Wise Words & Whatever

Excited over Edmodo!

2011-11-18T19:34:00.007-06:00

School is well under way and I'm here to report that Edmodo has exceeded my expectations so far this year!! I had to wait a year to get permission to use this free private learning network with my 5th grade gifted/talented (GATES) classes.

In retrospect, it was a good thing to have to wait. This year's group of kids seem very appreciative of the honor to be the FIRST in our town to use the site. Additionally, schedules have changed at my three schools so that I have had to change my pullout program. Now, instead of meeting with each group one day each week, I am following my library lesson schedule to have three days of GATES classes a week per group. This means that I do not have weekly face-to-face time with the kids but we do get to have a more intense time of instruction and activity with these back-to-back sessions.

With the help of Edmodo, I actually believe that I am delivering a better gifted/talented program this year. We have three consecutive days of project work on our SAILS historical era curriculum and then I supplement the program through Edmodo with assignments, polls, home response activities, current event responses, and more!

We start the year with a learning style survey so students can view HOW they are smart. I direct them to view their top three outcomes and evaluate if they agree with the results of the survey. Although most of my students were identified through our district criteria with one or more high percentage scores on spring achievement tests, some were referred and went through an interview process to qualify. Thus we look at ways we are "gifted" beyond academic, such as music, art, body, and others. I set up folders to "Explore Giftedness" in those areas. Most recently students could explore musical options, like a virtual piano, a percussion keyboarding site, and CodeOrgan to create music. We explored Thinkfinity's ARTSEDGE activity on "Spooky Sounds and Scary Tales" to listen to classical "scary" music. I have created a folder on art that includes some great drawing tools as well as links to art tutorials. The folder on "body smart" includes some line dances as well as educational jump rope rhymes.

Recent current events have included earthquakes in our state so I provided a link on earthquakes that included some interesting animated illustrations. Around Veteran's Day, I provided a heartwarming video about a soldier and his efforts to transport stray dogs that saved his life while serving overseas. They also participated in a poll to identify the military branch a family member or friend served in with the opportunity to make a response.

Students can check the calender to view upcoming site sessions, assignments, and school schedules. They can filter the posts to specifically view assignments, polls, or teacher posts. They can "turn in" their work after they have met the activity's criteria to view, read, and respond. They can go to the grade section to verify that they completed the assignment and view their score. This provides a great level of accountability that was missing in last year's program.

Parents have been provided with a special code to allow them to view calendar, assignment, and grade sections of Edmodo. They also have the option to receive notifications from Edmodo.

A great plus for me is the avenue of communication as students can post a public response or direct post to me. Students are not able to direct post to another students--their posts are public to the users of their identified groups. I receive email notification for every response made by students so I can easily monitor the program even though I may not be logged in.

Edmodo has helped me to develop a better program for my GATES students. Edmodo provides great tech support and I receive great tips and ideas from the Edmodo communities that I join. All of this--and it is free!

This has been a great experience this year--I'm very excited to have the opportunity to use this fantastic resource!! Thank you, Edmodo!!

I Don't Hate School . . . but Summer Will End

2011-08-27T09:59:00.012-05:00

A friend recently shared a blog post with an article titled "I Don't Hate School, I Just Love Summer!" I'm not sure that I have "loved" this particular summer as it has been so hot. My summer morning walks started earlier and earlier in the morning as I attempted to find a "cool" time of the day. I failed to keep my flower beds tended and weed-free as I usually enjoy doing. According to weather history, we have not had such a hot summer since 1980. Triple digit temperatures on a daily basis! Without the assistance of a water sprinkler system, the yard would be yellow and dead long ago.

As a school librarian, I am not paid for summer work. However, I appreciate having summer time to work on and possibly complete work that I do not have time to pursue during the school year. Even though I have an assistant at each site, many projects remain in some stage of being completed. Part of this is that we are busy doing our business: serving our patrons. The other part is that my assistants do not always share the same time frame or priority level to complete the project as I do. This is not always their fault. When a teacher reports that AR is not working on their classroom computers, my "to do" list is cast aside to assist the teacher. As it should be. So part of my summer is spent trying to follow up on these partially completed projects and hopefully completing a few or at least taking them to the next stage at each school.

Another part of summer that I appreciate is having the time to read and consider edtech resources and posts. This is a time where I can sit and enjoy my cup of coffee as I follow up on RSS feeds and catch up on Twitter posts. I have time to explore and test edtech tool suggestions or simply read and reflect on blog posts.

This activity has become a common feature of my summer breaks since I started my "Summer Quest" a few years ago. I started then with "23 Things" to try to become more familiar with Web 2.0 resources for education.

This summer I explored and found several edtech resources for myself and to share with teachers which I listed in my last blog post. I am very excited about livebinders and Symbaloo and sqworl for the organization of similar online resources. I am still waiting for a teacher to get on board with me on Wordstash which I think will be great for academic vocabulary. And of course I am so pleased to be allowed to use Edmodo with my gifted/talented class this year.

So it isn't that I hate school but it is more about losing the time to follow and explore this wealth of online resources. I may have a brainstorm to write something notable about a web resource I stumbled over or utilized during the school year, but more likely than not, my time to share in blogging will end for now--just like this summer of endless heat will finally come to an end.

Summer Quest: Not Finished yet Not Failed

2011-08-08T12:14:00.001-05:00

August is here and that signals an official end to the summer for me. Now is the time to get my head focused to get in the game of school!

Google docs was the focus of my quest this summer. I have done some reading but have not progressed to the application level of this quest. This is largely due to the need to gorge on Edmodo as I will be using it with the gifted/talented students this year. I'm thinking that Edmodo will achieve several of the reasons I was looking at Google docs (at least I'm hoping so!) thus I diverted my attention to Edmodo midway in the quest. I appreciate that Edmodo posts to my Google reader. Although I'm still subscribing to the email notifications, I can use that strictly as a "notification" and know that the information is stored to read later on my RSS.

Although I possibly "failed" my initial summer quest, I have found some wonder sites to share and use in the coming year. Standouts at this time include: WordStash (vocabulary building); LiveBinders (organization of URL folders); Symbaloo (visual bookmark organizer); eyeooo (visual URL comparision) ; Digital Vaults (resource for history documents); Dipity (digital timelines); Museum Box (research project organized in a box); and of course, Edmodo! I am indebted to the blogs and tweets I've read from the tech experts this summer!

