"confessing that he now found it difficult to read long books. " (because he is reading too much on line) Interesting... I feel that way sometimes, especially when I can't finish a book. Used to be I read from cover to cover. Now if the book doesn't grab me in the first two chapters, chances are it will not be read.
"One early study showed that giving home Internet access to low-income students appeared to improve standardized reading test scores and school grades. “These were kids who would typically not be reading in their free time,” said Linda A. Jackson, a psychology professor at Michigan State who led the research. “Once they’re on the Internet, they’re reading.” More power to them, I say!
I have looked at the Kindle, but I feel it's too much to pay for a book reader. My iPhone downloads books on demand (even Kindle formatted books) but I have yet to read any of them - screen too small, time not just there to squint. I checked ebay for the first Kindle - still at $250 or so, so no go there either. I will wait and see if it takes off. I'd love to be able to try it out and, perhaps, I'll purchase one for my library just to have accesses? I see Amazon allows libraries to lend these out to patrons. Perhaps a grant or a SAC request will provide access - of course, the issue of book purchases still remains since I lack the required institutional credit card for purchases like this. Hurray for red tape!
http://www.tx2ph.com offers books online that can be downloaded a bit at a time - really backwards technology if you ask me. I have downloaded a few books to my iPhone, like I said before, using some of the iPhone apps. This works a lot better.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thing 19 - Other Social Networks
WebJunction has grown leaps and bounds since the last time I visited. Back then it was just a skeleton of a social network; right now it is overwhelming in variety and professional offerings. I found the 31 things to do with Flicker in your library and may actually implement one of those; watched a couple of videos about the new spaces in libraries. I was disappointed that there is little for high school media specialists, though. I guess I need to start a thread.
A while back somebody invited me to register at https://www.linkedin.com/, but, honestly, I am having a hard time keeping up with Facebook alone, so I am not signing up for anything else. At some point some of this clutter will disappear and it will hopefully be easier to keep up.
Social networks are what bulletin boards used to be when the web first started. At the time I belonged to a few groups (now Google bought out the archives and calls them groups) and my posts are still out there in cyberspace someplace. So I am going to decline the offer to join any of the new social groups, mostly because having to GO to the site is much less convenient than having the messages delivered to my mailbox. Yes, I could turn the feeds on, but then my already cluttered mailbox will be impossible to read.
I have bookmarked the TeacherLibrarian Ning. I feel that, like a lot of these social experiments, these will be swallowed by groups in Facebook or MySpace since these sites get a lot more traffic. But it will be interesting to go back in a month or so, just to see if things have changed.
I think Jim Louderback sums up my opinion of these networks :-)
A while back somebody invited me to register at https://www.linkedin.com/, but, honestly, I am having a hard time keeping up with Facebook alone, so I am not signing up for anything else. At some point some of this clutter will disappear and it will hopefully be easier to keep up.
Social networks are what bulletin boards used to be when the web first started. At the time I belonged to a few groups (now Google bought out the archives and calls them groups) and my posts are still out there in cyberspace someplace. So I am going to decline the offer to join any of the new social groups, mostly because having to GO to the site is much less convenient than having the messages delivered to my mailbox. Yes, I could turn the feeds on, but then my already cluttered mailbox will be impossible to read.
I have bookmarked the TeacherLibrarian Ning. I feel that, like a lot of these social experiments, these will be swallowed by groups in Facebook or MySpace since these sites get a lot more traffic. But it will be interesting to go back in a month or so, just to see if things have changed.
I think Jim Louderback sums up my opinion of these networks :-)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thing 18 - Facebook and MySpace
Yes and yes.
Have both..
Use Facebook exclusively, but check on MySpace once in a blue moon.
I can see how these can be helpful for Media Specialists, to promote the media center. Problem is, we can't use this at school nor are we comfortable making friends with students - legal issues and all, mentioned earlier in an in-between post.
I joined the ALA group, the Library 2.0 interest group and Facebook AppsForLibraries in Facebook using my family/personal account. As a rule reject any requests to befriend me unless I know the person in question, so I guess I can't be your friend - don't be crushed, nothing personal!
Here is MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/crazymom1128. I will accept your request if you make one!
The 7 Things you should know about Facebook pdf documents is a bit outdated. Still, it shows an potential use of Facebook I had not anticipated - purposefully using the site to research a trip. TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet are two sites I would think of as having more appeal for this purpose.
