Although I haven't posted in a while, I have been discovering RSS feed readers and learning about the difference between Bloglines and Google Reader. I am now connected through Blogline to an online resource for keeping up with what is going on with the world without having to go to each individual source. The time devoured by moving from blog to blog was the main reason that I quit reading blogs after library school. I kept them in "Favorites" but I seldom visited the sites. Now I can scan through the new posts and read what I find interesting all in one place. I will share this valuable tool with teachers when school starts in the fall. Even the administrators could use this time saver.
As part of my learning process, I set up accounts in both Google Reader and Bloglines. For the first time in my experience, something was better than Google. I preferred Bloglines over Google Reader. Bloglines was more user-friendly in my opinion. This was a surprise to me because I use Google documents and Google calendar as well as Gmail. Bloglines was easier to set up with my personal preferences. It was visually easier for me to follow when I was setting my page up; however, in all fairness, Google Reader has the convenience of not having to login if I am already checking my e-mail. I will eventually have to decide which I want to keep because I don't need two. Since I am in the process of deciding between the two and learning about this new-to-me tool, I am opting not to share the URL of either site
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Week Three - Thing # 7
It is no secret in my family that I like to play video games. Zelda and Mario games are two of my favorites. Both require solving problems and mysteries. Since mysteries are my favorite genre I see a connection between the two. The game units have evolved along with the games themselves so that now I can play online with my grandchildren with my Wii. I can also check the news and the weather.
While working on my assignment for this week, I explored Infodoodads and discovered a site called Scratch where you can make your own video games. I played a game called "Super Mario Galaxy Four." Here is the link: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/Dolfus555/162167 if you want to play. Scratch could be used in classroom and I plan to share it with teachers but I also plan to share it with my grandchildren. 23 Things has been a sharing experience with my family all along. My oldest granddaughter started her own blog after I started mine for this class. We have shared our experiences as we have learned.
Ironically, many of the sites we are studying for this class are blocked at my school. I cannot access any of the blogs we are working on much less YouTube. There has to be a balance between protecting students and giving them access to the positive part of the WWW.
While working on my assignment for this week, I explored Infodoodads and discovered a site called Scratch where you can make your own video games. I played a game called "Super Mario Galaxy Four." Here is the link: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/Dolfus555/162167 if you want to play. Scratch could be used in classroom and I plan to share it with teachers but I also plan to share it with my grandchildren. 23 Things has been a sharing experience with my family all along. My oldest granddaughter started her own blog after I started mine for this class. We have shared our experiences as we have learned.
Ironically, many of the sites we are studying for this class are blocked at my school. I cannot access any of the blogs we are working on much less YouTube. There has to be a balance between protecting students and giving them access to the positive part of the WWW.
Week Three - Thing #6
Flickr mashups were new to me. Color Pickr was a "Wow" experience, and I played around longer than I should have just looking at the different photos and color selections. If the rest of the 23 things are like this I am going to need a thesaurus to come up with different superlatives. "Wow" will get old fast. Montagr was also a fun experience. The trading cards, however, have the most potential for classroom use in my opinion. Even high school students would have fun with these.
I have to admit that the articles in Wikipedia did give great explanations about mashups, but since I try to steer students away from Wikipedia to more reliable sources, it is ironic that it is being used to instruct librarians. Is Wikipedia changing? Where does it fit as a tool for students?
I have to admit that the articles in Wikipedia did give great explanations about mashups, but since I try to steer students away from Wikipedia to more reliable sources, it is ironic that it is being used to instruct librarians. Is Wikipedia changing? Where does it fit as a tool for students?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Week 3, Thing #5
This week I explored Flickr. I learned about tags and how to add them to my photos so that the photos could be categorized. Tags are great places to get ideas for special photos because very talented people post their photos on Flickr. If you are going to the beach, for example, check out the "Beach" tag. There are some great ideas. I looked at several groups, such as Helsinki's Metal balls. Some groups have to be joined, such as this one, before you are allowed to post photos.
I opened my own account on Flickr and tagged two photos "esc1library" and marked them public. I posted my photos using Flickr's blogging tool. I learned to just click around and what I needed was somewhere. The main lesson I have learned is "don't be afraid to search the site. Flickr and Google work to make themselves user-friendly. If you seek, you will find
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