Last, but not least!

I learned so much exploring the many different web technologies that are definitely changing the way we search, share and use information online. It was fun to set up this blog, something I have wanted to do, but was afraid to try. I also wanted to find a way to organize and share my photos, Flickr was my answer! I enjoyed (and worked through some frustration) setting up and adding relevant content to my wiki. I know I will use this knowledge when I am a librarian someday and in the meantime as a classroom teacher. I look forward to sharing my new knowledge with others. I gained a lot of confidence while exploring and “playing” with the technologies. I feel more ready to be a part of and even enjoy using modern technology! While this assignment took lots of time and effort, it was well worth it!

Tag Cloud

Podcasts

I chose to search on epnweb.com under the subject: Information Skills. That led me to OPAL- Online programming for All Libraries. Here you will find many interesting and informative podcasts.

http://www.opal-online.org/Filbert20100126/Filbert20100126.mp3

This was a very interesting podcast called, “Filbert, monthly informal round table discussion on the future of libraries, books and reading” (January 26, 2010).

There were several discussion points. First he talked about the Apple announcement of the i-pad (which was coming the very next day, Jan 27, 2010)and how that might change the newspaper industry. There was some speculation that Apple might try to re-shape the newspaper industry similar to how they re-shaped the music industry with digital downloads. How much emphasis will be put on book length reading using the i-pad?

Next he talked about the e-book sales during Christmas. Evidently, on Christmas day, kindle books out sold printed books on Amazon. (Of course they were offering free downloads that day.) Kindle was definitely a hot item this Christmas, but e-book sales have a long way to go to catch up to printed books. Audio book sales are going better than e-book sales.

The annual CES (Consumer Electronic Show) trade show was held in Las Vegas in January. The device market just keeps getting bigger. There were lots of reading devices shown and some patterns are emerging. Most devices have some kind of embedded web browser and many have two screen capability. E-reading devices have embedded dictionaries, highlighting text, improved screen design and longer battery life, to name a few of the improvements. Device development is growing and it’s exciting to see.

Filbert’s last discussion point was about the recently published Kaizer Family Report. In that report, it was noted that tweens and teens use media on average of 7.5 hours per day. (This report used about 3,000 young people in their sample.) The report also said the “better” students use media less often. Interestingly, it also stated that race and ethnicity made a difference. Black and Hispanic use media 3 more hours per day than the 7.5 hour average. Libraries need to get and use more portable devices especially as we try to serve “mobile” users. Being a friend means something different now than in past years. Tweens and teens consider 50% of their friends-people they have never met. The information need of so many is now “on-the-go-need to know”! Library services need to be “mobile optimized” As devices get more powerful, multi-functional and more users use them, we can see uses for more mobile based library services.

What commitment, to a better future in Columbia!

This is an awesome video about a man's lifelong commitment to be useful to the community he belongs to in Columbia. Most areas in Columbia do not have access to libraries. He travels to villages carrying 120 books on a donkey for the joy and benefit of the kids in those villages. He reads to them and helps them with their homework. He is helping to build Columbia's future. This video inspires me!

Chirp, Chirp Twitter

Twitter is another great way to stay in touch with people. I found joining and adding a gadget for twitter was pretty painless. I like the 140 character limit when sending a "tweet". That way the message can be a short and "sweet tweet". Twitter would definitely be useful as a school librarian. I could send out short messages about events and new resources. I could also twitter with other school librarians. We could ask each other questions, share links and successes. Twitter could also be used to post technology tips or share a new found website or blog. I found the twellow directory very helpful when looking for librarians who twitter. The 200 pages of results was a bit daunting, but I found several librarians to follow including Utah State Library (USL_Library) who use twitter for training Utah Librarians in social media. They claim to follow the most brilliant minds in the library world. Let's follow them too! (My husband wondered if one would be called a "twit" if they used twitter. I said a person should be called a "twit" if they didn't use twitter-maybe now he'll join too)

RSS, Newsreaders and finding GOOD BLOGS!

