Bowdoin's Pop-up Book Collection

Nineteen hundred (1,900!!) pop-up books have been donated by Harry Goralnick to the Department of Special Collections and Archives at Bowdoin College in Maine. Besides children's literature of Sendak and Grimm, pop culture is also represented.  Richard Lindemann, Director of Special Collections, feels this donation "places Bowdoin among the nations top repositories for toy and movable books."  This might be a nice point of interest on a New England road trip.  

Happy Anniversary, Franklin!

I regularly enjoy the newspaper columns written by Cary Clack and today's piece provided me with the perfect avenue for me to resume my blog! In his July 31, 2008 article, Franklin: A Trailblazer in "Peanuts", Mr. Clack celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first appearance of Franklin, one of the members of Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" gang. Much to consider about this anniversary--social history and the influence of the graphic novel and comics come to mind.  Go to Snoopy.com and click on Franklin to read the original July 31, 2008 strip.  Enjoy!

Thing 23 Summary

1. What were your favorite discoveries and exercises on this learning journey?

Definitely the blog, creative commons and other sources of media, mashups and everything on big huge labs, rollyo, the web2.0 awards list were my favorites.  In all honesty, every "thing" was like a new world--brave new world, maybe. I have come away with a new outlook on the art of communication. 

2.  How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

23 Things exposed me to some things I had heard of, but never used, but mostly I learned about things that I did not know existed.  Now that I have used them a little, and have conversed with the players who have such creative ways of using them, I am definitely going to continue to experiment. Even though I finished my podcast/ vodcast, I wasn't satisfied with the final product, so I have been searching for information.  This morning I found a blog post that really would have been helpful last week!

This was the best professional development I have had in many years.  Many of these things will be probably replace email, or evolve into email on steroids. I want to be ready to communicate comfortably.  Everything I learned not only can be used in our school and professional lives, but in our personal lives as well.

3.  Were there any take-away of unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? 

I had wanted to begin a blog. This program organized everything I needed to know and took me through step by step.  I have truly enjoyed the comraderie, and really would like to meet some of these people one day. Infomaniac has been a delight.

4.  What could we do differently to improve on this program's format or concept?

I appreciated that each thing began with solid readings and background material before we started the discovery piece.  I loved working at home and going at my own pace in my own time.  I guess that doesn't answer your question-- I have habit of not answering questions.  Sorry.  Since I had so much trouble finishing the podcast, I should be more responsible and contact the Kickball captains earlier.  But that wasn't your problem either.  Possibly more guidance for the macbook people, particularly when using garageband.

5.  If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? 

Definitely.  Summer was perfect for  me  to do the 23.  During the school year I would love an abbreviated program. I don't know if I would have been able to do all 23 things during  the school year,  

6.  How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?

21st Century Communication

7.  Now go and comment on other blogs.

Kickball Captains, Thank you for offering this program through the tlc list so the "out of towners" could partake of your knowledge. It has been a splendid interlude.

Fun Thing The Accent Quiz

Since many of us are podcasting and recording our voices, I thought this would be of interest.  Child_Lit has been discussing and laughing about accents and pronunciation, so I thought I'd share the "quiz" and  the analysis of my voice. Although I grew up in New England, I spent 11 years in the Tennessee and Virginia, and 18 in Texas. Many people can't identify the origination of my accent, and they'll often  say Chicago.  I don't call soda "pop", but I have to really concentrate to enunciate a middle T, like in "cotton" or "mitten", and that is a Boston trait. I only lived there 3 years. 

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Thing 22 Nings

Through the Ning site I looked at nings that sounded interesting, child lit, web 2.0, libraries, service to children, but most of the time they had not been updated since May, they had no discussions, they were "under construction", so on and so forth.  I always came back to the Teacher Librarian ning, and joined that this morning. I am also a member of the Texas School Librarian ning, which provides a smaller scope.  In my view, a ning is another way to network and share ideas with colleagues, but I don't know if it has any advantages over the subject specific list serve other than you can have immediate access to graphics and media.  A list serve usually shares media via links, but the blog can also provide immediate access.  

