Just getting back in the saddle

I am almost finished with my YA literature and cataloging classes. Just finals left to go. School has only 30 days left so all is well.

Teacher Training

We are fortunate enough at our school to have 2 teachers and our librarian participate in the Library 23 things offered through the district. That being said, we realized the need for teachers to be aware of the tools that we have found helpful in this process.
We have proposed teacher trainings this upcoming year (2008-09) differently to our principal and she gave it the thumbs up.

1. We have already surveyed the teachers and received their input on interests.
2. Everyone will bring their own laptops with them to staff development.
3. Each month we will introduce a new tool: animoto, photostory, trading cards, wiki page, etc.
4. After explaining to the teachers a quick overview, it is time to “play”. Using the projector and laptop hooked up-we will walk them through the features and allow them time to explore and create with the expertise of the teachers/librarian already trained.
5. The teachers will have the flexibility to work on the project alone or with their teams.
6. This is the ideal time to use your librarian as an excellent resource. She also is an expert on copyright and fair use.


So in short
-we listened to the teachers.
-we are going to give the teachers an opportunity to use some technology without being intimidated or overwhelmed.
-we have built in time and flexibility.
-we are also capitalizing on the strengths of others.

The major difference will be the follow up and hands on training that has been missing from the equation. Many times we go to workshops to just think, "That was neat." but never have the time or assistance needed to complete the project.

We are excited to try this.

Thing # 23-I made it!!!

One word: Worthwhile
I am a lifelong learner and always looking for new challenges. Maybe that is why I have chosen to go back to grad school and pursue a MLS. I enjoy studying about things I never knew before and loving it.

This was an excellent way to get me to experience and learn new technology. I know this will help me in preparing for the future. Many of the tools I have already used in my classroom and look forward to implementing in a library. I will definitely participate in another technology learning experience like this one. I liked going at my own pace. I've found some things that I'll probably make use of and some that I won't, but it's good to know that these exist, even if I don't use them. My favorite exercises from this whole brouhaha were Trading cards, My del.icio.us, Animoto (I'm addicted), wikis and flickr.
Great job overall! What a wonderful learning experience this has been.

Thing # 22

I really enjoyed the Teacher Library Ning. I have never joined My Space or Facebook, so I didn't know what I was missing. I thought I was too old. There are so many benefits to social networking. Together we are much more powerful learners than we are as individuals. I enjoyed reading past posts from others in the same Grad program in other states. They have the same concerns that I do. I liked the advice from the practicing librarians. They have been there, done that!

Thing # 21

I started doing the podcast assignment yesterday and was frustrated with Audacity. I know I can't be the only one out there that is having trouble. I then switched to Photostory today and had more success. The steps were a lot more spelled out for someone who is technology challenged. I had no idea of what to make a podcast of: that was until I pulled up pictures on my computer. I have thousands of my daughter and thought this would be an easy one. I forgot to bring home my microphone from school, so I added music to the podcast instead.



I CAN'T GET IT TO LOAD!!!!



As for audio books, these are a great resource while traveling, multi-tasking, or just doing ordinary activities. I think ELL students and reluctant readers would really enjoy using these. I am curious about the playaways that I just recently learned about. Hopefully in the next few months I can actually get to use these.

Thing # 20

I have to be honest. I had never even gone to YouTube before doing the Library Thing. I don’t know if I would ever find much for an elementary student. I haven’t even been tempted when the news or a TV program reports a video that someone has downloaded.
I went to the sites suggested. I really enjoyed, the 60's and 70's musical videos and 1970 commercials. These were fun to go and remember the many days of yesteryear.


As for TeacherTube, I found a couple of videos that would be helpful in class. Well maybe entertaining.



This experiment was done the day before our Science night with the students (grades 2-5) to get them interested in coming to Science night. Our Science SIS did a demonstration for each grade and we had a record number turn out.

Thing # 19

I am amazed at how in-depth you can go into this. There's some really awesome sites. Many of the sites we have already visited in the Library2Play. So I looked at Yelp. It's a review site by area/city. I looked at restaurant reviews for Houston and Clearwater, Florida. They also have entertainment, real estate, home services, auto, etc. You can write/read reviews, search by neighborhood, and post a question or comment. It's very easy to use and it looks good. I learned of a bakery in Katy that I would love to try.