Thing 23

I can't believe I made it!! This has definately been a very challenging experience but so forth it. Doing this in 4 weeks was tuff. I really wished I had more time on each thing to explore. I felt rushed! I do have to admit, I do feel a little more techno savvy.

1. I loved the photostory, trading card, and learning about Flickr. I will be able to use Photostory in my library. I could use it to show the Bluebonnet books, or give the teachers a sneak peek at the book fair. I did have some trouble downloading my photostory to my blog but once I signed up on Switchpod, I was able to put the link in there. I just love the trading card idea. I will be able to use it in so many ways. My students are always needing pictures for projects that we are doing on the computer. Clip art sometimes doesn't have what we need. Flickr will be a great, safe alternative.

2. This has definatley made me more curious. Because I felt rushed in these 4 weeks, I plan on going back and taking in depth looks at the stuff I liked or did not feel comfortable with.

3. I found out real fast I didn't know as much about the web as I thought I did. I figured this exercise would be expanding on what I already knew, but it was a whole new ball game for me. I learned new vocabulary, websites, and of course new tools to use for me, my students, and fellow teachers.

4. I would have liked more of the "In Plain English" videos. Even after reading and going over some the things more than once, I was still confused. Thank goodness I made new friends to call for help-thanks Cheri!

5. I would do this again. Doing it during the school year and taking college classes would be hard for me. I would do it again in the summer but would like to have more time so I could explore further.

6. Challenging, but a great learning experience!

Thing 22

Today I played with the Nings. There were some intersting things on them. On the Ning for Teachers, there was a place to search for lesson plans. I selected my grade and subject and received some really cool lesson plans that I could use. I like the idea of social networking on the computer but I am more of a face to face type person. I like to see facial expressions, hear tones in their voices, and watch body language. This is a good idea for meeting teachers around the country but again I would prefer face to face.

Thing 21

I liked doing a photostory of my family pictures. Friends at school always send me albums of slideshows they have created and I never knew how they did it. Now I know how to do my own. Every year for Open House I have put together a power point of my students doing various activities to be playing while I was visitng with parents. Making a photostory would be so much easier and faster. I tried several times to download the video straight to my blog but for some reason it would not work. Here is the link to photostory via Switchpod.
http://media.switchpod.com//users/hmathison/myfamily2.wmv

Thing 20

I was aware that YouTube existed but had no idea that TeacherTube was out there. In past years I have been sent so many cool videos and would have loved to share them with my students, but YouTube is blocked in our district. ZamZar will make it easier to get by this. If not, now that I know about TeacherTube, I could try to find a similar video and show it to my students. Here is a video I found about the Earth and some of the terms that my students have trouble remembering. It is kind of corny, but it gets the point across and I think the studnets will remember it beacuse it is so corny.

Thing 19

On this thing, I looked at the tools that had me in mind. I was already familiar with CraigsList, but explored it a little more. The one I really liked was MothersClick. The main feature they had today was meals that last a week. They started with chicken on Monday and gave you five different recipes that could be made with chicken. For a Mom that rarely has time to cook, yes I admit we are fast food junkies, this was nice and very helpful. I can cook all the chicken I would need for the week on Sunday, and have 5 different recipes to use the chicken in. How cool is that?! This site also had a place for Moms to write blogs. I could only read the featured blog but had to register to read more. So I did. This was a free registration. They had different Mom groups: working moms, stay at home moms, single moms, expectant moms, etc. I could designate which Mom group I wanted my information shared with. I don't see how I could use this site in the library. Maybe I could share some of the information I learn, but it's not a site I would give my students access to. It is definately a site I will share with my co-workers.

Thing 18

I liked Google Docs. The tutorial was easy to follow. I played around with a document that I already had. It was easy to manipulate. I like the idea that I can access my documents from anywhere or anytime.