Maintaining/teaching at three elementary school libraries pretty much keeps me on my toes, even with full-time assistants at each building. Thus this pretty much marks the end of my blog entries until next summer's quest. I want to end this quest with a "poster" that I found in my RSS feeds--an interesting graphic to promote the understanding of the educational role of the school librarian as I strive to serve my patrons with the best I can offer. Thank you to Jennifer LaGarde for posting this on the YourTeacherLibrarian wiki.

Summer Quest: Inspired!

2011-07-07T15:00:00.001-05:00

Although there are many sites and tutorials available on the web, I have found "Ideas to Inspire" to be a great resource to view specific Web 2.0 tools and a variety of ideas to consider for a possible use with my gifted/talented students or a lesson in a library class situation.

Today I explored the site and found a slide presentation featuring the use of Google docs in the classroom. I realize Google docs has been available for some time now and it is a shame that I am just now working to find applications for my teaching situation, but I figure it's better late than never!

Some slides share specific uses and some share basic information. For example, slide #3 shows the number of people that can collaborate on a specific Doc type at one time. Just so you know, 50 people can contribute to a presentation while up to 100 can edit a document at the same time.

Slide #6 discusses the use of Word Count in a document which includes the Automated Readability Index. You could paste text into the document and then show your students the reading level of the specific text. Or you could use their own writing sample and then show possible editing options to increase the reading/grade level of the sample. This might be helpful when trying to encourage students to work on sentence structure and word choice when writing.

"Work smarter not harder" is a motto I am trying to incorporate into my daily living philosophy so it is good to know that Google doc offers templates to assist both teachers and students. Slide #12 explores the use of templates in the program.

I want to come back to explore Google forms (G forms) which is presented on slide #18. Students respond to questions/comments using a 1-5 format or an ABC option. Slide #24 also shares a way to use G forms to receive parent return slips as an electronic alternative--now that's interesting!

This slide presentation has provided me with several ideas to utilize in lessons and many areas where I need further explanation and reflection. I want to look into Assignment Tracker but not as intently as before now that I will be using Edmodo. I am still very interested in the collaboration possibilities of Google docs but need to consider how to assist and monitor students with that feature. And I am very intrigued with slide #20 on Dynamic Visualization. Hmmm . . . lots to think about!

Summer Quest: GoogleApps???

2011-07-06T08:46:00.002-05:00

And just when I think I am getting caught up with Web 2.0, I read a Blue Skunk blog article by Doug Johnson about GoogleApps and librarians.

GoogleApps?? What about Google docs? Are these the same thing or is it something different?
Apparently the use of this cloud-based productivity tool and storage space in his school district will allow

"no cost to the district e-mail accounts, shared calendars, a mailing list generator, an to-do list and address book for all staff and students. As powerfully, it provides word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs that require only a web browser to access and use. The files created, like the applications themselves, are stored “in the cloud” where can be easily shared, collaboratively edited, and published. [See Libraries in the Cloud in this issue.]

These tools and the files they create are available anywhere, at any time, from any computer that has an Internet connection - Windows, Mac or Linux. No software other than a good web browser is needed."

Looks like I better get busy!

Summer Quest: Creek Squad and Google Apps

2011-07-05T10:23:00.006-05:00

I am catching up on reading following the July 4th holidays and found this interesting YouTube video on eighth grade students teaching students and teachers how to use Google Apps and cloud computing at their school in Iowa.

This link was recommended by the Edmodo blog I follow with two field reporters sharing their favorite presentations from ISTE 2011. The session was called "Building Learning Communities with Google Apps" which is one of my summer quest topics.

On the video, the students share benefits of using Google docs and apps. One named "improved speed" which is a major concern in my district. They also named the benefits of access to shared information which leads to collaboration, a key area of 21st Century Skills.

View this link for the Creek Squad tech support team and the district perspective on using this tool in education.

Summer Quest: 30 Days with Google Docs

2011-07-01T08:23:00.003-05:00

I'm divided now in my time to follow my quest to discover how to use Google docs and relearning how to use Edmodo.

I came across an interesting blog article by Tony Bradley (PC World) where he spends 30 days learning about Google docs and comparing the program to Windows Office. I thought it might be helpful to hear his take on the advantages/disadvantages of the two programs. He started his adventure on May 1, 2011 so if he stayed true to his calendar he completed it on June 1.

So I guess I will start reading on July 1--one month after he completed his project. Here we go!

Edmodo is a Go!

2011-06-30T20:05:00.001-05:00

When I found out last summer that I would be the teacher for the 5th grade gifted/talented (GATES) program, I decided that I would set up a network site that I had found to use with this group. Edmodo looked like a great way for me to communicate with students, make assignments, set up polls for quick involvement, and so much more.

I was well prepared to use the program but things came to a quick stop when I was denied the use of the program. I pursued it for a while but covering three school libraries, overseeing three library assistants, creating lessons for my new classes--5th grade and GATES. Well, after a while, I just had to let it go.

So, I met with my superintendent this month and Edmodo is a go!! I have permission to use the program with GATES!! I think it will work very well with this group of students--it is very appropriate for this group of students.

Now I just have to remember how to use it again!! But that's a good thing!

Step Up for Oklahoma NBCTs!

2011-06-26T19:57:00.010-05:00

Living and teaching in Oklahoma places me, a veteran teacher of 30 years, in one of the lowest ranked states for teacher pay. However, this state stepped up to offer scholarship incentives for teachers to pursue a National Board Certified Teacher license. And then they also provided a stipend of $5,000 (around $3,700 after taxes) for those that were awarded the ten-year certificate "provided that funds are available."

I went through the emotional, time-involved year-long process and earned my certificate in Library Media in 2002 with the first class of school librarians recognized with the National Board award. Although the process of providing documentation through a portfolio of written commentary and video clips as well as the online assessment was daunting while teaching and tending to family full-time, I experienced great professional and personal growth as a result.

Although there have been years when the stipend funding was threatened, state legislatures found ways to fund the award during the days of State Superintendent Sandy Garrett. Those funds were used to provide laser eye surgery for both of my children, assisted in college tuition payments, and helped to allow a life-long dream of a cruise to Alaska with my husband and two children to come true.

