THING #23

Yeah for me!!! I am so happy. I am so thrilled that I completed this program, and I can honestly say this has been one of the most applicable in-services I have ever done.
(1) What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
On a purely personal level, I loved the librarything blog. I know I will use that repeatedly. I also really liked the image generators and the photostory, as I was able to create somethings that I know will be beneficial to my classroom goals.

(2)How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I think the most important thing was that I proved to myself I could do something which I had long felt might be difficult. Just creating a blog, downloading a video, etc. - all these were confidence boosters that I can keep going in my journey.

(3)Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I think what surprised me the most was how fun these ideas were, and I was also surprised by how possible it is to glean ideas from other teachers and professionals.

(4)What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I thought the format was good. Possibly you could offer other applications, so we could learn even more.

(5)If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
I certainly would.

(6) How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
This is a fun, challenging way to improve your ability to effectively use internet resources which can be applied both professionally and personally.

(7)Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs.
I posted on Whirled Cultures and Linda's Summer Blog.

It was absolutely great! Thanks Spring Branch district for allowing me to play.

THING #22

I had been looking at the Nings earlier, and I can see a great deal of potential to limit your contacts to just information that applies to a specific area instead of the vast array you get through other social networking sites. Sometimes less is more. I looked at the Texas Librarian Ning, and it was so interesting to see a conversation about starting a school newspaper. Since my background is in journalism, that was especially interesting.

It seems to me that this would be a good way to create a classroom Ning, which could be used similarly to a blog.

THING #21

Ok, after a lot of fun and much effort, here it is -


This is a photostory about my trip to France in March. I can't wait to show my mom, as it was through her genrosity I got to go.

AND, what a thrill for me to learn how to do this. I can see so many applications to the classroom. I know my kids would enjoy this.

THING #20 (THE FOLLOW-UP)

I just wanted to take a moment to gloat. Hah!! I can't believe the video actually played. I have wondered how to do this for so long and felt that it would be too difficult for me to learn, so at this point I am feeling pretty sassy about it all. Why, oh, why do we make things so much harder than they have to be?

THING #20

OK, if this actually works it is a major accomplishment for me. I have been trying for several hours. I would copy the code on the video, but then when I would try to paste it in the video link under the HTML, nothing would be there to paste. I still don't know what I did wrong. Finally, I downloaded the video, then browsed on my computer to insert it. One thing I am learning is to keep trying different things if one thing doesn't work. The above video is from teacher tube, and it is a segment on kids acting out Beowulf with puppets. It is very cute, and I am sure the kids enjoyed it. I also looked on YouTube for different things regarding Othello, which I also teach to my seniors. I kept getting sidetracked by looking up things that are just fun to me personally - but maybe that isn't so bad after all! I think in the future I am going to require my students to have at least one video source for research papers.

THING #18

I had no idea these free programs even existed, so that was good to know. I looked briefly at Google, then downloaded OpenOffice. It was incredibly easy to use, I thought. I can see that would be a money saver, and according to the literature, it is easier to use than Microsoft Word. I think it would just take working with it over a period of time to see if that is actually true. Last year I bought a book about Office Word 2007, because I got so frustrated not being able to figure out how to do the things I wanted. I am getting better at that, and I think the more programs I am familiar with (such as OpenOffice or Google Docs) the more proficient overall I will be. Also, this is good information to give students who might need a free word processing prograqm.

THING #19

Great to see all those helpful tools! I looked at Lulu, which I thought was interesting. I can see how having the kids write books would be a great experience for them. Or, perhaps they could create a portfolio in book form. I mentioned earlier that I am thinking of having my students do a "My Town" project, and they could complete that, then have it bound. It truly would be a historical record of our town. Or,we could have them make historical records of latest trends, fashions, etc.

I also looked at Picassa, and that was good, because a friend of mine recently posted pictures on there of a trip a group from this area took at spring break to
France. I haven't looked at the pictures yet, and I know I will want to, so I downloaded the program.

I clicked on almost all the entries listed, so that was fun. As far as useful to libraries, I think almost any of the sources would be helpful in either researching or producing new material by the students.

THING #17

Here is the link to my rollyo searchroll. I have my junior students read Into Thin Air, so I created a search engine for Mount Everest. As the video pointed out, some topics can receive literally millions of hits, and while access to information is a good thing, information overload can stop a student in his or her tracks (teachers, too, for that matter!)
http://rollyo.com/mhanderson/anderson_-_tolar/

I had no idea before this course that such a thing as a personalized search engine even existed, so I am definitely learning very useful things. Even as computer-literate as my students are, I'll bet that many of them have not heard of this, either, so this will be great information for them. This should be a tool that they can apply as they go to college in the next few years as well.

THING #16

OK, wikis it is. I enjoyed looking at the different wikis, especially the wiki from the King County library system. It is fascinating to me to see so many book reviews. I have been in a reading rut, and I have found some good suggestions of other books and authors I might enjoy.

