New School Year!

I haven't written in a bit; trying to get ready for the school year. It's been a full day, every day since we got back to work, so I've been BUSY!

I've stopped my 199 pushups for now. I had a couple of days the first week of school where I was feeling bad (vertigo) and could do little more than run into walls. When I tried to repeat the week, I couldn't get all three days in, so I've taken this week off totally and thought I would start again from the beginning.

I've also got to get back to working out everyday. Boy, it's hard when you get home tired from work. It's just a matter of getting it done!

If you're in education....have a great school year!

One Hundred Pushups

Okay, so I'm working through the One Hundred Pushup Challenge. I finished week 2 and took the exhaustion test to see if I've improved....when I started, I could only do 10 pushups. Today I did 23! Go me! I'm almost 1/4 way to my 100 goal!

Bicycle

Bicycle
Originally uploaded by J.Salmoral

If this had been the bicycle I was on today, I might have enjoyed it. As it was, I spent 25 minutes on a recumbent (sp?) exercise bike and my left leg went to sleep! The discomfort of that was only exceeded by my numb buttocks when I stood up!

I am trying to work out 6 days a week, so, I will have to go back to the elliptical machine for my cardio.....nothing goes to sleep on that!

DONE!

I didn't get Breaking Dawn until Saturday....my daughter had our copy....but I couldn't stand it, so I ran to Wal-Mart and picked up another one. Though I got started later than my 15 year old, I finished before her!

It was fantastic! I'm not giving anything away and I'm glad Meyer kept things moving so that several things could have played out in the end. I was never sure of the ending until I got there. Definitely the BEST series I've ever read!

I just hope she publishes Edward's view before we all go into withdrawal again! I'm sure I'll read anything she decides to write....now we just have to wait for the MOVIE!

Reading his own book

Reading his own book
Originally uploaded by basheem

Is this not the sweetest picture you've ever seen! There is nothing better than a kid with a book.

It's Almost Here!

I can't believe that tomorrow night we will be sitting around reading the book we have waited so long to have our hands on.

Actually, I'm going to be a good mother and allow my daughter to go to the bookstore and pick up our copy. Then she's going to a friend's house to stay up all night and read it. I'll have to wait one more day, but I figure she'll owe me BIG TIME! ha!

Happy Reading, everyone! (Book cover taken from Amazon.com.)

Wordle

Wordle is addictive! This image is a wordle of this blog....check out the site and make your own, or just go look at some other people have created....too cool!

OUCH!

I've started working out this summer, in an attempt to lose weight and get in better shape. Five years ago, I lost 50 using Weight Watchers, but over the last three years, I've put most of that back on....UGH! Last year, was the worst for stress and frustration and I gained 25 pounds! Well, NO MORE.

Anyway, I started using the workouts from Body by Glamour. They are really good and I can customize them to fit my needs/problem areas. That first week, I was sore! But I've done really well so far; I work out three days a week and get in cardio three days a week. I feel really good!

I'm also back on Weight Watchers and am watching what I eat, counting my points and losing weight! YEA!

Here's where the OUCH comes in....I decided to push myself and complete the One Hundred Push Up Challenge....OMG! Yesterday was my first day and I'm ahurtin' today! But that's okay....I can't wait until I can drop and do 100 push ups!

I DID IT!

I just finished ALL 20 of the Texas Bluebonnet Award Books for the 2008-2009 school year. I can't believe it. It's the first year I've read all of them AND I finished before school starts! WooHoo! (Okay, I didn't read all of How to Steal a Dog, but it was too depressing....I got 1/2 way through and then read the end, I just couldn't do it....it still counts!)

Mostly I liked all the books. Some were better than others, but understandably award-worthy. It will be interesting to see what the kids at school have to say about the ones they read.

Another Sunday Note

Something we used to do, as a society, is rest on Sunday.

Today, we're too busy running around and making plans to actually stop and refresh ourselves!

I encourage you to take Sundays (if you can) and REST! Make it a family day. Go to church, if that's what you do, and then come home and enjoy time with each other. We rent movies and spend the day on the couch. Sometimes I have to remind myself I don't have to go anywhere, but it's nice to have a day for rest and recuperation.

Sundays

I'm up early this morning (well, earlier than I've been since we got back from SF), eating some breakfast and on the computer (duh!).