A ning isn't useful if people do not participate, and I stand accused of not participating in the nings to which I belong.  It seems my list serves stay active all year long, and I participate in them all year. For a lark,  I clicked on the web pages included in the user profiles in Teacher Librarian and Texas Librarian, and in most cases their web sites and blogs were current. The individual simply  hadn't really participated in the ning for some time. What does that mean? Maybe some of us have established a social network via a listserve, and the ning is a duplication, another thing to keep current.  Maybe it is generational, with the younger librarians, having grown up with facebook and myspace and establishing their networks in that platform, finding the ning as a familiar friend/mode.  Maybe the ning provided another way to access a blog or web site. 

Some of my child lit group tinkered with myspace, facebook, etc. this summer, and many of them thought it was faster to use the listserve and the blogs to share and discuss. At this time I prefer the blog, the list serve, and to a certain extent, the wiki. However, I have been known to change my opinion if  I receive "new information."

Thing 21 Pod/vidcast

This "thing" has been intense and it has taken me forever--since July 5th! I studied all the information for several days, and then I began working in earnest Sunday. I have spent 3 full days creating the thoughts, selecting public domain pictures, reading and verifying facts about the subject, and learning how to work in garageband. Over time three or four versions of this podcast were created, and the one I really thought was perfect and was ready to upload to switchpod, began to delete pieces of the audio! I would have had to record the whole thing over! I was horrified, and very discouraged!! Luckily, an earlier version was still saved, and I submitted it to switchpod without all the bells and whistles. Thankfully, the export/import went well, and hopefully this link will take you to this podcast.  I think if I worked on podcasting, I would enjoy using them in the library, but right now I'm exhausted by the whole process.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Thing 20 question

Is there a way to shrink the videos I have chosen to place in my blog, and is it legal to readjust the size? Mine look larger than I would like. I looked for guidance from Blogger and from the YouTubeTeacherTube sites but didn't find any helpful. In the beginning of the html code, there are dimensions. Would it help to readjust them? I tried putting the cursor further into the paragraph, but it didn't help. I considered the possibility that Zamzar would help. Any advise would be appreciated.

Thing 20: YouTube and TeacherTube

Youtube is a virtual repository of media on any topic and created by anyone, expert or novice. I'd love to see their server farm! Teachertube is a little more defined, but many of its offerings are available on YouTube. In a school setting, TeacherTube might be a safer choice.
On Youtube I searched "ed tech" with "Date added" as a qualifier and found a short video titled "Empowering Children Through the Use of Technology". I was really impresssed with the clearly stated presentation of the mantra for the education of our children in the 21st century. It was added to YouTube on July 2, 2008 by FengLynn.



I love Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Star the Fire" and in the past I have suggested it to history teachers as a research topic. Many renditions are available on TeacherTube, but I preferred the layout and photographs used in this one by Scott Allsop.

Claiming my blog

Technorati Profile

Thing 19 Web 2.0 Awards: Livemocha!

Thing 19 was just plain fun and several of these Web 2.0 winners have potential in the schools.  In order to weed out and prioritize, I decided to focus on tools that were free, tools that were new to me, and tools that I needed. Every  Web 2.0 tool I played with had me convinced that I had found nirvana--until I moved on to the next item. In the end it was either .docstoc or Livemocha, both of which I could use at school and at home, but my final vote went to Livemocha.  In the spirit of globalization and online learning, Livemocha has developed a self paced resource to build reading, listening, speaking and writing skills in your choice of several languages. You must be over 13 to register, and at registration, you indicate your native language, and then the language you wish to learn, one being Japanese. We sure could have used Livemocha this year with a student who only spoke Japanese!   I have registered and fully intend to dust off my Spanish and French! 

Thing 18 Online Applications

Online applications have several advantages over proprietary software. Many quality programs are free, resulting in an impressive cost savings for institutions and individuals. Teachers would no longer be denied an application due to a lack of licenses.  At first I thought security would be a problem, but from all my readings, I don't feel the risk is any greater than licensed software.  How many security patches have you downloaded for your purchased software?  If you're like me, it is a common occurrence.  The ease of collaboration would also be a reason to use one of these programs rather than emailing documents to a committee members and comparing contributions and corrections.  This led me to wonder if these programs would be more useful than a wiki for collaborative projects.  

                

We were asked to compare Open Office and Google Docs.  One difference is that Open Office requires a download, and Google docs does not. Another important difference concerns the compatibility of these programs with my operating system and browser, Mac OS 10.4.11 and Safari 3.1.1.  While Google Docs works in Safari, the Presentation piece does not, and I would be required to use Firefox to create a presentation.  Open Office has developed NeoOffice for Mac users. Google Docs seems to be a little more "bare bones" than Open Office, but I 

thought one of the advantages of these programs was to escape the clutter of features in Microsoft Office. 

