Thing #20

YouTube: Thank You Note

TeacherTube: Web 2.0

When I started teaching a few years ago the latest and greatest visual aide was UnitedStreaming video. It was revolutionary and it changed the way that teachers were presenting lessons. No longer did you have to reserve a video cart, spend hours searching for an appropriate video, and clear a chunk of time in the schedule to show it to the class. Suddenly teachers had the videos at their fingertips. With increased technology in the classroom they were able to show a 3 minute clip here and a 2 minute clip there. The best part was all of the videos were cleared for their educational value!

Step aside UnitedStreaming...YouTube and TeacherTube are here! Now, I'm not suggesting that we do away with UnitedStreaming. I happen to be a huge fan of UnitedStreaming. I can see the value though in an open source website where everyone can post videos and access them. UnitedStreaming requires a subscription, which is something that not every district can afford. YouTube and TeacherTube are available to everyone free of cost, plus they allow students and teachers to create their own videos and post them for others to view. Of course this means that not all of the videos on YouTube are pre-screened for their educational value. In fact there's quite a bit of stuff floating around that website that you wouldn't want to bring into a classroom at all, but that does not mean that everything on their is inappropriate. The great thing about YouTube is that you as the teacher or librarian can preview the material and even embed the video into a class website, wiki, or blog. This provides the students access without the worry that they'll stumble upon something they shouldn't. TeacherTube, on the other hand, boasts many of the same features as YouTube, but offers the advantage of pre-screening posted videos to make sure that they meet educational criteria first. I find both of the sites to be full of relevant, meaningful educational material. Additionally I find them both inspiring as well.

I found a video on YouTube titled "Thank You Note". It would be a great short video to show to faculty or fellow librarians. The video is a tribute to the library presented by a woman who found confidence and inspiration in library books as a child. The TeacherTube video "Web 2.0" provides a quick, creative explanation of what Web 2.0 is. I think that this video would be a great video to show to the faculty as a fun way to introduce the literacy components of Web 2.0.

Thing #19

Today I explored the self-publishing site Lulu.com Lulu won first place in the "books" category of the Web 2.o awards on SEOmoz.org. I had heard of the website a few times but I had never checked it out.

This unique site allows individuals to upload text, audio files, or photos, publish them in the format of their choosing, promote the material, and sell the material. The best part is that the basic features are free.

Teachers and librarians could use this book to promote writing with their students. Teachers/librarians can create a group which allows students to work privately on publishing their works and sharing them within the group. The tools offered by the website are applicable across the grade levels and subjects. Art classes can create books of their artwork. Writing classes can create novels, poetry books, and children's books. A music class could record their music and create a CD. A home economics class could create a recipe book. In math students could research the process, profits, and costs associated with publishing a piece of their work.

Lulu also offers a special program for schools called "Aspiring Authors". Teachers can enroll their students in the program which combines the publishing tools of the website with fundraising potential for the school. Each student receives a free copy of their published work. Limited details are available on the website, but you can sign up to receive more information.

I will definitely explore this website for use in the future. I think that it's a powerful way to help students connect what they are learning about in the classroom to application in real world scenarios.

Thing #18

I was first introduced to the concept of Open Source Software (OSS) during my technology course with Dr. Bishop. At that time we were exploring OSS Catalogs for library use. In this course I learned about OpenOffice.org

For those that don't know what OSS is, it is software developed for free public use. In this case, OpenOffice. org is a free office software suite that includes programs for word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and presentations. One could liken it to the well known expensive Microsoft Office. It's free to download, free to update, and free to share.

The education implications for the use of this software are huge. First of all, it's free. That means that districts who can't afford to purchase Microsoft Office, or can't afford to upgrade to the latest version of the software, can now ensure that their office software suite is available to all and up to date at all times. For students, this means that they can have an office software suite on their home computers for personal use. OSS is an equalizer, providing software in different languages and eliminating the issues of students not having the same version to work on at home.

One of the things that I really loved about this software was the quality. It's compatible with most operating systems and can work with most of the files that you already have. It provides you with most of the features that the current Microsoft Office software does, as well as a few new features.

Of course, as with all software, there can always be bugs. I know that when I have used Google Docs in the past there have been formatting issues with some of my PowerPoint presentations. Of course with OSS people are always tweaking and improving the software at no cost to the users. One of the big dangers that I see with using something like OpenOffice.org is the lack of guaranteed support. Since this is community developed software, support for issues is also provided by the community. This means that you may encounter a problem for which there is current support for.

There are two main differences between Google Docs and OpenOffice that should be noted. First, OpenOffice is software that you download onto your personal computer whereas Google Docs is done online in the computing cloud. Second, OpenOffice is OSS whereas Google is not. Currently this means that OpenOffice boasts more features and is developing at a more rapid pace.

