Connected? To what?

In recent times I have been thinking of how I am connected, what I am connected to and who these connections link me to. On a work level I am driven to become more like a curator of information and less like a store person. They both are helping others connect with the content but the web based online information has changed everything.

I am inspired to make innovative new ways to help others learn in this hugely technology savvy world in which I find myself. I think I need to push the boundaries of thinking and find way to engage the learners in my space.


If the learners are engaged and feel safe to take risks then doesn't that mean that these learners have embraced change?

IPads

This is an interesting article that I came across while looking for research about iPads. I am particularly interested in the multimedia aspects of iPads and think this will bring the huge change in teaching and learning that we have all been awaiting. http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fthejournal.com%2Farticles%2F2011%2F09%2F06%2Fipads-make-better-readers-writers.aspx?gname=clifsnotes

14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza

I had the priviledge of meeting and speaking with Joyce Valenza two weeks ago.

It was my absolute pleasure to keep her company over morning tea and listen to her ideas and learn from someone like her.
14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza
The ideas in this link are inspiring to be the chnage that is upon us and enjoy being revolutionary and integrate all of these new technologies seemlessly into the learnig cluture.

The 21st century skills teachers should have

The 21st century skills teachers should have

....read "The Third Teacher - 79 ways you can use design to transform teaching and learning"...

Spirit won't flag | Berwick News | Star News Group Local News, Sport, Entertainment

Spirit won't flag | Berwick News | Star News Group Local News, Sport, Entertainment

Two Questions to ask yourself...I have!

http://vimeo.com/8480171

Excellent, inspirational and just what I need to be reinspired about learning, thinking, teaching and life!

How do magazines get used in your Library?

I have been chatting to other Librirains and finding out how they and the teachers at their schools incorporate current events magazine and newspaper articles.  We have been subscribing to many different and varies titles and even still get the newspapers. However, the use of these resources has made me rethink the value in renewing these subscriptions. What decisions has your school made?

Laura Ketchan has written in her "Learning Today" Blog that; "Articles from magazines, newspapers and online resources can be a great cross-curriculum activity for students to learn about the current events in almost every subject area and increases the students’ world awareness and knowledge of the current trends on the subject." and that "Activities for current events could include writing summaries to share and present with classmates, discussing the article as a whole class assignment, or by creating a current events journal they keep and add to throughout the school year.
Education World has a great list of 25 ways that you can incorporate current events into many different classroom situations.

My friend suggested using articles and newspapers as "Wide Reading" instead of the normal expectation of reading a whole book in the given class teacher's idea of a set period of time.

Advice?

21st Century Fluency

This is an interesting link and has made me think deeply about how we as teachers bring the outside in. It is now so easy to transport our stundets to new faraway places and let them learn about so much more than just the normal classroom "visual" opportunities. Dr. Dieter Breithecker also writes about how the 21st centry learners physical needs are to be rethought!

Interesting!
In fact, if this is about the difference between school children today and a generation ago...where did you go to school and what was it like?

AccessMyLibrary - School Edition

Activity #22 Audio Books are ACE!

Life is full of choices! Prepare kids by giving them a say at school!

I asked some Year 8's about how they enjoyed reading a set text that they had to study...and some said they had watched the movie instead of reading the book...got me thinking "let's get this as an audio book...." so by me asking them about the format of reading choice I think I effectively empowered them to think about how they like to read and what way might be better for them!!! I allowed them to make a choice, allowed them to be involved in developing their destiny.....READING in all shapes and forms, whether as an audio book or an ebook is an empowering opportunity for us all! I still like the feel of a paperback in my hands though!

Activity #21 - Teacher Tube and Youtube

Well, video sharing is a vital everyday tool that I think has impacted the worl of education positively. I just imagine that the advancements in the next ten years will be even more tremondous!

Will our studnets not need a teacher but a video, a recorder to make their own real life show of what they are learning about...the school of trhe future! What will it look like? Could this interactive learning library of videos replace a traditional library? Studnets can stream, download, upload and learn in this easy to access media on a limitless variety of subjects from a very (too wide) diverse range of so called (self proclaimed) experts. So will I become a virtual teaching assistant?

Education Today and Tomorrow

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Activity #20 Podcasts...WORD OF THE YEAR IS....

GOOGLEGANGER - A NOUN - A PERSON WITH THE SAME NAME AS ONESELF WHOSE ONLINE REF. IS MIXED WITH OWN SEARCH RESULTS!

