that the Learning Librarian developed would be a very valuable asset to reference. I had also thought about the scheduling being an issue as she mentioned. It is wonderful to be able to access people and events all over the world in streaming video (or even audio - being an auditory learner, the video part of it doesn't wow me), but actually talking "face to face" with that person can have a different impact since the students would be guiding the questioning/conversation. So, I think the live interaction would be the goal to shoot for and then scheduling could be the most difficult part.

Of the items we have looked at so far this isn't the one I want to run out and learn more about although I have a nephew going overseas for a bit and I might tell him about the phone app for this so he could text/phone for cheaper.