Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thanksgiving Food Coma?

I worked up the courage to post my own discussion thread to the TeacherLibrarianNetwork ning forum: Best Grant Opportunities -- "Have you had success applying for grants for your school library? If so, please share any resources, tips, etc.!" I was looking forward to a lively discussion and hoping to come away with a list of resources to check out. So far, I've had one reply...bummer. I'm really hoping that everyone is still in a Thanksgiving food coma and hasn't had much of a desire or chance to keep up with the outside world. If you're reading, please post your resources!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Animoto Short


Just playing around...wanted something I could make public, so it's just pictures of Caz! We got about 5 inches of snow last night...


Oh yeah...click here to create your own Animoto videos. You love it already, don't you?

My Educational Crush

Yesterday was the School Library Systems Conference for all librarians in the Syracuse area. It was AWESOME. The highlight was Will Richardson, my educational crush. Seriously.

He delivered the keynote and then ran three sessions on using technology in education -- one on blogs and wikis, one on RSS and social bookmarking, and one on podcast, vodcast, and digital storytelling. To be honest, the sessions were a little too "Web 2.0 for Dummies" at points, when I had been hoping for more advanced information and/or some discussion about how people are making it work in actual districts around here.
He doesn't say enough about how to advocate for change and doesn't really address the reality of what to do when you don't have access to the tools he uses. (I know, that's probably a whole different seminar.) However, he is one of my favorite people to follow in terms of new ideas and possibilities!

If you don't already follow Will Richardson, I suggest you do the following ASAP:

VoiceThread, As Promised


Kind of boring just listening to me talk, but works well enough for a sample...

Saturday, November 10, 2007

TeacherLibrarianNetwork Ning

I joined Joyce Valenza's TeacherLibrarianNetwork Ning today. I can't believe I didn't know it was out there! A few comments:

a. Joyce Valenza is my hero. I want to be just like her when I grow up (and when does she ever sleep?)

b. I have joined a few Ning networks in the past, but haven't been able to really get interested in following the action. I'm hoping things are different this time around (and I really think they will be) because the content being posted is more applicable to me. And with someone like my aforementioned hero running things, I know that I can expect a great mix of traditional and contemporary library/information literacy discussion.

For instance, one of the first forums I came upon was a place to post your personal BEST Web 2.0 projects/resources. Not too long after, I came upon a forum to discuss the single best book you've read this year. I also joined a few groups -- one for new/young teacher librarians, another for elementary librarians, and another for YA lit (just because I love it).

The tough part is convincing myself to actually dive in and start posting. It is always hard to enter a new learning community, where you imagine that everything you post or ask sounds stupid or has already been covered. For instance, I've been on Twitter for a while but have never actually posted anything because: a. I have people I am following but not too many followers; and b. what do I have to say of importance anyway? I am working on changing that mindset, but it is tough...

Friday, November 9, 2007

Route 21

I have spent some time this morning exploring Route 21, "a one-stop-shop for 21st century skills-related information, resources and community tools." Specifically, the program focuses on three main components of 21st century skills: life and career skills, learning and innovation skills, and information, media, and technology skills. The site provides "support systems" -- information on standards and assessments -- as well as browse-able resources.

I am excited about the possibilities of using this tool to demonstrate the effectiveness and relevance of 21st century skills instruction in the library (or just in schools in general). Obviously, my focus is on the third component of the framework -- "Information, Media, and Technology Skills." With just a few minutes exploring, I had already found a wonderful set of standards and objectives from the West Virginia Department of Education -- proof that states' education departments are seeing the importance of 21st century skills!

Monday, November 5, 2007

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

I am trying to choose my three favorite Web 2.0 tools to share...it's been tough, but here's what I'm going with (this week):
  1. VoiceThread -- it is SO EASY, it's almost scary. All you have to do is upload a few images, hit record to talk while each image plays, and you have your very own digital story.
    It's simple enough that even kindergarteners can create. Just imagine the possibilities for demonstrating knowledge and creativity with those little ones!
  2. Animoto -- it's just too much fun. Upload pictures from your computer, Flickr, Facebook, or wherever. Set them to (creative commons licensed) music, and wait. You will receive a professional-looking video of your photos, set to music, with all kinds of awesome effects. Honestly, this is more of a toy than a tool, but everyone needs it.
  3. I was going to put Jing or Scratch for number 3, but technically neither is completely Web 2.0, as they require downloads. Does that really matter? I'll go with Jing anyway, because it has made my life so much easier. With just a few clicks, you can create, manipulate, and share screen captures AND videos! Sick of showing your students exactly how to get to the OPAC? Create a Jing video for them to watch any time they forget!
In subsequent posts, I will try to post a few of my projects from each of these sources...stay tuned!