Since I am passionate about what I do and plan to continue teaching for several more years, I decided to take the challenge to renew my National Board this past year paying the $1,450 fee with state money I was awarded the previous year. The news of passing will not be revealed until the end of this year so I am still on pins and needles wondering if I provided adequate documentation that I strive to continue to practice teaching strategies of National Board's high standards.

Sadly, with the economic crisis in the state as well as the nation, funding for National Board stipends in Oklahoma will end in the 2012 financial budget. The deciding vote to cut the financial award to those Oklahoma teachers that chose to subject their teaching to be evaluated by a national set of standards was placed by our newly elected State Superintendent Janet Barresi.

I understand that the National Board stipends were "provided if funds were available" and I understand that Oklahoma is experiencing budget cuts all along the board. However, I was not prepared to have what should be my strongest advocate in education to place the deciding vote to basically say that teachers meeting national standards have no merit in Oklahoma.

Yet, I have hope that some of our state legislators will understand the need to acknowledge our National Board teacher recipients and will find a way to financially award us for our efforts to help build the status of education in Oklahoma with highly-qualified and nationally recognized educators. I'm hopeful that our legislature will step up again.

Summer Quest: Getting Up to Speed on Google Tips and Tools

2011-06-26T18:43:00.009-05:00

I realize that I am usually behind the times in all aspects of my life--fashion, cars, what's going on at my school (otherwise named as "gossip"), and of course, edtech and Web 2.0. So I am setting a quest this summer to focus on Google tools, especially Google docs.

I need to break down and actually become a paying member of some of the various edtech groups that I follow but usually the amount of time I have available still does not meet the amount of free information these groups provide!! One of the groups I follow is SimpleK12 and I recently attended a free webinar advertised as "Google Tips and Tools." I made a reservation as I thought they might provide information on Google docs. Nothing on that but I received some great general information about Google and I want to be sure that others are aware of these excellent edtech resources.

One resource I thought would be helpful and visual for my students would be the use of Wonder Wheel. By typing in a general topic like "Civil War," Wonder Wheel creates a graphic organizer in the shape of a wheel of related topics. This would help students see options to narrow down their search toward their actual research needs. By clicking on one of the spokes to select "Civil War battles", another wheel pops up to further define the needed search. Related searches is another option to help students to better define their search but it does not provide the visual treatment that I think would appeal to my students. Both of these options are found on the left sidebar of a Google search.

Another option located on the left sidebar is Timeline which displays a timeline of the general topic and provides general information arranged by date. By clicking on a section of the timeline, the search is made more specific with articles of information specific to that time period. An example of "Civil War battles" looks like this.

Looking at the top of the Google screen are options like "Images", "Maps", and one called "more" with a drop-down arrow. Clicking on that one and scrolling to the bottom to find "even more" takes students to a more organized screen of Google products. Here students could look at the "Media" section for images, news, books, and YouTube. Google Docs are located under the "Home and Office" section and the "Specialized Search" section features Trends (past and present search trends) and Scholar (scholarly papers and articles). And under the section of "Innovation" you find Labs--Google's technology playground!

One lab tool that I think both teachers and students will appreciate is Google Squared. This tool searches and organizes its findings into a spreadsheet that can be edited. Requesting a search of "Civil War battles, " Google Squared provided 20 items with categories of information of "Battle Name," "Images"which was often a map, "Description," "Location," "Date," and "Result"--all in a matter of seconds!!

Other lab tools that I think would be helpful to both teachers and students are News Timeline and Fast Flip. Both of these tools provide media information on specific topics or dates. News Timeline is described as "a web application that organizes information chronologically. Google News Timeline allows users to view news, scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores, and more on a zoomable, graphical timeline." Fast Flip offers "blinding fast overviews of headline pages of top newspapers."

And last I want to mention the free iPhone/Android app called Google Goggles which uses pictures from your smartphone to retrieve relevant information. An example on the description page shows taking a picture of a menu in another language and obtaining a translation.

Are these relevant tools for today's student? When showing them to my college son this weekend, his response was "Why didn't you show me this stuff a couple of semesters ago when I had to research information for all of those papers?!?" Hmmm--maybe this old girl isn't so far behind the times!! :)

Summer Quest: Flubaroo

2011-06-18T10:50:00.001-05:00

As I delve into discovering all that Google docs can offer to educators, I came across this instant grading program called Flubaroo that utilizes Google docs. This link provides an overview of how to use the program to set up and grade multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank quizzes. It was developed by a classroom teacher and, as with any site that I promote, it is free!

The overview link above takes you to a step-by-step guide with screen shots as well as a short video clip to set up and use the program.

This is an interesting program as I think it could guide educators to evaluate their teaching success very quickly. By looking at low-scoring questions, an educator could assess the question itself as a possible distractor to student understanding. It could also signal an area where more instruction is needed to assist student understanding.

You can setup the program to email test results to the students along with the answer key. Students could see the question they missed, read the correct answer, and realize that this is an area where they need to focus their studying. Thus, it would help students better prepare for tests that would include essays as part of higher level thinking and problem solving.

Flubaroo looks like a great time-saving tool for educators when using multiple choice quizzes!

Summer Quest: Google docs overview

2011-06-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

As I research Google docs for my summer web2.0 quest, I stumbled on this quick link: Google for Educators. The site provides brief information on Google docs and its uses for educators.

I have used Google docs for professional collaboration but actually had not considered using it for student collaboration. Exploring this site made me wonder if this would be a good avenue for some of our 5th grade GATES projects. One aspect that especially caught my eye was the ability to to monitor and store student work. Additionally through the revision history, Google docs is able to show educators who

"contributed to what assignment and when; if a student says he or she worked on a given project over the last two weeks, it will be documented (no more "dog ate my homework" excuses)."

This has been one of the bigger problems for me in collaborative work--making sure that everyone is contributing to the project. The other is coming up with an appropriate rubric for assessment--but that is another topic for another time!

I've been trying to get permission to use Edmodo for my 5th grade GATES program for communication, polls, assignments, library, and other purposes. Would Google docs be a viable alternative if I cannot use Edmodo? Something for further consideration.

Summer Quest: Google Docs

2011-06-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

As a librarian and a National Board Certified Teacher, I work hard to find ways to maximize classroom learning for my students and my teachers. For the most part, and under the circumstances, I believe that I have been successful to achieve the majority of my professional goals.

