Blog Readability -- I don't think so!

Okay, I'm smart, I think, but there is NO WAY my blog is rated "Genius" even though that's what the Blog Readability test says.

On the other hand, my brother's blog is usually over my head (many times I have no idea what he's talking about -- he uses really big words) and they say his blog is Junior High Level.

I don't think so....

Principal Participation

When you have the opportunity to participate in a special day at school, you should always try to. It makes life fun for the kids and breaks up the monotony of the regular school week.

Having said that, I want to thank the PRINCIPALS at my school for going "all out" and dressing up on our Favorite Children's Book Character day in celebration of Children's Book Week.

Twitter

So, I've got this Twitter account, and I gotta tell you, I don't get it. Not really. Why does anyone care what I'm doing? Are we really that bored? Yet here I sit, trying to find people to follow. I'm a sucker, what can I say? Look here and find out.

Podcasting -- I DID IT!

I actually created, exported, and uploaded my very first podcast! (And YES, it will be episodic!) (I loaded it on PowerMediaPlus but I don't know how to load it here.)

I decided to make an SAT Vocabulary Podcast for our school since MISD is giving us the words each week. I'd like to turn it into a competition for the students, so that they can make the podcasts themselves. Whoever has the best sentence using their SAT words gets to create the podcast that week. I think they will like it.

We'll have to see, but as for me, I may never shut up now! :)

To Block or Not to Block

As we work through our 23 Things, I've heard lots of complaints about our district's use of software to block our access to certain websites. Doug Johnson, author of The Blue Skunk Blog has a great article on the issue.

What I've learned about our program is this, WE (as teachers, librarian, etc.) are not blocked from the sites, but must use our "override" passwords to get to the sites we want. Only very few sites are actually BLOCKED from anyone's use (and for good reason -- you don't need to look at nudity while you're at work). The problem comes from the fear and frustration of overriding a site.

Some fear they will "get in trouble" if they override a site they need; while others are so frustrated by the steps to override that they just don't do it. I'm not sure there is an easy answer. I understand the need to "protect" our students, but at the same time, we should be teaching them how to protect themselves.

Is it too early?

I was listening to a favorite radio station yesterday, and at 12:30 p.m. they became an all Christmas music station. They said they would play Christmas music all the time from yesterday through Christmas Day.

Personally, I LOVE Christmas music, was even thinking about putting my cds back in my car to listen to when no one was around, but is it too early for a radio station to start playing it? It's the first week of November. We haven't even had Thanksgiving yet.

I'll confess that I'm one of those that complains about the Christmas decorations in the stores before Halloween is done, so I don't know the answer. BUT, secretly, I'm tickled to have my Christmas music on my drive to work every day!

Google Reader & Calendar

In earlier posts I had some problems with links and wondering if I could upload my calendar.

Now I've found out that I can link to my Public Page for my shared feeds, AND I learned that when I make changes to my calendar, it automatically changes in my blog (just like my avatar).

WHEW!

My RSS Reader -- Thing #9

I'm using the Google Reader because most of my "stuff" is Google related. It's nice to have it loaded on my iGoogle page so I can see if I have any items to read when I load my home page. Every thing is on one page and that makes it quick and easy. Love it!

The easiest blog search for me, is the Google reader's browse feature. It's already there on the page and I can use keyword searches for what I'm interested in. I think Technorati was the most difficult, but just because I wasn't paying attention. When I first when out there to look at it, I didn't realize I was looking at "posts" instead of "blogs" and that had me baffled until I looked at the top of the page and figured out where I was.

The Suprglu site for School Library Journal had a lot of good feeds on it and I liked how it was all in one place. I added some of the Edublogs Award Winners because I knew they would be good to watch. One of those was HeyJude which won Best Librarian Blog.

Of all my work-related feeds, my favorite is Unshelved, which showcases a comic strip about libraries. Many of my shared items come from this funny quick feed! (They also have really cool t-shirts and bumper stickers!)