I think for classroom use, the wiki can be used to increase collaboration skills among my students and to increase accountability in cooperative learning situations. I am thinking of trying to develop an "Our Town" combination literature and writing unit, and the students could organize their research into a wiki.

Also, I am thinking of creating a classroom wiki and making post notes on what happened in class/information gathered each day for review purposes. That would be good as well.

I can see lots of applications!

THING #14

It was fascinating to see all the kazillions of blogs out there, but I have to admit I felt a bit frustrated in my search. I tayped in "School Library Learning 2.0" in blog posts, tags and blog directory, and I came up with nada. I tried again, but it still kept saying no results found, even when I tried to refine the search. That was frustrating.

I then search through both posts and directories for some of my interests - religion, education and the British royal family. I found out some tidbits and found some sites on the emergent church that I will be interested to read more about.

One thing that I think would be useful about this for students is in a research lesson teaching students to differentiate between reliable and biased sources. Of course, it is helpful to see what large numbers of people are doing, but it is also a good chance to remind them that just because it is on the internet doesn't mean it is true. They need to learn to be discerning in what they use. I think that is a valuable skill for all of us when we are so flooded with information and opinions.

THING #13

Ok, this was a bit tricky. I couldn't get all of the video portion to work. However, I can see the advantage of being able to access a list of all my favorite sites no matter where I am and to be able to access them more effectively.

It reminds me of Librarything in that it is so interesting to see what others have done and how they tagged things. It makes it much easier to share.

As far as my students using it, I can see many advantages as they research. I am also thinking about real-life research, such as investigating careers, purchasing automobiles, looking at colleges. It would be great for them to be able to effectively organize sites they might want to return to.

I teach in such a small town that many of my students have my cell number - so showing them all my bookmarks and tags would be a piece of cake!

THING #15

It was interesting to read the perspective on avoiding the icebergs. The part about not having large physical collections actually kind of made me sad, because I like holding books in my hand and having them with me. But, I can understand that books on-line gives much more access to greater resources for everyone. I also studied the perspective on bibliographies. Much of it was confusing to me, which makes me realize how much I still have to learn and how vast the resources are.

As far as Library 2.0, I think it is crucial for educators and citizens to be more able to access information. Since our school library is quite small, the main source of information for students is the internet, of course. Going through this course has shown me more than ever that I have not even begun to show my students what is available. Of course, the high school students I teach are extremely computer-savvy, but that doesn't mean they are knowledgeable about researching information. If it isn't on google, they don't think it exists. I think Library 2.0 is a way for them to effectively research AND contribute to research and discussion.

THING #12

I posted to the following library2play blogs: rouse's 23 things, firefly flight, Hardie's Happenings, Irma Palafox, and Michele Investigates. I enjoyed seeing some of the other teachers' blogs.

The ideas from the readings that I found most interesting were the discussions of the importance of commenting to contribute to a larger conversation and the discussion of whether to use an alias or your real name. Since I do live and teach in a small community, it would be helpful to be able to connect on a larger scale with other professionals.

As far as commenting on outside blogs, I first left a comment on Beth Moore's Living Proof Ministries blog. It was actually very interesting, because I commented on a posting by her daughter regarding an article about Beth in Christianity Today. I had read that article earlier, and I really did feel as if I were contributing to a larger conversation. Then, for fun, I left a comment on one of my favorite author's blog, Laurie R. King.

I guess people really do enjoy receiving feedback and feeling appreciation, as well as giving me a chance to connect with other professionals.

THING #11

I absolutely loved this site. I think the best thing about it is the opportunity to enter titles and then have access to book lists by others who have enjoy the same books I have. I found myself clicking on some of them already and saw some new authors I want to try. I also like the ability to share some of my favorite authors - some of whom I don't think get nearly enough attention.

I did subscribe to RSS feed on this, so I am looking forward to being updated. I also clicked on groups relating to mysteries and Christian fiction, so that will be interesting to see what happens.

As far as using this in my classroom, I think sometimes I get so discouraged because so few of my students seem to enjoy reading for pleasure. However, there are those who do - and what a great gift for them if I share this website. I can think of several students who will love this.

It was great!

THING #10

This thing was fun. I looked at all the generators listed, and I was so impressed with all of their possibilities. I ended up posting a cartoon from the comic strip generator (www.comicstripgenreator.com) and a trading card from the trading card maker (www.bighugelabs.com). On the negative side, I did spend several hours trying to post a Wordle I created. I still don't know what I did wrong, and since I am here in the far-off land of the 2A school Tolar with no other players, I didn't have anyone to help me. However, I am going to ask our tech person when I get back to school to help me, because I am determined to get that on there!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I continue to think about all the ways I can use this in my junior English class to try and incorporate more non-fiction reading and workplace writing situations into my class. I know the kids would love doing these things. The key is for me to be able to apply them.