In addition to professional goals, I also set personal goals for myself. For example, a few years ago when I realized that I was not keeping up with web2.0 technology, I involved myself in a summer quest to experience "23 Things" for librarians. I had already started this blog after seeing and enjoying a fellow librarian's efforts. I also enjoyed playing with photo editing tools, such as Picnik and PhotoFunia. I was well acquainted with Windows Office tools and utilized Google Reader. During that summer, I established a Delicious account which I continue to use today (although I'm still working on fine-tuning my tagging!). I joined some wikis and established one for my own use (but have not really developed.) I follow Twitter and established a presence on Facebook. So I've made gains in this web2.0 world.

Although I have played around with Google docs and used them with a professional committee for a virtual meeting, I have not utilized them for my personal benefit. So understanding and using Google docs has become my summer quest. Although many people will find this goal dated and off the cutting edge in edtech applications, I think that Google docs might be a way to assist me as I serve three sites and need to access my files in those locations as well as at home.

So, here I go and I'll be sharing tidbits that especially catch my eye along the way. Please feel free to join me and comment on aspects of Google docs that you think would helpful to me!!

Great Vocabulary Treasures

2011-06-10T09:15:00.007-05:00

During the summer I have more time to peruse my subscriptions to find internet sites that could benefit student learning in the classroom. It's just been a few days since I checked out of my three schools and I've already found two vocabulary treasures! As teachers are encouraged continually to build academic vocabulary, I think these sites will help us move closer to that goal.

The first vocabulary treasure is WordStash which offers a free teacher account to create classes and sets of flashcard lists for your students. It is very easy to set up a list--I have already created one for geography terms and another list for book parts and reference materials. When you add a word to your list, a definition pops up which you can edit according to your classroom needs. After you create a class, you have options on how to share the list with your students. (I'm currently looking into that part of the program and am waiting on some teacher friends to make their recommendations on that aspect!!).

Word lists can be studied as online flashcards but can also be printed. Flashcards can contain only text or can also include a visual. But the bonus of the program is that the flashcards are used in study activities. In "Practice Mode", students can choose to study the words and definitions by multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, or random. After students are familiar with the vocabulary set, they can then play a match game where they are timed as they drag the correct word to the appropriate definition. By continuing play in this mode, students try to beat their own time which helps them focus on keywords in the definition. The other game activity is called "Waterfall Game" but it does not seem to be working for me (I've reported it).

This site was advertised for middle and high school students but I think that our elementary students will be able to utilize it. I'm thinking that if we "divide and conquer" our academic vocabulary lists on shared teacher accounts that we could have this up and ready this fall. Possibly each grade could share a teacher account to create shared lists--one teacher could set up math vocabulary and another set up science vocabulary, and so on. I think it important that we include academic vocabulary words from lower grade lists as well as some words from above grade lists or to create multiple lists (like basic, grade, and advanced levels). If we allow students time during computer lab to understand how to access and practice the lists, I'm hoping that they might be encouraged to participate in using the site for additional practice at home.

The other site that caught my eye is vocabulary.com which is geared toward students in grade 9 and up as well as tutoring situations. This is more of an individual vocabulary development tool and most likely not as appropriate for my elementary students. However, I'm looking for applications using the Dictionary segment of the site. Possibly students could type selected academic vocabulary into the search box and then read the information that accompanies the definition information. I'm still working on "what to do with what you found" to build student engagement with this application. Suggestions are welcome!! :)

This site is great for anyone who enjoys word challenges. If you create an account (it's free!), the program will monitor your progress to introduce and review over 40,000 words to build your vocabulary. The program includes some impressive progress tracking results for specific words as well as overall stats.

So to paraphrase Walt Disney: "There is more treasure in w o r d s than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." Don't you agree?

What the QR??

2011-06-02T23:42:00.007-05:00

Lately I've been noticing magazine advertisements and store pricing tags with those strange graphic squares called QR codes (Quick Response Codes). I've been meaning to find out more about these codes and I found a great site on them just today! They are being used in marketing and now it appears that they are being used in education.

First, check out Steven Anderson's blog post on QR codes http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/2010/12/qr-huh-what-heck-is-qr-code.html . Watch a short video (under 3 minutes) for an introduction. Then view the suggested QR code apps to download on various types of smart phones (and yes--there is one for the Android phone!). The article goes on to explain how to create QR codes and later includes a video that explains how you can use QR codes without a phone.

Joanne Meier in her blog article "Scan and learn? QR Codes in the Classroom" posted in Reading Rockets http://www.readingrockets.org/blog/41550 explains that the use of QR codes and mobile devices are motivating for students. The benefit for teachers is that the content is accurate and available instantly. Plus setting up different codes for different students allows opportunity for differentiated instruction.

For library uses, the QR codes can be used to promote books as well as create a scavenger hunt for information. Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones, author of The Daring Librarian blog http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2010/12/hot-qr-codes-in-classroom-library.html addresses possible uses of QR codes and student smart phones for library lessons.

So if you are interested to learn of other opportunities to utilize QR codes in your classroom or library, head now to the site I found today from Jerry Blumengarten's Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites featuring QR Codes http://www.cybraryman.com/qrcodes.html .

"Bottom Up" Instruction

2011-03-16T10:15:00.006-05:00

It's spring break and I'm using some of the time to catch up on reading RSS feeds and exploring new blogs.

As I researched articles from Education World over coffee this morning, I came across a new blog that really has me thinking. The article, "Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Top Down or Bottom Up? " by Peter Pappas, blog creator of Copy / Paste: Dedicated to relinquishing responsibility for learning to the students is not a new concept but one that I think bears more examination on my part.

I was assigned a class of gifted/talented students this year and although I was a bit excited about it at first, I've been disappointed over the course of the year. I designed our class around the existing curriculum but tied in applications of edtech web programs to enhance our study. However, my expectations of working with this group of students has apparently been way off-base. I was expecting to work with students that were interested to take a topic to a higher level and were ready for new challenges. However, for the most part, I have encountered students who fail to bring materials to class and fail to complete assignments. I have tried to take our curriculum "outside of the box" and possibly outside of their comfort levels but I do not think that I'm asking for more than they can achieve.