Now that I know what to look for, I've started searching for the RSS feed when I go to some of my favorite websites to see if I can add them to my reader. One example is KnowledgeNews. I was getting their information in my email and that was sometimes a hassle. Now I can take a quick look at what they have and delete whatever doesn't interest me.

This has been the best "thing" I've learned so far on this journey.

Google Calendar

So I decided to "google" my calendar. Now everyone can see how busy I am (not) somedays! :) I put it at the bottom of the page, though, because I didn't know where else to put it! I also had to resize it. My question is, if I make changes, do I have to save it to my blog everytime? Or will it automatically upload the new items?

I'm too tired to try it out right now.....maybe before the end of the week!

RSS - Thing #8

RSS is fantastic! It's quick, easy, and a way to stay connected to the things that interest you without wading through tons of paper or online fluff.

I like the fact that I can stay in touch with what my brother is doing on his blogs (both professional and personal), keep up with new trends in the library world, and even get some comic relief with Opus the penguin and library comics. It's a great tool for making those connections all from one place without having to search for them daily. Also, I can easily see if there is anything new, or if I can leave a site alone because there are no new postings. That saves TIME!

I'm trying to think of how I could use this in the library setting, but I'm not sure what we can do with kids. I could open a public page for teachers to view.....and I guess I could do that for students as well...with ideas, information, further studies, etc. on subjects we are covering at school. It might be a good method of communication. However, the problem is always going to be getting the teachers and students to USE what you give them.

If you want to see some of the things I've found interesting, you can look at the "Check these out" links under my avatar, or view my public page. (I'll add this link when I get on my pc...my Mac doesn't allow the "link" option.)

Finding Books on Google

Finding Google's different pages isn't hard when you know where to look. When you open the main page of the search engine, there is a list of various choices at the top left of the screen (Web, Images, Video, News, Maps, Gmail, more). Choose the more button and you will get a pull-down list that opens a whole new world! (Blog Search, Blogger, Books, Calendar, Documents, Finance, Groups, Labs, Orkut, Patents, Photos, Products, Reader, Scholar). I could spend my entire day on Google!

Librarian Trading Card

This was fun! I think I could get the staff to make these and post them on the school website....wouldn't that be cool!?

If everyone put a quote that means something to them, or describes who they are we could learn new things about each other. I think the kids would really get a kick out of it.

Did you notice the book I'm holding?

Speaking of Google.....

Am I the only one who didn't know that Google has a book page where you can search for books and READ them online? Hello! Where has this been? I mean, really! I could have been reading Janet Evanovich instead of working (I mean during lunch)!

Do You Google? - Thing #7

Google, originally uploaded by warrantedarrest.

Google is seriously taking the world by storm! There are so many gadgets and pages to play with, you could spend all day there. I guess that's the idea...why go anywhere else when it's all in one place!?

When I started looking at the different areas we were supposed to explore, I realized I already had iGoogle, but don't use it like I want because of the school filters. Though I liked the calendar option, I already have too many calendars to keep up with and don't think I'll add another one right now. However, I may use it next year as part of my library calendar option. What's frustrating is if I try to use it for school use, my teachers will also have to go through all the steps to remove the school filter and they won't use it because it takes too much of their time.

I've got to get back out there and play with the gadgets some more so I can see what else I might use. Right now, the idea of having to remove blocks every time we want to use it bugs me!

Mashups - Thing #6

Too Cool! I love the mashup sites. What a great idea! I added the READ sign from Flickr tools to the blog here and I saved a magazine cover from the FD Toys. It was so easy and fun. I can't wait to get back to school in the morning and save the magazine cover to my school website.

I talked to MW and she said I could save it like a picture file and upload it. We will see if it's as easy as she says. I have it saved to my laptop and I'm going to try to send it to myself via email. Then I can load it on my school computer and put it on the website. (It worked! Check it out here.)

I like the idea of making mosaics and tiled photos to place on the website instead of just one picture after another like I have in the past. I wanted a way to turn it up a notch and I've definitely found it. I think the kids and teachers will get a kick out of it as well.

