dooley's 23 things on a stick

Thing 22 - What did I learn today?

2009-07-31T14:17:00.003-05:00

Blog about how you plan to keep up with the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools.
Recommend a way to keep up that you have found useful.

Phew! Wow! I'm here! In some ways, I took my time going through each of these "things" because I like to be in moments and not plowed down by them. Summer is such a gift for living this way. But in other ways, my head is swimming! I know that ultimately the goal is to save time and be efficient with it, but I must say, I couldn't have gotten here without spending a LOT of time on it, much more than the 12 hours this class is expected to take. I feel like this is a front-end investment that will help with the flow of things throughout the school year. Speaking of which, what have I learned and what will I continue to make use of? Well, I like Deb's list idea so here goes:

Google (Reader, iGoogle, calendar, docs, etc...)
Shelfari
Picassa
Wordle
ELM Databases
YouTube
Gabcast

I'm not sure I will keep up with my PBwiki (now "Works") because the Google Forms can serve for sign-ups and other similar purposes and the rest is on my Google site. I'm struggling a bit with setting a goal to "keep up with" everything that continues in 2.0 and 3.0 as opposed to just getting better at the tools I have been exposed to... I think there is an element of transferability to becoming familiar with these tools - if you're comfortable navigating a few, you'll probably be able to pick up on the newer ones fairly quickly. Something in our schema is changing about how the world is organized and connected, and that will help us participate in this ever changing world. Just like teaching kids to read and make sense of what they are reading - we give them the world of books! And this class has given me a world of tools by which to continue making my way. I'm appreciative of this...and a bit exhausted...and once I pick up some groceries (few enough to carry in my bike bag), and bike the 7 miles back to the cabin, I'll be able to recharge in the world of wild raspberries, endless trees of green, and a playful river. Let's call it "natural networking," where every living thing is my friend. Where you don't have to use words or log-on to participate. It is toward this that I go now.

Thing 21 - Beyond MySpace: other social networks

2009-07-31T13:51:00.003-05:00

Are you a member of any online communities?
Are any of these social networks appealing to you?
What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later?

I looked through Gather and read some of the political posts there. Another site - more to take in. By Thing 21, I'm feeling a bit saturated! I joined the Ning site and on a whim connected to the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I expected to learn more about Ellen and her show but it's really more about learning about other people who like the show. That's not really something I'm interested in which is probably why the social networking thing hasn't completely taken off for me yet. I suppose it would if I found the right group for me...but at the moment, I'm plentifully satisfied with the groups I'm in: friends, family, cabin, spiritual. That being said, I am also already connected to and making some use of my Shelfari community and have even connected with a Highlands' student over the summer. I think I read that Wally likes Ning and he's a pretty conscientious and conservative user of these sites so I'd be inclined to go in that direction as well.

Thing 20 - Libraries and Social Networks

2009-07-31T13:36:00.002-05:00

Facebook

Which groups did you join and why?
Reflect on why Facebook may be the fastest growing social network. Is that reputation deserved?

Wow - where to begin...? Facebook is exactly what it aims to be: a social networker. I can view the whereabouts and happenings of my "friends" (who range from soul mates to people who remember me from high school to Highlands community members) and can tell the world anything about myself, no matter how random or significant. I don't tend to get lost in that world as I'm too in need of real contact (is Facebook contact less than real?) and actual experiences (are Facebook experiences false?) but I did benefit from it when some friends of mine had left for Haiti to adopt their daughter and wanted people to know when and where they were at in the process. As for groups, I'm a part of the John Marshall Class of 1986 and the National Marrow Donor Program, to name a few. Should Highlands have a group, maybe for the media center...? I don't think so, we're a bit below the age for Facebook...but I do think sites like Shelfari could serve the purpose while centering around a common school-relevant cause: Books!

Thing 19 - Podcasts

2009-07-31T13:27:00.002-05:00

1. Which podcast(s) did you listen to?
2. Which of the directories did you find easiest to use?
3. Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to it regularly?

Up until now I have only been a listener of podcasts, not a creator of them. I listen to This American Life from NPR and Democracy Now daily news reports. I like using iTunes because it updates my subsriptions as often as they are broadcast and I can easily sync them with my iPod for listening (I rarely sit at my computer to listen to music or podcasts). MPR is a fairly easy site to navigate for podcasts as well. Professionally, I think book reviews are the most logical direction for me to go in and I notice that a lot of Highlands teachers make use of Gabcast. That will be one of my goals this year - to work with students make multi-media book reviews, be they videos, podcasts, or SecondLife creations! Okay, just kidding on the SecondLife option - I'll stick to the K.I.S.S. method: keep it simple, silly!

