Here is a spot my students created last spring to advertise motor scooters to young adult males.
http://animoto.com/play/8N9EmGSzKibJECB1u95CmQ?autostart=true
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Module #5: Curriculum Connections & Recommended Reading
I really liked learning about assisted technology. I hate to say this, but I never thought about it before. I really liked thinking about the needs of a specific group and how can this library help them achieve their goals. I have already recommended this tutorial to our Academic Technology Committee and several members think this is a great way to expand our technology curriculum. We will definitely add these books to our professional development collection.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Module 4 Etiquette
I finished the etiquette survey and did pretty well. I can't say I've had too many interactions with people with disabilities but I'd like to think I would respond to any situation in a respectful way.
There is an independent living facility not far from where I live called Devereux Pocono center. People with disabilities stamp golf balls with company names and get paid minimum wage to do it. It gives the clients an opportunity to get paid for a job well done. They also live close to the center, many in their own apartments. I think this is a fabulous place and the clients seem very happy there.
The following is the list of 5 assistive technology websites:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm
http://www.assistivetech.net/
http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/assistive/index.shtml
http://www.fctd.info/resources/fig/
http://www.rehabtool.com/
There is an independent living facility not far from where I live called Devereux Pocono center. People with disabilities stamp golf balls with company names and get paid minimum wage to do it. It gives the clients an opportunity to get paid for a job well done. They also live close to the center, many in their own apartments. I think this is a fabulous place and the clients seem very happy there.
The following is the list of 5 assistive technology websites:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm
http://www.assistivetech.net/
http://www.educationworld.com/special_ed/assistive/index.shtml
http://www.fctd.info/resources/fig/
http://www.rehabtool.com/
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Module 3: Software
Software: I actually did look at the software for this project and based my hardware choices on the software. Now that I think about it - choosing software first would have made more sense. I did agree with Dr. Farmer's feedback on defining my core group better in my needs statement so I revised that on the software section as well as how these items would be used to help this group of students. I develop all my rubrics in Rubistar and developed one for my software project that I posted on this week's discussion board.
The software downloads from this module were very interesting and easy to use. I really liked Inspiration. I played with some mind maps last year thinking that my students would really like them. I downloaded a free copy of Buzan's Mindmapping Software. I thought this would work for my students but their eyes just got glazy over it. I think that if it's not like Google or Wikipedia (Good, fast, cheap) and requires more than one or two clicks, most students don't want to have anything to do with it. I think there are some students who get a lot out of this software but they really like computers and aren't overwhelmed by work. I do think this is a great tool for a whole group project that might include the teacher to implement it. A more student interactive tool that is kind of like this is voicethread.
I can't say I thought a lot about disabled student before this project because our school just doesn't accomodate them. I think they should and as a member of the Academic Technology Committee at my school I will recommend this. I think this whole section has expanded my thinking about accomodating all kinds of learners and I've looked at my own students in a different way because of it.
Readings:
Odin Chapter 2: Last week there was a great overview chapter about hardware. My library's policy about hardware is that it needs to be flexible. Most of our computers are laptops for this reason. We have 30 Macbooks and 10 stationary i-Macs. We do this so we can keep our library program flexible in terms of students working in groups and utilize all our classroom spaces, which in some cases, can not hold stationary computers. I should have made this clear in my Hardware selection process that laptops are often used on the library floor by individual students. Unfortunately we do not have administrative rights over these computers which is a problem we are currently fighting but it was validating to see it in this textbook. This week it was again a great overview chapter about software. Our software choices are driven by the curriculum so we have Microsoft Office installed on all computers. Unfortuanately, Office was designed for PCs and there are often problems associated with it being installed on Macs. Administrative rights to all computers would help this problem also.
