Thing #10 - Online Image Generators

Oh my! This is another one of the fun toys that you could play with for hours. I looked at several of them and there are thousands of images to play with - plus any of your personal photos you would like to enhance. I found that several of the ones that enabled you to add your own text and change fonts, sizes, etc. were a little difficult to manipulate (getting centered, etc.). Overall it was a lot of fun though. I could see this being useful in the library for adding images to the web page. Instead of placing a plain photo on the site, you can embellish it in hundreds of different ways. I am attaching a couple of images that I made.

Thing #9 - Finding RSS Feeds

I looked at all of the different ways of searching for feeds. I was surprised at the huge volume of feeds that are available. For someone that is still new to all of this, it was quite overwhelming. I found technorati to be VERY overwhelming - probably because of all the different types of things that are available. I saw some "interesting" pictures and articles related to celebrities on technorati - it's amazing what is out there! I think I liked the edublogs award winners site the best. Probably because it is someone's version of the best of the best. It was interesting to read blogs from people all over the world. After checking bloglines for about a month now, I do believe I like using the reader.

Thing #8 - RSS

I checked out google Reader and Bloglines. I've been using Bloglines for about a week now. Since Google Reader and BLoglines are basically the same thing I chose to use BLoglines becasue I already had an account set up from last year's staff development. I see the convenience of using the reader because you don't have to go to each site/blog to check for updates - the updates come to you. The biggest benefit is the convenience of allowing the RSS to search the web for you, however, the problem for me is remembering to check bloglines for new feeds.

In setting up Bloglines last year we had access to hundreds of sites and I knew there was no way I would look at all of it, so I deleted the ones that didn't interest me, kept the ones I liked and added some new ones. At first, I had some difficulty adding new sites. I tried cutting and pasting addresses into the subscribe box and I couldn't make it work. Once I added the link to my bookmarks I found it so much easier. All you have to do is go to the site you want to add, click the bookmarked link to subscribe and then when the name appears, check the box next to it and click subscribe at the bottom. The bookmark link to subscribe makes it so much easier to add sites to your bloglines account. However, I had to bookmark the subscribe link on each computer that I have been using.

I've been trying to think of ways to use this in the library and I honestly do not see myself using it with the kids. I think it is best used for me professionally because I can read about new updates in technology or library related areas and then share or use the info as appropriate.

THing #7 - Google Tools - again

One thing I forgot to mention was Picasa. I really liked the Picasa web album. I used it to send the faculty all of our school Halloween pictures. It is a great way to allow numerous people to see your photos easily. I plan to use it to send the faculty our Children's Book Week pictures. I like using Picasa better than Flickr because of the lack of access at school. Flickr cannot be overridden at school so I could use it at home, just not at school. If I'm going to use a web album I would have to choose Picasa.

Thing #7 - Google Tools

I played with the Google tools and in an elementary setting I'm not sure if any of these are beneficial since Google is blocked. It was extremely frustrating working on this at school because of the constant overriding that was needed. The Google calendar isn't for me because of the way I acquire information. I need to see my calendar in front of me to be able to access it easily and quickly. My favorite part of this "thing" was iGoogle. It was neat to be able to customize the search engine page. Once again, it wasn't very helpful to me because of Google being blocked at school.

Thing #6 - mashups

I had the most fun playing with the mosaics. I played with the id badge, poster, trading card and magazine cover toy as well. I think the Mosaic tool would be very beneficial in posting images to websites. I also used it to print out pictures from our school's Halloween trunk-or-treat. (One of the projects is included in this post.) It is a great way to print a lot of pictures in a fun and interesting way. The trading card feature could be beneficial for students to use if they have studied inventors or famous people. It could be an end product to showcase student learning.

Thing #5 - Flickr again

alcatraz
Originally uploaded by stoney.jackson

I found this picture of Alcatraz Island, which I visited this past summer, on Flickr. In order to add this photo from Flickr I had to register my blog which was fairly easy. There are A LOT of "interesting" pictures on Flickr. I understand the value of photo sharing with family and friends, but I'm not really sure why people would want the whole world to view their pictures. Oh well....to each his own!

Thing #5 - Flickr

"Let Me Out!" The Web 2.0 technology in me is trying to break free.

I easily imported several of my vacation pictures to Flickr. The problem I had was trying to set up sets of pictures. In my first attempt at setting up a set, I created 3 sets of 1 picture. In trying to correct my mistake I deleted a picture from Flickr. A word to the wise: if you get a message about are you sure you want to delete this picture click NO unless you really want it deleted from Flickr. I didn't think Flickr's help menu was the best, but I kept clicking away until I got it right. I then uploaded a picture from iPhoto to my blog. It was quite easy. My next post will be about uploading a picture from Flickr to the blog. I'll see if it is as easy.

Thing #3- Avatar

I fInally finished playing with my avatar and created the persona. The problem I had with posting my avatar to the blog was that I thought it was saving and I was waiting and waiting.....until Debbie came by and said to cancel and the graphic was already there. I might still be saving if it wasn't for her. Thanks, Debbie!

THing #4

I think it would be fun to blog with the students. The students could comment on their favorite books, dislikes about books, etc. However, in thinking through the logistics I'm not sure exactly how this could be handled in a safe manner (no bad words, etc). I'll have to think on that one. Any suggestions?

I could see using this in the MISD library community by posting things that work/didn't work related to research units, Web 2.0, etc.

Thing #3

It was a little frustrating setting up the blog because yahoo's avatar site was down and I was looking forward to creating my online persona. I will have to come back to that. The other frustrating part was that the original address I wanted to use was not available. I had to try several different things before finding one that worked - and would be somewhat easy to remember.

Thing #2

I think the hardest thing for me related to the 7 1/2 Habits is related to #6: Use technology to your advantage. My mind doesn't naturaly gravitate towards technology first. I am still one of those people that like to pick up the phone and talk to a person instead of emailing. There are so many tools available to us and I need to start using them more so that I will be able to use technology to my advantage.

The easiest habit for me is to play. I have to use it or I will lose it. I am very grateful for this time that we have been given to explore Web 2.0. I will probably use more of the "things" because I am able to explore at my own pace.

Thing #1

I am excited, yet somewhat apprehensive, about Web 2.0. I must admit I am feeling my age with the new technologies. I know the future of technology is Web 2.0, but my mindset is still with "Web 1.0." I see the younger teachers and students utilizing these things and wish that I was as technolgy savvy as them. I think I know quite a bit about the internet and computers, but it is nothing compared to the younger generation.