Blogpost #6 Web Design

Hello! Here is my Web Site. I really enjoyed working on it.

Blogpost # 5 Trading Card

We are at the end of this journey in LIS 753. It has been so enlightening. I have learned and experienced so much. This is my trading card that I thought I would use with students, to help them in their study of Chicago. Each card would represent an important part of the city, important people, places to go, things to do. I think it would help students in learning about their city. Trading cards serve to be fun and exciting for all. Students could choose and take an image then write text that would be important for them to learn. They could work in groups and trade their cards as they learn.

This is great, I have been so excited to learn and benefit from so much technology. I cannot wait to further explore and see how I may adapt other uses. Flickr alone has so much to offer. Being able to work with various photos is fun, creative and makes me want to do more. I get more comfortable each time I try using new tools. I thought this project on Chicago would get positive attention from most students. Chicago is my kind of town!

Blogpost #4 Technology

I just spent two very enjoyable days at the Illinois Technology Conference For Educators (IL-TCE). It was held at The Pheasant Run Resort & Convention Center in St. Charles, Illinois.

David Pogue, was the keynote speaker on Thursday morning. His presentation, "The Digital Generation Comes of Age" was not only enlightening but very entertaining. His examples and comparisons helped put a better perspective on the future of the digital generation.

It was so difficult to choose which session to attend, they all sounded so fantastic. There were presentations on Blogging, Podcasting, Wikis, Digital Storytelling, and Collaborative Learning to name some. Most of the sessions I attended were so encouraging and a great contribution to the learning community.

I was especially interested in Charlene Chausis' presentation "My Friend Flickr". She captivated me with her enthusiasim and various techniques used to integrate Flickr into her teaching and learning units. It was also neat, because Michael Stephens is one of the people that Chausis lists to view his photos. It was good to see a familiar face.

Adam Frey gave a superb hands-on presentation about Wikis. I felt good about all the new information that I was absorbing and eager to continue my learning process. It was such a worthwhile experience. I definitely would recommend attending.

Blogpost #3 Wikis

Collaboration is a key ingredient in the learning process. Darlene Fichter explains in her article, "Using Wikis to support Online Collaboration in Libraries" how easy and beneficial it is to use wikis. It is an excellent tool for online collaboration. People are sharing or creating new information without having to be the "real author" of this information; they are able to add or delete any information to improve or reorganize the material. This seems as though it would be very helpful and foster collaborative efforts in both academic and business. We are able to help each other.

There is one thing that I find disturbing in using wikis. They might not be authoritative enough because anyone is able to add or delete information to a wiki. This information may or may not be true and it can be misleading to the reader. While working with students I would want to offer the most authentic and authoritative knowledge.

Wikis are here and another tool of technology that has proven interesting to learn about. I am passionate about team work and collaborative projects. By using this tool in libraries we may be able to accomplish more while using less time. I have looked at some of the suggested library wiki sites and plan on exploring more. It would be helpful to collaborate lesson plans between the classroom and the library online.

Blogpost #2 Podcasting

"Podcasting 101 for K-12 librarians" was refreshing to read. I work with students in these grades and want to keep as current as I can. There were many excellent ideas about ways to use podcasts and how to go about introducing them within a school. The format of the article was easy to read and understand. It seems that podcasting is new and what students enjoy. When they like what they are learning it makes teaching so much easier and rewarding. I also am eager to learn more about this area, so I found this article very informative. It gives a good, basic understanding using definitions and examples.

Using certain podcasts for research and various workshops seems to be an excellent use of time and money. We just need to sell this idea to the people who determin the budget. I do think if money was not an issue we would get so much more accompolished. Unfortunately, we must plan and make these issues our priorities. It is extremely important that librarians stay as current with technology so that we could better guide students with their studies. Podcasts seem useful and exciting today. Ipods and MP3 players are popular items and if students could learn through the use of this type of technology we should try to use it in teaching.

Blogpost#1: Second Life

After reading the article in Time Magazine "My So-Called Second Life" and viewing a little in class on Sunday, I am amazed! It seems extremely creative that a person can create characters and meet other people that they probably never would have met or have a conversation. Another, positive point would be that virtual games can teach various skills that we are able to apply to everyday real life, such as buying property and running a business. Some people are making lots of money which adds to consumerism in real life, and this is a good thing for them.

On the negative side, people should interact more in life than in a "virtual world." I am not sure I understand all of this! Money is being spent on virtual things that are intangible. People create characters who they would like to be in real life, it seems so unreal! Instead, shouldn't we try to change our own behavior, in real life? Is this an escape? I am not sure about any of this, however, I would like to explore this more. It has peeked my curiosity. It was interesting in class to see the look a like characters and how they move across a screen. Lots of room for thought!

Hello World

Hello World! This is my first blog!