Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Week #5 Thing #12

The idea for Rollyo is wonderful for the educational environment.  Too many times teachers give students an assignment which requires them to look for information on the Web.  The sites searched are not always sites that can be trusted with accurate information.  Creating a list of websites that students may search within is a great idea.  I definitely would use Rollyo to know that my students were going to sites I trust.  I did have a problem with the slowness of the site.  I spent hours on the website - at least half of the time was waiting - I was using Internet Explorer.
I chose to create a list of sites on learning about money for elementary aged children.  Learning about money is a requirement to living in the real world.  I know the importance of this from being a math teacher and working in a retail setting for many years.  Now, I see how kids struggle with learning about money, making change, and adding different coin values.
Here is a link to my Rollyo : Money4Kids

Week #5 Thing #11

I enjoyed looking through the list of Web 2.0 Award Winners.  There were many sites that I have been on before, several more that I have heard about but never tried, and many more that were completely new to me.  The one that really caught my attention was LuLu.  This is a site that lets you actually publish your work.  So for all of us who want to write a book, or just put together a photo album, or put together a book of poems written to you, this is the site you want.  You can use different templates on the site to enhance your work, and you can choose the layout of the book and the binding that you want.  Not only can you publish your work, but you can sell it, and you can buy works published by other people.  The site also lets you purchase an ISBN number and walks you through the steps to get your published work in bookstores.  I think this would be fun for personal use and in the classroom.

Week #5 Thing #10



I had way too much fun with Image Generators.  I used ImageChef and the poster generator to create a poster of my girls on the first day of school.  I may have to get a hard copy of that.  I then created the graffitti on the sidewalk.  I love to walk, so I thought it would be fun to think about writing on every sidewalk I've ever walked on!
I also used ComicStripGenerator to create the Foghorn Leghorn Comic.  I think comic strips are great to use in classroom settings!  I can definitely see how image generators can really enhance your teaching and the personalization of your library.  I also think they can be create for students to use for different projects.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Week #4 Thing #9

I went on a couple of the suggested sites for finding different feeds to subscribe to.  I liked Edublog and subscribed to the best library blog from the award-winning blogs.  I spent some time reading the posts on that blog and think I will learn a lot from that one.  When I clicked on the link for library blogs, I got an error message that said that page was no longer available.  Some of the sites, like Topix.net, seemed a little confusing to use.  I also checked out Technorati for news feeds and wasn't getting the results I wanted.  I probably need to take the tutorial to find out better ways to search.
I had already done some searching on the google reader for Thing #8  for different sites to subscribe to - I found the searching on google reader to be very user friendly.  After subscribing to a few feeds and then checking them out, I decided against them and unsubscribed to them for various reason.  Also, when I did get some results, I decided against some that said they average 8+ posts a week.  I am so busy to begin with, I didn't want to have a crazy amount of information being thrown at me. 

Week #4 Thing #8

I love the idea of RSS feeds.  I had heard about them before, and even subscribed to a site, but didn't realize that you needed a reader for the feeds to go to.  I set up the google reader for the simple fact that I already have a google account.  I was excited to see that all the blogs that I am following for class automatically went to the reader.  I love this way of looking at things.  It is so much easier to check everyone's blogs.  Before, I would keep checking back on the blogs to see if there was any new information.  Now the information comes to me.  It is such a time saver!  I also subscribed to my local paper.  Can you believe that the first new article from my paper was about the public library's funding being cut?  I was glad I got to read the article.  I then subscribed to a couple of sites with library ideas and lesson plans.  Another site I subscribed to was a listing of Pennsylvania library jobs - hope I get one soon!  The only down side I see is that if you subscribe to too many feeds, you get bogged down looking through all the material.  I guess you have to set up folders for the different types of info you receive to handle all the information.  Well, I gotta go check my reader!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Week #3 Thing #7

Let's just say I'm a blossoming flower when it comes to technology. I have known about many of the different technologies available via the Web but have never spent time using them or learning about them. However, starting my Master's degree in Library Science has forced me to learn the ins and outs of these new technologies. I am having so much fun experimenting with the different sites. Blogging is fun, Facebook is addicting and Flickr involves a whole new world of possibilities.
I just discovered the DVR. I had to replace my VCR this summer - it was having technical difficulties. Anyway, I always dreaded setting up recordings for my favorite shows or trying to hustle the kids to bed before Survivor started. Now, with the press of a button it does it all for you (well, it doesn't put the kids to bed for you). I can put the kids to bed by 8:15 and still be able to watch an 8:00 show all the way through. Ah, technology - I love it. Well, I gotta go set my recordings for Survivor - Season Premier!

