Santa Claus came to Range!

Santa visits with the chidren of Range

Colonial America

I Will Survive TAKS

Summary

WOW, I can't believe it's over. It's been a lot of work, but I will say that I have really enjoyed this exercise. I have actually looked forward to each new exercise to see what new technology skill I would learn. I enjoyed some exercises a lot more than others, but I have learned something from each and everyone of them. I would definitely participate in another exercise such as this. I love technology and I think in our profession it is extremely important to be up on the latest advancements so that we will know what our students are using as well as our teachers. More than likely though we are going to be a step ahead of our teachers.

My favorite exercises were Animoto and the image generators. I can't stop playing with either one of them. I see myself using the image generators in my library program on my website, wiki, and blog. I will most definitely be using Animoto in my personal life as well as for school projects. I introduced Animoto to several teachers the day after I discovered it and they immediately made their own accounts and began playing.I then introduced Animoto with examples of video clips I had made to the staff in a meeting and most everyone was intrigued and wanted to know more. I hope to have class projects going in the library very soon using the digital cameras and Animoto.

I didn't see myself getting into blogging or wikis in the beginning but I think it will become a part of my library program. I have introduced the teachers to my wiki but no response yet. I am hoping to get some responses with the Mockingbird page and also requests for materials for next year. My C-Tech and I have been talking about setting up a technolgy blog for the teachers and blogs for the students. This teacher has set up a blog for her students and I actually set up a library one the other night but we want to get clearance from the principal before we start. One teacher at a time in introducing new concepts.If one becomes interested they will pass on their new knowledge to others.

My life long learning goal is to keep on learning until the day I die. I never want to get stale. I want to know what my children and grandchildren know as well as my students. For someone who once knew nothing about computers and technology I think I have come a long way. My husband actually said I know more than he knows now. That goes for my own children as well. With this lifelong learning I always want to pass on something new that I have learned to others. Without this program, I would never have explored these new technological developments.

The only way this program could be improved upon in my opinion would be to have some more library staff developments where we could work together on some of the projects. I am encouraging teachers to take this course as a staff development this summer

Librarians are the leaders in technology on elementary campuses. On my campus, many teachers never even venture into the computer lab because they become so frustrated with not only the computers themselves as well as the students but they don't know what to do with students when they get there. This year I have concentrated heavily on computer technology and the learning resources available online.I believe I have actually been successful in getting more teachers to the lab to try some of the skills and resources they have been shown in the library. With the acquisition of the laptops for both classrooms and the COW which is housed in the library, I have been able to teach every class from kindergarten through 6th grade some new skills. I plan to keep introducing new skills and resources and the 23 Things will definitely be included in some of those lessons. It is imperative for students today to be computer literate and to be aware of the many resources available to them via the Internet. By keeping abreast of all emerging technologies , librarians are helping to prepare students for the world ahead of them.

KinderComputers

Kindergarten exploring computers

Clifford

Clifford with classes

Thing # 23

Wow, this has been the most confusing exercise I have done. I have always found copyright confusing.I used to think copyright was only violated if it was done for commercial purposes. Covering copyright in in-service at the beginning of the year has always been a chore. I would love to show the Disney video clip from this exercise to teachers.They would at least pay attention because it is entertaining. I had never heard of Creative Commons. I do believe I have a better grasp on copyright after going through this exercise. I think Creative Commons makes a lot of sense. I really don't know how movies, TV or any other publication could get made legally with out it these days. It makes me want to put some photos I have uploaded on Creative Commons. I think Creative Commons should be introduced to teachers now at the beginning of the year along with the regular copyright guidelines. As much as I have always disliked dealing with copyright issues, it certainly is not an issue that we as librarians can ignore especially in this explosive digital age of information sharing.

Thing # 22

ANIMOTO is a blast! I can't stop playing with it. I already see so many uses for it in my personal life as well as for school projects. This is a program teachers and students alike can use without any trouble at all. I have emailed some teachers a clip I made of their classes in the library. I would like to try and put some of these clips on the library website if possible. This could be used as an application piece in some research projects.I can really see teachers making clips for end of the year class parties and something to show parents on Meet the Teacher Night. I will definitely be coming back to ANIMOTO often!

