Sunday, 30 October 2011
The Possibilities of Skype
This week, I discovered The Virtual Staffroom, a podcast about teachers and technology in the classroom. The episode I just listened to, The Global Village, features John Warnken who talks about using Skype with kids from all over the world. His interest in using Skype is to connect native English speakers with non-native English speakers. As both an English language teacher and a teacher-librarian, this use of Skype interests me. Although Skype isn't new to me, I've never used it to connect my students to anyone else. In the library, I could connect students with authors using Skype an Author. With my English language learners, I could use it to connect them to other English language learners. For other possibilities and inspiration, check out Skype in the Classoom.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Twitter Reflection
I'm new to Twitter and still contemplating the fate of Twitter in my life. To be honest, my first impression wasn't great. With a full-time job, a 1-year-old, a 3-year-old and my online Masters degree in progress, I don't have a lot of time! I don't have time to read tweets like this (keep in mind I've only subscribed to tweets from my personal learning network):
To get more out of Twitter, I decided to follow some relevant hashtags (e.g. hashtags related to education, technology, teacher-librarianship). First, because I'm passionate about the school library, I followed the hashtag, #tlchat. By following this hastag, I came across some great resources and started thinking about the possibilities that Twitter had to offer. For example, I came across this Livebinder that I think will be useful when I'm ready to teach online search strategies and more to my students:
Knowledge 2.0
The second hashtag I followed was #edchat. The following tweet caught my eye:
She recommended a video about Twitter and it's inspired me to tap into Twitter more!
#tlchat and #edchat were the first two hashtags I searched, but Cathy Nelson highlights other hashtags that I'm excited to follow. Over the next few weeks, I hope to explore Twitter more and use these hashtags to strengthen my personal learning network.
"I suck at telling time. Arrived at the airport 20 minutes before my flight. Thought it was an hour later. Still made it"
"4yr old boy climbed on a play house at gymnastics. 2littlegirls:u can't sit here. Boy:why? 2littlegirls:cuz we're girls & we rule the world."I'm not going to "out" these tweeters because they probably have a lot more to say than what's here, so it's not fair to represent them this way. But, these tweets are examples of why I haven't gotten hooked on Twitter yet.
To get more out of Twitter, I decided to follow some relevant hashtags (e.g. hashtags related to education, technology, teacher-librarianship). First, because I'm passionate about the school library, I followed the hashtag, #tlchat. By following this hastag, I came across some great resources and started thinking about the possibilities that Twitter had to offer. For example, I came across this Livebinder that I think will be useful when I'm ready to teach online search strategies and more to my students:
The second hashtag I followed was #edchat. The following tweet caught my eye:
She recommended a video about Twitter and it's inspired me to tap into Twitter more!
#tlchat and #edchat were the first two hashtags I searched, but Cathy Nelson highlights other hashtags that I'm excited to follow. Over the next few weeks, I hope to explore Twitter more and use these hashtags to strengthen my personal learning network.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Infographics
I've been investing more time reading my feeds via Google Reader and it's paying off! This week, I discovered Visual.ly via Stephen's Lighthouse who refers to Kimberly Turner's post on Problogger for making infographics. Kimberly Turner explains, "Visual.ly is like a search engine for infographics....They’re also working on a tool that will allow bloggers and others to create their own infographics using a plug-and-play system." I did a quick search and found this infographic, Class of 2011, that matches social media with teenage stereotypes. It's shown below. Maybe this will come in handy when I'm trying to find out what my students are plugged into?! I also recommend taking a look at A Librarian's Worth.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Getting hooked on Google Reader
I’ve self-imposed a deadline for today to blog about RSS feeds. In September, I started using Google Reader to subscribe to the blogs I wanted to read. I was hoping to subscribe to at least 15 blogs by now, but I’ve surpassed my goal and am currently subscribing to 24 blogs. I thought that I would max out at 30 - that more than 30 would be overwhelming – but I think 30 could actually be a comfortable number to manage.