Chapter 9: I have never worked in an unautomated library so I wouldn't begin to understand the issues associated with it. However, my son's school has an unautomated collection and the school decided to go with a web-based automation system. I have recommended that a friend who is a librarian work with the school as she has the time to devote to the project. We recently upgraded to TLC which I think was a 50,000 dollar mistake as it is a program designed for public libraries and we are a 1,000 member student population. I liked this chapter because it made me aware of all this issues a librarian needs to think about before deciding on an automation system and I wish my head librarian would have read it before she spent the money on TLC.
The software downloads from this module were very interesting and easy to use. I really liked Inspiration. I played with some mind maps last year thinking that my students would really like them. I downloaded a free copy of Buzan's Mindmapping Software. I thought this would work for my students but their eyes just got glazy over it. I think that if it's not like Google or Wikipedia (Good, fast, cheap) and requires more than one or two clicks, most students don't want to have anything to do with it. I think there are some students who get a lot out of this software but they really like computers and aren't overwhelmed by work. I do think this is a great tool for a whole group project that might include the teacher to implement it. A more student interactive tool that is kind of like this is voicethread.
I can't say I thought a lot about disabled student before this project because our school just doesn't accomodate them. I think they should and as a member of the Academic Technology Committee at my school I will recommend this. I think this whole section has expanded my thinking about accomodating all kinds of learners and I've looked at my own students in a different way because of it.
Readings:
Odin Chapter 2: Last week there was a great overview chapter about hardware. My library's policy about hardware is that it needs to be flexible. Most of our computers are laptops for this reason. We have 30 Macbooks and 10 stationary i-Macs. We do this so we can keep our library program flexible in terms of students working in groups and utilize all our classroom spaces, which in some cases, can not hold stationary computers. I should have made this clear in my Hardware selection process that laptops are often used on the library floor by individual students. Unfortunately we do not have administrative rights over these computers which is a problem we are currently fighting but it was validating to see it in this textbook. This week it was again a great overview chapter about software. Our software choices are driven by the curriculum so we have Microsoft Office installed on all computers. Unfortuanately, Office was designed for PCs and there are often problems associated with it being installed on Macs. Administrative rights to all computers would help this problem also.
Chapter 9: I have never worked in an unautomated library so I wouldn't begin to understand the issues associated with it. However, my son's school has an unautomated collection and the school decided to go with a web-based automation system. I have recommended that a friend who is a librarian work with the school as she has the time to devote to the project. We recently upgraded to TLC which I think was a 50,000 dollar mistake as it is a program designed for public libraries and we are a 1,000 member student population. I liked this chapter because it made me aware of all this issues a librarian needs to think about before deciding on an automation system and I wish my head librarian would have read it before she spent the money on TLC.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Module 2: Hardware
I think it's amazing what technologies are available today! I think it's great that more and more we as a human race can see past people's disabilities and they can become amazing artists, scientists, or whatever they capable of.
I really liked enable mart and found a lot of great things that I used just a few of for my hardware selection. We have a certain percentage of students who become temporarily disabled - mostly due to sports injuries - that we do not accommodate at my school. Since we can apply for limited funding I used something the library could realistically acquire to help these kids for my hardware plan.
Some of the scenarios we deal with are students with learning disabilities and some of the hardware we have bought are playaways so certain students can read while they are listening to books. We do have some students and faculty with vision impairment. We do show them how to enlarge the text on screens so it's easier to read. Currently we do not have an elevator in the library so no student in a wheelchair could get to our library, but if someone were able to get to get up the stairs, our computer workstations are wheelchair accessible.
One of the bad things about my school is that we don't have a technology plan. We are currently working on one but the committee has just been formed.
I really liked enable mart and found a lot of great things that I used just a few of for my hardware selection. We have a certain percentage of students who become temporarily disabled - mostly due to sports injuries - that we do not accommodate at my school. Since we can apply for limited funding I used something the library could realistically acquire to help these kids for my hardware plan.
