Thing 8

I really enjoyed playing around with all the photo editing tools. I tried both Big Huge Labs and ImageGeneragtor and found them really easy to use. I especially liked how I could sync up Big Huge Labs (which I used to make my mash photo attached here) with Flickr where my photos are stored. So simple! I can't pick any one tool that I like more than another. I like the scrapbooking, the puzzle, the motivation poster, the fake magazine covers, just way too much to pick a favorite. Using both of these tools was very easy and a great deal of fun. I'm excited about making Caldecott and Newbery trading cards using the trading cards tool; pop art poster could be used to make my nieces and nephews some personal art work for their rooms; jigsaw Caldecott or Newbery posters; use BadgeMaker for cool badges for my student library helpers; have students make comic strips for a creative writing project; make "World's Best" certificates for star students of the month; entertain family and friends using the special effects tool where I can superimpose pictures over other pictures; and make a scrapbook with creative backgrounds. Tons and tons of fun, creative ways to jazz up my pictures!

Thing 7

I think Flickr would be a fabulous tool in the classroom. I liked that you could search by topic (i.e. geometry) and feel a teacher can find some really exciting photographs to share with his/her students that would really engage them. I also like how you can sort and group the pictures which would be helpful to keep your supplementary photos easily searchable by unit.
I could use Flickr to locate and organize pictures (like a digital portfolio) for the various research projects I do with students to get them excited when we begin our unit. I could also use it to showcase work done in the Library and special events that we have throughout the year. Finally using this tool for digital storytelling could be neat as well. Right now I use PhotoStory when I make a digital story with my students work, but this is a neat option as well. The only concern I have is logging on to Flickr in the classroom to access my groups of photos and having some photos appear prior to my logging on that might be inappropriate for young children.

Thing 6

I chose to download a picture from Napa Valley as I have been there several times and love it. I first started looking at wine country, then vineyards, then Napa and finally an individual vineyard that I have been to. It brought back memories of my time there as I saw people where the hats we were given to wear during our tour as well as the organic garden and buildings where the wine is made. I look forward to posting my pictures from this vineyard. I chose to post a picture hear of the wind vane that I liked so much at the vineyard. It is a wind vane of a frog and is also the logo on the bottles made and sold by this wine maker.

Thing 5

I found it difficult finding blogs on the topic I was looking for using the blog search tools. It would be easier if there was a directory of some sort that shows you all of the blogs grouped by topic rather than typing in a few keywords. Subscribing was a little flaky as well as my browser kept getting hung up. Subscribing wasn't always the same for each blog too. At first I did not like the suggested way of using the Easy Subscribe Bookmarklet, it seemed like too many steps. But as suggested in the video, it was much easier once this bookmarklet was set up. I would like to use RSS in my professional life by subscribing to blogs made by my peers to see what they are experiencing and teaching. I did find several blogs listed under Jackie Campbell's blogline that I opened and subscribed to. I think it might be easier to find a blog of a fellow librarian, see what feeds they subscribe to and then see if any of those feeds would be helpful to me and add to my blogline. I think this might be easier than using the blog search tools, but I'm inexperienced and may just need time working with blog search tools too.

Thing 4

Setting up my Bloglines account was very easy. I am interested in seeing how this tool actually works and how it could benefit me as I begin working on Thing 5. I try to handle information overload by trying to remain organized and I think RSS will help me with all the information that is out there by also keeping the news I want organized and at my fingertips as the news comes directly to me rather than the other way around.

Thing 3

As a Media Specialist, one of the immediate ways I thought about using a blog was to start a book club where students can share their opinions on what they're reading. In the past I had thought about making a database that students could access and write feedback which would be sorted by different genres and searchable by other students to help them choose a book recommended by one of their peers. A blog would be a much, much easier way to accomplish this task. In addition, students could narrate their feedback and include a copy of the cover of the book they are talking about. I also read on one of the blogs I was scanning through that students can use the online tool timetoast.com to create a timeline of events from a story they have read. I find that idea pretty interesting as well. I also thought about displaying student work on a blog. I also read about a really good idea of using a blog to display links to real and bogus websites. The blog that suggested this noted that students can comment on noted biases and link to online sources to prove/disprove validity/reliability of site. This would tie in nicely with my Internet unit where I teach how to evaluate a website. I know my students would love any blog assignment I would give them. They love technology and would especially love seeing their words displayed online for all to see. A concern I would have with students participating with blogs would be inappropriate comments written on the blog and also whether all my students have access to a computer either with my attempt to get time in the computer lab to complete such a task or if they have a computer at home with Internet access. Finally, I thought another potential idea for a blog would be to create a professional reflection blog on lessons that I teach listing strategies and techniques that worked well and allowing for feedback and ideas from my peers.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

I realize now that I didn't completely comment on my first blog experience in my previous post.

As I stated earlier, in Thing 2, setting up my blog worked easily, what didn't work so well was figuring out how to move about the blog page. I think using my blog in my classroom could be helpful to post current information, but my website has a great deal of resources already for my students so a blog would just supplement what I've already done. I think the biggest benefit to me would be to connect to blogs from other Media Specialists to share ideas. I look forward to continuing to explore the features of my blog.

I am participating in 23 Things so I have an understanding of the technologies that are out there and to figure out if there is a way I could incorporate them into my teaching. During Thing 1, I was truly surprised to see the different types of technology being used by students and staff. I was especially surprised about the use of cell phones which in most school districts I am aware of, students are not allowed to have cell phones out in class let alone use them. Thing 1 opened my eyes to what can be used in the classroom as well as how the tools can help staff members easily collaborate with one another. With that said, I am leery about what I write being out there for the whole world to see. I for one will be very careful before hitting that "Publish Post" button. I am, although, happy to see that there is a spell check button here.

Registering Blog

I found setting up my blog fairly easy to do, but have not been so lucky navigating through the various links of my blog (i.e. I added a picture and a little background information about myself, but then I had a hard time getting back to the main page to make a post). After a little while, I noticed the "Home" link on the bottom of the page and got where I needed to go. Oh, and I also got timed out, which complicated things just a bit for a minute or two. I am a newbee to blogs and I will need plenty of time to explore how the page is arranged and how to get from one place to another.