Search Island

I lost myself on this island when perusing the Library and Information Technology Association's website. I like the ability to search for specific formats and was pleased to discover blinkx, I have difficulty finding relevant videos/clips in YouTube, so was glad to find another source.

I think it will be even more important this year to keep my blog, communication. I am such a visual person and rediscovering Technorati will be helpful when I need to see other blogs for ideas, examples and when looking for lesson resources.

I think tagging these resources and sharing them with our faculty will be useful and you never know when you might need to pull a rabbit out of your hat.

Skype Island

I set up a Skype account to visit with my niece who is moving to Germany, but i must admit that in the back of my mind I am a step closer to trying it as a tool in the library.  The one thing that spoke to me as I was reading the articles was the simplicity of the visits and the ability to provide a variety of authors, illustrators or other literary professionals. Due to a limited budget, even more so now, trying to find a one size fits all author doesn't have to be part of the equation any longer, visits can be tailored to fit the interests and needs of each group.

I may need to purchase a webcam, if the laptop webcam is not sufficient and check with the technology department as to when the best time of day to set sail. If I am fortunate enough to have a successful maiden voyage to Skype Island, I can truly see having a different Skype Visit for each grade level.

The less known authors offer free 20 minute Skype sessions and in searching the suggested lists I found a non-fiction author, Melissa Stewart, that I think would be a great for a maiden voyage. I believe that after our first Skype visit I hope that our teachers will see the opportunities that Skype can offer thier students.

Libro Island

I use several of these sites on a regular basis during the year while creating orders and reading lists, but in giving each site a closer look I realized I had developed tunnel vision. My usual visits are to the American Library Association and Association for Library Services to Children for the award lists (I had forgotten about recommendations for videos and recordings and made the new discovery of the children’s software lists), the Texas Library Association for the Texas Bluebonnet and Texas 2x2 program information, bibliographies and activities, School Library Journal Although I use SLJ regularly for book reviews, in my perusing I found the article “Web Design Matters: Ten essentials for any library site” and with the district moving to a hosted website with a new format this link caught my attention.  After reading the article and viewing some of the example websites, I hope that SchoolWorld has some form of analytics available for us to see which parts of our websites are being utilized and where users may be having difficulty and am looking forward to having the ability tweak the library web page myself.
However, my favorite new souvenir from Libro Island would have to be American Association of School Librarians' Best Websites for Teaching and Learning. My two finds include links to some 2.0 tools, but that they are not the direct focus, I will share them with my faculty as additional resources and an opportunity for to improve communication.

Blogger's Island

I do agree with the video. We have to connect and utilize the digital world in our teaching. Our job is to create life long learners and I believe students will use these skills in some form for the rest of their lives and if we want to “connect” with our students and parents we must “connect” with them where they are…in the digital world.

Participate and Advocate:
You have to find new ways to participate or you will find yourself just skating by, mediocrity. When we’re skaters we miss so many opportunities to connect and communicate. We must continue to find new ways to grab the attention of students and parents. So many more educators have heard of the 2.0 tools now and by us participating and advocating we are connecting with “our customers” and showing them “Hey, if I can do this, so can you.”

The video above is intended for educators of older students, but it makes the point that these students crave instruction that is familiar to them, they are "techies" and want instruction that includes technology. Students need to apply and utilize what they learn and in a way that is meaningful to them.

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Week 9: Sail On

I wish I could have spent more time on this program, but I feel that with the schedule I have this year and the reminders and introductions to the 2.0 tools I will accomplish my goal to use this blog to share a more detailed picture of our library program with our parents and faculty.
I am most excited about what I learned in the Week 7 activities especially about Read – Write – Think - such truly useful tools and lessons.

I would describe this program as worth while, even for someone who didn't have as much time as they would have liked, I walked away with new ideas and was reinvigorated about the use of the 2.0 tools that I learned last year.

I am THANKFUL for this experience and look forward to putting my "found and new found" knowledge of these tools to work this year.

Thank you Michelle, I look forward to next years online technology program. Your willingness to help when I was "stuck" is appreciated.
Sail on...

Week 8: Bloomin' Atomic Learning

No, really it's me.  I logged out of Atomic Learning and then wasn't able to log back in for the pretest!! I sent for a request to reset my password and then I was sent a message that I would be contacted by customer service. I gave my school phone number on the online request, thinking it was for verification of my account, but then I realized it will be used for contact...Argh!!!
Once my login info is corrected, I will take the pretest and the necessary tutorials. At first I thought the program was a pain, but I have learned quite a bit from the lessons this evening (and morning). ;)