Some of the scenarios we deal with are students with learning disabilities and some of the hardware we have bought are playaways so certain students can read while they are listening to books. We do have some students and faculty with vision impairment. We do show them how to enlarge the text on screens so it's easier to read. Currently we do not have an elevator in the library so no student in a wheelchair could get to our library, but if someone were able to get to get up the stairs, our computer workstations are wheelchair accessible.
One of the bad things about my school is that we don't have a technology plan. We are currently working on one but the committee has just been formed.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Week 10: Types of Disabilites, Accomodations and Readings
Types of Disabilites & Accomodations: I really liked the video about down syndrome. As a niece of a high functioning uncle who is MR, I can appreciate how many things people with MR can do. He worked his entire life and bought himself a new car every 7 years and was involved with Kiwanis and the Lions club in his community. I do wonder what he could have learned if technology was around when he was younger. Unfortunately, he is currently dying of cancer at the age of 76.
Spinal cord injuries got a lot of press with Christopher Reeve's disability. At my school we do not accomodate people in wheelchairs. There is no elevator. I often ponder what if the next Stephen Hawking wanted to go to our school we would have to turn him away.
My sister has MS and was diagnosed at 23. At 30 she has already had related health issues and is deteriorating. It's still hard for her to accept she has an illnesss she has to manage at such a young age.
We do accomodate learning disabilites at our school and have a wonderful teacher who handles developing IPs for each individual student who needs one. It includes more time on tests and specific tutoring.
Vision difficulties are something I think we could accomodate more at my school especially in the library with technology. We currently have all our signs in braille but do not have any books. We would have to interlibrary loan them.
Reading: I liked Odin's chapter. I have written many proposals and I am excited about writing this Technology Plan because it reminds me of the RFPs I've written in the past. I have collected a lot of data about what teachers and departments come into the library but not a lot on how technology is used by those students who need accomodations. I think I will add this to my current data collection list.
Spinal cord injuries got a lot of press with Christopher Reeve's disability. At my school we do not accomodate people in wheelchairs. There is no elevator. I often ponder what if the next Stephen Hawking wanted to go to our school we would have to turn him away.
My sister has MS and was diagnosed at 23. At 30 she has already had related health issues and is deteriorating. It's still hard for her to accept she has an illnesss she has to manage at such a young age.
We do accomodate learning disabilites at our school and have a wonderful teacher who handles developing IPs for each individual student who needs one. It includes more time on tests and specific tutoring.
Vision difficulties are something I think we could accomodate more at my school especially in the library with technology. We currently have all our signs in braille but do not have any books. We would have to interlibrary loan them.
Reading: I liked Odin's chapter. I have written many proposals and I am excited about writing this Technology Plan because it reminds me of the RFPs I've written in the past. I have collected a lot of data about what teachers and departments come into the library but not a lot on how technology is used by those students who need accomodations. I think I will add this to my current data collection list.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Week 9: Podcasts, E-Books and Audiobooks, Readings and Summary
Thing #21: I looked at podcast.com and found a podcast from one of my favorite personal finance gurus, Dave Ramsey. I signed up for an account and added a widget to my bookmarks. I am a huge i-tunes fan and like to buy one song at a time and also listen to podcasts from the Breadloaf conferences from Middlebury College.
We use podcasts quite a bit as part of our curriculum in our school. One of my favorite projects is an English Class project that includes the students reading the stories they have just written.
Thing #22: Ebooks and audiobooks have come up as a discussion topic for me a lot lately. I work in a private school but work-out with teachers from various public schools in the area. One local public high school is going to move to an all e-book textbook format when they build their new high school that is slated to be completed by 2012. There is a private school in Massachussets that has eliminated it's entire book collection and is moving entirely to e-books and kindle. This has been a huge debate on Independent School Technolgy listserves.
I have mixed feelings about both these proposals. I do like using e-books and audio books but I guess the way I was taught as a kid or my own learning style prevents me from really retaining information I read on a screen. I can read short articles or emails and retain it but have problems when I have to read large chapters. I do thinks some students are like that as well. When I teach research classes and inundate students with options for using books, databases, or qualified web sites, some kids will just gravitate towards books. I think this observation is interesting and therefore think that e-books and audiobooks are part of the ever expanding options for students but will never replace books entirely.