Though I'm ashamed to say it, it's been awhile since I've been to church. Something comes up, we're out-of-town, or I have a migraine. Really, just all excuses. I've been somewhat "unhappy" with church -- not God by any means, I couldn't get through a day without Him -- but organized religion, maybe.

It's hard to put it into words, but, I've felt "let down" I guess and I decided this week, I've got to pull up my big girl pants and get over it! God hasn't let me down, people have and that's the way life is. The point is that I don't let myself down (or my daughter).

So, I called a friend of mine and asked if I could go to Sunday School with her today. She was so excited and said she had been praying for me! It's much easier to take that first step when you have a friend beside you!

Right now, I'm going to go get ready for church and take it one Sunday-at-a-time!

Fog City!

Here's what the Golden Gate Bridge looked like the day went we out. It was COLD and we loved every minute of it! It's hard coming back to Texas (103 degrees) when you've been in SF at a lovely 60 degrees!

We had so much fun and did so much stuff! I could hardly move the first morning we were there after walking so much!

San Francisco here we come!

Golden Gate Bridge, originally uploaded by serdir.

We leave for San Francisco tomorrow morning, EARLY! I can't wait! My husband and I went last summer (with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend -- they got married while we were there), and all we could think was how much our daughter would enjoy it. Now we're going back and taking her with us. It is such a wonderful city and so easy to get around with public transportation.

The best thing.....we'll be leaving 100 degree temperatures and enjoying 60's for a week! AHHHHH!

New and Improved!

Okay, so I used this blog for my library "things" I learned last school year, but now, I'm going to use it for my personal musings!

I've set up a blog for the school (I'll post that URL later) where I can post "things" about library stuff and keep this for the other parts of my life....especially since my husband says "the library isn't all there is to your life." Is he kidding me? Library IS my life, but whatever!

Curiosity..... what are they reading?

Curiosity..... what are they reading?, originally uploaded by Tom@HK.

What a great photo this is. I'm going to post it on my school library page to show kids its okay to be curious about reading!

Mackey Wears Red for the American Heart Association!

Do You Think?

Do you think the district would pay for me to go to Australia to attend Will Richardson's seminar on Web 2.0? I found out about it on the HeyJude blog....she says she has an extra bed for bloggers who want to go....hmmmmm.

The Final Thing

I chose to revamp my earlier slide show and use it to summarize my experience with the 23 Things. It's been a great ride!

Creative Commons -- Thing #23

When we went into Flickr (Thing #5), I found the Creative Commons section of their website and used pictures from there to post on my blog. I understood that I could use those pictures with some restrictions, but didn't grasp the depth of meaning behind the use of Creative Commons.

I think it's fascinating that Lawrence Lessig is willing to post his entire book under the Creative Commons license so more people can be exposed to it. Obviously, he's more interested in sharing than making money and that is admirable.

Though I'm no author, or genius for that matter, I feel the same way about the ideas I create for school. I'm more than happy to share what I've made for the library so someone else doesn't have to start from scratch. Maybe I could have a Creative Commons license for my research documents that would allow people to use them as they need without having to call me and ask if it's okay.

Also, I'd like to use "A Fair(y) Use Tail" with my teachers so they might understand the whole copyright mess better. That video had a lot of work behind it, and I think it's fantastic!

Animoto -- Thing #22

Animoto is so easy to use. The only parts I want to work on are picture size (so they will load quicker) and uploading my own music. Other than that, it was the easiest program to use.

I couldn't upload my pictures from Flickr because there was some communication problem between the two sites, so I just took them from my desktop and uploaded them there.

I like the fact you just put the pictures up, choose a song, and they do all the work. I wondered, though, if they just have those 10 or so songs per genre or if there's more? I only saw one page of songs per group and would like more to choose from without having to go to my own music library.

After I made the video of my anniversary trip to St. Louis, (blogged below), I made one from my daughter's birthday party. She loved it and wanted to send it to her friends. It was so simple to just send it to her via email, and now she can let her friends see it, too.

What a cool site!

Animoto -- Thing #22

So EASY! I love it!

Google Documents -- Also Thing #17

Here's my Google slide show. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I think if I play around with it, I'll get better at it. I like all things Google....

Web-based Applications -- Thing #17

Okay, I've come back to this.