SO!

I have over 70 podcasts in my iTunes library and just love them! In fact my favourite is a "How Stuff Works" one about Albert Einstein! Not only is he German but I am sure he would have loved podcasts too! This activity is already used in classrooms here at my school and I know how much easier it is to engage learners in this way!

We have the opportunity to unleash learning! Just as Einstein said:

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/albert_einstein.html#ixzz1O65WyN9Y

Electronic learning aids offer teachers and students new and diverse ways to engage with subjects and ideas! GO LEARNING!

#19 Roll Over Rollyo - R U DEAD?

This seems great for a collection of websites. I have registered and linked this to my blog as you will see top right! (IN BLACK thank you to Sharon!) I have made a search roll from scratch and added a few too! Have a look at the search roll to find out more!

I have added a teacher tube clip too!

Feeling quite supported as my brain is fried. Am helping with the College Production, teaching, cataloguing, and generally working really hard. I know that I don't like students "googling" for information but we all do it! MYSELF INCLUDED! And you know, my turtles love it when I visit them! Rollyo is a great way to give students the most reliable sites to access. As a teacher I do have trusted and well used web sites, this way students can do a "ROLLYO" search and find the information quickly trusting that it will be a reliable resource!

I still like Diigo!

Rollyo for Research Teacher Tutorial

Rollyo for Research Teacher Tutorial

Activity #18 Wikis are not wicked

Wikis are great, a combination of doc and word pages yes, but so much better than that! I love that anyone can use it and have joined my SLAV group's wiki. I find the online collection of my groups material and required links to be awesome. Our wiki is organised, open to members and controlled by president and secretary of the committee. I feel that I am apart of this group and can refer top things 24/7. Anne Fuller is the author of this and has put in an amazing amount of work and should feel proud and honoured to be a part of this wonderful group of librarians.

I read in some related links that libraries create subject guides but they are often not updated. A wiki is a real way of getting more students and teachers working collaboratively on the same topic. They would all help keep it current and if it is utilised, an authentic online document, that is living through it's users, then I know that all contributions would be useful and current!

Making our school intranet a wiki might make it easy to put links and relevant resources onto for our students. But I like the idea of an online book club or wider reading literature wiki. This student survey in the Sample School Wiki that I read is something I am very keen to get onto this term and perhaps the wiki is a real thing for Term 3. This teacher librarian wiki has make it easy to see this become a reality!

This wiki has lots of ideas for me to look back on too! The Million Penguins is interesting but I find myself asking if an online novel exists for the poor millions of turtles on iGoogle? Wiki spaces is what my SLAV group uses and I think this is what I will investigate further. The YouTube clip above will help me navigate it successfully! STAY TUNED!

Image generators

<a href="http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/" target="_blank"> <img src="http://cdn-img1.imagechef.com/w/110324/b1f36f437d6ea7d2.gif" alt="ImageChef Word Mosaic - ImageChef.com"/> </a>

To those who would lead...

To those who would lead...
I like this article and urge others to read this and follow it too!

A Day Made Of Glass Corning's Vision For The Future With Specialty Glas...

This has made me think deeply about the way technology is changing and the pace in which we will need to change with it. My principal showed this to me about a month ago. I have since shared this with so many other people that I thought I'd share it in my blog.

Everyone can be a designer - these ideas are just one of the many sources of inspiration that our students will find themselves thinking about.

Teachers and students, as well as architects and designers, all have amazing ideas about their ideal environment. What are your ideas?

Activity #17 DEL.ICIO.US

This has been interesting! As yet again I had to think of an interesting password that wasn't ALREADY taken! Got to love that. (Maybe my turtles will like it - they have survived complete neglect - don't know how!) But I understand why we need to create yet another account!

I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. Confucius, philosopher.

This blog (that I stumbled across) raves about delicious, even though I thought it was not as big as diigo and that my monthly magazine subscription would be more worthwhile! Now, granted that my regular cooking from the delicious magazine (current one just released) has made for a delighted and very well nourished husband, I am sure that this will not be the same case with the online account I have created.

Problems that I face are that my tabs are set up to diigo and now I want to use both. Do I have to delete one to use the other? Can I be greedy and have both on the page! The use of this as a research tool is terrific - if you think about how we used to display student work (on a wall or window) then this can mean a whole new way of online publishing and progressing in this new world we find ourselves in! This could monitor what ideas both current and past are morphing into! Since most of our learning is occurring virtually, at all hours of the night and day and the role of delicious as a media centre seems to be one very effective tool that our students must utilise and understand! Hmmmm.....thinking, thinking, thinking!

