Link to iGoogle page...

Hopping out of town 'til tomorrow but I am a bit "blog obsessed", as my husband is calling it, and checked on things ... I see that the link to my iGoogle page does not work. Will have to fix this later ... ta ta for now!

My Animoto experience ...

Wow, I absolutely loved my Animoto experience. After having an absolutely crazy few weeks ( moving et al) I spent a few hours this afternoon "catching up" on things with my new course. After some frustrating times with iGoogle and figuring out how to make my screenshot doc smaller, I was pleasantly surprised by the Animoto website. I will definitely use this in my quest to teach my students about the amazing world we live in :)

Animoto.com

my first screenshot ...

After some hits and many misses, I have added a screenshot of my iGoogle page. Took some time to figure out how to change the size but here it is. Have to show my husband ... he will be impressed!

oops ...

How about this ...http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en#home

My iGoogle page ... http://http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en#home

a bit of confusion ...

Well, I have to admit, I am feeling much clearer after a bit of confusion. I realized that I was not looking at the correct "spot" for the readings required for this course. I was looking under "course content " on the Vista page and going through these lesson descriptions ... quietly wondering ... where are the articles other classmates are referring to? After speaking with another classmate, who was also not sure, we discovered more information under the "welcome" icon. Whew, much better.

As for this week's articles, I was very happy to read the Digitally Re-Shifted School Library ... by Stephens. He understands that implementing any new type of social networking in a a school setting has its challenges ... getting all of the staff on board might not be easy ( I see in my school that not everyone is comfortable with new technology) and setting rules and guidelines for student use is also tricky "... we aren't allowed to use our ipods in school". These are hurdles to overcome but in our quickly changing world, we are getting used to making new rules.

He speaks with Christopher Harris who seems to have a realistic approach to things. He does not want to get rid of books but suggests an approach which combines books with digital information. Yes, I definitely like this. I am teaching world geography to one of my classes. We are using an atlas and large maps but I find myself going on - line once in a while to get an up to date answer to ..."Is this still a country?". What would we do without the internet in this case?
I have spoken with my students and they seem to "get it". So I guess this is what Harris is talking about when he says ,"The role of the school librarian in ten years will be to serve as a guide through the chaos of information". Okay, so there is definitely more information to go through today but hasn't a librarian always had the magical ability to help find any information one could need ( even when it was in the form of books only)? So, yes, we will boldly go and "blaze the trails through the chaos to the information zones" ... I am looking froward to it!

Animoto ... next on my list

Well, next on my list of things to explore is Animoto. I have tried to check it out twice already but was interrupted and had to stop before I managed to get very far ... will try again tomorrow ... from what I have seen so far, it looks like a great teaching tool.

Blogging is ... okay

Week four in this course deals with "blogging" and I think I am okay with it. I think that I kinda like it. I have read a few blogs here and there in the past and find them interesting and informative. I am generally a private person and don't feel as comfortable as some publishing my thoughts but I have no problem reading blogs. Most recently, I have read a couple of interior decorating (my hobby) blogs ... in fact I was reading one last night ( forgot to make note of the actual site ;( ... boo). I am not entirely happy with my own blog site but will see what I can do to "freshen" it up.

... glass half full

For the second time now, I have seen the"Smart Board" in use. I really like it and am working on my principal as far as using one in the library. The unit that I am doing on South America would definitely benefit with this new tool. I can think of a use for it in every class. Now this is exciting! Is this considered a Web 2.0 tool ... "web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design,[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web." According to Wikipedia, it does so I am happy to do some more exploring. The Web 2.0 is looking like a ... glass half full at the moment!

I too am rethinking schools ...

I printed the "Rethinking Schools Online" article by Sarah Heller McFarlane (I seem to prefer to print things out and read them this way instead of reading them off of the computer screen ) and agreed with so many things that were Sarah had written. Where do I begin? Yes, we definitely must "... consider the potential promises and perils of using technology in the classroom." This comes first as far as I can see as rules must be made and parameters set at the get -go. I also agree that there is a time factor involved "... educators need time to learn and change." I know this process has started and will continue but how quickly can we "catch - up" because things seem to be moving quickly out there. I think that one of my biggest concerns is the "... one person alone with one machine.." scenerio that this article refers to. Are we encouraging our students to become part of a new culture where face to face interaction becomes rare? I guess not but ... I do wonder.
So those are my "glass-half empty" thoughts ... "glass half full" thoughts to come ...

Web 2.0 ... definitely a learning curve for me

Have been pondering about all of the new terms that I have learned the past week ... and I think that I am getting a better handle on things. I still have yet to feel 100 % comfortable when using the various applications. Figuring out my blog site was crazy! I had no clue what I was doing, became quite frustrated and had to walk away. I left the computer and sat down with a very strong cup of coffee trying to find something to distract my thoughts. This did not work so I hoped out for a quick walk with my dog ... thinking about the blog site while we walked ... ugh, still couldn't find a distraction. Well, the fresh air might have helped ... when we got home from our walk, I marched back upstairs to the computer and was determined not to leave until I got the answers I was looking for. Not sure how, but I had some sort of epiphany and found the problem ... and those answers. I am pretty happy about this and am hoping that I am on my way!

so many blogs ...

Have subscribed to a few blogs ... there seems to be a neverending supply. I guess I will try each one out and see which I like.

I think that I have somehow managed to set up more than one blog email. Not sure how to fix this ... will try but have to go to school now ... I work Monday afternoons.

I am new to this so not sure how this works exactly but here we go ...