Thing 17

I liked playing with Rollyo. I can see how it would be a great tool for my students when they are doing research. It would really save time and cut back on the amount of "extra" sites that might pop up. The video made by Mr. Goodner was very helpful! I seem to learn better when I am peer taught. His step by step directions would make it easy for any person to come in and set up Rollyo.

Thing 16

Wikis are way cool! There so many possibilities for this in a classroom. Just like David Loertscher used a wiki during his presentation, my students could use it during an experiment. They could use it while making observations and then to discuss their final conclusions. In the library, a wiki could be used for a book talk. I could see where this tool would have endless possibilities!

Thing 15

Libraries have definately changed since I was in school. I remember going in, getting the tour of the card catalog and the books. Then after that tour having to wait in line to use the card catalog to find the book I wanted. Heaven forbid I not know the author or correct title. Today's library is so different! With Library 2.0, the information is so easy to find and access. There are more resources and information than the library could ever have all on its shelves. When I become a Librarian, my library won't be an "iceberg". With my knowledge of technology and the resources that my students will have access to, the library will be so much better than I could have ever imagined as a child. My students tell me all the time that I don't look like the librarian type. My response is the library is changing and I am the change it needs.

Thing 14

Tagging can definately narrow down a search, but in the same way, so many tags, so much room for inconsistency. In looking at the resources for this Thing, I did not realize the size of the tag mattered. The bigger it is, the more important it is. I just assumed it was a typing mistake. While researching for "school library learning 2.0", I found some overlapping. Technorati needs a lot of playing time to get really familiar with it. One thing I did notice is that searching is only as good as the tags we use and are put on what we are looking for.

Thing 13

Social bookmarking is a great tool! I explored del.icio.us, FURL, and Ma.gnolia. I thought FURL was easier to use. Using this in the library will be an assest for the students. After collaborating with a teacher, I could go in and bookmark the resources so the students would have them all on one site. I feel that if the librarians would work together, then the resources bookmarked would big huge. Also it would bring in the "social" part of social bookmarking. Maybe not, but it could be worth the try. :)

Thing 12

I am not usually one that will leave a comment on a blog. I am that "passer by" who just reads them and keeps going. I think the main reason is because I always thought people put blogs out there to be read and not necessarily to be commented on. Little did I know, they WANT me to comment and after reading and doing these 23 things, I am finding it is also a way to start cool conservations and meet new people. I am all about that! Cool Cat Teacher said to make the comment meaningful. When reading some blogs, I have noticed people that just respond with, "Cool!", or "I agree!" My question was always, what is cool or what do you agree with? The blogger could have made several points or asked lots of questions. Because I like to talk, this would not be my style of commenting. If anything the blogger would have to tell me enough is enough, stop already. The other point I liked was made in the 10 Commandments of Commenting, come back. Too many times I have read blogs and comments and noticed that there are rarely comments made by the same people. A conservation is not one liners.

I read several blogs to comment on, but the one I liked the most was by Mommyjane. Most blogs I have read made me cry, her's made me laugh out loud. I commented that same thing to her. I really needed a laugh this morning!

Thing 11

Well I added some of the books I have read to my blog. I could have added children's books all day. The adult books are a little lacking. I just don't have time to read for myself! This would be great to use for those kids who just haven't found that right book. They could read the discussions/forums on certain books and see what other people have said about them. Sometimes they don't want my opinion because they think I am supposed to tell them the book is great. Now they could get opinions from others and maybe even other students too.

Thing 10

This thing was loads of fun! I did take time to look at the sites but decided to use my own picture. I did use the captioner option from Big Huge Labs. My students would love this. When we do Social Studies products, this would be a neat way for the students to add their own personal touches. I can only image what their Science projects would look like!

Thing 9

I wish this thing was switched with 8. I probably would not have cried as much if I had had this information first! I found most of these to be fairly easy. I am usually pretty vague in my searches and Google Search Blog still made it easy to find most of what I was looking for. I really liked the Topix search. So much of what I teach has to do with topics that this seemed the easiest for my students to use. Technorait was nice but just too much on the page. As I have said before, I lose interest in sites fast if there is too much on them and I feel my students would do the same. I really liked reading the blogs on Suprglu. I had to make myself stop at 2 this morning. I have one question...how do blogs get nominated for the Edublogs? I tried to find the answer on the site but just couldn't. Some were interesting but some I questioned as to how they got nominated.