Activity #16 Subscribing to RSS feeds is good!

Well, as this is something that I thought I was already doing! I am now discovering that I have been making loads of work for myself!!! grrrrrr I have been receiving up to 20 emails each weekend and maybe 10-12 each night that I feel obliged to read each day!

What a revelation to discover that I can now have all of these feeds come together on my Google Reader page! I can star them, share them, read them WHEN I WANT TO! Think about the new ideas it brings me, show someone else a new idea easily, and just enjoy this information at my own leisure!

All of this new technology brings with it new teaching opportunities! I think as the technology keeps changing our learning environment will allow us as teachers to change dramatically.

There was even a competition of the 10 best RSS feed buttons! What one do you like?

Activity #15 RSS FEEDS ARE POWERFUL

This is amazing. I finally have everything in one place! I actually already subscribe to many, many RSS feeds and when I opened Google Reader realised that I had 321 items all there ready to read and review!

I loved Andy Wibbels easy to listen to and follow "How to use Google Reader" and know that I will pass this information on to others in my school. Even students could save so much time on finding the "right" information for them. Alvin Toffler said "Knowledge is the most democratic source of power." We are diving into the powershift of the 21st century where knowledge is now easily accessed by not only the rich and the strong but also the poor and the weak.

I have added "The Age" and like this so much! But I didn't add this through the search for new content that was demonstrated on the Andy Wibbels site. I found it under explore???? Anyway considering Andy's search was from 2005, I expect that the reader system has changed some what in 6 years!

As we live in the world of tomorrow, where our students expect us to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week this opens up so many new avenues for reading, researching and learning in a way that is accessible to all learners in a democratic way. We as teachers, must show this to our learners in order for them to make the most of this vibrant and rich learning environment!

Is Social Media Ruining Students? - Edudemic

Is Social Media Ruining Students? - Edudemic
What do you think?

YouTube Copyright School

This is an interesting issue - I wonder if we need to address this? Read more about this and consider what you would do if YouTube asked you to answer some questions about this topic after you have watched it. I wonder what students would think?

My brain is asleep!

Part of your brain might be asleep right now

I found this interesting article written by Annalee Newitz  who writes:  

"When you're really tired, your brain deals with the problem by putting parts of itself to sleep. Scientists say partially-asleep brains could explain everything from sleepwalking and talking, to why you make so many mistakes when you're exhausted." Interesting! I am so far behind in this course and give myself 24 hours to improve! I PROMISE!

French resources | Diigo

French resources Diigo
If anyone knows of other interesting sites about France please let me know!

Mozilla Seabird 2D

This is the future that our students are already adopting. Are you ready for this?

Renew my passion

Having just read this article, I now feel enthused to try to be the best teacher I can be. Given that my teaching load is quite different to my skills - I still want to make a difference to the students I am with.

Interesting ideas in this!

Online to do list management software

Is anybody out there?

I have been wondering who is reading my posts - only the people who comment? I don't think so, the stats say so much more!

So... read this BLOG if you want some tips on having a blog that is read and well written. I have been most impressed with the various blogs I have read in this course. It is my desire to continue to improve as then I can help others to do like wise. Happy writing and reading!

Activity #13 My Space

I have to admit that I had to consult with a 16 year old family member in order to complete this task. I watched clips, the required links and was still confused as to why I needed MySpace as well as FB. After discovering that this young family member no longer likes MySpace I think I have also made up my mind! I definitely didn't think I needed both - isn't one thing enough? No! wait I have to check home emails (on my PC), work emails (on my laptop/iPad), texts (on my phone), FB notifications(through PC), Farmville harvests, Farmville Fuel, read my Believing In You email, have a cup of tea, get ready for work (unless on holidays) and then the day is off and running! This is crazy - NO TIME FOR MY SPACE because I HAVE NO TIME or SPACE in my life to do this! My space is so jam packed with things, jobs, tasks and requirements that I need to find the "purple pearl" in MY SPACE.

So, I am going to rationalise my morning schedule. First things first! I have to admit that I am a morning person, so 1 hour first thing can mean 2 in the afternoon and 3 in the evening. This being said I have decided on a new priority list, a new synchronised method of organisation. (Am open to any help, ideas, advice or criticism on this!) I am very fortunate when at home and work as I have a proxy server tool that has helped me work where ever I am - except when I am on holidays where this isn't working!

