Here are a few of things that I've discovered about using a wiki:
1. They encourage collaborative thinking and information sharing
2. They increase student thinking and participation
3. They can facilitate communication between teachers
4. Assignments can be posted such as homework, course materials, study guides and more.
5. Bibliographies of resources can be created with links to webpages
6. Teachers can post questions for students
7. Teachers and students can post to questions on a topic.
8. Parents can be given a chance to be a part of the classroom and stay up to date on news and activities.
To me, it is a great way to organize information about almost anything and can be updated regularly, quickly and easily. I like the fact that they can be set to limit who uses and edits the wiki. For writing, it seems like this would be the perfect way to do peer editing among students. To add even more flexibility, you could add a link from your wiki to your blog for comments to be added there.
I would like to start a wiki for book reviews such as Bluebonnet Books and maybe Mockingbird books as well. We have done a couple of book studies this year and it seems like a great way to share so that the group doesn't have to get together every time.
On-line journals could be incorporated. I think some kids that are reluctant writers might bloom with the chance to use a wiki for their writing.
I have already created a research wiki and have developed several pages on the Birth of American Democracy with resources, web-links and questions to be answered. I have posted some higher-level thinking questions for synthesis after the students have completed the basics on the rest of the wiki. Check it out at the Pbwiki link on the sidebar of my blog.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Thing #14 Read some perspectives on Web 2.0 and the future of libraries
There were 2 articles that I found that simple enough for this "simple mind" to grab hold of that I enjoyed reading. In University of Colorado librarian, Jack Maness's article Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries, he mentioned four essential elements:
1. It is user-centered
2. It provides a multi-media experience
3. It is socially rich
4. It is communally innovative
He stated that "Library 2.0 is not about searching, but finding; not about access, but sharing".
John Blyberg, Head of Technology & Digital Initiatives at Darion Library in Connecticut has an article titled 11 Reasons Why Library 2.0 Exists and Matters. In his opening he quoted Sarah Houghton, Digital Futures Manager for San Jose Public Library in California. "Library 2.0 simply means making your library's space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. . . to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives . . . to make the library a destination and not an afterthought". The main points in his article were:
Library 2.0 is:
1. Partially a response to a Post-Google world
2. Requires internal reorganization
3. Requires a fundamental change in a library's mission
4. Requires a fundamental change in how we handle "authority"
5. Requires technological agility
6. Challenges library orthodoxy on almost every level
7. Requires a radical change in the libraries and vendors work
8. Both enables and requires libraries to work together
9. Is actually happening
10. Is revolutionary
11. Is essential for survival/pertinence
Based on what I've read so far, to me Library 2.0 means changing the way way we do things, not only professionally, but in our personal lives as well.
From E-mails -> Chatting or IM
From Lectures / Demonstrations -> Streaming media
From e-mail groups -> Blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds
From Classification -> Tagging
From Catalogs of reliable print & electronic resources -> Catalogs of both reliable possibly not-so-reliable Web-pages, Blogs & Wikis
In spite of any draw-backs that might be pointed out about Library 2.0, as librarians we can't draw a line in the sand or dig our heels in or we will be left behind, as well as the libraries we are responsible for. We must accept change because change is good.
Who would want to go back to the old library days of thumbing through a cabinet of drawers full of cards in order to find a book I needed? Not me. Who would want to go back to the days of doing a library inventory with a list of 17,000 books that have to physically be found, hopefully in the correct number or alphabetical order, in order to document that the book is on the shelf? Not me.
I know of a librarian who retired because she didn't feel comfortable trying to implement a student computer where the students had to insert 3 1/2 floppy discs in order to play "educational games". We have come so far since those days. Thank goodness!
As librarians and libraries, we must adapt to rapid changes in the way information is accessed, used and produced. I know of churches that have resisted to changes in the styles of worship, preferring traditional over contemporary. Because it was different from the "way things have always been", their rigidity and lack of flexibility caused numbers of young people to leave their ranks and their membership to decline. Some churches have essentially "died" as a result.
The same thing can happen to libraries if we as librians don't embrace change and accept it as the world of the present and for sure, the future.
1. It is user-centered
2. It provides a multi-media experience
3. It is socially rich
4. It is communally innovative
He stated that "Library 2.0 is not about searching, but finding; not about access, but sharing".