Thing 18 - YouTube and other online video

2009-07-30T16:30:00.004-05:00

I have attended the Free Range Film Fest every year for the past three and it is a total hoot. Watch this commercial for the concession stand and you'll get a small taste of the flavor of the wacky-ness present throughout. This year I biked a total of 45 miles to get there and back because it is THAT GOOD!

What did you like or dislike about the sites you explored?
Why did you choose the video that you did?
Can you see any ways to use video--YouTube or other sites--on your library Web site?

I don't ever venture onto YouTube or Google Video with just some time to kill (what a crazy concept!) but always when I know or have heard that something is out there and I want to see it or share it with others. If I were preparing a presentation or starting to teach a concept to kids, I might see if there were a short video to help kick it off. I like the YouTube interface better than Google Video and I have a feed on my iGoogle page that will put the top rated videos right onto my homepage. I have seen Wally use YouTube to help highlight the lifeskills (sometimes in really entertaining ways - I remember one that included some acrobatic ping pong players!) and I think if we fish out the good stuff, then it's worthy of finding it's way into our lessons. And as content creators, I think YouTube is an excellent site for kids to show off their own creations. Do we need to have disclaimers if we use it for this in the classroom? If we use a tool like YouTube is it clear that we're not promoting all of the other users and content? It seems to be a teachable moment for kids to get permission to include footage of anyone besides themselves in what they upload. And somewhere it was lost on me that YouTube was started by a St. Paul student - way to go Minnesota!

Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

2009-07-30T16:08:00.003-05:00

How can these tools be applied to your everyday work?
How can these tools facilitate collaboration with your colleagues?
How can these tools benefit your patrons/students?

I have used the ELM databases quite a bit, both with students and for myself while in grad school. They provide excellent access to pertinent resources and are free of the junk that can come from public search engines. The cost of subscription databases is huge and in Edina we have had to drop several in the past few years due to budget cuts. Having ELM provided by the state to all schools and libraries contributes to a level playing field of resources. KidsInfoBits and InfoTrac are the tools I use the most with elementary students. As far as facilitating collaboration with colleagues, it's important that I make sure the staff know about these resources AND do some initial searching on the topics they'll be covering with students to show them what's available. The results can be used to compare with the information they are finding in books and other online resources. Probably the most important aspect of these sites is their reading level. Even the ones geared toward elementary-aged students can be difficult for 1st and 2nd graders to comprehend. KidsInfoBits has a reading level guide and uses visuals through as many levels of selection as possible. Because of this I lean toward this site with the younger grades.

Thing 16 - Student 2.0 Tools

2009-07-29T16:16:00.003-05:00

How might the RPC and the Teacher Guide help you help students plan and manage research projects?
Can you think of any uses for library projects—could you use it to help manage a timeline for a project of your own?

I personally like the RPC because I can be such a "meanderer" in the world, I rely on hard-edged structures like calendars, goals, and timelines to keep me functioning. However, elementary schools and Highlands in particular, are able to honor the free flow of experiences a bit better than most so I'm not sure if everyone would want to pin themselves down to a calendar, especially when the availability of resources (i.e. computer lab schedule) and unforseen events (i.e. assemblies, swine flu outbreaks) can make it hard to predict when things can get done. At any rate, I liked the resources and attached the teacher/media specialist planning guide to my Google page. I also linked up with the MEMO research standards and hope to make these more pronounced in my support of classroom research. I found it interesting that these links didn't refer to Big6 with research but to something called the "Minnesota 5" which looks an awful lot like Big6 with some modifications. Does it really matter what we call it? As long as we're doing it? That is the answer I try to bridge as the media specialist...making sure kids go on to middle school and high school knowing what is being talked about when Big6 terminology is used.

Thing 15 - Online games and libraries

2009-07-29T14:28:00.006-05:00

If you tried Puzzle Pirates, write a blog post about how the interaction was with other sailors.
If you chose Second Life, write a blog post about your findings and thoughts on Second Life. Is there a role for Second Life in libraries?