At the beginning of my inquiry into RSS feeds, I wondered how a reader, like Google Reader, could save me time. It’s free. It’s convenient. But, does it save me time? If I wanted to read all of those blogs on a regular basis, then, yes, it would save me time. But, I’ve never read a blog on a regular basis. I only read blogs when I’ve come across them looking for information. After a month of subscriptions, I’m wondering if I’ve been focused on the wrong aspect of using a reader. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so focused on saving time. Yes, my time is important, and I have very little to spare, but I’m finding that I’m gaining more from reading my feeds than the gift of time. I’m being exposed to a wealth of knowledge and information that I might never have thought to google! Because of this, my next goal is to read my feeds through Google Reader on a more regular basis. McLeod (2011) recommends, “Commit to checking your reader once a week, and soon you, too, will discover the power of having the web come to you” (p. 8). The good news is that I’m already checking my reader once a week. The not-so-good-news is that I am skimming and scanning my reader at break-necking speed to catch up on the latest news and report back to my classmates. If I check my reader more frequently, I envision catching up to be a more leisurely activity. With that said, for the next 3 weeks, I am going to try and read my feeds every day (save weekends). By doing this, I hope to get into the habit of checking my Reader. In turn, I hope to stay informed, digest smaller bits of information at once, and, hopefully, save time in the long run. Three weeks from now, I will let you know how successful or unsuccessful this turned out to be.
Although I’ve already surpassed my original goal of subscribing to 15 blogs, I am now wondering if I should be subscribing to a few more. In two articles I recently read, both authors encouraged subscribing to diverse viewpoints. For example, McLeod (2011), advises, “As you begin loading it [RSS feeder] up, be sure to include some streams from sources that think or believe differently than you do in order to avoid immersing yourself in an echo chamber” (p. 8). I really hadn’t thought of doing that. I am currently subscribing to blogs that I think would help me carry out best practices within the context of a school library. Which blogs would counter those viewpoints? This is something I will have to consider further. As teacher time is being cut in many school libraries across B.C., someone must not value them as much as I do. Perhaps I should consult Abram (2011) who writes, “I believe it is impossible to be fair or to argue for my own position (on libraries in particular) without understanding other points of view. And, radical though it may sound, sometimes these folks say something I agree with! So I have reviewed my RSS feeds, Web alerts, e-newsletters, and apps and ensured that I am receiving a more balanced point of view” (p. 31). My second goal will be to find and subscribe to 2-5 blogs that might broaden my horizons and provide me with a more balanced view of school libraries.
To read more by Abram, visit his blog.
To read more by McLeod, visit his blog.
References
McLeod, S. (2011). The most important tool you probably don't know. School Administrator, 68(8), 8. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2443814431).
Abram, S. (2011). A philosophy for staying current. Information Outlook, 15(5), 30-31. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2427792261).
At the beginning of my inquiry into RSS feeds, I wondered how a reader, like Google Reader, could save me time. It’s free. It’s convenient. But, does it save me time? If I wanted to read all of those blogs on a regular basis, then, yes, it would save me time. But, I’ve never read a blog on a regular basis. I only read blogs when I’ve come across them looking for information. After a month of subscriptions, I’m wondering if I’ve been focused on the wrong aspect of using a reader. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so focused on saving time. Yes, my time is important, and I have very little to spare, but I’m finding that I’m gaining more from reading my feeds than the gift of time. I’m being exposed to a wealth of knowledge and information that I might never have thought to google! Because of this, my next goal is to read my feeds through Google Reader on a more regular basis. McLeod (2011) recommends, “Commit to checking your reader once a week, and soon you, too, will discover the power of having the web come to you” (p. 8). The good news is that I’m already checking my reader once a week. The not-so-good-news is that I am skimming and scanning my reader at break-necking speed to catch up on the latest news and report back to my classmates. If I check my reader more frequently, I envision catching up to be a more leisurely activity. With that said, for the next 3 weeks, I am going to try and read my feeds every day (save weekends). By doing this, I hope to get into the habit of checking my Reader. In turn, I hope to stay informed, digest smaller bits of information at once, and, hopefully, save time in the long run. Three weeks from now, I will let you know how successful or unsuccessful this turned out to be.
