Thing #17

This is a link to the searchroll I created on rollyo:
http://rollyo.com/jpbrown/my_free_genealogy_sites/
I did not add a lot of sites, but the main ones I use to do genealogical research.

I can see how this would be a useful tool to use in the library or classroom by reviewing and choosing sites for students to research a particular topic.

Thing #16

I can see great potential for using wikis in collaboration. TEKS could be added with suggestions for ways to teach them. Thematic units could be constantly updated, other teachers could add to the pages. Wikis could be used to explain homework, reading suggestions, and important dates for the parents. Since I will be teaching Pre-K next year, I don't think the students could use them. Maybe someone else can leave a comment for a suggestion . . . . .

Thing #15

I think Library 2.0 means the library is able to be accessed 24/7/365 in the virtual realm. If a patron is using the computer at 3 a.m. and decides to research genealogy, they can go to the library's home page and access multiple databases. No more do patrons need to wait for the bookmobile every 2 weeks, but patrons can access information they need when they need it.

I thought Dr. Wendy Schultz made some excellent points about libraries evolving to meet the needs of the users. She suggested that libraries will not stop at 2.0, but keep changing from "virtual reality to augmentive reality."
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/6.htm

This also goes along well with Ranganathan's 5 laws of librarianship: a library is a growing organism. School Libraries MUST change to meet the needs of their users, and strive to keep one step further in anticipation of future needs, in order to prepare students for whatever lies ahead.

Thing #14

Technorati is, well, technical. It's not real user-friendly and the searches are completely different than what was shown in the podcast (which used user-friendly drop-downs). Why did they change it? Searching the term "School Library Learning 2.0" in different ways did yield different results: tags 3; blogs 11; posts 13. It showed video results which were irrelevant. Overall, I found it difficult too use.

Thing #13

I can see how social bookmarking can benefit teachers and librarians. I like that you can use the key words to group your bookmarks and share them with others. It will make looking for new material to use for teaching much easier. Since I'm going to teach Pre-K again next year, I need new material because I haven't taught it for 7 years! I searched Pre Kindergarten bookmarks and found some really great sites!

Thing #12

Important points about commenting: Cool Cat's comment about having a duty to comment on a topic that you have an opinion about and the 4th of the 10 Commandments of commenting regarding making a significant contribution when commenting.
After commenting on 5 blogs at Library2Play, I searched blogs about early childhood education. There were a lot of blogs, but I could not find one that appealed to me enough to comment on. So, I searched a book series that I read and liked. I found 2 blogs: one had music on her blog (wow!) and the other just started the series and I encouraged her to finish. The series is Miss Julia, and the writing isn't real great, but they can make you laugh.

Thing #11

Library Thing is great, and there are so many possibilities: being connected to people with the same interest in books, keeping track of your personal and classroom library, having students make lists and write reviews of the books they read, and social networking. The possibilities are endless. I looked at some of the groups, and will choose a group to join soon. I may join graduate students.

Thing #10

Wow, I found something really cool at http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/comix.php
where you can make comic strips. This would be great to use for those older kids who don't like to write traditional papers. I also played at image chef and added that to my blog. I created a comic strip, and hopefully I can send it to the blog, too. After you create it, you can have it e-mailed to yourself and one other person. I sent it to my brother who teaches ESL, maybe he can use it in his classes.

Thing #9

The easiest search tool for me to use to add blogs to my reader was edublog's winners list. The hardest search tool was Google Blog Search, which gave too many choices to sort through. Looking for the orange speaker icon made things easy, too. At one of edublog's librarian sites, my computer said there was an error and shut down. I found that strange, and don't know if the site had anything to do with it. The name of the blog was Hey Jude, and I believe it originated from England. I also used Yahoo Tools, since I have an account there. That was very easy for me to use, since I'm used to it. I'm looking forward to the next thing!

Thing #8

I can see how readers can be useful tools in the library. Sites with pertinent information for a certain topic could be previewed, then discarded or added as needed, instead of students and/or teachers being overwhelmed by TMI (too much information). Great tool for the classroom, too!

Thing #7

I looked at the tools of Google listed on the Library2Play blog and found others on Google's home page (go to more and even more). I set up an alert for Astros' news and played with iGoogle for quite a while. I don't see any way to make it available to the public - don't know if I'm missing something or not.

Thing #6

I looked at mashups, etc. and attempted to make a trading card. It didn't work, so I added one of my pics from my Flickr account that I received from a cousin in Tennessee that also does genealogy on our family.

Thing #5

I looked at some interesting pictures on Flickr, but I chose the Texas Longhorn to add to my blog because it could be used when teaching about state symbols. I think I'll add some more - I saw some lovely pictures of bluebonnets. There are also some good pictures that show the diversity of the Texas landscape. This could take awhile!

Thing #4

Last night I registered with Library2Play to begin playing. I'm going to try to complete the 23 Things quickly.

Thing #3

Well,

I actually created a blog and imported my avatar into it. I had to change clothes on my avatar first!

It's interesting that my template is the same my nephew picked out for his blog - great minds and all that.

Thing #2

In regard to the 7 1/2 habits of highly successful lifelong learners:

The easiest for me to do is to play!

The hardest is to have confidence in myself as a competent effective learner. That is something I really struggle with --- self confidence.