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!

Activity #8 iGoogle is FABULOUSLY FUN

This is amazingly fun! Idon't just like it, I think this is fabulously FUN! I LOVE IT!

Map searching - easy and quick and as it remembers where you have gone you can just link to it!
Book search - great gadget to quickly find a book, even better if it is out of print or publication as it will be there for you to read and refer to! TOO GOOD!
Facebook - I can't believe this - I jsut logged in and even though this is another email account it links and shows my feeds - and I can post there too! TOO EASY!
Google Docs and Spreadsheets - are there too. As are hamsters, turtles and loads of other virtual pets you can care for! heheeh There are optical illusions, quotes of the day, my shares, headlines and even RECIPE OF THE DAY!
Improvements would have to be the addition of a virtual cat to look after!
Now about working at Googleplex! Well I am curious, creative, innovative, friendly, know i can help them work on what's important, driven, talented and motivated! Knowing that they receive a resume every 25sec is a bit daunting - but knowing that you are making a difference in the world as we know it is enormous! WORKING FOR FUN MAKES IT FUN TO WORK! I LOVE MY JOB!

Activity #7 Google Books

This has to be the best thing yet! I love being a signed in google member to start with so this just gets better and better. A book I found confusing as a 17 year old was "Tirra Lirra by the River" by Jessica Anderson. I had to read it for my HSC! Yet, I have kept all my notes and essays and the book itself to this day!

Not only was this book on Google Books but there were review too. I feel so assured that the reviews found this book to be a heavy read even though it is a short story. I am adding to my lsit of read books, favorite books and know that this will be something I will come back to and use more regularly. I will use it at home and found a book that i have been meaning to buy for some time! The uses for Google Books in the Discovery Centre are limitless.

Infact more and more I see that iPads and e-readers aer PLD's and therefore you could eb walking around with your own "library" with ease! We should be using ebooks more! We are on the way to eLearning every day, with growing technology use and availability, a more connected community, communication skills being so easy online that the future of learning will soon be m-Learning - MOBILE LEARNING!

Movie Maker Experience 2

I have found a way of saving the movie to a smaller file by saving as an email.
Hope you enjoy!

Digital World

Thanks Amalie! You have inspired me! We as adults seem to fear the coming of new technologies while our students are eager and ready to try, retry but how do we get someone to keep on trying - that is our job - we are the guides who are there to motivate and encourage!

Look at Amalie's clip:how-2-of-web-20.html#comments

Rethinking the Library!

This article is very interesting to me! What are your ideas on the subject of new information technologies and the way they are to be used in the library?

Rethinking-library-information-literacy

Movie Maker Experience

This has to be the best thing about my day! I was inspired to make a movie about the Discovery Centre in which I work. The kids were so excited to be a part of it and I can not believe how easy it was to create! I just opened Windows Movie Maker, pasted the photos in and played with the settings. The only thing I didn't do was add music! It wasn't needed for my presentation (the real reason I was making it!) but the kids came back to the Discovery Centre today to watch it - all saying can we do another one. They even started suggesting ideas - a moive about what you can do in the DC, another movie about what books are good and yet another suggesting a tour of the DC! Options are endless! Why was I only ever playing with the MAC!!!

The creating of our own Book Trailers is now a reality. Pity I don't actually teach in the DC space. This will all be done in breaks over the day and this will work really well as it will involve the students who are essentially "switched on" and keen to be a part of this new project. Yes - A NEW PROJECT! Hope my team are ready for me!

Activity #6 Goolge Maps

Well, this is something that I use regularly! Infact I used it today to travel to the St Mathew's Autumn Fair in Olinda. What a beautiful day, sunny, a slight breeze and a really quaint place to be on this lovely Autumn day. I know Google Maps works but now as a signed in user it will save this map for the future! Just as well as I will be visiting that church again I am sure - even a night there would be bliss! Funny I could have even selected to travel there by foot! Didn't do that today! Even the car found one turn hard to find!

Activity #5 Goolge Docs

Google Docs are great. Does this mean I can save things in this space and return to it on another PC at another place? Seems a bit like Drop Box. I have made a document and inserted this image. I then played with importing an already saved document. It worked! This is really good - and a lot of space too! I think this is going to change the way students rely on emailing documents to themselves! Infact maybe this is something they should already know about and be doing? I tried to make a presentation like Lyn in Google Docs but I think I like the way I can do this in the PPP program at this stage - more practise required! Keep tuned! 
What an awesome thing to be able to empower our students with! Thanks again Fiona! Some great new tooks to help me develop those skills!

Web 2.0 Clip

This is the clip that has started me thinking about ways learners can connect with one another.

Activity #4

Web 2.0 is more than people thinking but people sharing, creating and rethinking. I found this interesting clip and it has made me aware of just how important collaboration is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
Enjoy this clip.
What does it make you think?

Activity #1-3

These tasks have been easier than I thought. I had put it off - thinking other tasks were of higher priority! How easy, I watched the utube clip and the "How to blog" ideas too. Now to start playing with the design like all of the others....
Glad it is the long weekend - that way I can have a play and think about this for a while

I am a blogger!

Well, even with a busy week I have managed to get online and dedicate some time to this. I have tried to do blogs before but have been bored with lack of feedback. So I am really keen to see what happens this time. Thanks Syba Signs for putting this together! Lets see what happens....WATCH THIS SPACE!