Another good day exploring! Today I learned about RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Now I know what that little orange icon stands for on many of the blogs I follow. With a simple click of that icon I can keep track of web pages and blogs by subscribing to them. Bloglines was easy to understand and set up. Now I subscribe to the blogs I am most interested in and they feed to Bloglines. I also added googlenews-library by clicking on the RSS icon which simply added the newsfeed to my Blogline account. Flickr was added as a photo feed to my Blogline account as well. Then it was time to find some really good blogs! I went to the blog search engine, "technorati" and searched under the key word library. This resulted in 2801 blogs. A few to many to browse through, so I looked for the higher authority numbers and found "i Librarian" (authority #656). This is a great blog about news and resources on Library 2.0 and the information revolution. I plan to follow "I Librarian" because it will help keep me up-to-date on the latest information and technology I want for my library. Next I went to "Bloglines" to find more good blogs and I liked the search options they offered. I could search anywhere, only my feeds, or excluding my feeds. When I typed in the keyword library, I received 3,800,000 posts, too many! I went to edit query and searched: school librarian with 35,600 posts. I went back to edit query and searched: school librarian elementary best, which narrowed results to 1,190. I did RSS feed for "Classroom 2.0 Live". This blog has a wonderful archive and resource area I plan to follow. It was fun to look at the "100 Best Blogs" list. I found "wired librarian" which listed the 2009 Edublog Awards and listed each blog that won and the features on their blog that won them an award. Each year 10 blogs are chosen based on certain criteria such as; best individual bog, best class blog, best resources sharing blog and best educational wiki to name a few. "WebTool4u2use" won the best educational wiki. This is an excellent blog you'll want to follow! It was fun to visit these blogs and mark "Wired Librarian" so I can follow and find out what blogs will win the 2010 Edublog Awards. This blog also listed the past winners, so you can visit those blogs too. By following good blogs, I can keep up better on the latest and greatest!

Library 2.0

Hip Hip Hooray! I couldn’t agree more with Christopher Harris, in his article, “Say Good-bye to Your Mother’s School Library” (School Library Journal, 5/1/2006) about Library 2.0. He refers to this as, “the digitally re-shifted school library”. School libraries need make changes as we join the digital revolution where “powerful new ideas are enhancing the way in which we function in an electronic information environment.”,says Mr. Harris. He further stated, “librarians, while still based in the media center, will interact more directly with students as well as their teacher peers in new spaces.” I also agree with his statement, “Digitally re-shifting your school library is about harnessing the power of new ideas like Web 2.0 to help fulfill the mission of school libraries.” We need to be blogging, postcasting, screen casting, social bookmarking and using other digital means to teach and communicate with students and teachers. We should take advantage of new ideas, like Library 2.0, as we try to keep up with the ever changing technology and engage in the digital revolution. Our students deserve every opportunity to find success using the power of information as we develop 21st century learners.

Technorati

Categories that were well represented in the blog directory were; Living (17766)- which includes health, religion, arts, food, etc.(The sub category of food was the most used (8103)) and Entertainment (11830) and Technology (11173). The categories that were not well represented were: Science (1179) and Auto (1128). I searched for blogs on “school librarian” and got “0” results. I chose the topic “books” under the category Entertainment (which is the largest category under entertainment). This search resulted in many blogs. The most popular blog being; “Whatever” with the authority number of 948, which was the highest number. Then I searched for “books” under posts, and I found the results to show very specific comments as compared to blogs, which are more general. The posts with high authority numbers(963) were; “10 Books 10 Countries” (The best translated books of 2009) and “Books & Games Following Music Leads” which tells us that Amazon sold more Kindle digital books than paper books on Christmas Day 2009. (A bit of trivia for you.) I am wondering why there is not a category for Education and Libraries. So I looked a little further and went to the category “technology” and searched for library blogs. I got 2799 blogs relating to libraries. It always pays to keep searching (and playing!).