Thing 8

Okay I have to be honest...I was very confused on how to set up my Google Reader. I watched the video, the tutorial, read Newbie's Guide, and even took the tour on the website but I was still confused. I was making more out of it than it turned out to be, thanks Cheri! Once I was finally able to do it while hearing it, I am a tactile learner, it was much better. I really like it. I lose interest in websites. This is going to make "surfing" the web much better. One of the sites I marked was to a children's book review. This will save time for me, the teacher and student when I am asked for a recommendation on a book. Another one I saved was a comic strip about libraries. I could use one of these as openers in a staff development. Besides who wouldn't like a daily laugh?!

Thing 7

I did not realize Google had so many features! I am a Social Studies teacher too and the Google Earth would help in many ways. After learning geographical location, directions, and physical features, this would be a great way for the kids to see it in "real life" without actually being there. A great computer lab after we have studied a region for the students to explore that region up close. I also liked the Google Alerts. This is a way to keep me current on all the happening news for the subjects Iteach right now. As a Librarian, it would keep me current on book releases, upcoming author talks, and any other aspect of library news.

Thing 6

This one was fun. I love the Librarian Trading Card. I would like to go beyond Librarians and have all the staff on my campus make one. I could hang them up in the Library so the students could first of all put a face with a name and also get to know some cool things about the staff on our campus. As a Science teacher the mosaic would be awesome to use when we talk about space. There are endless possibilities that the mosaic could be used for in my class.

Thing 5

I had never heard of Flickr before this course. I found it to be a safer resource for picture searching than the open web. Because I am a Science teacher, I typed in key words dealing with Space, Outer Space, Planets, etc. and got results that, in my opinion, were totally not related to my search. Here is a picture of a planet, according to my search.

Maybe I should have refined my search more, but this is a picture of the Planet London. Pretty and different as it may be, I was looking for a picture of a planet from outer space. I think I just need more practice with this and knowing how to really search for the type of picture I want.

Thing 4

Not sure if I really need to post something for Thing 4 but better safe than sorry. I have just registered and waiting on my e-mail, but I am going to keep working. With Duane, my husband, working so much, I feel like I am behind on this. The kids like my undivided attention, so homework during the day is out of the question. Today is his first day off in 3 weeks, and I am trying to take full advantage of it!

Thing 2-Easiest Habit

First of all, not sure what I did. This post was already done, then I went back to the directions and saw that I was supposed to separate the two habits. So I tried modifying and somehow lost this post. So I am posting it again and that is why they are all out of order.

The easiest habit for me is play. Having young children, they remind to play everyday. Life is tough and has lots of challenges. I find that when I play, I can put things in perspective. Playing with my kids keeps me young and playing with adults keeps me sane!

Thing 2-Hardest Habit

The hardest habit for me is being able to view my problems as challenges and not as a crisis. How ironic that habit was mentioned and one that I have been working on for years. I am a worrier, and tend to overreact in difficult times. I look at it as poor me, instead of how can I make this better? So what that other people have problems, and they may be worse than mine, but at this moment, my problems are the worse. I have my moments when I don't think this way, but it is rare. I think this will be something I will have to work on the rest of my life.

Thing 3

Setting up this blog was easier than I thought. It took me a while because the kiddos were here and I had to keep stopping. The overall experience was not too bad. The avatar was fun! I thought real hard about making one that was so not me, but decided to make one that was a representation of the real me, or at least close enough. Exporting was easy but I had to keep going back and forth between the Avatar page and the directions. I am so not computer literate, but I am trying to change this. This is helping me work on the hardest habit too, turning my problem with technology into a challenge. See I am doing better already!