The Askthelibrarian.org video contest winners were cute. The site, of course, is not updated every day and that is unfortunate because both Facebook and MySpace keep close tabs on the last time information was changed or posted. Like any other web presence, these social networking places need to be kept up to date or else they fall to the bottom of the 200+ friend lists.
I think these is a SOCIAL use for these sites and I can't imagine my busy college students or even recent graduates using the sites forever. The pages are too fluid, the sites keep changing the main pages, there is little control on content (how do you control what somebody posts on your wall???) and I am not sure these will ever be appropriate to use with the under 18 crowd.
Have both..
Use Facebook exclusively, but check on MySpace once in a blue moon.
I can see how these can be helpful for Media Specialists, to promote the media center. Problem is, we can't use this at school nor are we comfortable making friends with students - legal issues and all, mentioned earlier in an in-between post.
I joined the ALA group, the Library 2.0 interest group and Facebook AppsForLibraries in Facebook using my family/personal account. As a rule reject any requests to befriend me unless I know the person in question, so I guess I can't be your friend - don't be crushed, nothing personal!
Here is MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/crazymom1128. I will accept your request if you make one!
The 7 Things you should know about Facebook pdf documents is a bit outdated. Still, it shows an potential use of Facebook I had not anticipated - purposefully using the site to research a trip. TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet are two sites I would think of as having more appeal for this purpose.
The Askthelibrarian.org video contest winners were cute. The site, of course, is not updated every day and that is unfortunate because both Facebook and MySpace keep close tabs on the last time information was changed or posted. Like any other web presence, these social networking places need to be kept up to date or else they fall to the bottom of the 200+ friend lists.
I think these is a SOCIAL use for these sites and I can't imagine my busy college students or even recent graduates using the sites forever. The pages are too fluid, the sites keep changing the main pages, there is little control on content (how do you control what somebody posts on your wall???) and I am not sure these will ever be appropriate to use with the under 18 crowd.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thing 17 - Podcasts
Again...not new. I have produced a couple, downloaded a ton, subscribed to too many - never enough time to watch the vodcasts, the iPhone makes it easy to listen to the podcasts on the way to work. I also found spoken books on iTunesU, so I am hesitantly embarking in Thing 17... is there anything new for me to explore?
I subscribe to the Maccore
http://themaccore.com/
about all the things Mac. They don't produce regularly, which fits my busy schedule just fine.
Also, the video podcast (vodcast) Ask the Techies
http://askthetechies.com/
is one of my favorites - again, heavy emphasis on the Mac platform, but lots of shows that are cross or Windows based.
.....
Another subscription... waiting for the link to activate the account...
later.....
mail problems.....
Ok, waited one day. I think that is enough podcasting for me this weekend :-)
I subscribe to the Maccore
http://themaccore.com/
about all the things Mac. They don't produce regularly, which fits my busy schedule just fine.
Also, the video podcast (vodcast) Ask the Techies
http://askthetechies.com/
is one of my favorites - again, heavy emphasis on the Mac platform, but lots of shows that are cross or Windows based.
.....
Another subscription... waiting for the link to activate the account...
later.....
mail problems.....
Ok, waited one day. I think that is enough podcasting for me this weekend :-)
Thing 16 - Youtube
Well, before I even start I am going to question the inclusion of this popular website in this exercise. I think one needs to be a non-techy hermit not to be familiar with this site... let me go see what the assignment is.. maybe I will learn something I didn't know!
What??? No teachertube.com or schooltube.com????? I am surprised the list of 62 video sharing sites doesn't include these, which are moderated and appropriate for school use. Plus still not filtered by the state.
When I first started this blog, I shared a video link to my favorite Gators video so I will refer you back to my things 2 and 3... somewhere in between I managed to squeeze a video from Youtube...
I uploaded a video to schooltube, which was a chore since it needed to be re-coded from mov to a flash format. This took FOREVER in the decoder and it wasn't such a hot video to begin with... so I am going to decline the challenge at this time, mostly because I am behind in my 23 things and I want to see what's ahead that I haven't tried yet.
What??? No teachertube.com or schooltube.com????? I am surprised the list of 62 video sharing sites doesn't include these, which are moderated and appropriate for school use. Plus still not filtered by the state.
When I first started this blog, I shared a video link to my favorite Gators video so I will refer you back to my things 2 and 3... somewhere in between I managed to squeeze a video from Youtube...