The previous post (Chicken Chili) was created in Zoho Writer. I looked around the site and it's very easy to use. I like having all the buttons for editing right there in front of you. I also like the color options and all the extras.

I wrote out my recipe because when I make it for school, people always ask for the recipe. This way I can log-on and print it off without having to rewrite it over and over again.

Chicken Chili

Chicken Chili


Ingredients:

1 can White Hominy
1 can White Shoepeg Corn
1 can Purple Hull Peas
1 can Navy Beans
1 sm. can Green Chilies
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing Mix
1 large can chopped Chicken


Directions:

Open all cans and empty entire contents (water included) into large pot with lid. Add both seasoning packets and stir well. Heat through and serve with cornbread or tortilla chips. Very hearty!

Podcasts -- Thing #21

My favorite podcast directory is iTunes, though I know the others listed in our exercise and have used them. I've got an iTunes account and like being able to listen to the podcasts on my iPod. I've got them whenever I need/want them that way.

One of the ones I really liked was called Meet the Candidates, and has interviews with the Presidential candidates available for download.

Though I didn't download any podcasts to my Google RSS Reader, I did help another librarian get it on her's. The most important thing to remember is that a podcast is not a single item, but a subscription to a list of related items. You don't just get one, you get the past, present and future programs within that podcast.

That is, if you have more than one (which I don't, yet), but you can hear mine, if you like, on PowerMediaPlus and you can search for school related podcasts since we have a membership with them.

I think I'll try the Odeo site when I create my next podcast and see if it's easier than the software I've used before.

Yeah! It worked!

Okay, so I tried to embed the video a couple of times without success....

then I went back to the 23 Things post and finished reading the instructions (oops!) and had NO problem! I hate it when that happens! :)

YouTube -- Thing #20

One of the things I really dislike about YouTube is the amount of porn videos uploaded. When I clicked on the "Education" tab, almost 1/2 of the videos on the first page were sexual in content. That's never good as far as I'm concerned.

I did load the Obama video in the previous blog and thought it would be appropriate given what's going on in our country this year. I'd seen the still photo in emails, but the video speaks a whole different story. What I do like about YouTube is your ability to to "Share" videos with only two clicks from their page to my blog. Makes life easy in that respect.

I'm going to try to embed a video within this post and see if it works. I chose one of my favorites from TeacherTube (which I like MUCH better than YouTube), and I'm sure you'll recognize it as well.


I think some of the videos can be an incredible teaching tool, just like we've used here in our 23 Things.

Obama and the National Anthem

I don't fault Obama for not putting his hand over his heart during this National Anthem. I might have put mine over my ears instead.

Though I don't know who I'm voting for yet, we could give the guy a break. We're supposed to put our hands over our hearts when we say the PLEDGE, but there's no such requirement for the National Anthem.

I've sung the National Anthem several times to sports crowds and NEVER ONCE placed my hand over my heart when doing it. It's a traditional expectation, not a required one.

I'll get off my soapbox now....

Flowcharts & Mind Maps -- Thing #19

The difference between flowcharts and mind maps is that one is free to do what it wants (mind maps) and the other has a destination (flowcharts).

I tried out Gliffy for my flowchart above. It was cool, but you need your information in front of you so you know where to put everything. You can't leave any steps out or the chart doesn't work.

For mind mapping, I chose Bubbl.us and found it to be very user-friendly. I simply added all the things I needed to do today to make a map of my day.

I'm not sure I'd use these much in the elementary school since we have another brainstorming software on our computers, but I can see other businesses using it if they don't have the software or if they want to collaborate via the Internet.

I could use the flowcharts when I work on my next research unit.....hmmmmm.

bad_luck

bad_luck, originally uploaded by aaronmerrell.

This picture from Flickr was too good to pass up. Do you ever feel this way?!

Web 2.0 Tools -- Thing #18

Though I don't see my choice as much of a "tool," it is a really fun site to visit and has an idea I think we could definitely use in the classroom or library. The site I chose was from the "Fun Stuff" category of the Web 2.0 Awards: One Sentence.

One Sentence is about telling the best part of a story in the least amount of words. It's a cool idea. We could use the same idea in the classroom when we try to get kids to summarize or write stories. Get them to just write the most important part and work from that.

Reading the single sentences stories is very entertaining. And some of them might make good story starters for students.

