Thing #23--WHOO HOOO

This Library2Play class was so much fun. I love learning new things when it comes to technology. I would find myself lost for hours searching and learning. My favorite discoveries were Delicious, Wiki, TeacherTube, Mashups, and Web 2.0 awards. I always enjoy learning new things and trying things out. So many times we are stuck in our "old" ways, and doing something a new way is kind of scary. There are so different tools to use, I love learning about them and trying them out.
There are so many things I can take away from this program and incorporate into my classroom, wiki for one example. I can not wait to use my wiki to communicate with the parents in my classroom. I really can not think of anything that you could do differently to improve this program. Everything is so self explanatory with all the helpful links posted for clarification, and different examples and explanations. I would definetely participate in another discovery program like this one, I am hoping there is another one. I love being able to work at my own pace.
Library2Play was such a great learning experience, I have learned so many different things and different tools to use in my classroom to enhance my teaching. ( I also love getting comments on my blog, and really enjoy commenting on others--I can see the importance of it!)

Thing #22

I enjoyed looking at the different Ning's. There are all kinds of them to browse through.I could see how Ning's maybe a great social networking site for educators or others of different professions. I came across a blog on Ning about smart boards. This site could be so beneficial to share ideas and learn new ones from others in your same profession. A great site for sharing information and meeting others who do what you do.

Thing #21

Photostory was so easy to use. I could have played with it for hours editing each page. I can definetley use this in my classroom-photostories of our field trips and special events. My students would love it. Then I could post it on my wiki page...I think, for the parents to see.

Thing #20

OMG, I love Youtube and Teachertube...I for the first time posted an animoto on youtube...How fun...what a great resource for the classroom...to find videos to enhance and reinforce your teaching.

I love using Animoto, here is a YOUtube video on how to create an animoto.




Here is an animoto I created for my mother for Mothers Day...

Thing #19

WOW!!! I love the Web 2.0 awards list--it has all the best sites on it, and many of the ones I keep hoping not to forget to bookmark on my delicious site, ones that I want to remember for when school starts. I have tried many of them- ....Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, Google Earth, Google Maps, Monster, Careerbuilder, IGoogle, Bebo, just to name a few. I really liked the LULU site, for publishing books. That is definetly something I could use in my kindergarten classroom, my children are always "publishing" their books, and now we could actually put it in hard back- great site. The LULU website would be very useful in our school and our library too. I really like Pageflakes, I like the layout and the easy to read format.

Thing #18

I opened Open Office on my home computer and it seemed to work fine. The biggest advantage I think to these online free tools is that they are free! You didn't have to buy a program and download it to your computer. Personally, either one is great to use, whether you are using a program downloaded to your computer or using the free program. I used Google Docs and it was very easy to use, I downloaded a document I already had on my desktop. I changed it up and it was easy. Another advantage of the free online programs is that you can access it from any computer..that makes it compatible to where ever you are. I do love my microsoft office on my computer, it is also very easy to use and access.

Thing #17

http://rollyo.com/search.html?q=dinosaurs&sid=559803
I created a rollyo for dinosaurs. It was very easy to do and I can definetley see what a great use it would be. The video that BGoodner did was an awesome explanation of how to use rollyo. What a great tool!

Thing #16

I added my thoughts on the sandbox of sbisd library future wiki. I had no problem using it. I really liked the YOUtube video on wikis that was presented in plain english and very easy to understand. I could see where I could use wiki in my classroom to communicate with parents on organizing our different fun activites we do in Kindergarten, ie: our thanksgiving feast, field day, rodeo day, storybook parade. I could use it along the same lines as the example of the camping trip.

Thing #15

Library 2.0??? Well, I have definetly seen a change in the role of the library in the past few years. Because the needs of our students change year after year, our role as teachers change also, and what is expected of us. As teachers we are constantly learning new ways to help children be successful, life long learners. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the role of a librarian, and library are changing also. In this age of computers and information at our fingertips, it is important that our libraries and librarians have knowledge on helping its users access this. I liked the perspective..To a Temporary Place In Time...It mentions that our libraries are just not books and card catalogs like we once knew them, but they are centers, or communities in which we go to learn and find information that we need. I like that the author says that libraries are participatory--they provide global access to books, catalogs, etc. I also like that she said, Library 1.0-the libraries we grew up with, then Library 2.0, then 3.0, then 4.0, they do not each replace the other, but are absorbed into each other. As information becomes more accessible we will need those who are able to guide us to the info we are seeking. Library 2.0 means that our libraries are going to be not only equipped with books but computers that allow us to search the web for research, photos, etc. The librarian will be the one to help the students find different programs and sites to create their research and their projects. She will be the "tour guide" so to speak. She should be aware of the different programs that can be used to learn information and to organize it. I think it is very exciting. I liked the YOUtube video on the vision of our students today. It was so real and so very interesting. As much as adults do not want to admit it, our children do spend many hours on the web, whether it is myspace, facebook, flickr, youtube, etc. WE spend hours on the web searching for things, and finding info. ( I can not tell you the last time I looked up a phone number or address in the phone book.) In the age of cellphones, PDA's, laptops, etc....we have information right there with us all the time, we can make connections, we can organize, we can research, at any time. School libraries are not going to be the place where you go to check out books anymore...they are media centers, equipped with computers that are linked to the internet. They are places where students will go not only to study but also to research information they need and will be able to have a librarian there to "guide" them to the correct places to find their information or the different ways to organize and present their information. To me it seems very exciting!