          

 I still wanted to explore more alternatives and I found Abiword and    Zoho.  They are both downloads, and Abiword can be used with Mac, but at this point, it is just a word processor.  Zoho seems to have as many components as Google  and they introduced Mac capability to their word processor in March 2008.

At this point, I do not have a clear preference for any of these programs.  I definitely would be interested in something easy, something that could be used for collaboration, and something that works easily on Mac. For now, that leads me back to Google Docs, but I am going to stay tuned for new apps.

(Neon question mark uploaded to Flickr, February 1, 2007 by Xurble; Google logo uploaded to Flickr, Oct. 11, 2006 by dannysullivan; Open Office logo uploaded to Flickr, Nov. 19, 2006 by Noticias-TIC; Zoho logo uploaded to Flickr, Dec. 3, 2006 by Robert Sanzalone )

Thing 17 Rollyo

From start to finish, Rollyo was mesmerizing and the hardest part was coming up with a topic to "roll." Since I have been worrying about loosing all these tools, or not revisiting the ones I wanted to spend more time on, I decided to "roll" them! Like the cinnamon rolls, I collected the ingredients, rolled and cut, baked, and frosted. Here's my "roll."

(photo courtesy of votrobeck, uploaded to Flickr on June 25, 2006)

Thing 16 Wikis

I have been trying to respond to Thing 16 for a few days now, and it has been the most difficult "thing" for me to wrap myself around.  The wiki is the perfect tool for groups to collaborative on projects because the site allows editing and additions by all registered participants and Common Craft had a great explanation of how they work. Librarians would be able to collaborate with teachers and all could participate whenever convenient for each individual. For students, a wiki could be used for all types of book discussion, book clubs and group research projects.

However of the two wikis I am a member of, I can not say I would recommend either platform.  I find working one is a little confusing, but understandable, and the other is just plain confusing and I do not participate. I still had this impression when I studied the wikis suggested in Thing 16 hosted by these sites.  However, a third platform, Wikispaces, seems better than the other two and if I use a wiki at school, I would explore it as the platform. (Photo downloaded from Flickr, and uploaded by  blogefl on Sept. 2, 2006)

Thing 15 Web/Library 2.0 and the Future

All of these perspectives are from an OCLC Newletter published in 2006, yet they are still appropriate today. They serve as a definition of our professional code.  For concrete tools to implement these standards, visit Donna Baumbach's wiki.

 

In "Away From the Icebergs" Rick Anderson stresses  "placing the library services and content in the user's preferred environment (i.e., the Web); even better, it means integrating our services into their daily patterns of work study and play."

"Into a New World of Librarianship"  by Michael Stephens defines Librarian 2.o as the ability of the patron to access from wherever they are, asking the patron what technologies they need and use, creating no policies to impede access,  and avoiding techno-lust and techno-worship. He does not refer to "Web 2.0", but  uses the term "Librarians 2.0."

"To a temporary Space in Time" by Dr. Wendy Schulz defines the library of the future as "Library 4.0" and it will encompass, but not replace Library 1.0 (commodity), Library 2.0 (product), Library 3.0 ( 3d). She describes Library 4.0 as a mind spa, a "space for all the library's incarnations: storage (archives, treasures); data retrieval (networks-reference rooms); and commentary and annotation (salon). Of note, the author replaces the term "web" with "library. "

Thing 14 Technorati and Tags

I confess--I was never good at putting labels on things, and I don't use the tag enough. You can see that by my lack of tags on most of my posts and the limited number of tags I use in my del.icio.us.  However, in the 21st century, the tag, rather than keywords or LOC/Sears subject headings,  might make a lot of sense, and it has made me reassess my views. 

It seems that experienced "taggers" provide several points of access (tags, keywords, subject headings) and they reflect the current jargon of one's field.   Tags seem like they would be easier to maintain than the subject heading. I think it  would be fun to compare  the banned word list  or the newly minted words from  Merriam Webster online see if their appearance on these lists had any correlation to Technorati Top Tags  .  What do you think...can you see tag clouds replacing keywords and subject headings in the patron catalog? I wouldn't doubt it!