Today I showed several teachers the clips I made on Animoto last night. They immediately set up their own accounts and began "playing" with clips of their own. I am thinking of doing an informal training session tomorrow for teachers interested in learning how to use Animoto. We actually did some collaborating this afternoon on how we could use Animoto with class projects with students making their own clips.

Today the C-Tech and I demonstrated Animoto videos to the staff. Many people seemed interested and we even discussed ways we could use this with class projects and end of the year slide shows. We were wondering if we could get a school membership so that we could have longer videos. I am really looking forward to seeing what we can come up with to get students actively involved. The C Tech and I are also looking into setting up edublogs for the kids and were wondering if these clips would work on Edublogs as well so that students could readily access them at home and school.

Thing # 21

Podcasting is going to take some getting use to for me.I liked the Educational Podcast Directory best for school and library purposes. I checked out the the Information Skills podcasts, particularily the ones dealing with technology.Some interesting thoughts.I know podcasting is here to stay, but I don't see teachers ( at least at my school)getting into them for quite some time as they are too overwhelmed as it is with all of the "have to " things to do. I have discussed podcasting with some of my teachers and for the most part they are not interested. I am having enough trouble trying to get my teachers to use the technology we have, especially with the new laptops available. Do I think teachers would listen to any podcasts I made or made available to them - No.

Thing # 20

YouTube, one of the newest innovations in entertainment. I first became aware of YouTube when friends began forwarding me clips. It can be addicting. Because it is the get ready for TAKS frenzy time again, I chose a TAKS motivational clip done by singing and dancing teachers. A group of teachers at Range used to do this in years past and I actually still have some of their performances on tape which are better than any I saw on YouTube. Maybe I should submit some (with everyone's permission of course)I think a motivational YouTube on a school website could be beneficial to teachers and students alike. I have tried several times to embed the video here but it is just too big. It covers half my page so here is the link http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9A184349267C1DD7

Thing # 19

Let me say up front I hate flowcharts. Always have. My mind does not work that way.
Yes I have used Inspiration and Kidspiration with students in various class projects and I see the benefit in those tools in creating an outline. Flowchart and Bubbl.Us both remind me of Inspiration and Kidspiration especially with the ability to add clip art . Flowchart could be used in business and in school collaboration with its real time capablilities. It reminded me of a chatroom or Instant message conversation. Will I use these? No. I prefer the more free spirit way of thinking. I do my best work that way.

Thing # 18

So many things to explore, so little time! That's the way I feel right now. I decided to take a long look at Craigslist. I first became acquainted with Craigslist last year when my husband was trying to sell his car. After paying around $65 to advertise the traditional way in the Dallas Morning News classified and getting only 2 calls, neither of which panned out, my husband decided to take the advice of our sons age 20 & 24 who said he could sell it easliy on Craigslist. Within an hour of the ad appearing on Craigslist, we had 5 calls. We sold the car that night. We thought the Dallas News would reach more people but we were WRONG. I really believe most people in today's world turn to the computer for most of their consumer needs. I also think that many younger people do not take the daily newspaper at all. News like everything else can be found online and is always up to the minute. I really like the layout of Criagslist. The categories are very well laid out. You can see at a glance what you are looking for. All you have to do is click on the link.I looked at Oodle and vFlyer but did not like them nearly as well. Their layout pretty much turned me off right away.
As far as library use,I do not think Craigslist should be allowed in schools due to the nature of some of the ads unless the filters can block every single ad that is objectionable. I think there are other avenues open to students to look for materials needed for school assignments.

Thing # 17

Wow Zoho is really cool! The ability to retrieve documents on any computer is great. It does have all the features of a regular word processing program.I am going to look into this for a newsletter I do for an organiztion I am a member of. I am definitely rethinking how I am going to do a lot of things online and with my computer now. Check out my blog from Zoho!