I love project Gutenburg and we have a project here that requires students to write an "odyssey" referencing books that were published 100 years or more. I tell my kids to go there all the time. I looked at "Best Places to Get Free Books,"and LibriVox but didn't find anything I was interested in. I was looking for the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and did find it through my local library's catalog as an audiobook.
Thing #23: I have to say I think this is a great program and have recommended it to our technology integration director at school. I think it would be a good way for teachers who are not familiar with technology to get a handle on 2.0.
Reading: The most fascinating part of the chapter for me in Courtney about podcasting was the Legal Issues section. I think the fact that podcasting does not require a FCC license opens up all kinds of issues both good and bad. The good issues are based in the idea that there is an opportunity to provide all kinds of content, but there are also negative sides to open content. I do agree that if librarians are in doubt about the content of a podcst, "Legal advice should be consulted." (Courtney, 43).
Summary: My favorite things were the visual ideas like flixter and LTC. I think the program filled in a lot of gaps for me in terms of understanding different 2.0 options for use in the classroom. Some things I did not know very much about and other things I knew about but could not see their applications to classroom learning. One sentence I would use to describe this program would be, "A comprehensive, clear, tool for learning important 2.0 technologies and how to use them for classroom learning."
We use podcasts quite a bit as part of our curriculum in our school. One of my favorite projects is an English Class project that includes the students reading the stories they have just written.
Thing #22: Ebooks and audiobooks have come up as a discussion topic for me a lot lately. I work in a private school but work-out with teachers from various public schools in the area. One local public high school is going to move to an all e-book textbook format when they build their new high school that is slated to be completed by 2012. There is a private school in Massachussets that has eliminated it's entire book collection and is moving entirely to e-books and kindle. This has been a huge debate on Independent School Technolgy listserves.
I have mixed feelings about both these proposals. I do like using e-books and audio books but I guess the way I was taught as a kid or my own learning style prevents me from really retaining information I read on a screen. I can read short articles or emails and retain it but have problems when I have to read large chapters. I do thinks some students are like that as well. When I teach research classes and inundate students with options for using books, databases, or qualified web sites, some kids will just gravitate towards books. I think this observation is interesting and therefore think that e-books and audiobooks are part of the ever expanding options for students but will never replace books entirely.
I love project Gutenburg and we have a project here that requires students to write an "odyssey" referencing books that were published 100 years or more. I tell my kids to go there all the time. I looked at "Best Places to Get Free Books,"and LibriVox but didn't find anything I was interested in. I was looking for the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and did find it through my local library's catalog as an audiobook.
Thing #23: I have to say I think this is a great program and have recommended it to our technology integration director at school. I think it would be a good way for teachers who are not familiar with technology to get a handle on 2.0.
Reading: The most fascinating part of the chapter for me in Courtney about podcasting was the Legal Issues section. I think the fact that podcasting does not require a FCC license opens up all kinds of issues both good and bad. The good issues are based in the idea that there is an opportunity to provide all kinds of content, but there are also negative sides to open content. I do agree that if librarians are in doubt about the content of a podcst, "Legal advice should be consulted." (Courtney, 43).
Summary: My favorite things were the visual ideas like flixter and LTC. I think the program filled in a lot of gaps for me in terms of understanding different 2.0 options for use in the classroom. Some things I did not know very much about and other things I knew about but could not see their applications to classroom learning. One sentence I would use to describe this program would be, "A comprehensive, clear, tool for learning important 2.0 technologies and how to use them for classroom learning."
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Week 8 On-Line Productivity Tools, and LibraryThing
#18: I use Google Docs often and like the convenience of having a tab opened on my desktop to something I need to write a little at a time. Google Docs is also used by some of our science teachers as a tool for assignments. I like showing this to students in beginning research classes when I show them Google Advance Search. Google has so much depth. Part of the reason I use a blog for my classes is to show students all the things they can do with Google after they open an account. My ancient PC in my son's room has Open Office on it and he creates all his middle school projects on it.