As far as literature, of course the kids could make trading cards for characters in a story or play, use them for review purposes, and create images to decorate our classroom or a portfolio.

Thanks for letting me see all this!

THING #9

I liked the Google Blog Search, because the format was so similar to search engines with which I am already familiar. I also liked browsing topix.net and technorati, because both had easily accessible news items. I guess I knew in the back of my mind that most newspapers today had feeds available, but I had never accessed any before, which I did through this system. This included papers from London (did you know the poor North Korean world cup coach was not only fired, but now has to work construction as a punishment for the team losing all its games? Wow!) I keep thinking of all the English TEKS that require students to read more non-fiction than I have done in the past, and I think this will be a great way to incorporate that.

I could never get the library logs link to work, although I tried on two different days, so that was frustrating.

One thing I am enjoying is seeing how one blog leads to another one which can lead to another one . . . all the topics in which I am interested can be researched much more easily.

THING #8

OK, I actually found this one a bit tricky. I am not sure exactly why. However, once I got the hang of it, I was able to add a variety of blogs and news sources, many of which I already follow. They range from local (my preacher's) to slightly embarassing (Hello Magazine - the UK equivalent of People Magazine). The best part, though,was when I search through Google Blogs, I found some blogs for English teachers and another for the Texas State Library Association, both of which I added.

I can see that just having a way to effectively search for and connect with other professionals would be very helpful. Also, it would help my students be able to do research, although, of course, that would also have to include a lesson on what makes a reliable source.

I can certainly see that teachers at my school could use this. I am thinking especially of our UIL teams such as current events and social studies as they keep up to date. My daughter will be on the current events team next year, so this will help her as well!

THING #7

I feel so overwhelmed and encouraged at the same time. I have finished (finally!) another project I have been working on this summer, and now I am able to focus more directly on the library2play resources. Looking at the Google applications was fantastic. I set up a News Alert and created an igoogle page for myself.

Also, I downloaded Google Earth and looked at my house. I have heard my students talking about doing that for a number of years now, and it is exciting to have learned a little bit about it - at least enough to feel confident that I can use it.

I continue to be interested in the application of geography and maps to enriching my American and British literature classes. Being able to find some of the places we are learning about will help them not seem so remote. I also want to be able to create some real-life projects using these resources.

Additionally, I was not previously familiar with the Google Scholar search function, which I can tell will be very helpful.

This has been great fun!

THING #6

Looking at those mash-ups was fantastic. I love to scrapbook and take photographs constantly. In addition to teaching, I sponsor the yearbook, so I can see many beneficial applications for me both professionally and personally.

One idea I am particularly interested in is the combination of photos and maps. I am thinking about having some of my students do an "our town" unit in conjunction with the play of the same name. They could post photos of their hometown, linked to the map. Also, I like the idea of my British literature students making a map linking places in England with authors. That idea would actually apply well both to British and American literature.

I am also excited about the possibility of making some jigsaw puzzles. That could possibly be a good fund-raiser idea for our school. This has given me lots to think about!

Charlotte Charles said...
THING #5 I gained quite a bit by looking at Flickr, because I was only barely aware in the back of my mind that such sites existed. It is good to spend a bit of time playing with them to get an idea of what is available and how they can be applied. When I looked at the general photos, I was stunned to see some recent photographs of my hometown, Tolar, TX. It is a small town and although the hearts are strong here in Tolar, most of the buildings are crumbling and the photos showing the old buildings made me feel just a piercing in my heart of protective instincts toward my community. Unfortunately, it wasn't posted in the general area for fair use, so I looked in the creative commons pictures and found an image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. giving his "I Have a Dream" Speech. My students in my evening college composition are writing an essay analyzing the speech, and I am re-inspired every year when this asignment arrives. I should have students look through for photophraghs which apply to the literatur we are studying.

July 20, 2010 8:50 PM

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About Me
Charlotte Charles
I am a teacher, mom, reader, running, friend and child of God, just trying to stop hiding the talents I might have in the ground. It is no shame to have only the three talents if you give them all you've got to the glory of God!
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THING #2 As I look over the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners, I think the easiest one for me is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I enjoy thinking, doing, writing, reflecting - I do believe that I can continue to learn throughout my life and that I should do so. The one I find most difficult at this point is believing that I can be as effective in this specific arena as I am in others - but I am gradually believing that can change.

THING# 3 - Well, this is my first attempt at a blog, and I am glad I am doing it. I called my blog "Take a Deep Breath and Go!" because that represents how I feel about having confidence that I can effectively learn these new skills. It is funny how I can consider myself competent in many areas, and yet still hesitate in this area or convince myself before I even begin that I won't like it or won't be good at it. That is certainly not the attitude I want to model for my students, my own children, and I don't like feeling that way about myself. So, here I go!