So back to Peter Pappas. I've added his blog to my RSS feeds and am looking forward to reading more of his opinions on student-based education which is a "bottom up" approach to instruction. Pappas describes it below (read more from his blog at http://bit.ly/fRidvn )

"In fact, the best innovation in instructional practice is coming from the "bottom up" - from teachers who find effective ways to harness the creative energy of their students. These teachers don't simply deliver information to kids, they craft lessons where students can research, collaborate, and reflect on what they're learning. They harness a flood of new platforms that enable students "see" information in new ways and support a more self-directed style of learning."

I'm on board and planning to read more. Maybe I can capture my gifted/talented group of students with a new perspective of instruction and learning.

Yeah--"What Ed Said"

2010-11-12T19:39:00.006-06:00

When school started, it was my intent to start up my blog again. What was I thinking? With three elementary libraries this year, I don't seem to have time to even check Facebook much these days!

Once a week or so, I try to take time to keep up with my RSS feeds. I've been following a blog called "What Ed Said" who describes himself as "a teacher, a learner, an inquirer, and now a blogger." He often writes blogs that feature a "top 10 list" and this is one that I found to be interesting and entertaining and sometimes close to home. As I'm checking my reader, I also find myself getting distracted and surprisingly, it's some of the same edtech distractions he names.

Read on to see if you also have similar distractions!

10 ways to get your reports written…
November 7, 2010

not!

While you’re at the computer writing your reports, do you have a few distractions happening on the side?

1. Keep Twitter open.

Check periodically to see what’s new. Click on promising links. Interact with interesting people.

2. Check your email.

Respond to the important ones. Deal with some old ones you’ve been ignoring that are now urgent.

3. Organize your reader.

Subscribe to some new blogs. Cull some old ones. Read some posts you haven’t had time to while you were writing reports.

4. Write a to do list.

You’ll have a lot to do after these reports are done. You’d better get organized in advance.

5. Update your facebook status.

See what everyone else is up to. Upload some photos. Comment on other people’s.

6. See what’s new on TED.

Listen to the latest TED talks. Catch up on some you missed while you were writing reports.

7. Go to Google Talk.

See who’s online. Engage in a short chat or two. Catch up with an old friend.

8. Sign into Skype.

Some of your relatives might be online. Make a quick call to see what’s happening on the other side of the world.

9. Try new tools.

Explore some tools you’ve been meaning to. Add to your repertoire. You’ll need them after reports are done.

10. Write a blog post.

Call it ’10 ways to get your reports written… not!’

http://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/10-ways-to-get-your-reports-written/

Changes are coming!

2010-08-14T12:51:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted a blog--since last September!! I started this blog as I have a friend who blogs regularly and it fit with my quest to become a 21st century librarian! Although I found it enjoyable, it takes quite a bit of time for me to sift through edtech articles and links to find/try out/evaluate online tools that I think have educational application. So when school began, the blog became history.

So, why start posting now when the 2010-2011 school session is just days away? Well, in addition to being assigned to oversee THREE elementary media centers, I recently found out that I have also been assigned to teach the 5th grade GATES (gifted & talented) classes!

Talk about change! Our district is relocating teachers and students as our PK, K, and 1st grade teachers move into our brand-new, huge early childhood center this August. With 1st grade moving out, 5th grade is moving back into the elementary schools. It has been my past practice to focus library lessons for grades involved with NCLB (or as a friend calls it "NCLU" or "No Child Left Untested!") and since 5th grade fits that category, I'm trying to determine not only WHAT but WHEN I will fit another grade level into my teaching schedule as I rotate around town.

When I found out about the GATES assignment, I need to admit that I have considered the possibility of moving into teaching elementary GATES . Currently, it is a half-time position which I thought might be a great option after retirement!?!?! Fortunately I was informed of the assignment first and had the opportunity to choose my grade level. Since I have been on my Web2.0 quest, I have come across so many exciting online sites that I think could be a fantastic learning tool for students and teachers. Therefore, I thought 5th grade might be the more appropriate level for me to have an opportunity to test these applications. So even though I'm feeling a little over my head with everything, I'm secretly a little bit excited for this challenging opportunity!!

Change offers opportunity and change can be positive. So, here's to change--it's here!

Resolve to be a master of change rather than a victim of change.
- Brian Tracy

If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
- Mary Engelbreit

Read Alouds & Mr. Peck

2009-09-10T22:17:00.007-05:00

I just recently gave my Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's booktalk and genre introduction lesson to my 3rd and 4th grade students. After I provided a brief introduction to genre using the posters I shared in an earlier blog http://wisewordswhatever.blogspot.com/2009/07/into-book-other-visual-resources.html I gave a short summary of the sixteen titles included in the 2010 contest where we determined the possible genre of the book.

Due to the reading level and/or length of the books, I encourage my 3rd and 4th grade teachers to read at least 2 titles to the class and possibly 3 so that every child will be eligible to vote in April. Our district has always believed that reading aloud to students, especially books that are above their independent reading level, was a good way to introduce them to new authors, more complex sentence structure and plot development, and new vocabulary. Teachers always stop to explain complicated situations in the story and pose questions to help students better understand the plot and the vocabulary.

Tonight, as I was trying to get caught up in reading my GoogleReader RSS accounts, I came across an interesting blog from The Reading Zone http://bit.ly/3kpofM that discussed an interview with Richard Peck in Notes from the Horn Book where he "scolded" teachers that read his books aloud to an entire class. I was relieved that the author went on to defend the value of read alouds.

If you believe that reading books aloud to your students has educational merit, remember to reference the research of Jim Trelease. Here's an article from Education World http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr213.shtml that included statements from Jim Trelease plus comments from teachers to support the benefits that students receive from read alouds. Not only are read alouds used to develop a love a literature, but they can also to be used to improve classroom climate, to provide a print-rich environment, and to increase the ratio of books to students. The article includes three examples to make read alouds work for comprehension, to highlight math concepts, and to include parents.

As the author from The Reading Zone stated in the article, perhaps Mr. Peck was misunderstood in the interview and his statement was not a direct reference against reading aloud to students. In my opinion, Jim Trelease and his research makes a solid statement for the value of read alouds.

What are your thoughts about read alouds?
What benefits have your students experienced from read alouds?
Are there certain titles that you like to read aloud to your students for specific reasons?