I uploaded a video to schooltube, which was a chore since it needed to be re-coded from mov to a flash format. This took FOREVER in the decoder and it wasn't such a hot video to begin with... so I am going to decline the challenge at this time, mostly because I am behind in my 23 things and I want to see what's ahead that I haven't tried yet.
Thing 15 - Rollyo
Instructional Tech is the name of the Rollyo Searchbox I created. I am trying to put a link to it here.
This could come in handy if I wanted students to search for terms like "breast cancer" and I wanted to make sure they didn't accidentally access inappropriate websites. Although the filter does a great job :( at the school level, topics like this can produce unexpected results. By filtering the websites they can visit, this problem could be avoided.
This could come in handy if I wanted students to search for terms like "breast cancer" and I wanted to make sure they didn't accidentally access inappropriate websites. Although the filter does a great job :( at the school level, topics like this can produce unexpected results. By filtering the websites they can visit, this problem could be avoided.
Thing 14 - Online productivity tools
1. I've had a customized iGoogle page for a while, but, honestly, I find it more distracting than a time saver. I have webpage design skills, so when I have needed multiple links on a start-up page, I have created it myself and set it as the home page in my browser. Although I appreciate the variety and the visuals iGoogle has to offer, I end up spending MORE time looking at all the goodies and this cuts into my productivity. I like the idea of a basic list of links and this is what I have done in the past... now I seldom bookmark or need links as much as I used to, but for the media center I am constantly updating the web page and the links to students who visit have the most current links to use.
2. We have been using the Google calendar at work for a while, but not consistently. Usually shared to plan a specific event or long-term project, once the event is over the calendar stops being used. We are trying to get the teachers to use a shared calendar to book the computer labs, but this is a slow process for some of our veteran teachers. I do believe it is a powerful tool for planning and booking computer labs, media center and other common areas online is ten thousand times more efficient in a large campus like hours - the alternative is for the teachers to email or walk in to see "if the place is available tonight". As with everything else, training becomes a necessity. Scrybe looks like an awesome entry into the calendaring field; some of these features I understand are also going to be tested by Google...
3. I downloaded Remember the milk into my iPhone a while back ago. But... really... I am not a "list" person mostly because my memory seems to be functioning well.. still.. The iPhone has other options for lists, so I keep going to the notepad because it is as easy to use. I take notes in my phone, make lists, write lists of passwords I may need to use one day... I guess I better not lose my phone!
Zamzar is the application I need in my life. I wish it had an easier name to remember, because I am almost sure I have used it in the past, yet when I really need it I can't think of the name. Maybe it IS one of those things that needs to go on my webpage... Ok, done!
The amount of online tools available is akin to the shareware boom of the 80s, where every programmer felt their program was THE one to have, the next Lotus Notes or Office suite that was going to make them rich. Of course, nobody has the time to explore all these and as organizations like Google, with plenty of resources available, buy out the most promising apps, we'll all benefit and hopefully Cyberspace will become less cluttered.
2. We have been using the Google calendar at work for a while, but not consistently. Usually shared to plan a specific event or long-term project, once the event is over the calendar stops being used. We are trying to get the teachers to use a shared calendar to book the computer labs, but this is a slow process for some of our veteran teachers. I do believe it is a powerful tool for planning and booking computer labs, media center and other common areas online is ten thousand times more efficient in a large campus like hours - the alternative is for the teachers to email or walk in to see "if the place is available tonight". As with everything else, training becomes a necessity. Scrybe looks like an awesome entry into the calendaring field; some of these features I understand are also going to be tested by Google...
3. I downloaded Remember the milk into my iPhone a while back ago. But... really... I am not a "list" person mostly because my memory seems to be functioning well.. still.. The iPhone has other options for lists, so I keep going to the notepad because it is as easy to use. I take notes in my phone, make lists, write lists of passwords I may need to use one day... I guess I better not lose my phone!
Zamzar is the application I need in my life. I wish it had an easier name to remember, because I am almost sure I have used it in the past, yet when I really need it I can't think of the name. Maybe it IS one of those things that needs to go on my webpage... Ok, done!
The amount of online tools available is akin to the shareware boom of the 80s, where every programmer felt their program was THE one to have, the next Lotus Notes or Office suite that was going to make them rich. Of course, nobody has the time to explore all these and as organizations like Google, with plenty of resources available, buy out the most promising apps, we'll all benefit and hopefully Cyberspace will become less cluttered.
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