Del.icio.us

Wow! My advice to you is this: Do not visit del.icioi.us if you have any schedule plans or activities for the next several hours. What you can learn and do with del.icio.us is addicting! The 8-minutes video clip was a nice overview. I first searched under popular bookmarks. The first entry was “10 fresh tools and resources for web developers”. Some of this was above my meager understanding, but there were some very interesting tools that could be added to ones blog! Next listed was “15 Dazzling Modern Library Designs”. If you want to see the “wave of the future”, check these out! via weburbanist.com The New National Library in the Czech Republic was 3 dimensional definitely for the 3rd millennium. When it is completed it will hold 10 million volumes. Another cool architectural design was the Central Library in Seattle and the Ballard Library in Seattle which is all about “green” and has an innovative “green roof” where native grasses grow. You can even see library designs that are still on the drawing board. What a great use of creative minds! Libraries are amazing places and books are cool-so why not look the part? You’ll have to restrain yourself from looking on more popular bookmarks and tags. Del.icio.us would be very helpful in my library both for students and teachers, but also a wealth of knowledge for the librarian. I searched for “school librarian” and received 3,127 results. Many of these useful places I plan to return to such as, Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki (here I found links to collaboration with teachers and students). Also listed were 100 Best B logs for School Librarian and PB Librarian Chick, a collection of links to the best of FREE internet resources. There was also the Librarian’s Internet Index and Teacher Librarian Network both of which will be very useful to librarians. I can’t wait to share this with everyone.
Del.ici.us is simply “delicious”!

addict-o-matic

Here is my URL for the web page I created on addict-o-matic regarding libraries.

http://addictomatic.com/topic/libraries#uwtzmnv.dy.bjhgx

Happy reading!

Library Thing

What fun! Library Thing is so easy to set up and use. There are many ways I could use this in my future library. It could be used to advertise and keep track of events and happenings in the library. Here is where author visits, book signings and book discussions with staff and students could be posted. I could highlight new books here and post suggestions from students and staff on good books to read. It would be fun to set up different groups, for book clubs, so members could talk and carry on conversations about books and authors and even write reviews of books they are reading. The possibilities are endless!

Read Poster

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Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Wikis

Better than e-mail? YES!
My sisters and I are planning a bridal shower for my niece. We have been doing this by e-mail and text messaging. Now, I know a better way - WIKI - This allows me to put in my ideas - edit my plans - save - then a sister can edit my plans, add her input and save for the other sister to edit. We can add links to new pages with additional information such as the guest list and a link for the menu and who will provide what. Wikis are the wave of future communicating, collaboration and sharing of information!

IMG_9208

IMG_9208, originally uploaded by librariannana.

It is never too early to share the love of reading!Hunter, my grandson, absolutely loves book. He is well on his way to being a life-long reader and learner. Some future librarian's prize!

Greenville Library Puzzle

Greenville Library Puzzle, originally uploaded by librariannana.

Here is a photo I took at the Greenville Elementary Library. This library has a great collection! Look at all of those books specifically for grades 3, 4 and 5.

Lifelong Learning

I have found that making and writing down goals keeps me progressing in the lifelong learning process. Beginning with the end in mind is critical to accomplishing my goals. I know I have the sole responsibility for my learning. I have always enjoyed taking classes beyond my college courses. As an educator I always took professional development courses that help keep me informed and up to date on latest teaching research, techniques and strategies to be a more effective teacher. It was a joy to return to college once my youngest children were in school. I loved working towards my master's degree in teaching children with learning disabilities. I enjoyed the course materials immensely and realized I could be very happy being an "eternal student". (While I didn't enjoy the exams, attending class lectures, reading and doing assignments was very interesting and motivating to me.) After receiving my Master's Degree, I returned to the classroom and continued taking classes offered through the school district. Viewing problems as challenges has not always been easy for me. I like instant solutions and get frustrated when problems are not solved quickly. Life has taught me that problems are really everything we do! Here is where the BIG 6 can be helpful in working through challenges and problems that arise. Experience has enabled me to gain confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I continue to work on this everyday. I am in the process of creating and adding to my learning tool box. This class is another tool I can add to my box. I am learning to use technology more in my life long learning process. I am excited to learn and use technology more in my learning. This class has opened up endless windows of opportunities to do that. I believe the best way to solidify learning is to have the opportunity to teach and mentor others. I am anxious to teach what I am learning to others in the school setting (My family and friends are my teaching audience for now.) I especially look forward to the time when I can be a school librarian where I can share the knowledge I have gained about information literacy as I teach and mentor students and teachers. We can continue the life long learning process together! This is where the PLAY part comes in, the fun part of learning. The students and teachers and I can PLAY together and further our leaning.