John Blyberg, Head of Technology & Digital Initiatives at Darion Library in Connecticut has an article titled 11 Reasons Why Library 2.0 Exists and Matters. In his opening he quoted Sarah Houghton, Digital Futures Manager for San Jose Public Library in California. "Library 2.0 simply means making your library's space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. . . to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives . . . to make the library a destination and not an afterthought". The main points in his article were:
Library 2.0 is:
1. Partially a response to a Post-Google world
2. Requires internal reorganization
3. Requires a fundamental change in a library's mission
4. Requires a fundamental change in how we handle "authority"
5. Requires technological agility
6. Challenges library orthodoxy on almost every level
7. Requires a radical change in the libraries and vendors work
8. Both enables and requires libraries to work together
9. Is actually happening
10. Is revolutionary
11. Is essential for survival/pertinence
Based on what I've read so far, to me Library 2.0 means changing the way way we do things, not only professionally, but in our personal lives as well.
From E-mails -> Chatting or IM
From Lectures / Demonstrations -> Streaming media
From e-mail groups -> Blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds
From Classification -> Tagging
From Catalogs of reliable print & electronic resources -> Catalogs of both reliable possibly not-so-reliable Web-pages, Blogs & Wikis
In spite of any draw-backs that might be pointed out about Library 2.0, as librarians we can't draw a line in the sand or dig our heels in or we will be left behind, as well as the libraries we are responsible for. We must accept change because change is good.
Who would want to go back to the old library days of thumbing through a cabinet of drawers full of cards in order to find a book I needed? Not me. Who would want to go back to the days of doing a library inventory with a list of 17,000 books that have to physically be found, hopefully in the correct number or alphabetical order, in order to document that the book is on the shelf? Not me.
I know of a librarian who retired because she didn't feel comfortable trying to implement a student computer where the students had to insert 3 1/2 floppy discs in order to play "educational games". We have come so far since those days. Thank goodness!
As librarians and libraries, we must adapt to rapid changes in the way information is accessed, used and produced. I know of churches that have resisted to changes in the styles of worship, preferring traditional over contemporary. Because it was different from the "way things have always been", their rigidity and lack of flexibility caused numbers of young people to leave their ranks and their membership to decline. Some churches have essentially "died" as a result.
The same thing can happen to libraries if we as librians don't embrace change and accept it as the world of the present and for sure, the future.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thing #13 Tagging and social bookmarking with Del.icio.us
I looked at all the tutorials for the 3 bookmarking websites suggested. I looked at Del.icio.us first, so I went ahead and created some bookmarks for the 5th Grade research unit for the 4th six weeks on the Birth of American Democracy. I had already found the websites I wanted to use on Nettrekker and some of the other research tools on our library website. I entered them into Delicious and added tags such as Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Branches of Government, etc. You can check out my saved bookmarks on Del.icio.us, by looking at the widget in the sidebar on this blog. Now I have to figure out how my students can access the bookmarks I created. I'm at home, so I can't sit down at one of the student workstations to see if I can access my bookmarks on each student computer and add them to favorites, or if there is something else I'm going to have to do. If you have any insight, I'd love to know what my next step is.
Later I am going to go back and create accounts with FURL and Ma.gnolia to see if I like them better. I liked some of the options they offered like being able to view the whole page and highlight the parts you want emphasized and being able to filter by searching by topic or date. Other things I liked were finding out who has some of the same interests as I do and being able to copy their bookmarks and share them with people I know by e-mail or through RSS feeds.
In Ma.gnolia I liked the fact that when you do a search, you can subscribe to the results you get and new feeds for that topic are sent to your RSS feeder.
One thing that was mentioned in one of the tutorials was the ability to pick a unique tag for a specific group of people who would be able to post their findings to the shared tag. I'm wondering if something like this would work for the elementary librarians when we are trying to gather websites for research units throughout the year. It sounds like a quick and easy way of sharing information that will save time so that everyone isn't spending time trying to do the same thing, separately.
Later I am going to go back and create accounts with FURL and Ma.gnolia to see if I like them better. I liked some of the options they offered like being able to view the whole page and highlight the parts you want emphasized and being able to filter by searching by topic or date. Other things I liked were finding out who has some of the same interests as I do and being able to copy their bookmarks and share them with people I know by e-mail or through RSS feeds.
In Ma.gnolia I liked the fact that when you do a search, you can subscribe to the results you get and new feeds for that topic are sent to your RSS feeder.
One thing that was mentioned in one of the tutorials was the ability to pick a unique tag for a specific group of people who would be able to post their findings to the shared tag. I'm wondering if something like this would work for the elementary librarians when we are trying to gather websites for research units throughout the year. It sounds like a quick and easy way of sharing information that will save time so that everyone isn't spending time trying to do the same thing, separately.