If you need some ideas of what to read to your class, you might go to Jim Trelease's web site for his "Read-Aloud of the Week." http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/readaloud-of-week.html And you might even ask your school librarian for a suggestion! :)

"Into the Book" & Other Visual Resources

2009-08-12T23:09:00.000-05:00

As I move into my newly expanded media center at Cedar Heights :), I'm trying to weed and organize my decorations and bulletin board items. I already discarded most of the "holiday" stuff several years ago. In the last few years, I have used my bulletin board and chart resources to create visual displays of information that students can read in the hallway while waiting in line for the drinking fountain or bathrooms. Our principals stress the need to make every minute count for learning and so this was my response to that directive. Students can keep their minds actively engaged while they view a display about animal classification that includes colorful posters of animals with a chart of selected vocabulary words (predator, prey, camouflage, etc.) and put the information to work by mentally filling in blanks on a Venn diagram. Or it might be a poster identifying the parts of a dictionary with a set of words to alphabetize on one side and practice with guide words on the other side.

One display that I have used for a few years offers some great posters on reading comprehension strategies with additional information on reading called Into the Book http://reading.ecb.org/, a reading comprehension strategies program from Wisconsin. It is set up with separate sections for teachers and students in grades K-4 (although I think it could be used into 6th grade). Students will need to set up a login but teachers can access the majority of the site for free! Reading strategies focus on Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating, Synthesizing, and Using Other Strategies. The interactive site features video clips, downloads of strategy posters and songs, teaching tips, and more. Be sure to look in the "Other Resources" tab for pdf files on teacher guides, summaries, bibliographies, and more to print. I think this site is amazing with all of the information it offers!

Another site to check out for additional reading strategies is called Just Read Now http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/active.htm It offers innovative and effective reading strategies in addition to lesson plans. The focused strategies can be applied across academic disciplines and learner levels and are grouped into four areas that include Discussion, Active Reading, Vocabulary, and Organization. Although this site does not feature posters, it contains additional links to resources for teacher background information as well as some pdf pages to print.

Another hallway display that I use features posters on genre that I found on the Troy, Michigan school district site http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Genres.htm by third grade teacher Beth Newingham. (Note: The genre titles featured in this site may or may not coordinate with the titles your textbooks or teachers use. For example, some of my teachers use the title "adventure" which is not used in this site.) Be sure to browse this site for other great ideas!

Currently I'm thinking/working on a display about poetry and elements of poetry, such as alliteration, hyperbole, etc. at the request of third grade teachers at one of my schools. (I consider that the ultimate compliment--a request for a display!) I found a good poster to start off and plan to feature an element with an example every so often. We're hoping this will act as a "word wall" to help students become more familiar with some of these fun, odd words (onomatopoeia!!) as well as to be able to identify their usage in poetry and other reading selections. Thus, I would really appreciate ideas or specific poems that would help us achieve this hallway learning goal!!

I guess the bottom line is that I believe that visual learning is very powerful and I hope these hallway displays create interest in learning as well as a "picture" to retain the information for future reference.

Thinking about Nonfiction & AR

2009-08-07T22:00:00.008-05:00

Nonfiction is on my mind these days. It is an area of reading that students love and I believe that they need. I'm currently searching online vendors for nonfiction books for my two 1st-4th grade schools. Criteria includes subject matter, reading level, quality information and illustrations, the inclusion of a contents and index page, and an Accelerated Reader (AR) quiz.

Last year, my 3rd and 4th teachers joined me in an experiment where we allowed students to take an AR nonfiction book with them to the computer to use as they took the quiz. This is not our normal AR protocol but we wanted our students to have a hands-on experience with nonfiction books to build the skill of "locating the answer" and of actually using the table of contents/index/glossary pages to find that information more efficiently.

Students were required to read the book before taking the test to become familiar with the book's content and organization. They were also required to mark the quiz as "W--I read this book with someone" since students were using the book WITH the quiz. This helped us group quiz results separately from the fiction books the students read Independently (I) and from books the teachers read To (T) the class for listening comprehension.

You would think that this would be a no-brainer experiment but we found that students had to be taught to use the book. You might be surprised that initially students preferred to "guess" at the answers rather than take the time to look them up. But after a couple of failed tests, they were finally willing to use the parts of the book to locate answers and were quickly rewarded with passing scores. I believe that we should see improvement in reading scores as students learn to better utilize text information in making answer choices. So I am getting excited/worried as I wait for our administrators to share test results with classroom teachers as I hope that our reading experiment made a difference.

As I'm running through email and RSS feeds, I came across a Big Fresh article by Franki Sibberson http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/916print.cfm that has me thinking about what constitutes "nonfiction" these days. Things that I'm thinking about include:
what is necessary tech/info text for my age group of elementary students;
how do we address teaching tech/info text with one dedicated computer lab and only one or two computers per classroom;
what is my role when I'm divided between schools.

Although No Child Left Behind has pushed administrators into a corner of focusing on math and reading to achieve test scores, I believe we must support a broader curriculum to include social studies and science. Social studies and science topics provide great informational text that supports reading skills and naturally creates interest with students.

So I will continue to try to find avenues to intersect the focus of reading with great nonfiction texts involving social studies and science information to meet the needs and interests of our students and satisfy the goals of our administrators with NCLB. Somewhere along the way, I hope to find a way to include more technology in our reading goals. Although higher test scores is not my goal, I believe that higher test scores will be a direct result of these actions as well as to interest students in reading and learning. Good for students--good for schools.

Your Desktop Photo According to Doug

2009-08-02T00:18:00.009-05:00

My quest to master Web 2.0 tools this summer is coming along. I've really enjoyed using the Google Reader RSS tool to help manage news subscriptions. However, I find that I keep adding more subscriptions to read and I think that may defeat the purpose somewhat. Right now I'm still figuring out what it is that I really want to read/follow-- that will help me to eventually determine which subs/blogs will get cut from my feedlist.

As I was reading through my RSS backlog recently, I came across this blog by Doug Johnson that I wanted to share as part of the "whatever" in my blog's title. Doug Johnson is the director of media and technology for the Mankato, MN public school system and is a school library/librarian advocate. I really enjoy reading his blog--he is direct and honest in his assessment of national policies affecting education, makes me think and reflect on his viewpoints and how they may affect me and my program, and provides touches of humor now and then. I hope you will enjoy his blog about "Your Computer's Desktop Picture" posted July 22, 2009 on The Blue Skunk Blog.