Thing #17

Courtney's Librarian Resources Search Engine
http://rollyo.com/courtney.clm/librarian_resources/

What a fabulous way to create safe searchers for students without sacrificing the search engine experience. I also think it's a great tool for personal use because I can create searchrolls for subjects that I search for frequently. This means I don't have to go through my bookmarks and search each trusted site individually or do a general Google search that makes me sift to find my trusted resources. I can simply go to my Rollyo searchroll and have all of my trusted resources at my fingertips.

I wonder what would happen if Delicious and Rollyo put their heads together? Hmmm...

Thing #16

Last semester (Spring 2009) I had my first experience using a wiki. Dr. Matthew set up a wiki for those of us in LLLS 5532 to work on throughout the semester. We used it for the purposes of discussing the YA Literature that we were reading in the course. At first I was a bit nervous. After all, there really aren't any "rules" on wikis. After a while though the class settled into a comfortable pattern of posting. The blank space provided freedom to express whatever we wanted to and include links to additionally resources that we had discovered. I found that while it was initially uncomfortable to not have any rules, in the end it was the lack of rules that made the experience meaningful.

Wikis scream collaboration. Additionally we know that students learn from one another, so the benefits of a shared learning space, such as a wiki, are unlimited. How great would it be for an entire grade level to share a wiki for each unit of study? This would allow sharing and collaboration to occur between classes. I think that students would also be intrigued to read what other classes are saying and think that teachers would be inspired by comments across the grade level. What if the grade level invited the principal to be a member of the wiki? What an easy way for the principal to be involved in the learning process.

My favorite resource on this Thing was the tutorial video designed by CommonCraft. I wish that I had seen this before working on a wiki for the first time. Every time I watch one of their videos I think "I wish I had thought of that".

Thing #15

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/a-vision-of-students-today-what-teachers-must-do/

Let me start off this post by encouraging to watch the above video. I was completely astounded by it. It made me question who I am as an educator. It made me question what society is doing to education. It made me question what meaningful education should look like. The link below the video will take you the a blog with comments from the professor who oversaw this project.

Free access for all has been at the heart of libraries since day one. I guess my question then is why are so many librarians hesitant to embrace the Library 2.0 concept which by its very nature increases access? I think that some librarians need to reexamine their attachment to books, and expand it to be a love of information. After all, what is there to really LOVE about BOOKS? I myself love books. But honestly, if I really think about it, it's the content, tucked inside of the smell-good covers and pretty bindings that I really love. Without that content, or information, a book is just a cardboard cover with letters on the spine. It's the love of the content that I want to share with the world, and while my life has been filled with beautiful content printed on paper, and wrapped in covers, there are people out there who are falling in love with content written on a computer screen and I have to make sure they have access to that.

I love what Michael Stephens had to say about the Librarian 2.0 http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm:

The Librarian 2.0:

- Plans for their users

- Embraces Web 2.0 tools

- Controls Technolust

- Makes good, fast decisions

- Is a trendspotter

- Gets content

Rick Anderson makes some very though provoking statements in his blog post: http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm

He questions the need for a "just in case" collection of print materials. Since the beginning of libraries, information has been scarce. Libraries prided themselves on having print information that their patrons could not gain access to on their own. Today, information is not scarce, so patrons come to the library with the expectation that they can access the information. I guess the question then is what will we offer them at the library that they won't be able to find on Google? He also boldly states that "...if our services can’t be used without training, then it’s the services that need to be fixed—not our patrons". Think about that for a second. Are we so worried about being disposable that we are holding on to services that require patrons to "need" us?

I don't know about you, but my mind is churning. We need to be asking ourselves what the library should look like today instead of thinking about how it should look in the future. The future is here!

Thing #14

Well, I do believe that I am now a Technorati convert. I have explored this blog content search engine a couple of times, but I finally "got it" after watching this video http://technorati.com/weblog/2006/07/110.html Although I have been tied to my Google reader for over a year now, I do think that it's time to part. Here are a few of the reasons why:

1. Tags - Technorati utilizes tags which means that readers can "tag" or add labels to blogs that they read. Those blogs are then categorized by those people-driven tags. That means that everyday people like you and me have a say in the defining and popularity of information.

2. Reciprocity - Sure Google reader allows me to track and read posts on my favorite blogs, but I can't track who else follows the blog or who that blog follows. Additionally, I can't see who is following me! All of that changes with Technorati.

3. Social Science Media - As someone who enjoys studying people and social patterns, Technorati offers up to the minute information on what people are talking about. Technorati provides you with information on the most popular searches, blogs, tags, photos, movies and more. Talk about a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of society.

I'm on my way to set up my account right now! Look me up when you get there!