#19: I love, love, love LibraryThing and have had an account for a while. My Term Paper 3.5 LibraryThing includes books we use in our library for this lesson currently and some I thought would be useful for slightly younger students. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/loudlibrarian01. I enjoy using this tool so much. We have started a book discussion group in our library and use it for specific genres for the club. I know some very anal librarians who use LibraryThing to catalog their home collections. I'm not that bad - yet.
#19: I love, love, love LibraryThing and have had an account for a while. My Term Paper 3.5 LibraryThing includes books we use in our library for this lesson currently and some I thought would be useful for slightly younger students. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/loudlibrarian01. I enjoy using this tool so much. We have started a book discussion group in our library and use it for specific genres for the club. I know some very anal librarians who use LibraryThing to catalog their home collections. I'm not that bad - yet.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Week 7 Wikis, Lesson, and Readings
#16 Wikis: Like many of my classmates have written, I worked on a wiki for a school library media management class for a budget project. My school has had an explosion of wikis used by teachers because they love the way they can cover so much content,put assignments on them, and get feedback from students in a discussion format. I love the book lover's wiki put out by the Princeton Public Library. It is so obviously designed by librarians. We are starting a book club in our library for students and this would be an excellent way for students to collaborate about books.
Lesson: I chose to put a lesson I teach every spring into a more 2.0 format. We have "term paper season" which is the spring term when we collaborate with the entire history department for their World Civilizations Term Paper assigned to freshmen. This lesson covers an approximately 6 week period that includes; finding sources, citation generation, note taking, outlining and finally writing the paper itself. We teach the 3.5 style of writing papers (introduction including thesis and forecast, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion) so this is also part of the lesson. http://classroomlearning2.pbworks.com/f/term_paper_help.html
Readings: As Courtney states, wikis are wonderful ideas for librarians especially in collaborating with other teachers on assignments in school environments. As a communications professional as well as a teacher librarian, I really see the communication/collaboration qualities of wikis.
We have a gaming club in our library and I think gaming is an excellent way to get young adults into our space. Our club meets twice a week to play older games that they can now download for free from the internet. When I discuss this with other librarians in the community, I am shocked at how horrified these people are by the prospect of having games and gaming in their libraries. Why does being a librarian have to mean "control" rather than "open access?"
Virtual life, this is where you loose me. I think real life is more important and even though my kids use technology and love it - I think it would be a major loss in their lives if I weren't there in person for them to hang out with every day.
I am all for digital storytelling. When I worked in a public library we had story times 3 times a year for three different age groups. What a great idea, right? Well not if you went outside the lines and tried to do things differently. I do think young children need to learn to touch and appreciate books but why not have a storytime that was computer-based also?
The best in-service for 2.0 - and I've been to many - was given by Linda Braun from YALSA. I learned so much from that session that I still use in my classes. I really have to be careful because I've been to many sessions where I have completely wasted my time learning things that were not useful to either me or my students. I think it's important for the techies who teach these classes to remember that ease of use is huge. I go to a Power Libraries in-service every year and I fall asleep watching the teacher show us the 6 clicks it takes to get to a qualified website from a database article when I can teach my kids how to spot a qualified web site in 2 or fewer.
Lesson: I chose to put a lesson I teach every spring into a more 2.0 format. We have "term paper season" which is the spring term when we collaborate with the entire history department for their World Civilizations Term Paper assigned to freshmen. This lesson covers an approximately 6 week period that includes; finding sources, citation generation, note taking, outlining and finally writing the paper itself. We teach the 3.5 style of writing papers (introduction including thesis and forecast, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion) so this is also part of the lesson. http://classroomlearning2.pbworks.com/f/term_paper_help.html
Readings: As Courtney states, wikis are wonderful ideas for librarians especially in collaborating with other teachers on assignments in school environments. As a communications professional as well as a teacher librarian, I really see the communication/collaboration qualities of wikis.