Thing #12 Exploring social networking
Well, as of this "Thing", I am over half way thru the 23 "Things". Yea!!!
I set up MySpace and Facebook accounts. It was actually pretty easy. I didn't add any friends because I don't know anyone who has an account with either one, except my niece and my "going on 21" year old daughter, whose accounts are private and probably doesn't want her "meddling mother" seeing her pages! (Imagine that!)
I did do a search for library and librarians on both social networks. However, I chose not to join any of the groups. Facebook showed over 500 people to search and MySpace had a dozen or so people that fell under my search terms. The two groups that I found on MySpace were "Librarians are Cool" and "Ladies & Lads of Library Land". However, after looking at their MySpace pages, they weren't your typical Mesquite, Texas librarian types, so I didn't choose to join their groups! Ha!
I did join 4 different Ning networks. I joined Texas School Librarians, Teacher Librarian, Teachers 2.0 and of course Mesquite Librarians and Friends. Three of them let me create a network badge, so check out my side bar to link to those networks. I didn't find a badge available for Teachers 2.0. Also, I clicked on the RSS feed buttons on all 4 networks in order to add them to my Bloglines feeds, but I only had success with the best of the 4 - Mesquite Librarians and Friends.I plan on going back to the other three later to see if I can get the RSS feeds for those as well. I did customize the background, wallpaper on a couple of the Ning networks, as I feel like those will be the ones of most use to me as a librarian.
I didn't add any bells or whistles to my Facebook or MySpace sites, but later when I have finished all 23 "Things", I may go back customize those sites as well, just for fun. One thing I did include in my personal info was the name of my high school and year of graduation as well as the same for my college. It might be a way of old school friends reaching me if they don't know how to locate me. In fact, this past year, I had a high school reunion and some friends shared pictures from the reunion on Classmates.com. I created an account so I could view the pictures. To open a basic account, it's free as most others. However, I keep getting e-mails to get a different version (which there is a charge for), because various classmates are interested in contacting me. I'm not interested in paying a fee just to find out who these people are. (It's probably people that I wouldn't want any contact with anyway! Ha!)
I feel that the Ning networks are the most useful for librarians professionaly, as they keep us up-to-date on new trends and provide information relevant to our jobs.
Even though I don't see any practical uses for Facebook and MySpace in a school setting, especially for elementary children, I feel like as librarians we need to be familiar with social networking in order to know about what tools our students are using on their computers. I feel like liability could be a problem if we promote the use of these social networking sites because of privacy issues and problems with predators.
I set up MySpace and Facebook accounts. It was actually pretty easy. I didn't add any friends because I don't know anyone who has an account with either one, except my niece and my "going on 21" year old daughter, whose accounts are private and probably doesn't want her "meddling mother" seeing her pages! (Imagine that!)
I did do a search for library and librarians on both social networks. However, I chose not to join any of the groups. Facebook showed over 500 people to search and MySpace had a dozen or so people that fell under my search terms. The two groups that I found on MySpace were "Librarians are Cool" and "Ladies & Lads of Library Land". However, after looking at their MySpace pages, they weren't your typical Mesquite, Texas librarian types, so I didn't choose to join their groups! Ha!
I did join 4 different Ning networks. I joined Texas School Librarians, Teacher Librarian, Teachers 2.0 and of course Mesquite Librarians and Friends. Three of them let me create a network badge, so check out my side bar to link to those networks. I didn't find a badge available for Teachers 2.0. Also, I clicked on the RSS feed buttons on all 4 networks in order to add them to my Bloglines feeds, but I only had success with the best of the 4 - Mesquite Librarians and Friends.I plan on going back to the other three later to see if I can get the RSS feeds for those as well. I did customize the background, wallpaper on a couple of the Ning networks, as I feel like those will be the ones of most use to me as a librarian.
I didn't add any bells or whistles to my Facebook or MySpace sites, but later when I have finished all 23 "Things", I may go back customize those sites as well, just for fun. One thing I did include in my personal info was the name of my high school and year of graduation as well as the same for my college. It might be a way of old school friends reaching me if they don't know how to locate me. In fact, this past year, I had a high school reunion and some friends shared pictures from the reunion on Classmates.com. I created an account so I could view the pictures. To open a basic account, it's free as most others. However, I keep getting e-mails to get a different version (which there is a charge for), because various classmates are interested in contacting me. I'm not interested in paying a fee just to find out who these people are. (It's probably people that I wouldn't want any contact with anyway! Ha!)
