Thing #7 - Google Tools

One of the useful Google tools is the calendar. It was very easy to create and to modify events using this calendar. We could either use it for our library scheduling or teachers could use it to post the daily deadlines for a project or homework. If the teacher had a web site that parents used, they could check it for assignments. I prefer it to the current program we are using.

I also created an iGoogle page. I love being able to add the different features, like weather, Spanish word of the day, Bible verse of the day. I also added a countdown to Spring Break! I hope to consolidate some of the technologies that I have been learning on the iGoogle page, like RSS feeds and other links.

Thing #6 Flickr Mashups

One of the interesting mashup tools is Spell with Flickr. Once the program chooses the letters for you, you can click on an individual letter and choose another one. I couldn't find instructions for how to upload the word, but it was very similar to uploading the HTML for a photo. Designs like this could be used to make our web site more interesting and to attract student attention. Knowing that there is a mashup that will "spell", teachers could create assignments for a certain topic where students have to take pictures of scenes that contain letters. Words that relate to the topic could be created for memorable visuals.

Thing #5 -Discover flickr

Rome - St Pierre
Originally uploaded by erwan2007

Think of me over Thanksgiving when this will be the view from my hotel room! I'll be visiting my son who is studying in Rome for the semester. Even though it took awhile to create all the accounts needed for this, it was easy to do once all the steps were followed. One problem was that I had to keep logging back in to the different programs when I took too long to go to the next step.

Thing #4

I can see a couple of ways that blogs could be used in the library. Our book discussion club could use it to post comments about the titles they are reading. We could even arrange a time to meet online at night for a "discussion". It could be used for staff development for teachers to support each other in learning new technologies.

Thing #3

Through lots of trial and error, I finally got the blog up along with my Avatar. It can eat up a lot of time to look through all the different templates for the blog and the different looks for the Avatar. But those are the details that make the site more personal. It will be interesting to visit the other blogs and watch the comments.

Thing #2

From the lifelong learning list, the hardest one for me is to accept responsibility for my own learning. My natural inclination is to let someone else teach me....to learn from others, rather than coming up with my own learning plan. The easiest one for me is to view problems as challenges rather than obstacles, because nothing in technology is easy. It seems like I always learn the hard way, but at least it is harder to forget that way!

Thing #1

By playing with Web 2.0 tools, my first goal is to become more comfortable with using them and to understand what they are. Eventually I hope to find 3-4 of them that I enjoy using and that are useful for the school library. I look forward to the conversation and to learning some new things.
There were a number of obstacles - oops, challenges - to setting up the blog: finding a name that wasn't already taken, understanding how to edit and make changes, how to use the different tabs. But in the end, with everyone helping each other, it wasn't too hard. It may get harder as there are more posts to manage.