February 19 Draft
initiatives like ib
new curriculum
new students
new web 2.0
new technology
all good on website, just need different words, colors, pictures & emphasis...
Revisited in May--
I was looking at the many things that "just" need a 1/2 hour of your "beyond work day": time to exercise, time for reflection, time with your loved ones, time for yourself, time to read, time to do your grooming, time to pick up the house, time to do lesson plans, time to enjoy your hobby, time to call your parents, time to send a quick friendly e-mail.......
And it adds up to needing to be retired! This work gig does get in the way!
The last line of my draft was a knee jerk reaction to a visit to the school by 2 outside marketing consultants. They had booked some of my time to review the school's website, which I do, and they said it was "Perfect". They then whet on to say that it just needed "different words, different colors, different pictures and different emphasis...". I started laughing. If I had more time, I could do different things. As it was, I was fitting the visit with them into the time I should have been doing the announcements on the hanging TV in the main hallway.
And so it is with Web 2.0.
I want to learn more. I want to teach more. I will do that--soon--maybe next year. As it is, this has been a year of digging garbage out and getting established. I deleted over 6000 copy records from my Destiny program--about 1/3 of the school's library books. The books did not exist. Everyone was discouraged from using the media center. It appeared that there was nothing there. Well, this is something concrete and will get folks believing in the viability of the library. Efforts well spent.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Where did my posting go?
It's lunch time. I read an interesting blog that commented on the story about Sanford University offering a 4 part class for PARENTS about Facebook. Thought it would be a good, interesting thing to bring to the attention of the MILI group.
The blog has a little icon at the bottom, "ShareThis". There are a variety of "social web, post, e-mail" options. I selected "post" and "blogger". When I logged into my blog site, I did not see anything just waiting for me, yelling "here I am"! So I started this blog.
Then I got interrupted. Lunch was over.
2 hours later. Where did the message go? I get back, go to edit my post and what do I find? Two posts waiting for me to post them. Yup, the blog is in my list of blogs just waiting for me to post it. So I will. Hope you enjoy.
Monday, February 9, 2009
How do they do that?
My family moved. After almost 25 years in the same house we have moved to Lakeville. I forgot how much work is involved. Why am I mentioning this in the same breath as Web 2.0? Well, we now have a house to sell. Where am I turning first? Not to a Realtor but t the Internet! We have things to dispose of--a TV, a treadmill. Where am I turning to first? Craig's List. Do I know what I am doing? No way! Do I feel like I am floundering--absolutely. But not everyone feels like I do. A fellow member of my book club has a husband who earns his money via eBay. I ran into ex-neighbors at Menards--I feel like I live there--and their daughter was cleaning out her closet, ready to go to Goodwill with them but sold the items on eBay for $1,000!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thing 5--Libraries
Thing 5
I somewhat take exception to the sentence of this “Thing”: Public libraries are the doorway to information for you and your students. I LOVE my public library system, but I think most teacher/student relationships start with the school’s library and then move out of that “doorway” to the public library, as needed.
I enjoy being a media specialist in a school. I cannot imagine working in a public library and not getting to know the clientele the way we get to know “our” students.
But I have not had all of my professional career working in schools. I did have the unique experience of working on the development of the national library in Iran in 1975. I was a lowly employee of the Pahlavi National Library in New York and Tehran. It was an amazing privilege to experience all the considerations and details that went into planning a service that would span satellites and donkey delivery of information. Experts from around the world were brought in to consider all the facets of developing a library system for a country that did not have much of an existing system. The library’s plans ended up literally in the gutter when the Shah was overthrown.
For years, I have very much enjoyed the Apple Valley branch of the Dakota County library—even volunteered there one summer years ago. More recently, I took my granddaughter to the weekly story times. I love to request books online and have them waiting for me, using self-serve checkout. I don’t know how I would keep my sanity during my daily commute without the library’s books on tape. I am thankful for books, copy machines, and even tax forms
I somewhat take exception to the sentence of this “Thing”: Public libraries are the doorway to information for you and your students. I LOVE my public library system, but I think most teacher/student relationships start with the school’s library and then move out of that “doorway” to the public library, as needed.
I enjoy being a media specialist in a school. I cannot imagine working in a public library and not getting to know the clientele the way we get to know “our” students.
But I have not had all of my professional career working in schools. I did have the unique experience of working on the development of the national library in Iran in 1975. I was a lowly employee of the Pahlavi National Library in New York and Tehran. It was an amazing privilege to experience all the considerations and details that went into planning a service that would span satellites and donkey delivery of information. Experts from around the world were brought in to consider all the facets of developing a library system for a country that did not have much of an existing system. The library’s plans ended up literally in the gutter when the Shah was overthrown.
For years, I have very much enjoyed the Apple Valley branch of the Dakota County library—even volunteered there one summer years ago. More recently, I took my granddaughter to the weekly story times. I love to request books online and have them waiting for me, using self-serve checkout. I don’t know how I would keep my sanity during my daily commute without the library’s books on tape. I am thankful for books, copy machines, and even tax forms
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Copyright
Draft from January 28, 2009
Our first question is "Why talk about copyright?".
What came out immediately is that times have changed.
It used to be cut and dried. We stayed away from using much of anything created by another person.
Now things seem to be in flux. Not by presenters.
Okay, it is May. Copyright is a concept that kids need to know. Kids easily understand. We all break. I started leading students away from Google Images. There has been kicking and screaming and I feel their pain. This is a great issue.
Our first question is "Why talk about copyright?".
What came out immediately is that times have changed.
It used to be cut and dried. We stayed away from using much of anything created by another person.
Now things seem to be in flux. Not by presenters.
Okay, it is May. Copyright is a concept that kids need to know. Kids easily understand. We all break. I started leading students away from Google Images. There has been kicking and screaming and I feel their pain. This is a great issue.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Web 2.0--How visible or hidden?
So I am on the couch, watching the Vikings game with my wonderful wireless laptop in full gear. I am updating the schools website a wee bit but spending HOURS fixing things on the program that has replaced the venerable "card catalog". Destiny is the program's name. I am removing 16 mm projectors that are listed as available. Same for microphones that were purchased in the 1970s. I am removing a number of fiction books that I know are not on the shelf after a recent partial inventory. I am changing the material type from "book" to whatever for a number of things that then have the call number listed as "videotape" or "cassette tape".
Before our Winter Break, I was showing students how they can find information that is in the media center by using the catalog listed on the school's home page. I showed how to tell if the information was leading them to a book or a bit of multi-media or a website. But so much of the data is wrong!
So, while I am not doing an obvious two way communication, I do feel that my activities are a form of communication, albeit behind the scenes. Does a Web 2.0 exchange have to be very visible? Do we have to know who we are speaking to or does the knowledge that we have an audience who will act on our posting serve?
Happy New Year!
Before our Winter Break, I was showing students how they can find information that is in the media center by using the catalog listed on the school's home page. I showed how to tell if the information was leading them to a book or a bit of multi-media or a website. But so much of the data is wrong!
So, while I am not doing an obvious two way communication, I do feel that my activities are a form of communication, albeit behind the scenes. Does a Web 2.0 exchange have to be very visible? Do we have to know who we are speaking to or does the knowledge that we have an audience who will act on our posting serve?
Happy New Year!
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