Term 2 will see me build a more organised SPACE around me time, belongings and therefore my thinking! My personal reflection time is now going first! In fact the BIY emails are quite short really and as I am learning speed reading I found that I have time to write my thoughts down too today! (maybe that because it is Good Friday)

But I have to admit that I am a sucker for the RSS feeds and get too many updates and find that there is so much information out there that is of interest to me! Read this one if you are interested in "Learning Today."

I have now organised my phone to keep home emails, Farmville things and all of that personal stuff! So I just have one thing to check now for personal things and one thing to check for professional things! ORGANISED so that I have more of MY TIME in MY SPACE! I LOVE MY SPACE!

Activity #14 Facebook

Well, well, well, this has been fun - time wasting as I had to read my updates, harvest my farm, check my messages and generally keep in touch with the world. Lucky I did, as my friend has her birthday today! So I was able to wish her a really lovely birthday wish on there too! As you may tell already I am a huge fan of FB and have been obsessed with my farm for nearly two years now! If you need a great game  to play, look no where else than on FB and link onto Farmville. Find me and I'll be your friend!

Initally I thought of this game as an online maths game where if I worked my farm quickly I would "level up" quickly. The classroom links for this were huge for me as this was similar to a "farm maths" game i knew about. However, the makers of Farmville quickly keep raising the bar and the levels kept on going up! (An educational link there I think!) But generally, this linked into my love language so well that it became quite addictive to the point where I would check each morning and night for gifts that were sent to me! (Not as bad now!)

I have now shared my blog on FB and hope that this broad networking is helpful to some others. I like that I can have groups on FB such as my family who I don't see very often, friends who are a very wide and ecclectic group, collegues and club affiliations. If the information literacy is about negotiating opportunities on the internet then FB could become a time waster.

On the down side, I have seen personally the legacy of a digital footprint. It is too easy to be logged in stay logged on! It is too easy to debrief online when a face to face chat may be a better and more private solution. Employee privacy is not protected on FB, therefore I ask myself; "is it safe?" and "should I be on there?" and then think: "other teachers are, so why not?" hmmmmmm, the delima. Therefore the breach of duty as quoted in the link is a real problem in many ways. The insuring of privacy is up to me - I can block, allow, add content, delete and hide all kinds of things.
But how sad is it to be "defriended" on FB?
More to come on Myspace.....see you soon!

Rainbow-LorIkeet

Rainbow-LorIkeet, a photo by sfb1 on Flickr.

Agreed that this is indeed one of God's most beautiful creations!

Eiffel from the bus

Eiffel from the bus, a photo by safirestar5 on Flickr.

Can you believe that this picture was taken from a bus! Imagine what pictures I will be able to take. I think I need to get photography lessons and a new amazing camera that can do all the work for me!

Tour Eiffel

Tour Eiffel, a photo by benthx on Flickr.

Isn't this picture amazing - what a great way of sharing how different effects are done with cameras!

Activity #12 Flickr ilearn2011's photostream

ilearn2011's photostream on Flickr.

This was a great task! I am going to try this one again!
I found following all of the simple instructions easy and loved the way you learn how to say hello in all these different languages. I knew "Guten Tag" but now know that "Pryrit" is in Ukranian! Have to love this aspect of the program!
Personalising my Flickr account was easy as I linked mine to my Google account. And the uploading of photos will be a great way of not losing my past display photos! As my team will tell you, I am notorious for pulling down a display only to then  ask; "Did we take any photos of that display?" to hearly only "No, didn't you take some?" is quite deflating!

Activity #11 Library Thing

Oh, where have I been? This is my personal saviour! Well, not quite but my own personal collection now has a home of its own - a place where others can review and I can do the same. The worth of this is endless! Now others can see what the book is about before reading!

Over these holidays I need to read a large number of titles to determine their worthiness for our College collection. I have shared this job in the past but now can see how this can be made so much quicker with reference to other readers and their reviews.

Now, one example is the book called "The Novelist" - a book that I wasn't really interested in reading personally, but after reading the review on Library Thing I thought - hmmmm, this is indeed worth reading. Needless to say, I am infact ENJOYING THIS ONE! I thought I was up for a romance but as this review will tell you it is more than that - and well written and in such an interesting way that it keeps you reading!



