Item 17, Week 7--Sandbox Wikis

What a great resource! I'm sure that whatever I need to do this year, I'll be able to find some inspiration on this list of ideas. I take a group of students to Reading Olympics every year and I'm thinking that I might start out with them to see how difficult it will be to set it up and teach them to use it. I always have them write practice questions on the books they have read and this would be a great way to inspire them to get it done (I usually have to nag a little to actually get the questions written down).

Item 16, Week 7--Wikis

I was very surprised at what all can be done with wikis. I didn't think I had used them before, but now that I see some, I may well have used them without realizing that it was a wiki.
I was fascinated with the notion that I don't have to put everything on it. I could set it up and have teachers or library aides add content as they find it. We could have one for recommended books to use in teaching and one for students to add recommended literature by genre and include a review. We could make one for the district where grade levels could exchange ideas and resource recommendations.

Item 15, Week 6--Web 2.0, Library 2.0

It just about made my head spin to see the expectations Mr. Stephens has of "Librarian 2.0." He expects us to be experts on technology and keeping up on what is available and how to use it We should be able to discern what is going to stick around and what is a passing fad, what our particular patrons will need and use and what isn't worth our time. Not to mention instant messaging our patrons to keep them informed and guide them to new ways to meet their needs. And I must "embrace" it instead of longing for kiddie lit!

What does Library 2.0 mean to school libraries? Well, I read the definition and I'm still a little confused over exactly what is meant by Library 2.0. Obviously, the main concern is technology, and two-way communication is very prominent in the definition. So it seems that as long as the services are changing and using technology and using feedback from their patrons in decision making, they are on the right track. As a school librarian in an elementary school, I feel my participation may be limited by my students reading and technological skills. However, I'm very curious to know just how interested my K-6 students will be in what I'm learning with this course and will certainly be introducing many of the things I've done during the next school year--if I can get it past the Technology Department.

Item 14, Week 6--Technorati

I looked at Technorati and found 49 key word hits for School Library Learning 2.0, 36 tagged for the topic and 1,455 posts involving the topic. For some reason I couldn't find a way to search the directory. I had a folder labeled "Web 2.0" but it didn't tell me how many items were there or allow me to narrow it down further.
The popular items weren't that surprising to me, and as for interesting--I think I like my information authoritative, and blogging just seems too anonymous. I want to know where information is coming from and why. Even websites can be suspect and this is one step further from reliability! So if the topic is something I'm not taking seriously, I guess I could use it, but I feel that I would most likely use it for an idea exchange among known participants--like the Commonwealth Librarians. But that can easily be done in list serves or e-mail. It seems that with the present technology there are a thousand ways to do the same thing with a million variations! Life is too short for me to take it seriously!
Thoughts on Tags--well, there is a reason librarians use specific subject headings, but since this is so broad and meant to appeal to everyone you would have to think of every way a topic might be listed in order to get every post. On the other hand, you probably don't need every post. It is a very informal medium and too many rules would take the fun out!

I just got back from a week-end trip to Canada, so I'm going to add my pictures to flickr now. I'll put a picture of the Saint John Library in New Brunswick in, if there isn't one there already!

Item 13, Week6-Del.icio.us

Well, this was the item from "award winners" that I choose earlier, and I did see that it was very useful. I added the SJLibraryLearning.2 to my network and will be looking for others to add. I have to work on the organization, and getting my favorites from my work computer until I'm satisfied with the results.

Item 12, Week 5--Rollyo

I played around with Rollyo for awhile, then made a list for baby sites that I've been looking at (I have grandchildren due in November and December and I'm planning baby showers) and I looked at putting together a list of things we use to look up library education specific sites. Unfortunately, that is on my school computer, so I had to settle for the couple I remember until I get in and put that favorites list on delicious!

item 11, week 5--Award Winning 2.0

I chose to look at Del.icio.us, as I had heard it mentioned by a teacher I was working with. I think that it could be very helpful for me since I am often working with a different computer, depending on whether or not I brought my laptop home this particular day. Also, I'm collaborating with other librarians on a project this year and it would help us to share information. Looking over the popular sites brought some interesting topics up too.
I had used Travel I.Q. before and enjoyed playing it again. I know my limitations though--I didn't try Africa or the far east!
I looked at Ning, but couldn't see any reason to join an on-line social network. When I have a need to socialize with people I don't come in contact with already, I'll sign up. One more name and password are more than I can manage today.

Item 10, Week 5 Image Generator

I started this project with high expectations and enthusiasm, and chose to make a shield with "Make Your Coat of Arms." The choices were more limited than I expected, but I put together a shield to represent the school, only to discover that I could print it or order things with it printed on, but could not save it. This leads to my pet peeve with technology--it isn't a time saver. But because so much is possible now, the expectations are that we include eye-catching bells and whistles. The more technology we get, the more time I have to spend preparing and the more is expected by those I work for and with. While I love being a librarian, I also love being a grandmother, quilter, gardener, contributing church member and citizen. I don't want to spend hours working only to find I have to start over with something else!
So my five-year-old grandson needed entertaining and we made a picture of the three-year-old morph into a jaguar at Youwild.org.
http://www.youwild.org/personal/1FgZh5GmGYRQgLcTPnQcbHAtMzE4MDI
-He loved it!

Item 9, Week 4--School Library blogs/feeds

As usual, the amount of information out there is overwhelming, but I was interested to see a few things that I hadn't looked into before. I found a site on green technology that I'll definately be keeping track of, and a few others that will be nice to watch. Certainly this makes it easier to keep up with interests in several areas, but my students aren't even allowed to have e-mail accounts at school. I can't see how I can use it with them except as a lesson to introduce it for them to explore on their own computers.

Item 8, Week 4--RSS

I choose Google Reader for my RSS aggregator, and looked for some websites that might need keeping track of. I don't usually get my news from the web, so I'll have to see how I like this new method. I usually listen to the radio while driving, but it might be nice to skip those I have no interest in. On the other hand, I can't multi-task and take care of it while going to work!

Item 7, Week 3--Technology

I'm coming from a work situation that involves two libraries--separate buildings, two offices. E-mail made the job run so much smoother. A problem at one building could be quickly communicated to me and when I was between classes I could check and respond. My aides could do the same and we weren't being called from important interaction with the students. Also, parents who couldn't catch up with me by phone could e-mail me and get a quicker response. Next year we'll have a librarian in every building and it won't be so critical to keeping things running smoothly, but it has been such a help with the current situation. Another thing I really like is the webpage for the library on the district's website. I can post everything students and parents may need to know at home and have it readily available to them. Unfortunately, it is easy to forget to keep it updated!
The most difficult thing I find is the filters that are supposed to keep things safe. They keep out many things we need and let things through that shouldn't be. That often turns out to be the hang-up when we want to try something new with the students. When I'm in one building full-time next year, I hope to be able to do a lot more with technology than I have so far. I'll have new favorites, I'm sure!

Item 6, Week 3--Mashups

I looked over quite a few of the "mashups" and I really think I like the trading cards idea. It sounds very versatile and I think I could use it in a variety of areas of the research curriculum. It seems easy to adapt to whatever topic you want to get students engrossed it. Of course, it may takeover so that they are concentrating on what they are creating rather than actual content!

Item 5, Week 3--Flickr

I am not in school, so it isn't convenient to get pictures of my library to add, but I was thinking of the library I saw on a vacation, and sure enough there was a shot of it in Flickr. It's in Stratford-on-Avon, England. They had shots of the Inverness library too, and a library in every other town we visited!