"What does your computer's desktop picture say about you - your goals, your
values, your motivations?

The picture I see when I turn on my computer and throughout the day is
usually one of my grandsons. Increasingly they are the ones I keep in mind as I
think about the decisions I make at work and the things I write about schools
and libraries.

Now don't look at this as me being all noble or anything. I pretty much
ascribe to the sociobiologist theory that most of a person's actions and decisions can be explained by his lizard brain doing what is most likely to perpetuate his DNA via his offsprings' survival. But not that I don't love my grandsons as well.

Anyway, what's on you computer background? Your spouse, your house, you
dog, somebody else's spouse, your car, Megan Fox in a bikini, a quiet beach with
swaying palm trees? And does it reflect what is important to you*?

*Or does it say that you don't know how to change the picture on your
computer's desktop?"

So what photo is on your desktop? I change mine from time to time. Recently I replaced the boat photo taken on our family's Alaskan cruise to a New Mexico mountain landscape taken by my daughter this summer. I love photos of natural settings and both of these photos remind me of family times in those locations.

But most recently I added a baby ticker from Lilypie to my Facebook profile as well as my desktop since I've found out that my daughter and her husband are expecting a baby boy in December! It didn't take long for this grandma-to-be to find a way to monitor the baby's progress! Two baby tickers that I like are Lilypie http://lilypie.com/ and Baby Gaga http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/pregnancy.php Lilypie is a cute customized timeline and includes tickers for weddings, vacations, and pets as well. Baby Gaga provides a ticker of baby development and offers a choice of a development phrase or a humorous phrase to accompany the illustration of how the baby would look at that stage.

So, take a look at your desktop photo. Does it "reflect what is important to you?" And if you don't know how to change the image on your desktop, please have someone show you!!

Rolling with Reading Ideas

2009-07-27T14:24:00.020-05:00

As I keep my eyes open for educational sites, it seems that I have connected with tons of math sites this summer. I find this interesting when I've actually been looking for reading and library types of sites since that is where my teaching area is concentrated!!

So before August rolls around to signal my personal start of the new school year (even though I'm not formally obligated until August 18), I wanted to share some reading ideas and information I've come across recently.

One article concerns read alouds and building community. Community is very important in elementary schools as we address creating a safe, risk-free environment where every individual is respected and valued. Mary Lee Hahn http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/789print.cfm
shares eight read aloud titles to help develop community and classroom connections. She then offers some good tips on expanding these titles to develop reading strategies of summerization, inference, and theme --a great two for one idea!!

Kevin Henkes has several school-related titles that work well for read alouds during the first week of school. One of my personal favorites is Chrysanthemum where the students make fun of a girl's name because it is so long and unusual. And don't forget Wemberly Worried where a young girl worries about everything including if she will have friends at school. And then I love to read Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse where Lilly's once-beloved teacher takes away her prized possession before she gets to share it at show & tell. Here is a link to Teaching Heart with ideas to utilize these titles in elementary classrooms http://www.teachingheart.net/kevinhideas.html

Read alouds are beneficial to students in elementary and on up all through the year. Shari Frost http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/403print.cfm shares an article on read alouds to start off the year for several age groups. Take a look at the section of the article where she offers suggestions for selecting titles to read at the beginning of the school year emphasizing the often overlooked genre of poetry. Looking at older students, this article from The Reading Zone http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/nuts-and-bolts-of-the-read-aloud-in-my-middle-school-classroom/ addresses the use of read alouds in the middle grades with some great suggestions for titles and some additional links.

If you would like readers other than yourself or have a roomful of visual learners, you may consider using sites such as Storyline Online http://www.storylineonline.net/ from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. For animated books, you might consider a subscription to TumbleBooks http://www.tumblebooks.com/ where you can access a Free Trial. And you might be interested in these titles featured on YouTube http://thebookchook.blogspot.com/2009/07/use-you-tube-to-encourage-reading.html

And lastly, I want to remind you of the use of Readers Theater in the classroom. Readers Theater (RT) is a great way to build reading fluency as students practice their parts to include dramatization but it does not require backdrops, props, and movement on a stage as would be required for a play. Aaron Shepard http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html offers free scripts online as does The Reading Lady http://bit.ly/2VssL If you have never utilized RT, please check Mandy Gregory's site http://www.mandygregory.com/readers_theater.htm for a great detailed RT lesson plan and other sites that offer free scripts.

If you are not ready to commit to RT, at least check out the titles in Mary Ann Hoberman's You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series. In addition to choral reading experiences, this educator's guide pdf http://bit.ly/PIAso from the Hachette Book Group provides several language and cross curriculum ideas to incorporate these books into your classroom.

This is just a fraction of the wonderful reading ideas and articles available online. It would be great to hear about your favorite reading sites and how you plan to roll into the new school year!

Math Madness

2009-07-12T17:33:00.010-05:00

Summer is a good time to view educational websites and to update your school web page as I know many teachers look for links for parents to use at home.

Here are some math links that you may want to share with parents but you'll want to check them out for school use as well. These were recommended primarily from Free Technology for Teachers or from TeachersFirst.

Visual Math Learning
This site stresses the importance of visualization in learning. The mission of this site is to "provide parents and classroom teachers with the means to better employ visual imagery. It is designed as a supplementary resource to help students in their mastery of mathematics. It is also designed to help parents to better understand mathematical concepts as they work to assist their children in home learning". The site includes practice exercises and games over integers, fractions, division, and other basic math concepts for elementary and middle school students. http://www.visualmathlearning.com/index.html

The Math Worksheet Site
This site offers a free section of worksheet generators with limited customizing features for elementary math basics. Math and subtraction problems are offered in both horizontal and vertical formats and you can specify the number of numbers to appear on the page. There is a subscription fee for individuals and school use that offers additional features. This site might be useful when you want to send a practice page to inform parents of a math skill needing practice at home or an extra review page when you have a substitute.
http://themathworksheetsite.com/

The Problem Site
From TeachersFirst, this free site offers math and word games as well as some printable game worksheets appropriate for grades PK- 12. Games include magic squares, hangman, treasure hunts, strategy games, and others. Do note that this site includes ads on sidebars which may distract younger students. This would be a good site for review practice at school or at home.
http://www.theproblemsite.com/

Funbrain Math Arcade
This site offers 25 games but you have to win one to progress to the next game. Games are appropriate for grades 1-8. Students determine their level at the beginning of the activity with directions provided for each game. These arcade type games would be fun for review on a SmartBoard in the classroom as well as at home. http://www.funbrain.com/brain/MathBrain/MathBrain.html

More games to explore

Elementary Interactive Math http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/ekowalcz/math/elementary_web_sites.htm

Homework Spot Math
http://www.homeworkspot.com/elementary/math/

For teachers
You might be interested to browse these sites for suggestions to assist special needs learners or to provide background information on mathematical concepts.