Thing #14

I really like Technorati and Delicious--sites. I like Technorati and can definetley see using it to find blogs about different information, and not just blogs...videos, pictures, websites, etc. What an awesome site!! I really like Delicious. I am able to load my bookmarks and be able to access them from any computer. It is also fun tagging new sites and love the Delicious toolbar. I claimed my blog site, and also added a technorati widget to my blog-pinging-that was so easy to do. Tagging at first seemed so overwhelming and just too much. I am getting the hang of it with practice and playing around. We always say information is at our fingertips with the internet, with tagging, you just put in a word and find sites with the info you need. That is just amazing to me. I have been playing around adding different tags to my bookmarks. I like the idea that you can add as many tags as you want to describe the site.

khjpcizg3x

Thing # 13

Wow...the possiblities with tagging, Delicious, and all the other social bookmarking websites. It is so overwhelming. There is SOO much to explore I could be on the computer for days, while I should be doing SO many other things. It is lots much fun and there is all kinds of information out there. I do like how I was easily able to import my bookmarks and tag them. I like being apart of the Delicious site. The bookmarks are right there for me to use and I am able to find them easily. I can see where librarians and teachers can easily share their favorite bookmarks with their students. For example if a student is reseraching a topic, they could look for info on this bookmarking site. This would have been great to have had during HS and college.. how easy it is to find information on things we had to research. My children are going to have it so much easier, when looking for information for research papers and projects.

Thing #12

Two points that I see most important when it comes to commenting on others blogs' are: 1. make it easy--having to sign in each time to comment, makes me not want to comment. 2. comment on the comments people leave you, interact with those reading your blog, acknowledge them, thank them etc..for leaving a comment.
I regularly try to comment on a couple of blogs that I keep up with. The two blogs I follow are of friends from church. One of the ladies has/is going through cancer and she keeps us updated on her blog to her progress. The other blog belongs to a friend who does public speaking and her blogs are just so real to life, and seem to minister to me quite often. I also like to keep up with my principals blog.

Thing #11

I liked using Library Thing. I made a list of the recent books I have read, and also joined a couple of groups. I could definetely see where this site is beneficial for avid readers. There are so many different kinds of groups and members. If you are trying to find a good book to read this is a great site. It gives you recommendations and reviews. Great tool!!

76231155129recentr.jpg hosted at ImageShack.us

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Thing #10

I loved playing around with different online image generators. My favorite was the image chef site, and of course the big huge lab site. I loved browsing my pictures and making a mosaic, christmas ornament or even a jigsaw puzzle. I also loved the image chef site where I could type in words and make an image. They let you pick colors, fonts, texts, etc...So much fun. I could spend hours, more than I already do, playing with these sights. I think my students would love downloading their pictures and making mosaics or typing in words in the image chef and picking a symbol to put the words in.

BigHugeLabs: Do fun stuff with your photos

BigHugeLabs: Do fun stuff with your photos

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ImageChef.com Flower Text

Thing #9

Google Blog Search and Technorati Tutorial were the easiest RSS feeders search enginges, to use. The most confusing I found was the Syndic8.com, it was very hard to follow and find RSS feeds. I found a couple of feeders that I added to my reader list. One of them was the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. I really liked that one and found it very interesting and helpful.

Thing # 8

I enjoyed finding RSS feeders to post on my blog. It is so much easier going to my google reader page and catching up on the blogs that I follow and the websites that I like to visit. It definetley saves time. I can use this in the classroom by putting the websites that my students go to onto my google reader and they can go to those sites easily and quickly, all they would have to do is just click on the feeder. In my personal life all the sites that I visit will be in one place, I don't have to type and look for them each time I go to visit. RSS feeders and google readers is such a benefit to those searching the internet for their information-it makes it so easy!

Thing #7

I created an IGoogle page and Google calendar. I like having an IGoogle homepage with certain newsfeeds on there and weather. In the classroom we have used Google Earth, and my children at home like using Google Earth also. It is just amazing to me the technology that is out there to help us learn, teach, and just help us to live. Google is an awesome tool to use.

Thing #6

I really enjoyed using flickr to make a trading card, puzzle, and a picture with speech bubbles. It is fun to create different things and I could spend hours doing it. I think the trading card would be a fun tool to use in the classroom. My kindergartners could pick a dinosaur or a plant and describe it using the trading card program. They could then print theirs and trade with each other. It is such an easy program to use. Using flickr you have SO many choices of photos or you can use your own. Big Huge Labs is now one of my most favorite websites. I can't wait to use it next school year.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thing #5

Using Flickr was lots of fun. It is AMAZING how you can find ALL kinds of pictures. What a great tool for the classroom. Whenever you need any kind of picture to show as a visual to what you are teaching, it is right there. What an awesome tool.

I found downloading the image very simple and easy to do. I chose a picture of a dinosaur egg. Our last science unit that we teach is Dinosaurs. It always amazes me how much 5 year olds know about dinosaurs. They teach me something every year. It also baffles my mind how they always know the names of the dinosaurs and can pronounce the name better than me. Children are a wonder!

Thing #4

Ready and registered and ready to explore!

Thing #3

Well, I worked on getting the avatar that I wanted for about 2 hours but would never download the avatar I had saved to my favorites...It gave me one with a mohawk, that is definetley not me but I will have to work on it. There were so many choices and I tried to make one that best represents me....

Thing #2

I definitely think I am a life long learner. I LOVE trying new ways of teaching in my classroom, and learning new things with technology. I had read Stephen Coveys book a long time ago, and went through an inservice talking about the 7 habits of highly effective people. I would say the habit I have the most trouble with is beginning with the end in mind. I don't always slow down to think about a goal and a plan, I just try to get to my goal without thinking it through. The habit that I feel like I have a good handle on is teaching/mentoring others, so that I am able to reinforce my learning, and I enjoy volunteering to serve others.

Thing #1

I love learning how to do new things on the computer. I especially like being able to teach my teenagers something they don't know how to already do. After reading about the program I wanted to get started right away. This is going to be fun!