The Joys of Learning

It is time to really get into gear. We are up and running with our new (to us) Follett Destiny Automation System. This week I will be presenting the online catalog (OPAC) to the students in the school computer lab. Hopefully everything will work, I always need a back-up plan in case the server is down for any particular class. It always feels that I write two lessons for each week that is scheduled for the lab.

I did it!

I did create a podcast, now they want a video. It is amazing what one can do when put to the test.

The Tale of Despereaux - Chapter 3

This class is so amazing, I am learning so much and it is all useful in a school setting.

Podcasts

I have learned so much from the podcasts of others, now I need to create one of my own. This morning I watched lots of Atomic Learning videos on how to get started using Audacity. I now believe that it is possible. I finally got the microphone working correctly so I am good to go. I am a little stumped on content. I want something I can post on our student blog, yet still be useful to the larger community.

This podcast Eric Carle. is the one that really inspired me.
See post "Week 9, Thing 21 Podcasts" for my comments from the past.

Back to Blogging

It is time to resurrect this blog. After completing the CSLA summer camp 2.0, I have been ignoring this blog because I did not think I could use it for students. I am working with an edublog for student use. I hope the district will allow access at school to Edublogs.

Now that I am a proud newbie student in the Fresno Pacific University Library Teacher Credential program, I need a blog for some of the class work. Yes, you read that correctly, I have decided to become a real teacher librarian. Very exciting.

So, if you are interested, follow along on the journey. It will be exciting.

A few notes on the moving. We successfully separated the computer lab from the library. I believe things are better this way, not so crowded, but a whole different set of problems have evolved.

Something to consider

Tashi Lives.
I came across this blog by randomly clicking "Next Blog" and thought it looked like an interesting use. Some of you may know a lot more about it than I do.

Moving

The new (it isn't a new room just new to the library) room is ready to start the moving process. We have a few road blocks ahead, specifically the wall shelves. We can move the free standing shelves with volunteer labor but the wall shelves need to be installed by a district work crew. We have no idea when that will happen. So do I remove the books from the shelves and wait?

The current plan is to move everything we can, leave the books on the wall shelves and take books as needed in carts to the other room. Not perfect but at least it will get us functioning in the new room.

What next?

I officially go back to work on Thursday, August 23. In case you haven't noticed that is really soon.

I am trying to figure out how to use this blog to do my job better. I teach information literacy and computer "skills" to first through sixth grade students in a Hayward, CA public school. The library media period is a prep period for the classroom teachers so I have each class for one 50 minute period each week. We will soon physically separate the library from the computer lab so I need to figure out how to manage the time between the two rooms. The move hasn't happened yet so making the change actually happen will be a challenge in itself.

If anyone out there in blog world has some ideas for using this blog, I would really like to hear from you.

Week 9, Thing 23

Favorite discoveries:
Custom Searches with Rollyo and Google Search both work well, but I like the Google version better. This is definitely a tool I will use often with our students.
PBwiki, what a great collaboration tool and not just for students. I see this as having a real impact in improving our school wide community. I am working on a library one but I see lots of other uses especially with our staff, meeting agendas and sharing of teaching ideas.
Visit my wiki. The magic word is runner. It definitely needs lots of work and I am sure our students will provide lots of ideas and inspiration. I am thinking about locking the AUP page but that is relatively expensive so I'll wait and see what happens.

Life-Long Learning Goals:
I am no longer afraid that the technology will overwhelm me. I have learned to try new things, not be afraid to fail and keep going. There will always be new “things” to learn and do. Our students deserve the very best I can provide.

Surprises:
Just about everything.
RSS feeds have greatly changed the way I view family and friends blogs. The professional blogs have been eye opening and very educational. There are so many wonderful, creative teachers and librarians surrounding me that I will never lack for inspiration.

Do differently:
If there could be some way to encourage more interaction among the participants, maybe comment on another blog each week. I found the comments very encouraging from the team but was elated when a fellow participant commented. The team has been wonderful and I treasure all the input. As so many others before me have said: Thank you!

Participate in another:
Yes, for sure. This was a great experience for me. I don’t think I would attempt one during the school year as I would get too far behind.

One word:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
I guess that dates me. I am proud of what I have accomplished.
Lyrics.

Week 9, Thing 22

I first became acquainted with ebooks when I was working on a mini-unit on Aesop Fables. I figured they must be public domain so I did a little searching and sure enough there they were. I could easily print out different fables for the small groups. Unfortunately, I did not know of the great resources provided for us in this tutorial. Using examples of modern editions of one or more of the fables and comparing with the older editions the students were able to write their own versions with illustrations. If I had had this class, I would be able to link to an example of student work.

Search results for Aesop

I didn't even think to look for audio, ah, next time.

