Exploring on the Range

Santa Claus came to Range!

2008-02-01T14:54:00.001-08:00

Santa visits with the chidren of Range

Colonial America

2008-01-28T15:57:00.001-08:00

I Will Survive TAKS

2008-01-20T18:58:00.001-08:00

Summary

2008-01-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-18T16:27:00.001-08:00

Kindergarten exploring computers

Clifford

2008-01-18T16:21:00.001-08:00

Clifford with classes

Thing # 23

2008-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-09T20:37:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-08T20:47:00.002-08:00

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

2008-01-08T20:47:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-01T21:23:00.001-08:00

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.

Thing # 11

2007-12-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

Library Thing is a cool device for keeping up with one's own personal library. It certainly is easy to catalog! Cataloging in library school should have been this easy. The message boards are fun and intersting to read. It is intersting to see who is reading what I am.

Thing # 10

2007-11-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

This is the most fun I have had in this 23 process. I absolutely love these image generators. Most of the time I had to save the images to my hard drive and then add the images as a page element. The smiley face image was a little tricky at first to save because I had to activate the smiley face program on my computer. One picture I wanted to use from my hard drive would never cooperate with me. I tried numerous times but never got it to go. I finally decided the size of the picture must have been the problem. I finally decided on another picture that worked just fine. Yes, I could have worked on cropping it, but cropping would have taken away from the picture. I needed the the entire shot.The license plate image was the easiest because the Image Chef generator has a button to select to send the image directly to your blog.

I can see using these generators to make personalized signs, book marks, and buttons for our libraries. I think I will try some of these images on my library site and the school site which I also maintain. The problem I see is tearing myself away from playing with the generators and getting back to work! I stayed up until almost 2 am playing last night!

Thing # 9

2007-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Wow, RSS and all of the feeds available are fantastic, but frankly very overwhelming.
It's very hard to decide which feeds to choose, which are best for one's needs and interests. We obviously can't possilby read them all. I'm sure the list of feeds chosen will change as our needs change.
I found the Google Blog Search the easiest to use. I guess this is because I am very famliar with Google. I added the MISD News links to my news feed. Feedster was not working any of the times I tried to access it. I really enjoyed Topix the best. I set it to Mesquite and now I can have up to the minute news on Mesquite. I added the Top Stories feed to my news list. I found Syndic8.com very overwhelming and confusing as a new blogger. I liked the way Technorati was set up with topic tabs at the top of the page. I think the most unusual bit of info I picked up on my journey through the feeds was under the "life" tab of Technorati. Chocolate laptop makes computing tasty!

As far as ussefulness for us as librarians,I found the School Library Blogs on Suprglu a good tool. We can keep up with what is going on all over the country in our field.

To sum up my experience with this execise,I would say blogging and understanding RSS and feeds is a definite work in progress. It will change constantly and require us as librarians to stay up on the latest news the best we can. As I said earlier, I am feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment, but hopefully as I play with this new technolgy my comfort zone is going to improve.

Thing # 8

2007-11-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

RSS and newsreaders now allow my Favorite websites to come to me instead of me going to them. I don't have to waste time gong there if there is nothing new for the day.
I will definiltey use RSS in my personal life as well as in my school life to help me make the most of my online time.
Libraries can use this technology to set up feeds to teachers and students. Teachers have very little extra time, so setting up educational feeds for teachers on a school site could be very helpful. What a great way to keep students involved in the library program by providing them with appropriate feeds on subjects they are intersted in and linking them to sites they may actually not know about. This could be particularly helpful in keeping students and teachers aware of the latest current events they might be interested in.

Thing # 7

2007-11-03T20:40:00.000-07:00

Google definitley has it all. Lots of fun playing on Google with all of its options and gadgets. I just wish my email address could get verified by Google. I click and click on the option to get my email verified, but it just doesn't work. At least I can sign in although there have been times it would not let me do that. Would be nice if there was a live person to talk to but as my husband says, it would be impossible to get through to the person. Guess I could try changing my sign in email but I'm afraid things would really get messed up and I would never get into my blog again.