Although I’ve already surpassed my original goal of subscribing to 15 blogs, I am now wondering if I should be subscribing to a few more. In two articles I recently read, both authors encouraged subscribing to diverse viewpoints. For example, McLeod (2011), advises, “As you begin loading it [RSS feeder] up, be sure to include some streams from sources that think or believe differently than you do in order to avoid immersing yourself in an echo chamber” (p. 8). I really hadn’t thought of doing that. I am currently subscribing to blogs that I think would help me carry out best practices within the context of a school library. Which blogs would counter those viewpoints? This is something I will have to consider further. As teacher time is being cut in many school libraries across B.C., someone must not value them as much as I do. Perhaps I should consult Abram (2011) who writes, “I believe it is impossible to be fair or to argue for my own position (on libraries in particular) without understanding other points of view. And, radical though it may sound, sometimes these folks say something I agree with! So I have reviewed my RSS feeds, Web alerts, e-newsletters, and apps and ensured that I am receiving a more balanced point of view” (p. 31). My second goal will be to find and subscribe to 2-5 blogs that might broaden my horizons and provide me with a more balanced view of school libraries.
To read more by Abram, visit his blog.
To read more by McLeod, visit his blog.
References
McLeod, S. (2011). The most important tool you probably don't know. School Administrator, 68(8), 8. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2443814431).
Abram, S. (2011). A philosophy for staying current. Information Outlook, 15(5), 30-31. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2427792261).
Monday, 17 October 2011
I thought I would give you a sneak preview of some of the things I will be blogging about over the next few weeks. In the spirit of technology, I am using a prezi to highlight my inquiry proposal. Keep in mind, this is the first time I've played around with a prezi!
Sunday, 16 October 2011
A curator in the web 2.0 hemisphere...
As I navigate through my Google Reader, I am, once again, drawn to Joyce Valenza's blog, Neverendingsearch. Recently, she has been blogging about curating with students. This week, she highlights "A few good scoops for us," teacher-librarians. Scoop.it is a new to me, but I can already see the value in it. Using Scoop.it, one can get feeds from a variety of sources on any given topic and start curating. In her post, Joyce Valenza shares some Scoop.its for teacher-librarians. Using, Jing, I took a picture of one of the Scoop.its recommended under the heading, Education and Technology. This is a screencast of the heading of Kim Tairi's Scoop.it, Educational Technology and Libraries.
The screencast below captures a few of the snipets Kim Tairi has chosen to curate. It's visually appealing and user-friendly. I can see myself using Scoop.it as a communication tool with my colleagues.
On a side note, I am pleased that I was able to capture a screen shot of the Scoop.it above. In lieu of, or in addition to, providing a link to this Scoop.it, I can highlight parts for discussion using Jing. Very handy!
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| http://www.scoop.it/t/educational-technology-and-libraries |
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| http://www.scoop.it/t/educational-technology-and-libraries |
Sunday, 9 October 2011
What does reading look like today?
"At the School Library Journal's Leadership Summit 2011, Director Lee Rainie looked at the “state of reading” in the digital age by going through Pew Internet data about how teens use the internet, smartphones, and social networking sites. He argued that reading is now 1) raw material for further creation; 2) real-time in the mobile age; 3) a “social contact sport” as teens share reading and other media and learn from them" (Pew Internet).
Reading, Writing, & Research in the Digital Age
What does this mean for teacher-librarians? To me, this means that we have to look beyond traditional novels and texts and provide access to technology that promotes this "state of reading." Not every student is going to have access to these tools at home. I believe that we need to "level the playing field" by providing access to technologies that are being used by other students regularly.
View more presentations from Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Libguides for October!
Well, I can hardly believe it, but we're already a tenth of the way through the school year! This is what is keeping me up at night! As I look ahead, I'm still wondering how I'm going to best serve the needs of the students and teachers at my school. And, while I'm pondering how to do this, time is unforgivingly slipping by! This is why I'm so excited to have stumbled upon Joyce Valenza's post, Curation is the new search tool. In it, she recommends a handful of curating tools, but the one that interests me the most is LibGuides. Librarians from all over the world have created libguides for their patrons. Since I don't have time to create one from scratch for each of my students, students can benefit from using the ones already created! This will buy me time until I can start creating libguides or some other form of online pathfinders for my students. Phew! Thanks for the recommendation, Joyce!
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