I've been looking at the Technorati results for  "school library learning 2.0" for a few days, and  because there are so many blogs, they change--a lot.  This morning's offerings are completely different from last night, and included some familiar names, like Doug Johnson and Cynthia Leitich Smith.  I was also introduced to a blog I found very informative, Speed of Creativity.  I think the more I play with Technorati, the more useful it will become. (photo courtesy of Mara.Luna, posted on Flickr, June 3, 2008)

Thing 13 Tagging and Del.icio.us

Over the past 2 years I have experimented with 3 online bookmarking systems. It was necessitated by the fact that I kept bookmarks on 3 computers ( not counting the 14 student computers) and a flash drive. They were only synched once a year, and it never was a satisfactory process. The system was inefficient and messy, so something had to be done. I never spent enough time on Furl to "make it work", and "I Keep Bookmarks" was a favorite simply because I did not understand "tags." However, IKB tended to run slow, and it wasn't as social as del.icio.us or Furl. This spring I accessed my del.icio.us account and the proverbial light bulb went on--I understood what to do!! I guess I just needed to sleep on it for a very long while. Here are my del.icio.us bookmarks .

Thing 12 Creating Community By Commenting and Sharing

From Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk I enjoyed the definition, via the wikipedia hyperlink, of an internet "troll". Email has made us all  experienced in being flamed, and the blogger is no different.  As I read through Cool Cat by Vicki Davis, she had a hyperlink to Kathi Sierra's Creating Passionate Users, which is no longer updated due to anonymous threats in 2007 from a "troll".

Doug also mentions thanking those that comment, if possible, while Vicki says that if you are writing about another blogger's column in your own blog, provide the hyperlink to the original blog. She provided directions, but since the column was from 2006, the process may have been simplified. 

I would like to keep track of the comments I have made to my "playmates", and both Vicki and Doug suggest Cocomment.  I don't think I'll sign up for it at this time--my head is about to explode with everything I've signed  up for.  

And last of all,  after reading Blogging Basics 101, I felt better about using my name in the blog. 

The two blogs I discovered pertain to my personal interests yoga and the low carb lifestyle.

Thing 11 Library Thing

I have posted access to my Library Thing account in the blog.  I have experimented with Shelfari and Goodreads, but for various reasons, I prefer Library Thing.  Although I chose to display 5 random covers, you can access my library by clicking on the words "my library". I have written a few reviews but they are in the Shelfari and Goodreads accounts.  Library thing is going to hold all my books, but for usage by the students, I will use Shelfari.

Thing 10 OnIine Image Generators

Thing 10 was a nice break from the last few tasks.  I found my graphic on Photobucket, and I transferred it to the Trading Card Maker, where  I added the text.

Thing 9 Useful Blogs and Feeds

Easiest method to find a feed was to use the advanced search option and refine the query. Of the tools to find RSS feeds I found Technorati the most efficient.  Goggle Blog was easy but the search produced too many borderline blogs. Edublog was too narrow. 

Which was more confusing?I did not care for either Topix or Syndic8.  Topix reminded me of a wiki, and Syndic8 loaded too slowly

Useful or unusual feeds found? Not really unusual, but Becky of Becky's Book Reviews has several blogs--with lots of blogging.  I liked all her "challenge" communities.

What other way did you locate feeds?

Checking out what other people have in their blog rolls.

Without the SBISD passwords, I could not look beyond the index at Atomic Learning.  I liked the way they had the videos split up so you could easily view the piece you needed.  The content seemed similar to yesterday's Common Craft video about RSS.

Thing 8 RSS Feeds

I have used an email notification system for a few years to let me know when one or more of my blogs had changed. However, by setting up a Google Reader account, I can click and see the first line or two.  I also like being able to see the feeds to which I am subscribed.  I have several blogs in my delicious account, but I only transferred a few to see how the process worked and if I liked it. I think it is a good deal.

The blogs in my delicious account would definitely be more useful if they were listed in Reader. Initially I had one of my favorite news feeds listed, but I removed it. Since it was news, there were new posts all day long, and I would rather keep this reader just for  my professional interests and I would create a different account for my personal interests.

For the faculty and administrators, this feature would be a dynamic tool for them to keep track of the trends and issues in their specific field of expertise.  I think it would also be a useful research tool for the college or high school students. I am in an elementary setting, and  I would need to examine any safety ramifications of using Reader with my students.