Week #3 Thing #6

As I was playing around on Flickr and looking at all the different tools that can be used, I first decided to try out the poster maker on http://www.bighugelabs.com/.   The site had so many different options.  I liked the idea of creating my own magazine cover.  The picture on the magazine cover was taken this summer at my house.  I love decorating with the American flag, so I thought a magazine celebrating patriotism would be fun.  I think this would be a fun tool for the classroom.  I also stumbled across a few other mashups that would be fun to try.  One was called Bubbler which can take your pictures from Flickr and make a comic strip out of them.  The other was called Captioner which will add captions to your pictures.  I like the thought of using these tools to help with my creativity (or lack there of).  I can see myself using them as a way to promote different activities and materials in the library.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Week #3 Thing #5

I had a great time exploring Flickr! I didn't have an account before, but it was easy to set up! I love that you can tag a picture and then search tags on the site to find what you want. I also like that there are groups of things that can be searched. I love daisies, so I searched for groups on daisies - there were quite a few! I had fun looking at the beautiful flowers. I took my own pictures at the library today - check out the previous two posts to look at the pictures. It was easy to upload them to Flickr and very easy to post them directly into my blog!

Book Overload! Week #3 Thing #5


Library 002
Originally uploaded by jeeblla
This is a picture of a day without technology. Take a look at the computer - see how there is nothing on the screen? Yeah, the system is down. Now look at all the books on the counter. Those are all the books that need to be checked in - but, we need the computer for that. It is hard to live without technology in the library. Hopefully it will be up and running tomorrow!

I'm A Star! Week #3 Thing #5


Library 003
Originally uploaded by jeeblla
Our library's theme this year is "You're a Star"! Everytime the students bring their books back on time they get a star punched into their library card. After five punches, they get their picture taken as a star!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Week #2 Thing #4

Registering my blog took about 30 seconds to do. I love when tasks are easy! I feel like I need to press the Staples Easy Button! "That was easy!"

Week #2 Thing #3

Creating my blog was fairly easy. I had set up one before for another class. The most difficult part was remembering my username for the site. My blog is fairly basic. I would like to play around with some new templates in the future to make the blog more attractive - but for now I'm going to concentrate on the tasks at hand.
I then went to create my avatar - a term I had never heard before. It was exciting to create ME. I just wish there were more choices for accessorizing - HA! Creating the avatar was also pretty easy. The problems came about when I wanted to export it to my blog. Several times the computer closed down - before I saved the changes to my avatar. Oh well, I just had to go shopping for some new clothes again. I thought the directions to export into the blog were a little sketchy, but eventually I got it. Yea! - I learned something new!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Week #1: Thing #1 and Thing #2

I am studying for my Master's degree in Library Science through Clarion University.  My current class is called New Technology for Educators.  Part of our assignment is to go through the Classroom Learning 2.0 - 23 Things project.  This blog will record my experience with the 23 Things.

I love to learn! I love getting a syllabus, organizing all my materials, setting up a schedule for my assignments, etc. It never fails, I get excited about each new course I am taking. Given all those facts, I would say I am a lifelong learner. Of course, I got very excited about the 23 Things. I love how it is all laid out and it is done in bite-size pieces so the learner does not get too overwhelmed. I am also excited because even though I know how to do some of the projects listed, there are some that I have never tried before. So, I know that I am going to enhance my technology abilities and I am thrilled to know that I will not be in the dark about some of these things much longer.



I had never read the 7 & 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners before.

Habit 1:      Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2:      Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3:      View problems as challenges
Habit 4:      Have confidence in yourself as a competent,
                 effective learner
Habit 5:      Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6:      Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7:      Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 1/2: Play

While I think I incorporate all these habits in my life to varying degrees, I think the easiest one for me is to view problems as challenges. I know that when I do not know how to do something, I do not want someone to just do it for me. I want someone to teach me how to do it so that I will know how to do it the next time. Can you believe that my hardest one is number 7 1/2? I feel like I have so much on my plate, and I am very goal oriented, that I just keep going and going and don’t take time to play. This whole last year I hardly had time to do one of my favorite activities – reading. Then, for the young adult literature class, I had to read – and I had so much fun reading great stories. Even though the readings were for a class, I found the joy in doing something I love to do! I have to remember to keep playing!