Sunday, September 27, 2009

Week 4, Thing #9, Education Feeds

When I first set up my bloglines account, there was a whole list of websites, newslines, and blogs that I could choose to add to my RSS. I came upon three library-related sites: librarian.net, Library Stuff, and Librarians' Internet Index. This was probably the easiest method of locating feeds. When I tried to use the search tools, I had no luck with feedster or topix.net. Those pages could not even be found. I had more success with syndic8.com. I searched library blogs here and recovered the following list:

-the Digital Library
-Latest entries from lbr. library-blogs.net
-library blogs academic
-LIS Tools: a natural medicine librarian
-chisholm.library-blogs.net
-Latest entries from dundalkinstitute.library-blogs.net
-Latestentries from lcld.library-blogs.net

Week 4, Thing #8 RSS Feeds

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/cbrow25Wow! I always wondered what the orange icon next to the print button did. Now I know. RSS feeds are a great way to keep track of my favorite news, blogs, and entertainment websites. Two sites I visit just about everyday are espn.com and tmz.com. I am a sports fanatic and I love celebrity gossip. I promptly subscribed to both sites, now I can keep up with all the scores, highlights, and gossip from my bloglines account. RSS can also be a great tool for classroom teachers and librarians. As a science teacher, I often have my students search for current science articles on topics related to chapters discussed in class. I can now locate news items on a particular theme, copy the URL to the RSS or create links to a classroom blog. When I become a media specialist, I can use the RSS to keep up with many library-related blogs and websites, so that I can be kept up-to-date on the latest news, issues and technological advances. I have made my RSS public so others can view my favorites so far. Just click the subscribers button on the above link.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Week 3, Thing #7 Blog about Technology

I am very excited about this school year because I have my very own promethean board in my classroom. Promethean boards are interactive whiteboards that engage students with vivd images, video, and audio. Promethean active boards enable anything that can be seen or done on a computer screen to be projected onto an interactive whiteboard, bringing life to the classroom. I love it!

Week 3, Thing #6 Flickr Fun and Mashups

Wow! The trading card maker blew my mind! I am in the process of starting a side business in financial services and I can see myself using this tool as a marketing technique. I could have my name in the title section and my licenses listed in the subtitle section. I can also briefly describe the services I will be offering and how to contact me. I can't wait to experiment with this further.

Week 3, Thing #5 Explore Flickr

Flickr is an excellent resource for sharing photos and videos with your friends and family. There are many features such as uploading, editing, organizing, sharing, mapping, making stuff, and keeping in touch. I always wondered how sites like mapquest could pinpoint businesses, schools, and restaurants on the maps. This is one feature I discovered on the Flickr site. Perhaps this can be used if I wanted to send invitations out and I wanted to use a map to give very detailed instructions on how to get to my home. What really blew my mind about the site is all the neat items you can make with your photos. Things like cards, photo books, framed prints, dvd's, etc. Check out the link to see for yourself.http://www.flickr.com/tour/makestuff/

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Week 2, Thing #3 & #4, Create/Register Blog

Like many of my classmates, this is the second time I have had to create a blog in the MLS Program. The first was for a course I had to take on School Library Management. We had to blog about certain copyright laws and practices. Personally, I don't see the need to share your thoughts with the world. Blogs and twitter seem like they are suited for people who have a lot of time on their hands. I can see myself using this blog to keep up with all the webtools I learn in this course. It will serve as a ready reference when I want to utilize certain things in the libray or classroom. However, once the class is over, I don't really think I will keep up with the posts.

Week 1, Thing #1 & #2, About/Life Long Learning

I am very excited to go through this Classroom Learning 2.0 Program. The 23 Things will be used to show me innovative web tools. As a future school librarian, I believe it is of the utmost importance to be as tech-savvy as possible. The discovery exercises that follow each of the 23 Things will be used to further enhance my comfort level with this exciting adventure.

I am definately a lifelong learner. I am 30 years old and I can't remeber a time in my life when I wasn't picking up a new skill. I am earning my second Master's Degree within 10 years of gaining my undergraduate degree. If that isn't bad enough, I just earned my insurance license this past summer. Even when I retire, I can see myself learning new languages so I can travel to new and exotic countries. The learning never stops.

According to the presentation, a lifelong learner will possess 7 1/2 Habits. I probably relate the most to Habit #1 "Begin with the end in Mind." I am a very goal-oriented person. I tend to be most successful at accomplishing goals when I have mapped out my plan of action. I had the goal this past summer to gain more volunteer experience in libraries as well as complete two more courses for my MLS, in addition to passing my state insurance exam. I was able to accomplish it all my following a schedule I wrote out at the beginning of summer.

I probably least relate to Habit #3 "View problems as challenges." I usually have a pessimistic attitude about the events that life throws at you. I tend to view them as someone or something trying to derail me. I need to develop a more positive outlook and use them as learning experiences. Everyone goes through obstacles, but it is how you deal with them that will truly determine