Hitchcock's "Marnie" - Thing #5b

7 Nights of Hitchcock "Marnie", originally uploaded by Gitwithit.

On a personal note, I thought I'd let you see a frame from the movie I was named after. Have I ever mentioned I love the way Sean Connery says my name!? :)

I Wish I Had Bookshelves Like This At Home - Thing #5

I Wish I Had Bookshelves Like This At Home, originally uploaded by Sifter.

How beautiful is this room!? If I ever make it here during one of my trips to London (I think it's time to go back!), I might never leave! Books are powerful!

Ways to Use Blogs - Thing #4

When I think of the different ways I could use this blog in my library program, the first is sharing information. What a great way to get ideas out and have others share what they think, too. Also, it creates a community of knowledge where we can get ideas from each other and be inspired by what others are doing.

I think I could use it with my teachers, especially with research. We could share student work, post websites, and talk about what worked and what didn't when we completed our units.

Students could also answer questions about what works in the library and what they might like to see happen next year. It would be a great place to hear what is good about the library program and what needs to change.

We've started a new reading program this year, and I think the blogs would be an interesting way to allow students and teachers to comment on their favorite books, create book talks, and discuss novel units from the classroom.

The important thing to remember is to USE it and get your information out there!

Avatars -- Thing #3

Okay, the Avatar thing hasn't been that easy. The ones I've seen have been cute. My daughter has one on her Yahoo! page and made one for me, but during this activity I haven't been able to make it work. Very frustrating! I don't know if it is trying to work at school that is causing the problem, or that so many of us are trying to do it all at the same time. I'll keep trying and may have to do it at home to get it to work. I'll let you know how it worked out when I actually get one!

Three hours later.....I finally got my Avatar up and running. Boy is she cute! I WISH I had the nerve to die my hair green! Maybe when I retire! HA! Building the Avatar was so much fun. Now I know why my daughter spends hours changing her clothes and hairstyles on her Avatar. You spend way too much time playing around with all this fun stuff!

7 1/2 Lifefong Learning Habits -- Thing #2

One of the greatest things about reading the "7 1/2 Lifelong Learning Habits" was to learn that I already do most of them. I was afraid I would have to learn a whole new set of habits to follow. Whew!

The hardest habit I have to follow would be #1, "Begin with the end in mind." This is talking about goals and knowing where you are going. I don't have trouble with this when I'm teaching, or working with teachers, but in my everyday life (work & personal), it's not so easy for me to do. Maybe whether or not I "can" do it is not the problem, but that I "don't" do it! I guess I will start now! I've set up my Learning Contract for this Web 2.0 journey, I can transfer that to the other areas of my life as well. Long-term and short-term goals are needed! I will get right on that, I promise......

Much easier for me, is habit #2, "Accept responsibility for your own learning." No problem! I LOVE LEARNING! I love school! I love everything that goes with it.....okay, not EVERYTHING, but you know what I mean. Learning is fun, if you approach it the right way. Find what interests you and get deeper. That's what I tell my students, and I try to model it every chance I get. We can't stop learning or we will shrivel up and die on the inside. I can't imagine! What wonderful things are out there still to learn!

One Step At a Time -- Thing #1

Wow! I am so excited about learning what it means to be Web 2.0 savvy! I can't wait to get my hands dirty and see what cool things are out there on the Web for all of us to experience. This might even make talking to my teenager more interesting, especially if I can "teach" her something she doesn't know about the tools available out there.

Okay, maybe that won't happen, but I can share things with her and understand where she is coming from when she talks to her friends. I might even get to use her new digital camera and load photos of us when we explore Flickr.

There are so many sites out there to keep up with, I'm glad we will have some time to play and experience each of them on our own schedule. And though I'm a little nervous about "blogging," I better get to it so my younger brother doesn't "out-do" me in that department. So far, so good. . .the set up has been easy, now I just have to keep up with it!

Away we go!