I feel that the Ning networks are the most useful for librarians professionaly, as they keep us up-to-date on new trends and provide information relevant to our jobs.
Even though I don't see any practical uses for Facebook and MySpace in a school setting, especially for elementary children, I feel like as librarians we need to be familiar with social networking in order to know about what tools our students are using on their computers. I feel like liability could be a problem if we promote the use of these social networking sites because of privacy issues and problems with predators.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Thing #11 Check out LibraryThing!
Well, I finally found the "Thing" that didn't trip me up one time. I have to say, that this was the easiest of the "Things" that I have tackled so far. The registration was a breeze and then entering my books was even easier than I thought it would be. I was dreading this when I went through the tutorial, not knowing how much time it was going to take to enter the 15 or so books I chose. I had it finished in about five minutes. Hopefully I did everything right. I know that Mary said something about have a link to our LibraryThing from our blog, but when I got ready to post it, I came across a way to display the books down the side of my blog. I'm not sure if this is the way it is supposed to look. I may go back to LibraryThing later and change the size of the display for my books from medium to small to see if I like it better. Anyway, on to Thing #12! Yea!!!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Thing #10 Online Image Generators
This "Thing" has been a lot of fun. The only tool that I wasn't successful with was the Comic Strip Generator. Everytime I created the HTML code to paste into my Blog, all you could see was a little orange "X". The picture never would display. I'll go back to it later when I have time to play with it some more. I was successful with the Custom Sign Generator, the Image Chef and the Happy Face Generator. I could spend hours exploring all the fun things you could do with these tools. These three were very easy to use. I plan on using them to add some spice to my library web page. Also, when I make new Power Points, I am wondering if I can incorporate some of these things as graphics for orientation presentations for the beginning of school.
Thing #9 Finding feeds
Wow! I went a little crazy exploring all the resources and tools available to help me find news feeds and blogs. I ended up with 37 feeds and/or blogs on my Bloglines page.
I found the Google Blog Search tool one of the easiest to use because of my familiarity with Google. While there I found the Elementary Library 2.0 blog which I subscribed to, hoping to find some tips in helping me finish my 23 Things.
However, for me the Bloglines Search tool came in a close second. There I found an Austin, TX elementary librarian's blog that I really liked. I'm hoping it will be useful to me because we have the "Texas Thing" in common! Ha!
To me, the Syndic8 directory of feeds was the hardest to use and a little bit overwhelming. However, later I'm going to go back to it and work with it when I have more time.
Everytime I tried to use Feedster, it was showing that it was under construction. That's another one I plan on going back to at a later time.
I liked the Topix search tool because the layout is easy to find things quickly.
As far as useful library and technology blogs such as TechLEARNing, Blue Skunk Blog and School Library Blog, I came across several interesting ones like Elementary School Blog and a SMARTBoard lessons Podcast (I have a SMARTBoard in the library and would like to use it more as far as library lessons, research, etc.).
The most unusual thing I came across was a site called Giveaway of the Day, where you can download free licensed software daily. Each items is only available for 24 hours, so I will really have to keep close tabs and this one.
As far as different kinds of ways I found to locate newsfeeds, was looking at other people's blogs and clicking on links to news sources from their blogs. Why re-invent the wheel when someone else has already been there?
I found the Google Blog Search tool one of the easiest to use because of my familiarity with Google. While there I found the Elementary Library 2.0 blog which I subscribed to, hoping to find some tips in helping me finish my 23 Things.
However, for me the Bloglines Search tool came in a close second. There I found an Austin, TX elementary librarian's blog that I really liked. I'm hoping it will be useful to me because we have the "Texas Thing" in common! Ha!
To me, the Syndic8 directory of feeds was the hardest to use and a little bit overwhelming. However, later I'm going to go back to it and work with it when I have more time.
Everytime I tried to use Feedster, it was showing that it was under construction. That's another one I plan on going back to at a later time.
I liked the Topix search tool because the layout is easy to find things quickly.
As far as useful library and technology blogs such as TechLEARNing, Blue Skunk Blog and School Library Blog, I came across several interesting ones like Elementary School Blog and a SMARTBoard lessons Podcast (I have a SMARTBoard in the library and would like to use it more as far as library lessons, research, etc.).
The most unusual thing I came across was a site called Giveaway of the Day, where you can download free licensed software daily. Each items is only available for 24 hours, so I will really have to keep close tabs and this one.
As far as different kinds of ways I found to locate newsfeeds, was looking at other people's blogs and clicking on links to news sources from their blogs. Why re-invent the wheel when someone else has already been there?
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