Web-based Applications -- Thing #17

I'll come back to this later.....

Sandbox Wiki -- Thing #16

Two ideas I added to the sandbox wiki dealt with image generators (Mackey license plate) and the podcasts (SAT words).

Working with wikis is so easy. If you're afraid, don't be. It's just like working on a Word document or similar file. There is nothing to it. That's what I appreciate....making it work for everyone without having to learn a new "language."

I like the idea of having a place where students and/or teachers can come together and work on a single idea AND having a site where I can go to get ideas and share what I'm doing as well.

In the News

Interestingly, libraries are on the front page of the Dallas Morning News today, along with an article about MySpace.

Safety and filters are the topic of the day.

Wikis -- Thing #15

First, I've got to say, "I LOVE those Common Craft guys!" Their videos are fantastic and fun to watch!

Okay, so wikis are something I've been waiting on, but didn't know I needed. The Common Craft guys explain it best when they show the difference between email and a wiki. I need a place I can meet with my teachers when we can't physically be in the same room. I can't wait to set up wikis for my grade levels so we can discuss research ideas without trying to work out everyone's schedule!

I also think I could use a wiki for student projects and ideas from teachers about changes to the library program. No one has to come down to the library to talk to me, they can say what they need to when they think about it, even if they're at home when it comes to them.

I also wish I'd done this "thing" before I set up my book group in LibraryThing because I think it would possibly be easier to manage since there is no "sign-up" to be a part of the wiki group.

Oh what a Wiki web we weave!

Web 2.0 & the Future of Libraries -- Thing #14

Before we began this project, I'm not sure I had even heard of "Web 2.0," but now, I seem to see/hear it just about everywherhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gife. It is a concept that is moving as quickly as the Internet itself. To me, Web 2.0 is a definition of all those wonderful, expressive, interactive web tools I have just recently found and have yet to find and explore. Most of them create a community of users that can communicate, share and interact with each other via the Web, no matter where they are physically.

As information continues to change, libraries (public and school) must move away from the idea that people need to be in the library to get any use of it. Teachers can move into the computer labs and students can access information from home Internet service in order to complete research tasks. Our jobs, as librarians, are changing from a "hands-on" guide to the shelves, to a "online" guide to the world.

We must teach our students to be responsible with the information they use and share. We must also find a way to make library technology user-friendly and accessible to everyone. Rick Anderson's idea of user education is right-on. We cannot expect to be able to reach every person that walks into our library or accesses our site from the web. We have to hope they will be able to navigate on their own for the most part.

To be honest, that has always been our problem....not having enough librarians for the number of people who come through the door. Or in many cases, having patrons who won't ask for help. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 can break down some of those barriers and allow open access for everyone.

Tagging and Social Bookmarking -- Thing #13

Social Bookmarking is an interesting concept. I appreciate the ability to find my favorite bookmarks on any computer. How long have we been waiting for that to happen?! I also like the idea that we can share out book marks with others. My dad and should create an account so we don't have to send so many emails to each other with "check this out" and a URL attached.

Tagging was somewhat daunting until I realized it didn't really MATTER what I decided to tag my sites with. It's what I need to get me back to that page and not what is "socially acceptable" or "correct." Like some of our other librarians have said, tagging offers an opportunity to teach our students how to categorize what they read and use keywords, synonyms, etc. It's a great learning tool.

Of the three sites we investigated (del.icio.us, Furl, Ma.gnolia), I have an account with del.icio.us because I would be able to network better within that site with other librarians. I also liked the fact that it is simple and clean. Ma.gnolia is the most aesthetically pleasing site and I might find myself using it at some point in the future. The difference with Furl, that I'm really drawn to, is the ability to highlight and save a portion of the text from the site you are bookmarking.

No matter which site you choose, the possibilities abound for school use. The ability to have sites at hand for students to use in research is fantastic and much easier to create than having to go through the longer processes we've used in the past with other sites. Social bookmarking will also allow students to find and share sites they think appropriate to what is being taught in the classroom. It gives them ownership of the learning process.

If you haven't realized it, you need to check the home pages of these sites often because they post "sites to watch" and other noteworthy sites for the day. One such site I found was BookMooch, a site where you can "mooch" books off of other people around the world.

The only frustration I have come up against so far is knowing the identity of my fellow "bookmarkers" so I can add them to my network.