We have a gaming club in our library and I think gaming is an excellent way to get young adults into our space. Our club meets twice a week to play older games that they can now download for free from the internet. When I discuss this with other librarians in the community, I am shocked at how horrified these people are by the prospect of having games and gaming in their libraries. Why does being a librarian have to mean "control" rather than "open access?"
Virtual life, this is where you loose me. I think real life is more important and even though my kids use technology and love it - I think it would be a major loss in their lives if I weren't there in person for them to hang out with every day.
I am all for digital storytelling. When I worked in a public library we had story times 3 times a year for three different age groups. What a great idea, right? Well not if you went outside the lines and tried to do things differently. I do think young children need to learn to touch and appreciate books but why not have a storytime that was computer-based also?
The best in-service for 2.0 - and I've been to many - was given by Linda Braun from YALSA. I learned so much from that session that I still use in my classes. I really have to be careful because I've been to many sessions where I have completely wasted my time learning things that were not useful to either me or my students. I think it's important for the techies who teach these classes to remember that ease of use is huge. I go to a Power Libraries in-service every year and I fall asleep watching the teacher show us the 6 clicks it takes to get to a qualified website from a database article when I can teach my kids how to spot a qualified web site in 2 or fewer.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Week 6 - Tagging and Oops!! forgot about Nings
#13: Well, I opened my delicious account and now I can't get it off my dashboard. I feel the same way about it that I did about Google reader and basically it hurts my head to read the directions and if I do all this tagging, it's time to go out and play with real live people. Don't get me wrong I love all the 2.0 things I'm learning but I can only handle so much information.
I spent 12 years as a film and video producer. The technology was continually changing but one thing was consistent. It got simpler and easier to use so much so that untrained people thought they could do it (for example PowerPoint). I guess my point is that it is the same theory with 2.o, there will always be techies who like all things complicated. I take the "if it's simple and works consistently I'm all for it" approach.
About Nings. I belong to three Nings. One is an Independent Educators Ning, one is the Ning started for my school community a year ago summer, and one is a Ning I started for a school group I advise. When I first joined my school Ning everyone had to get on it as a requirement. I joined discussion groups, changed my page design, and was very active. After about a year, my entire school faculty hates it and refuses to get on. They would rather converse over email . We had one group on the Ning to discuss boarding student behavior last year - this year all the dorm heads insisted on email. I don't think anyone has gotten on the Ning for over 6 months. My students also found it complicated and would also prefer email.
#14: I opened a Technorati account and "claimed" my blog. I also followed Technorati on Twitter. I have to say I like Technorati better than Delicious and really like the authority feature. I'm still not sure I'm sold on tagging but I will play with it and see if I can get into it.
#15: I have been familiar with Creative Commons for some time and belong to a Facebook group. I learned about it when Linda Braun from YALSA came to do a technology training session at my library. I now follow the Lessig blog. I absolutely love the copyright comic put out by Duke University students and can't wait to use it with my kids.
I spent 12 years as a film and video producer. The technology was continually changing but one thing was consistent. It got simpler and easier to use so much so that untrained people thought they could do it (for example PowerPoint). I guess my point is that it is the same theory with 2.o, there will always be techies who like all things complicated. I take the "if it's simple and works consistently I'm all for it" approach.
About Nings. I belong to three Nings. One is an Independent Educators Ning, one is the Ning started for my school community a year ago summer, and one is a Ning I started for a school group I advise. When I first joined my school Ning everyone had to get on it as a requirement. I joined discussion groups, changed my page design, and was very active. After about a year, my entire school faculty hates it and refuses to get on. They would rather converse over email . We had one group on the Ning to discuss boarding student behavior last year - this year all the dorm heads insisted on email. I don't think anyone has gotten on the Ning for over 6 months. My students also found it complicated and would also prefer email.
