Thursday, February 18, 2010

You Tube

I don't get on You Tube very often, because I would spend way too much time sitting around watching videos! I chose this video for pure entertainment. I have a dog and cat that do exactly what is being shown in the video, so I loved it! I was not able to figure out how to post the video and post a comment on the same post, so I am doing this in two steps! I think that using video clips in the library has a wide range of uses from teaching a concept, showing something from history, teaching wikis, etc. The list could go on and on.

You Tube

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Web 2.0 Awards

I looked at a few different 2.0 websites, but really enjoyed the "Upcoming" site at
http://upcoming.yahoo.com which is a current events site. I typed in Fort Worth as my local site and pulled up several pages of things going on around Ft. Worth. Many museum exhibits were listed, plays, special events at the zoo, etc. The info also listed how long the event was lasting. There was also a way to add the event to your online calendar, "30 Boxes", "Google Calendar", etc. Cool.

Zoho Writer

This online word processor is pretty cool! Just like using any other word processing. It took just a few minutes to figure out how to post it to my blog. Once I did, I realized the font was to big and I was able to edit the document within my blog...nice!

Zoho Writer Document


"The man who does not

read good books has no

advantage over the man

who can't read them."

~Mark Twain

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Wikis

I like the social bookmarking sites and in fact set one up earlier in the year after taking a class at Pat May. I did not use it much, but after I have gotten back into it, I think I will use it more. I often find things at home and end up emailing myself the website so that I will have it at school. This is a great way of staying organized and having access to your links.

My principal has tried to use a Wiki with our CI Leadership team, but it just hasn't taken off yet. We have all had to reply and add something to it, but really it has just been an exercise. The teachers are so busy that they don't want to take the time to check it, they forget how to get to it, etc. I think it can be a good thing, but it will have to be something that is used often if it is going to be effective. I can see using a Wiki with the students to do book reviews, but again you have to be careful about what is being added to the Wiki. At least with some blogs, you can set it up where you have to okay the comment before it is posted.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Rollyo Warning!!!


Debe emailed me today about some very inappropriate movie titles populating my Rollyo Search! She was looking at mine and clicked on the movie link. Up popped this huge list of movies, which included VERY INAPPROPRIATE titles!! Now, when I made the Rollyo, I added Cinemark Theater as a "source", and listed "movies" as one of my tags. I am assuming that because I added the tag "movies", tons of movies are being added to my stuff! I am worried about book tags or almost anything! I deleted the source and the tag, but who know what else will show up. Just be very careful!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Web 2.0

I am understanding Web 2.0 more and more, but still I have a lot to learn! I know that to keep up with the everchanging world, I am going to have to hop on board the Web 2.0 train. I think there will be more opportunities for the secondary schools to use blogging, wikis, flickr, image generators, etc. However, the elementary schools can do some of these things on a much smaller level such as a blog for bluebonnet readers, (Nancy already does this!). I know that our libary lessons are going to need to be more technology based, which will change the way we teach, schedule our classes, etc. I'm a little nervous, not being a "digital native", but am determined to catch up with the rest of the technology world and not be left behind.

I really like del.icio.us. I actually set up an account a few months ago after I took a district wiki class, but after I added a few bookmarks, I kind of forgot about it. I am going to make a conscious effort to use these tools as they are there to save time and make your life easier. I just have to remember to use them!!