I'd like to introduce you to silver Ogleby, my Second Life alter ego. The 7-page starter guide is a bit intimidating (one could spend all 12 hours allotted for this class on this one thing) and I thought I'd be able to just poke around but to no avail (I really wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower but the page kept looping me to nowhere! It might take less time to just go there in person!) I think overall, my findings are that I like this world far too much to want to explore virtual worlds. That being said, I am in education and if the students are in that virtual world, isn't it my responsibility to meet them there? Or at least know enough about it to help them navigate and make the most out of the tools available to them. Reading some of the blog posts about the medical library available in Second Life it sounds like people find that "place" very useful and trust in the information provided there. Is that any different than teaching kids how to evaluate their sources, be they live, in a book, or in a 3-story-tall virtual building talking to an avatar named silver Ogleby?!?

If you want to see this taken to the next level, check out this website for middle schoolers to design and engineer their own virtual projects and compete with others on an annual challenge. I'm guessing the Edina middleschools in the 21st Century class already know of this...?

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

2009-07-29T14:02:00.004-05:00

How can you use LibraryThing for your library?

How else do you share booklists, etc. with library patrons? Would LibraryThing offer an alternative?

While perusing the blog at LibraryThing, I noticed the release of a new book directly related to 23 Things on a Stick without saying as much (see picture). I like trying out all of the tools, not sure I'd want to read a whole book on them. As a librarian, I should, but I'm trying not to live a "shouldy" life! Especially in the summer! So, onto the blog prompts: I could see using LibraryThing if I were an independent or private library with no other online catalog. But I feel like Destiny is sufficient (and I have only begun to skim its surface) for Highlands, and Edina in general. I have just started sharing booklists with folks using Shelfari, and some of my "friends" are Highlands staff and students. I noticed that the secondary schools have a library Shelfari account and I'm interested in creating one for Highlands. At the same time, if Destiny is capable of the same interconnectedness between books and patrons, I'd rather keep everything through them.

Thing 13 - Productivity Tools

2009-07-27T14:21:00.009-05:00

Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page?
Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home?
Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?
How can the online calendars be useful to you?
What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…?
Did you try out Backpack? What did you think?
Did you try any of the other tools in the list? Any good ones we should all try?

I have been using iGoogle for the past year and I like having everything in one place, including being able to see the weather at the cabin with the weather widget. It appeals to me because I'm a big fan of Google and I like how it interfaces with my calendar, gmail, etc... I went to the ta-da-list page and opened an account and made a list of work projects at my cabin. Often people who stay there want to do a little work while there and this list can be sent to them ahead of time or printed and posted on the refrigerator periodically. (let's see if this link will get you there?) This would also be a great tool for our media center volunteers. We could keep the list updated and they can know what needs doing without even talking with us in case we're with classes or not there when they arrive. I already use the google calendar and I'm hoping to follow Laurie H's lead at Concord to put the lab and media sign-up calendars in a google spreadsheet which teachers could access at all times of the day and from anywhere (Outlook calendars can only be accessed from school). I went to the homepage for Backpack and read some of the reviews and looked at the features. I didn't go as far as creating one because I feel like I would be reinventing the wheel with what I've already done with my Google and iGoogle pages.

Thing 12: Do you DIGG?

2009-07-23T13:19:00.002-05:00

How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home?
Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor?
Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites?

After spending time at each of the sites, I'd say they wouldn't really be directly useful in an elementary school for several reasons. They are very ad-intensive, not age-level appropriate (the first news story on DIGG included video coverage of a convoy in Iraq with unedited war-zone vocabulary, and another one had a story about adult toys as one of the day's top vote-getters) and extremely sensationally-driven. To make use of these, it seems that teachers would act as the filters (as we do moment by moment anyway) and find the stories first, and then send them into the classroom blog or webpage. Of the four, I liked the layout and navigation of Newsvine the best and their live feed changes every few seconds.

Thing 11: Tagging and Del.icio.us

2009-07-23T12:45:00.004-05:00

Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere?
How can your library or media center take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us? Look at the sites in the Resource list above to see how libraries are using Del.icio.us.

This whole tagging business is very interesting to my library perspective - it's original cataloguing where the number assigned isn't custom but the actual "subject heading" is (or probably more specifically, the keywords are) ...in a way. I was just debating with another librarian if teaching the Dewey Decimal System is still useful. Regardless of where that argument ends (on any given day) it can certainly be related to and taught through the concept of tagging which more and more of our students will inevitably encounter (Shelfari provides great tagging opportunities AND a nice direct link to books and organizing them!) If we create a Delicious account for 2nd grade rainforest research, one class can add their sites and tags, and later in the year or in a different school year all together, another class could access them and make additions. I suppose that's one of the questions: should a classroom teacher keep a Delicious site for the kids to access and contribute to, or should each individual student have one?