#14: I opened a Technorati account and "claimed" my blog. I also followed Technorati on Twitter. I have to say I like Technorati better than Delicious and really like the authority feature. I'm still not sure I'm sold on tagging but I will play with it and see if I can get into it.
#15: I have been familiar with Creative Commons for some time and belong to a Facebook group. I learned about it when Linda Braun from YALSA came to do a technology training session at my library. I now follow the Lessig blog. I absolutely love the copyright comic put out by Duke University students and can't wait to use it with my kids.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Week 5 - Image Generators and Rollyo Adventures
I also posted this on the Rollyo discussion board:
About Rollyo: I really, really, really love the idea of Rollyo. I really, really, really dislike the slow speed of Rollyo. If this can improve - what an excellent tool for librarians and teachers.
I am continuously trying to improve my library classes and how I teach my high school (college prep) students how to unravel the mysteries of term paper writing. Specifically, I am teaching them how to write a thesis, outline, and cite sources. My goal is to take the fear out of the process and although I have opportunities to teach these classes in the Fall and Winter Terms, generally term paper season starts in the Spring. I have linked my lessons to 21st Century Learner requirements and so I have a lot of interactive sites on this Rollyo.
So here it is http://rollyo.com/imiller/term_paper_help
About Image Generators: This is a lot of fun and I have to admit I play with this all the time mainly because I never grew up and secondly my high school kids get really jazzed about doing this kind of thing so I incorporate them anyway I can into my classes. I am currently searching for the best place to help kids generate a magazine ad promoting something they have to sell for a sales pitch. I have found a few I really like. Like JibJab and BigHugeLabs .
I also thought this would be a good place to post my LTC, I'm #54.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Week 4: RSS & Newsreaders
Okay, I created a list on Google Reader of RSS feeds. I also put a widget on my i-Google page linking me to Google Reader. I am really glad I am learning about all these things because, despite the fact that I am considered a "super user" at my school when it comes to web 2.0 technology, I never really explored RSS feeds. I have to admit I don't like them. My eyes just glazed over when I read the instructions on how to use Google Reader and, trust me, if my eyes are glazing over my students will just avoid it all together. Frankly I use Twitter as my RSS feed. I only follow people I want to get information from which include; social networking gurus, news sources, library sources, some individuals, and people with just really great tweets. I look at one page and if I want to read more, I click on the link. It's sort of like only reading the headlines in a local newspaper (which I do, by the way) but it's a newspaper of my own design in which I only have stuff I'm really interested in.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Week 3 - Flickr and Mashups
I did my best with Flickr and created a slideshow of my kids. I guess I did this right. I also signed up for my own LTC (library trading card). I can't say I really like Flickr. I think it is too complicated and I prefer simple and down and dirty like Animoto which I use as part of an audience exercise for my Public Speaking Class. I have the students pick images, words, product shots, and music that go with selling a product to a specific audience. My high school students love this application and use it for other classes.
Thanks to Michelle for turning me onto Shutterfly. I like it so much better than Flickr. I created a poster combining FACEinHOLE, one of my favorite mashup sites and Shutterfly's poster creator. I am definitely going to use this for my public speaking sales speech.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Week 2 - Blogging
Hi, welcome to my blog about the 23 things journey we are all going to participate in this class. Blogging is actually the application I feel the most comfortable with. I use a blog for my public speaking class. I like using blogs because they are so straight forward. I also like using Blogger on Google because when I sign kids on I can introduce them to all the things Google can do like Google Aps.
For the purposes of this class, I decided to try some things I never did before like changing the font color and size on the pre-designed background. I have made several avatars before and just love the MadMen avatar maker so that's what I used for this exercise.
For the purposes of this class, I decided to try some things I never did before like changing the font color and size on the pre-designed background. I have made several avatars before and just love the MadMen avatar maker so that's what I used for this exercise.
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