Week 9 - Things 20 - 23

Thing 20: YouTube
YouTube is definitely a site where you could waste a lot of time because there is so much in here & as was mentioned in the assignment there are some that are worthwhile but also a lot of junk. More & more often I have been finding links of YouTube videos in emails that have been forwarded to me. There were several about the Patriots & Tom Brady late in the season and around the Super Bowl.
Some of my favorite videos have not been library related, but about parenting - I tried to find my favorite one with no luck, and then I finally dug through all of my old emails & found the actual link only to find it was no longer available. I was sorry to see it was gone but relieved that it was not my lack of searching skills that made me unable to find it. It was called "Family Routine set to Canon in D" & was a man singing about the family routine of getting up & out of the house with kids, the rest of the day & then finally getting them to bed -as a mother I could completely relate to it.
Here is another one I liked (although not as much as the first one) about everything a mother says in a 24 hour period


YouTube is blocked in my school - although if there is something a teacher needs for a class, it can be unblocked temporarily by sending an email to the technology director. I have talked to another library teacher who had students create PSAs that were posted on YouTube. I think this would be a great project that would motivate students, but could also be a hassle to get permission if students are in it. However it could also teach students about copyright and other issues that would pop up when making a video they want to post publicly.

For my own family videos I have been using http://www.onetruemedia.com/ - I can edit my videos and mix them with pictures, subtitles, etc. & then send links to share them. I also order DVDs for myself and the grandparents - I'm not an expert on videos, but to me the DVDs are very professional & make great gifts!

Thing 21: Podcasts
Here's another way you can spend lots of time on & off line. I searched the podast links included and this time I tried to stay focused on schools, libraries, and literature. I found it overwhelming because there is so much out there. At the beginning of this year I tried to create podcasts with my students - I thought it would be a lot more engaging then a normal presentation. I was using gcast & once again I ran into problems with my filter at school. I think if I was more patient I may have been able to get it to work, but with only so much time in a day I finally had to let it go. However looking through the links of podcasts I found a lot that were from schools and classrooms so I am now motivated to give it another try.

Thing 22: eBooks and Audio eBooks
Recently I have become very interested in eBooks and audio eBooks. I explored the World eBook site and found it was a great resource for classics. In Bourne we have access to "TumbleBooks" through our public library. I love that site & use it with my own children at home also. It is great for young children, but also includes many "readables" for middle school age, audio books for middle school and the "language learning" is great for anyone studying a different language.
I have also just started using the eBooks and Audio books that are downloadable through the public library. I am new to listening to audiobooks and it was a little difficult for me at first. I don't quite feel like I have "read" the books I listened to, but at least it is helping me to keep up with the plots of books so I can better advise students. At first I was trying to stick to ones that could be burned to a CD & I am currently listening to Dunk in my car. I also downloaded Andrew Clement's The Last Holiday Concert - I have been reading this book to my 5th grade "Book Bistro" (students have lunch in the library while I read to them) & I am desperately trying to finish it since it revolves around a holiday concert & it now the end of March! Yesterday I played it in the media center on our computer hooked up to our projector system so that the audio would come through the speakers installed in the ceiling. It was a great change and the students enjoyed it.
Last night I purchased my first MP3 player. My husband has an ipod, but I wanted my player to be compatible with the audiobooks available through the public library so I ended up buying a Creative Zen. I just finished charging it and I put a few songs on it, but I am anxious to try an audiobook!

Thing 23: Copyright, Creative Commons, and Congratulations!
I include a unit on plagiarism and copyright in my 8th grade Media classes - but I find that it is a difficult subject for everyone (including me and other staff members) to grasp. However, it is also increasingly important to be aware of laws, especially as more and more information is available online and in digital formats, and as more and more students and staff members are posting their own work online.
I had read the term "Creative Commons" on the course blog, but never thought to look into what it really was. I spent some time reading the website and trying to understand it. I still need to read more, but it seems to be a great way to share ideas with others while being able to specify how they can use your ideas. I know teachers in my school have questioned the use of their materials - each year we create units which are then kept in the media center and available for other staff members. Perhaps they could use a Creative Commons license on their work to be able to specify how it can be adapted or used? Or becasue they are creating it at work as part of their job for our school, do they have the right to do that, or does it become the schools property? That's another question I should look up ...

Here are my responses to the questions:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite resource that was new to me is ZohoWriter. I wish this was around or I knew about it when I was in graduate school and had group projects to work on! It will also be a great tool for committees and other collaboration.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program assisted my lifelong learning goals by providing me with tons of online resources to explore and try out. I have always been interested in technology, but it is difficult to make time on my own to seek out new resources - this class provided more resources then I expected to explore and begin utilizing right away.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Just about every site was a "take-a-way" for me. I was constantly sending my technology director links for her to try out as well. My favorites are Zoho Writer & LibraryThing.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I could have used more time to explore the resources more. I feel like each week I either blogged or thought about the fact that I need to go back and spend more time exploring the links and resources. I would have liked some interactivity with the other participants - I peeked at others blogs from time to time, but I almost felt as thought I was invading their privacy. It would have been great to have a discussion board or another method of communicating with others.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Yes!

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?
Since I grew up outside of Boston I will say "wicked awesome"!

Week 8 - Things 18 - 19

Thing 18: Zoho Writer

I am completely new to Zoho Writer & I love it! I have used Google Docs - mainly to save things & be able to access it from home & school without the hassle of emailing it back & forth or using a flash drive. I am amazed at how much Zoho Writer has to offer! I do know that I ran into the same old problem when trying to access it from school (it was blocked) - but I will be sending the URL to our technology director & hopefully it will get unblocked. However, the fact that it offers chat could be a problem.

Applications such as Zoho Writer & Google Docs could be very helpful to our students & staff. What great tools for collaboration! Both applications allow you to share documents, but I loved the way you could add comments in Zoho. I was trying to find out how much "free space" you get with a Zoho account, and perhaps I just missed it so I will continue looking.

I am writing this blog entry in Zoho, & now I am going to try to post it to my blog from here.

------ 2 minutes later--------

Wow! I did it & it was easy! I am now adding this on in blogger...The only thing that went "wrong" is that my post did not have a title- but I think that may have been because I had not named the file before sending it here?

Thing 19: LibraryThing

I discovered "GoodReads" at the beginning of this course when a friend sent an email asking me to be her "friend". That was my first experience using a "social" site & I have been having a lot of fun with it. I love being able to see what others I know are reading & read their reviews as well. I was excited about using GoodReads, & I have been happy with it so far - so honestly if it wasn't a requirement for this class, I would not have started another account on LibraryThing at this time. I am finding that there are so many great sites out there - but it gets overwhelming to have accounts and be users of too many! I had created widgets of a couple of my book shelves on GoodReads & here is the link to the books that I cataloged on LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lweeks. I did find that the books I cataloged are popular & there are discussions on them - that didn't surprise me since I have been choosing to read mostly bestsellers & some of the "most requested" books at my public library.

LibraryThing seems to be the site to choose if you want to catalog your own books, use the message boards, or join or create a group. I think for now I will be sticking with GoodReads since I have been using that site & already have "connections" on it. I like the way I can organize my books into "bookshelves" on GoodReads & it seems a little more interactive to me. Also, LibraryThing charges a fee after a certain # of books, and I believe GoodReads will always be free.