Thing 10 - Wikis

2009-07-15T22:00:00.003-05:00

What did you find interesting about the wiki concept?
What types of applications within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki?
Many teachers/faculty "ban" Wikipedia as a source for student research. What do you think of the practice of limiting information by format?
Which wiki did you edit?

I used a Wiki this year (click here) but not as it was intended. Because updating the media center webpage through our webmaster or learning Dreamweaver could be time-consuming or limiting, I used my wiki as an easy to update web page (now I've got Google!) The few times I used it as a true wiki were when I had staff sign up for a time to bring their class to Camp Read-a-Lot and for the 5th grade book donation project (and that was more of a cross-off wiki, than an add-on wiki). I think it could serve well for classroom wishlists. When a parent buys something for the classroom, they can cross it off so that repeats don't happen (although getting two digital cameras instead of one would not be a bad situation!) I think for camp preparations, volunteer activities, sign-ups - all of these seem like very practical reasons to have a wiki. Of course, you could use a wiki for shared writing, book reviews, creating your own database of information about a topic specific to your classroom. During units on community and "our family," the family tree could be posted to the best of a student's knowledge and they could invite family members to go to the wiki and add or correct anything. I wonder if any exist already...?

Thing 9 - Online Collaboration Tools

2009-07-15T21:13:00.003-05:00

Which of these tools is easier for you to use?
How do the features of each compare?
Does one have features that would make you choose it over the other?
What would the Founding Fathers think?

I have used Google Docs before, both for receiving attachments through e-mail and for sending out surveys (I love this feature!). I haven't used it for group editing yet but the media specialists have used wikis for this purpose in the past. I'm wondering if I should view it as my new h:drive or are there issues with security/privacy, storage space, etc... Try taking my survey and I'll see where the collective wisdom leads me: click here!

I played around with Zoho Writer and found it easy to use and my skills with word are easily transferable to Zoho. I'm sure that's by design. With my overall "lean" toward all things Google these days, I would pick that over Zoho but I do like that the two can interact with eachother.

What would the Founding Fathers think (WWFFT?)...?

Thing 8 - Share your creations

2009-07-15T08:09:00.004-05:00

What uses do these tools have for library or personal use?

Was the tool you used easy to navigate and understand?

Would you recommend it to others?

Do you use other sharing tools for photos, documents, or other creations that you would recommend?

At Highlands many staff are educated in and making use of the Reggio Emilia Approach, which involves visible learning. (Click here to see how one school explains this) Many of these "share your creation" tools would fit right in with this. Having a slide show or video montage of the process of learning with audio of student comments accompanying it would be an excellent way to make learning visible to ourselves and the community. I have already embedded a Picassa slideshow into my Google page (click here to see it - at the bottom of the home page) and found that very easy to use. Personally, I would like to document and share the story of my cabin which I have grand visions of as being a community space, both nurtured by and nurturing of those who visit. The cabin feels like a physical wiki - people come and add a plant, an idea, or an entry in the journal, and others who visit afterwards can comment on that and follow-up with their own inspiration or extension of themselves. I have a walking labyrinth there as well (see picture) and that also has a "wiki feel" to it in that others leave momentos along the way, and everyone who walks it can experience this ever unfolding/expanding journey.

Thing 7 - Web 2.0 Communication Tools

2009-07-09T10:50:00.004-05:00

Blog Prompts

Communicate your thoughts on these tools in this communication tool--your blog!
Describe how your library uses email. Has it improved productivity?
Share your thoughts on online reference using some of the other Web 2.0 communication tools.
Are you an active user of text messaging, IM, or other communication tools?
Which OPAL or MINITEX Web conference (Webinar) did you attend? How was it? What do you think of this communication tool?

I think book and technology review blogs are helpful and the biggest work is finding and connecting with the sources you trust the most. With GoogleReader or other feeds you can hopefully keep track of the updates on a regular basis. The Highlands Media Center uses e-mail mostly to communicate with staff regarding "how to's" and information sharing that doesn't need a face-to-face encounter. We also respond to parents and students with e-mail regarding books and recommendations, news show, etc... and with our Destiny Catalog accessible on-line, we will probably have fewer inquiries about overdue books. Online reference with chat and text messaging seems appropriate for older students and libraries that are open beyond the school day. I did sign up for a webinar through Minitex in September regarding using the ELM databases for research with elementary age students. It will be my first webinar!

Thing 6 - Online image generators

2009-07-09T10:13:00.004-05:00

Consider how you can use these tools in your library or media center. How about a license plate with the name of your program? Creating the trading card on Big Huge Labs was about as simple as anything we've done. I like that! Students could create these for author studies, or you could create a class set of every student in the beginning of the year to use for randomly picking partners, posted as locker name plates, or to show weekly job assignments. The license plate through Image Chef
is clever...students could use it with their state projects. The other templates look useful as well, depending on the project.