Crazy Time of Year

It's that crazy time of the school year again.Everyone is gearing up for TAKS and TPRI. The teachers are stressed over CSI and benchmarking. In the library we elementary librarians are getting ready for Bluebonnet voting and introducing the Mockingbird Books to younger grades. Everyone looks forward to the Mockingbirds. I am wondering how many students will be voting on the Bluebonnets.Normally most of my students in grades 3 - 6 get to vote because I make sure they hear at least 5 books. I 'm not sure if that is going to happen this year.  I have read 3- 4 books to most classes but is is very hard this year to do that as this group of Bluebonnets do not really lend themselves to being good read alouds.

 

We at Range are exploring the new Britannica database. The kids and teachers seem to really like the new features. Of course the students like the games but they are educational so everyone is happy. They are playing and learning at the same time and becoming very computer savvy which is very important in this day and age. I hope to have a night  event where I can show parents all the online library resources MISD has to offer.Time of course is the issue. It's hard enough to get time with teachers to instruct them on the newest technologies. I do this when classes come into the library for instruction on the laptops. This basically forces the teachers to learn the newest we have to offer in online resources.I hope that teachers will take this new knowledge back to the classroom  and let the students continue on with what they have learned in the library.

Thing # 16

Playing in the Sandbox was fun. I haven't yet figured out to manage the size of my image inserts. I plan to keep on playing here for awhile. I might use a wiki for the Mockingbird books. to get feedback from the teachers.If you look in the sandbox you can see where I started a page. A Mockingbird wiki might be interesting to do with teachers this year. This could be expanded to Bluebonnets next year and have teachers and students respond if students could access it.

Thing # 15

I personally do not think Wikis are something I would be interested in using. Wikis are not authoratative as people who contribute to them do not always have the correct facts or their entries are subjective. Wikis might be a starting place for research but certainly not the only place to gain information. A wiki might be used for a class project or some other collaborative project. I did like the idea of requiring an email to accompany all entries to a wiki so that the person could be contacted about the information submitted. I personally don't want people changing something that I have written. As libraries continue to move deeper into technology, wikis are inevitable in the library world, but I still think they should be taken for what they are; individuals putting in their 2 cents worth.

Well I put my wiki out on the web for teachers today. Will see if anyone responds!

Thing # 14

Library 2.0 to me means moving full force into the 21st century. Times have changed and so have libraries. If libraries do not continue to change with society and all of the technological advances, they will become obsolete. Libraries are no longer warehouses of books; they are places to discover new ideas and to help create more networking of these ideas. Librarians must include patrons' ideas and needs as libraries collaborate with the people who use their resources.
Allowing a venue for patrons to review and tag all resources available is just one option for libraries to engage in.

School libraries must change with the times and the changing curriculums. School librarians must truly collaborate with teachers and students to meet these changing needs. School librarans must also be the leaders for teachers in the new technologies available to enhance student learning to an optimum. As teachers become more bogged down with paperwork, it is the responsibility of librarians to keep teachers informed of the latest educational opportunities available in both print and non-print mediums.

Thing # 13

I enjoyed creating a Ma.nolia account and listing my favorite bookmarks.There have been times at school or other places that I wished I could access my bookmarks from home. Now I can! It was interesting to see other people who also had bookmarked sites that I had. I can see setting up bookmarks for school research on a special account. This way students and teachers could access the bookmarks in the library, computer lab, and classrooms not to mention at their own homes.Kind of like a Hotlist. I also liked FURL. This could be very helpful in keeping up with an article found that needs to be referred back to. This can be done easily by installing Furl on the toolbar. Could be very beneficial in research. I also like the highlighting capabilities and the option of emailing parts of an article to someone else.

Thing # 12

I was already well aware of MySpace and Facebook and how they work as I have children who use them all the time.I think it is very important for educators and parents to be aware of the social networking sites as most young people today have accounts with them. It is important not only to be aware of these sites' existence but also how they are used. I enjoyed looking around at the Ning sites and I think this networking tool can be very imformative for educators in keeping up with the latest trends and what other teachers and librarians are doing in their schools and libraries.We are truly a global society and online networking is just a part of the world now. I do believe that MySpace and Facebook should be left for personal time. Ning sites are job related so I think it is perfectly acceptable to be browsing there. Although I know that MySpace and Facebook can have very legitimate blogs and messages they are definitely more social and can be abused by students and teachers alike while at school.