Librivox search results for Aesop

The students could read, write, record, and share. All with excellent models. Who knows maybe even a video.

I was also excited by all the Baum, there is so much we can use to continue to excite students about learning.

Vacation take 2

As promised here is a Flickr slide show of a few of our vacation pictures. They are different ones but I was experimenting with the process. I'm not sure which application I like better.
Different Vacation Pictures using Flickr

Week 9, Thing 21 Podcasts

Eric Carle.
This is the podcast that got me hooked on the concept of podcasts. This is a professional production with a major children's author and illustrator. Yet it illustrates many ways podcasts could be used in a school library setting:

1. Students listen to relevant podcasts
2. Students produce podcasts for each other
3. Teachers share ideas
4. Podcasts for specific English Language Development Lessons
5. The library "gets with it"

I have subscribed to a few podcasts related to children's books:

1. Book Voyages
2. Booktalks Quick and Simple
3. OCLS Podcast
4. Storynory

Once again, I have to say that time management is critical. It is very easy to use many hours exploring all the podcasts that are available for us.

Vacation

Summer Vacation 2007

I know I promised Flickr photos but got caught up in Picasa. Click on the picture then on slide show to see some highlights of our vacation.

Week 9, Thing 20

I posted this video because it states so well what we are about in library 2.0.

Like so many others, I have just spent way too much time on Youtube. One thing I found which totally surprised me was a video of my son (an adult) doing an ASL presentation, no narration or translation so I do not know what it is about. I'll ask him the next time we talk. Youtube has all the good and the bad of web 2.0 applications. The good, everyone can do "their thing". The bad, everyone can do "their thing." We just need to learn to use the good and contribute and teach our students how to evaluate and avoid the bad. This is over simplified I know but you get the point.

Week 9

I am disappointed about the lack of discussion on my Ning regarding the digital divide so I am posting a link here. Unfortunately it triggered the anti-spam feature of Blogger and I am having all kinds of trouble getting in to publish. If you are reading this I have been successful.
Digital divide discussion.

Weeks 8, Thing 19

Library Thing Catalog.
Library Thing is lots of fun and I can see the students getting excited about creating their own libraries. Not necessarily books they own but books they enjoy. However, the part that students will probably enjoy the most is the social aspect; watching what other people read and what they say about the books.
The discussion around The Education of Little Tree is interesting. The comments center on the authenticity of the story and how that makes a difference.

While I was at school today, I experimented with using the scanner to input a book. It worked and was amazing. I have no idea how it works but it does with very little effort on my part. Using the import books tool I scanned the publishers bar code,clicked grab and went off to do some work, came back, refreshed the page and it was in my catalog. Magic! This is not how I will normally add books to my catalog but is so wonderful the way it works.

I have enjoyed reading the discussion around Harry Potter as I am spending way too much time reading book 7 myself. It is good to see that I am not alone. I'll probably finish tomorrow.

Yes, I know, I have work to do.

Week 8, Thing 18

I just got back from school where I was exploring the relative usefulness of Zoho and Google Docs. The district server does allow access to Google Docs but not Zoho, so I couldn't do much comparison. Other than school access, both programs seem to have similar capabilities and ease of use. I am not sure that I will use either on a regular basis to edit and move my own work. However, I can see how it would be useful for group editing and generating an agenda for a meeting.

Right now, I think that for student work the PBwiki concept will be more useful because student users do not need to register and make an account.

Week 8, Thing 18

I'm back from vacation and I won't bore you with details, only to say we live in a marvelous, diverse country. I feel privileged to live here. When our pictures are up in Flickr, I'll let you know.

I have been exploring Zoho using their speech template to organize a presentation I am planning for an upcoming school board meeting. I have also imported documents from my computer to test out the portability and flexibility. I have used writer and sheet. Next, I am going to compare this with Google Docs and Spreadsheets.

Weeks 8 and 9

Weeks 8 and 9 will just have to wait until I get back from vacation. I am looking forward to learning about the productivity tools. I am continuing to work on the wiki for our students. I could spend all my time on that but must move on. I really do need a vacation. So I'm off for awhile.

Week 7, Thing 17

Playing in a sandbox, what a wonderful image. The calcurriculum PB wiki is a wonderful resource and learning tool for us. This is another example of an application that is excellent for teachers and students. We are all in this sandbox together. I added the idea of making staff trading cards because the idea of a library book review wiki is already posted. The library PB wiki is where I will be focusing my play time for awhile because I really believe that this will work well with our students. I discovered that student artwork in paint can be posted in the wiki as long as it is saved as a JPEG file. I need to figure out how to make that the default save for the paint program on the school computers.

Week 7, Thing 16

Visit my wiki.
This is very much a work in progress but the concept is so exciting that I just had to share the early stages.