Thing 5 - More Flickr fun

2009-07-03T14:42:00.008-05:00

Did the puzzles mashup with this photo...I could see using it to add some flare with a powerpoint (just ordered Presentation Zen for the media center).

How can you use any of these tools in your library and media center? Reading programs, posters promoting library events, librarian trading cards all come to mind as possibilities.
What do you think of sharing photos online?

If the Highlands tech club ever wanted to work with kids on writing their own code and creating their own mashups, I could see this having direct use...the spell feature would be a fun feature for vocab words (always thought about creating a word wall in the media center...maybe it will be virtual!)...and as far as sharing photos online, it seems like a nice way for a classroom family to post and share photos without sending memory cards back and forth or super huge e-mail attachments.

Thing 4: Flickr

2009-06-25T13:23:00.005-05:00

So I've just gotten done with about an hour on flickr...wow! One can sure spiral deeper and deeper! I searched by tags (smart cars, labyrinths, art), by groups (LOC, permaculture) and by map. I like how the "most used" tags appear as a wordle graphic so you know which are the most used of the most used! I loved the tag on the LOC site for "greatmustachesoftheloc!" Check it out! It seems that some people use the site as a social networking site, some for therapy (click here), and the picture I chose is from a woman who operates a self-sustaining off-grid farm in France. Her username is "hardworkinghippy" and she had published the photo just today (there is a search limiter for "most interesting" and I wonder how that is determined)...At any rate, it was a good one hour immersion into the world of flickr.
How might you use Flickr in your library or media center?
Do you use Flickr or another photo hosting service? Which one? How does it compare to Flickr?
How do you feel about having your photos public (note that you can mark your Flickr photos private, too)--any concerns?Because I will be creating a Google site for the media center next year, I plan on using Picassa. I really liked the "add a note" feature on the St. John's/St. Ben's library site with the picture of their display of books...I might be able to use that with the Highlands Media Center somehow...time? Not sure. As far as having photos made public, I feel mostly fine about this for personal use but feel that it gets rather sensitive with professional use and posting images of students...

Thing 3 RSS feeds

2009-06-24T11:23:00.002-05:00

So, after reading Wally, Deb, and Tracy's posts for their thing 3, I went with Google Reader. In the spirit of streamlining, I'm happy to do all things Google. I subscribed to a few news sites, a couple of our group's blogs, and just began conglomerating all of the book review/information literacy sites out there. Like Gerri, the GoogleReader hasn't immediately made me feel less encumbered...the learning curve weighs a lot at this end of it!

Thing 2 - What is Library 2.0?

2009-06-10T10:47:00.003-05:00

Okay...getting this...Where will I find the time? I'm thinking about my own access to wireless, especially up at the cabin. Right now, my connectivity consists of a district-issued laptop picking up the public wi-fi while sitting in my van in the parking lot of the Marketplace Foods grocery store in Moose Lake, Minnesota (picture to follow). Makes me wonder which will be harder to find: time or a wireless signal? Anyway, I am excited about the 23 things and my evolving google page and I think that this excitement will help me find my way to time. Why am I participating? I'm professionally invested in this, as well as personally. I want to connect with the staff and students at my school, as well as with the curriculum, and staying connected to the tools that my community is using, is a way to stay connected to my community. How has the internet affected my use of time at home and work? It has been integrated into my use of time without becoming addictive. I'm still so drawn to nature, live encounters with people and animals, and exploring places. I think this has given me a natural filter to how and when I find the internet useful. Where am I and my library with Web 2.0? So far, I have used these tools when they have met a direct need of mine or my library. Also, when others are trying to make use of them and have a question or need support, as a media specialist, that is another entryway into my experiences with them. I struggle sometimes wondering if I have an adequate level of competence with all of the tools...to be a user, teacher, and supporter of them...what is my measurement to know this? Is it just the 21st Century Skills Test given to 8th graders? What am I looking forward to with 23 things? I think the biggest thing I'm hoping to get out of this class is to address this very sense of adequacy and professional responsibility. I want to be a valuable resource to my school community and this feels like it creates the time and guidance to help in achieving that.

Thing 1 - Set up your blog

2009-06-10T10:09:00.002-05:00

I'm a little exhausted from choosing my avatar! But I'm excited to be in this class and learn more about the tools of the trade!