Thing 7 Google Tools-Calendar and Earth

I have been working on Google calendar for about an hour and when I compare it to the calendar options provided  in Microsoft IE and  Apple Ical, the winner is Google Calendar. First of all, I easily set up four different calendars, put in my summer activities, and never once did an event get stuck in the wrong calendar, which is my problem with Ical, my home calendar.  IE is ok, but the block for the  information seems too small and I end up using cryptic abbreviations, the meaning which sometimes is forgotten.  And by using two separate calendars I waste a lot of time.  I became a fan of Gmail when it first came out, and Google Calendar will now be my online companion.I wanted to post a calendar on my web, but I didn't think my professional and personal life would be very interesting or relevant to this blog, so I searched for a public calendar of author birthdays and posted it. If all goes according to plan, it should be the element under my blog posts.  

My second Google tool was Earth, which requires a download, and thankfully it worked the first time.  I enjoyed zooming in on literary places, for example the Mark Twain Home and Museum on Farmington Ave, Hartford CT.  I went back to google Maps through one of the icons on top, but Earth has more information immediately available.  There are links to the actual site, as well a useful trip information (weather, lodging, etc). 

Thing 6 Mashups

Mashups were very interesting and I have spent two evenings testing and exploring, sometimes successfully, and several times "not so much."  I really wanted to use mappr  to identify the  birthplaces of authors in the US by placing photos of their birthplaces on the map.  At this time, however, the process is above me, so I moved to a new "toy" and theme.  Springfield MA is the birthplace of Dr. Seuss, and they have created a sculpture garden to memorialize his characters.   Besides this picture, Flickr has many of the sculptures represented, and there is another picture of the chair in winter surrounded by melting snow. I chose the summer version.   I looked at the trading cards, but I finally settled on Motivator from Big Huge Labs and composed the message. The only problem I encountered is that I wanted the credit under the picture, and I could not get it to happen.  This picture was uploaded to Flickr on June 17, 2005, by Skmots.   The license also states no derivative works, and I feel I have followed that stipulation, too. 

Thing 5 Flickr and Creative Commons

This Boston Public Garden sculpture commemorates Robert McCullough's 1941 book, Make Way For Ducklings.  It is usually surrounded by fans of all ages, so this picture of the famous duck family is perfect for my discussion of this book.  Make Way for Ducklings, with its naming of the actual  streets surrounding the Garden, is ideal for projecting the area with the google maps with the labels.  According to the group of Flickr Creative Commons that this picture came from, I am supposed to give credit to the person that uploaded it to the Flickr.  Since I didn't see a citation format, I will simply put the info in parenthesis. 

(Photo courtesy of Shoothead, uploaded Jan. 24, 2007) 

Thing 4

 My blog has been registered!  Thank you, Captains!

Thing 3

 I am a very sequential learner, and the step by step instructions provided on the Library2Play blog worked flawlessly for me.  Saturday afternoon was spent toying with several titles before settling on "Blues Eyes Blogging."  Last night I  experimented with "skins", the elements,  and colors to create a space in which I could to grow.  This morning I bravely entered the strange world of avators.  I felt like I was in a comic book. First I made my face.  It took me a few tries to get what I needed-whitish hair with blue eyes, but it was fun.  I added glasses, and they do look like mine, but I usually wear my contacts. Maybe I'll take them out along the way!  For backgrounds I went through the 60's (my generation), Paris (my favorite city) and China ( a place I would like to visit), but I finally settled on the present and what my work spaces look like. I had the most fun with the clothes and accessories! Online paper dolls!

Thing 2

Of the 7 1/2 habits of successful lifelong learners,  I have always found it easiest to take responsibility for my own learning, whether it be fulfilling requirements for graduate degrees, adapting to the ever changing curriculum goals and technology tools, or meeting the certification standards of various states.  The individual is definitely the responsible party for these endeavors. 

The habit that comes hardest is to play.  It is probably a problem of semantics, where I equate "playing" with "wasting time."   If I readjust my definition of "play" to something like "down time", I have several activities which I pursue in my "down time" and some of them are listed in my profile. 

Thing 1

When I saw the post on tlc last week describing the new session, I was more than a little happy.   Summer is the best time for me to study new things, and the 23 Things was something I really wanted to explore. Best of all, I don't need to spend usurious amounts of money on gas, or waste time in traffic!  I am ready for the "games" to begin!