I have used Google alerts at home for a long time. My family and I have also been using Google Earth for some time. That truely is a cool feature. The indiviualized Google homepage is neat as well as the Notebooks. What did we ever do without Google?

Thing # 6

2007-10-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

I love playing with the Mashups and mosaics. It took me awhile to figure it out. I had to ask my computer expert hubby for help since he uploads our family photos to Smug Mug. I have to admit without him I would still be sitting here trying to get the mosaic and mashups on my blog site.
I see so many posibilities for these applications in our libraries.I think Bluebonnet trading cards might be a great way to encourage students to read the Bluebonnet books. The lower grade students would love Mockingbird trading cards too.
Creating mosaics of various library activities and putting them on our own library websites for everyone to see would be so innovative and different from the "usual" pictures we put on our sites.. I think I will create a new section on my library website for mosaics and just keep adding throughout the year. I am really looking forward to getting some great pictures during children's Book Week, Book Fair and when Santa comes to visit!

Christian the Bookworm

2007-10-25T13:47:00.001-07:00

chris15 mo 064
Originally uploaded by Library Magic

My favorite bookworm Christian reading one of his favorite books

Thing #5

2007-10-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had heard of Flickr but had never experimented with it before tonight. I think there are endless possibilities for the use of Flickr in libraries. I typed libraries in the Group section and found all kinds of interesting and fun pictures of activities in libraries around the country as well as personal photos of librarians. MISD librarians could establish a Group and share pictures of activities in their libraries. Children's Book Week would be a great week to share pictures from all of our libraries.

Thing # 4

2007-10-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Blogging in the library should be a natural. What a great way to get feedback from students and teachers about books and the library program in general.Since time seems to be a real factor in gettng my book club going again, I was thinking it might be accomplished with blogging. Instead of trying to find a time conveninet for members to meet, we could all share a book and our thoughts by posting online. Students and teachers could also post their wish list of books for the library which could aid in collection development.

Thing # 3

2007-10-23T17:59:00.001-07:00

Playing with the Avatar is a blast. I created one avatar yesterday and then completely changed it today. I may have an avatar of the day!
Posting is fun but I did have trouble getting back into my account last night at home.I could gain access with my mac laptop but not my home PC.Go figure. For some reason my email account can't seem to be verified. I spent a lot of time on the phone with Mary today trying to figure out what was wrong. As of this time,my email is still unverified but at least I can get in and post!

Thing #2

2007-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

The hardest habit for me to address in the lifelong learning process is viewing problems as challenges. As with many people, it is easy to quit or have someone else solve the problem for me when I have technology difficulties. Going a different path rather than addressing the problem is the easiest and causes the fewest headaches. It is also hard sometimes to get the
"teacher" to allow me to experiment and solve the problem on my own so that I may in fact accomplish my goal. Finding a patient teacher who is willing to let me make mistakes and correct them on my own with guidance is essential to achieving my technology goals.

The easiest habit for me and the one that enhances my own learning is to teach and mentor others. It is a fact that teaching a skill requires one to learn the skill. In teaching others, I find questions and answers that I had not even considered. I see myself in others as I witness their frustrations with new technology. In teaching I also learn from my students as they discover something new I had yet to find.

Thing #1 Never Be Bored!

2007-10-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Learning has never been so exciting! Anyone with access to the internet should never be bored. The internet allows us to connect with people and resources all over the world. Search engines and data bases allow us to explore any topic we can imagine. Instant messaging keeps us in immediate touch with our friends and loved ones.Message boards and chat rooms introduces us to new friends. Blogs keep us in tune with the ideas of many and allow us to contribute our own thoughts to whoever will read and listen. Anyone not in touch with the online world is not truly in touch with the 21st century. All individuals, whether old or young, owe it to themselves to be connected to all the world .

While exploring Learning 2.0 I want to learn more about blogging, wikis,podcasts,picture and video sharing.
I want to know what my own children and many of my students already know. I want to be able to use these tools effectively and help other students and teachers to learn about and use these tools effectively. I don't ever want to stop exploring and learning.