Do you think "Ning" could become a verb like "Google?"

Social Networking -- Thing #12

Okay, here's the deal.....I don't mind social networking. I like connecting to others online, creating discussion threads, seeing what others are doing, and having a place to "belong." Those who don't "like" it may not understand it or don't realize how important it has become to the younger generation. This is THE way young people stay in touch with each other. I wish Facebook had been around when I was in college and I might not have lost touch with some of my friends.

As educators, we need to know how this stuff works so we don't lose site of where the future is headed. The children in our homes and the students in our schools use these sites and we should be informed about what is out there that might or might not be good for them socially and emotionally.

Personally, I don't care for Myspace or Facebook. Maybe because they seem to be aimed at a younger population, and some of it comes from all the ads that you deal with on Myspace.

My daughter has a Myspace account, but we have many privacy blocks on the account and all traffic comes through my email address. I have her login/password and check it frequently. For her, it has been a way to keep in touch with her friends after we moved away. I have a page as well, but don't care to deal with the hassle of working on it. My daughter had to show me how to change the background and load pictures. I'm usually pretty good at that stuff, but I was tired and didn't want to fight with it. She was a much faster resource.

I signed up for Facebook as well, but don't think I will use it either. I played around with it, liked it better than Myspace, but don't have any "friends" that I can find. Bummer!

Which leads me to Ning! I LOVE IT! First, I have friends -- the librarians of Mesquite. Second, it was easier to work around and I like the layout. I can see using it at school. Setting up a group for my teachers and letting them use it to open discussions. It's much easier to put those groups together and even have sub-groups like the Elementary Librarians group Mary set up. I may work on this for next year. We could have grade level groups or subject groups. I think it would work well if the district filters will allow us to get on at school.

LibraryThing -- Thing #11

LibraryThing is an interesting concept that is being shared by other websites as well (goodreads). It's an easy way to keep up with what you read and maybe what you might like to read next. I like being able to see the book covers and easily add new books to my library.

I've sent out an email to our teacher book club members asking them to join so we can have online discussion about our books. I've created a group called Book Mavericks which will allow members to participate in book talks before we actually meet. I think it will be great for the members who finish early and are dying to talk about what they've read, but don't want to ruin it for those that are still reading. It will also serve as a springboard for getting some of my teachers to use one of the nifty 23 Things we've learned about here in Libraryland!

Personally, I want to use LibraryThing to keep track of the books I read each year. My father and I are in competition to see who can read the most each year and now I can have my list right there in front of me. I can also get it sent to my phone so when I'm in the bookstore, I don't have to rack my brain to remember if I've read a particular book or not. Which brings me to my next dilemma: do I pay for the lifetime membership?

Without payment, I can only catalog 200 books....I read 100 books in 2006, and if I went back to enter my previous readings I would already be out of space. I could remove the old list and make a new one each year, but that wouldn't help me in the "Did I read that already?" nightmare I sometimes find myself in. So, what to do? If I spend the money, which isn't a lot....I think $25, then I'm good FOREVER, and if I don't, I'm limited by what I can do with this LibraryThing. I don't like limits, but I'm not close to it yet, since I only have 25 books listed so far. I'll have to think about it.....

By the way, if you'd like to see what I've been reading lately, I have a widget on the right side of my blog you can peruse.

Online Image Generators -- Thing #10

This is too cool! I've always wondered where these images and ideas come from when you look at websites. Once upon a time, you had to know all the special codes and speak computer geek to get anything done.

I can remember making "pictures" out of computer code in high school back in the 80's, or writing the commands to make my name repeat across the screen. We thought that was something! Now, a whole world of images, graphics and possibilities are waiting for the click of a mouse. It's amazing!

The Bluebonnet Voting button will be posted on my library website's front page tomorrow when I return to work. I wish that website worked as easily as the blog and that I could manipulate it from any online source. And, of course, I couldn't go too long without a tattoo image. I just wish my back looked that good! :)

My favorite generator, right now, is Image Chef. I like it's ease in posting my images; either by HTML, click & drag to desktop, or a direct post to my blog from their website. Most of the image generators were very easy to use, but the Happy Face Generator gave me trouble. Some of the pages wouldn't load, so I'm wondering if they were just having a server problem. I'll check back with them at a later date and see if it has been fixed.