Now, another book I actually read for review pursposes only! Was a SASS book. These have been read like nothing in our Discovery Centre and we had them as an older reading title. After reading this, I not only want to go to Italy and just visit all of the places listed - even after google maps and images I could see that the places and tours would be real - no wonder our kids LOVE THESE BOOKS!

Applications for Library Thing are endless both for personal and professional reasons. And it is my personal opinion that ALL OF MY PERSONAL COLLECTION MUST BE ADDED! Holiday job #1 in June! Oh dear this is too much!

Not happy?

Blogger wouldn't just add this. In the end I had to save and then add picture! Shouldn't it be easier? Oh No! I am becoming like my students who said today, "How do I print from my iPad?' answer - THERE IS AN APP! eeeggghhhhh or hhhhoooooooorrrrayyyyyyyy? I say hooray!

Activity #10.3 Image Chef

Well, I think I need to call it a night. I used my Easter DC display text to make this image. (turtles are live - I have been working/thinking too hard = turtles to go/more thinking? NO!)  I think wordle or tagxedo are easier. For classroom use it might be easier to save as a jpeg file that way it can be imported into a variety of programs and then used in a wider variety of things. Not sure?

<a href="http://www.imagechef.com/ic/word_mosaic/" target="_blank"> <img src="http://cdn-img1.imagechef.com/w/110324/b1f36f437d6ea7d2.gif" alt="ImageChef Word Mosaic - ImageChef.com"/> </a>

Activity #10.2 Comic Strip Generator

Well in the life of turtles I am sure that there is a limited expected lifespan for those living in the virtual world! However, my five pet turtles seem to keep living! The question begs - Who is feeding them? When do I change their water and how long till my turtles lay eggs?

This cartoon generator is fun! I told some of the student about this after school and they loved the idea. This could have so many uses in so many teaching situations! So what do I do? Keep the turtles or delete them?

Activity #10.1 Online Image Generators

How much fun can this be! One of my favorite books has to be "WOW! The Visual Encylopedia of Everything" just because you think that everything is in there and then NO! WAIT! THERE IS MORE! So we have moved from everything that I knew of photography - yet the actual method of making pictures of the real world by capturing light from objects hasn't changed, has it?

But now, our photographs have a new lease on life! Is this SECOND LIFE again? These photos not only show us the wonders of nature but microscopic bacteria, the horrors of war, distant galaxies, sporting triumphs and family memories. One leisure activity that I like is jigsaw puzzles. (Even though Kevin Henna says not to have them in libraries!) So here is my first attempt! I went to bighugelabs.com and created a giant puzzle. Now how do I do it? Can I manipulate the pieces?

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN TAKEN? DO YOU KNOW? WHAT SEASON MIGHT IT BE?

Activity #9 Virtual Worlds

Well, well, well - this opens a WHOLE NEW WORLD. I find myself asking "are my students on Second Life?" and "Why is the world of Virtual Avators so attractive?" and "Do I NEED to join this?" and then I hear myself say; "NO MORE TIME WASTING!" only to think "Well it might be fun to think about who I might like to be and do and wear" and then I think "Who am I? Is it ethical? What happens to my identity? Why do I want to become a virtual character?" and the questions keep coming.

The focus on WHO AM I? in this day and age is a big question for our students. The Biblical implications are overwhelming too for those who are trying to work out who they are. If there are 100 touch receptors in each fingertip and this form of second life is relying on the sense of touch then cyber space doesn't offer me enough in the sensory realm.
I mean the likes of online "virtualness" for me have been limited to Farmville and Farm Town. Infact I still like to visit my farm on Farmville quite regularly!

I think it is instinctual to decorate your surroundings, but is online WoW and Second Life too much for the purposes of education. A study has found that 75% of learning occurs through visual stimulus while 13% occurs through hearing and touching. Smell and taste count for 12%. I think this is a significant thing! Did you know there are 16,000 hair cells or sound receptors in a human cochlea?

Now info island does interest me and maybe this alone will attract me onto Second Life! And Exit Reality might even make learning for some of our students even more fun. Traditional schooling can be isolating maybe these online virtual worlds offer our 21st century learners a place to connect in a new and different way? If schools are social institutions then are we just helping them prepare for the future? WOW!

It takes a village to educate a child - African proverb

iGoogle

This is fun! Way too many gadgets and not enough time in the day to look after virtual pets! THEY HAVE TO GO!

"No!" says the hamspter, "Aggh no!!!" squeek the turtles and "I'll think about it!" says the Blogger!