About.com: Mathematics http://math.about.com/

Apples 4 the Teacher Math http://www.apples4theteacher.com/math.html

Reading and Math Strategies http://www.evgschool.org/reading_and_math_strategies.htm

The Access Center http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/math.asp

Jim Wright: Intervention Ideas for Mathematics http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/interventionista/interventionista_intv_list.php?prob_type=mathematics

Enjoy these last days of summer to explore "math madness" inside the cool of your home!

Fantastic Photo Fun

2009-07-11T22:29:00.032-05:00

Continuing my Web 2.0 quest this summer, I've enjoyed discovering some free photo creator sites. As I view the "followers" on Twitter and the "friends" on Facebook, I take special notice of the photos and names people use for their profile. Some use a Flickr landscape photograph for their identification or a cartoon graphic or a customized avatar. Others show a portion of their face which indicates an artistic flair yet the photo provides recognition.

I read that you establish more credibility if you use your real name and an actual photo on sites such as Twitter. According to Sebastien Page http://www.sebastienpage.com/2009/01/21/use-your-real-name-on-twitter/ , Scott Williams http://www.twitip.com/10-reasons-to-use-your-real-name-as-your-twitter-name/ , and Carissa Rogers http://goodandcrazypeople.blogspot.com/2009/06/why-should-i-use-my-real-name-on.html , your "personal branding" creates a more professional and approachable look, especially when you are using Twitter for business (and educational) purposes.

So, being a newbie to social networks, I was hesitant to use an actual photo for security reasons. Yet I didn't want to use an avatar or worse, the default logo for the lack of a photo. I decided to look for a more artistic way to display my photograph and stumbled across some fun free photo editing sites.

First I started playing around with BeFunky http://www.befunky.com which requires no registration and your creations can be saved and shared. On some options, such as the Patriotic selection, I was unable to view or access the necessary buttons to save my creations. I have submitted the problem but it has not changed for me yet. This is a very easy and fun site to use to alter your digital photographs. Additionally, you can have your creation printed onto a t-shirt or coffee mug or other item for gift purposes!!

I used a sketch option with blue coloring for my Twitter account.

I used the same photo but went with the Warholizer option (no other color options available) for my Facebook account.

Finally I used the same photo again but used the Sunburst effect for my blog page. This option has the least amount of photo enhancement as I wanted to look like a real person for this blog.

Another site I discovered was piZap http://www.pizap.com/ which was created as a photo tool primarily for social networking users to post images to their favorite social networking sites or to embed their photo into websites. It features cartoon balloons, stickers, and photo editing options. Be sure to check out the "Effects" option as it includes the "twirl" effect (as shown in the Obama photo) as well as color options, a blur effect, and others. The altered photos can be downloaded as well as quick posted to many social networks. It is fun, and easy, and most importantly, it is free!

Now I also wanted to release my more artistic side so I tried a site called Psykopaint http://www.psykopaint.com however I quickly discovered that I'm really not that talented. I would say this site is truly for painting artists that enjoy dabbling with digital photos. I had difficulty controlling the brush and I really didn't know the difference of some of the terminology. It is in Beta form but it is one to watch for upcoming advancements if you know how to paint.

The last site I want to share for now is a free site called Block Posters http://www.blockposters.com where you can enlarge photos to poster size. The site suggests that teachers could enlarge particular photos to use on bulletin boards for educational and decorative purposes. The selected photo is printed on several separate pages that you determine for the size you want and then piece together to create the larger final product. Although it appears that the final enlarged product may have a more pixelated finish, for certain situations, this could look quite artistic.

Let me assure you that all of these sites (other than Psykopaint) are very easy to use and are a lot of fun! Consider using them to create special photos for social network pages or for scrapbooks or for whatever makes you happy!

Getting "back" to Backflip!

2009-07-07T14:14:00.013-05:00

While some people are using the summer to clean out their garage or closets, I've been attempting to go through My Favorites stored on my home computer. It is getting crazy keeping up with all of the sites I've saved at school and at home. And now I've added to my website stash as I "star" favorites in my Google Reader and Bloglines RSS accounts as well as Twitter posts!! Will the craziness never end??

Previously I used a service called Backflip http://www.backflip.com , a free, Web-based bookmark service to create a personalized archive of wonderful web discoveries so saved sites can go with you from computer to computer. I used this site during my National Board certification process and during my participation in a state tech grant as I traveled to the state department for workshops. It was great to have those sites available in organized folders to access regardless of my location. During that time, I also used the public folders to access sites that other NB/Library Media candidates shared. So why am I no longer using it? Basically, I discontinued using Backflip as it became very slow to load. And after I achieved NB and the grant retired, I found myself using the same computer at school and began saving to My Favorites again.

But the other day I thought I'd check Backflip out again. And behold! All of the folders and many of the sites that I had saved back from 2001 were still in storage!! And better yet--it seemed to load much faster. In reading the status report, a new database machine has been employed which has resulted in faster access and I discovered that Backflip blogs on Twitter to provide service information. This is all very impressive to me as Backflip service is provided free by volunteers.

I have also subscribed to Delicious http://delicious.com/ but again haven't used it much either. I think it has been a time situation--it is just easier to click "Save in Favorites" as opposed to going to another link to save. As I looked back on The 23 Things I posted earlier as I began my Web 2.0 quest, I noticed that Delicious was the social bookmark site associated with the program. So I'll start tagging and saving sites to this account and then compare that experience with my rediscovered Backflip site.

I did go to Diffen to compare Backflip and Delicious and unfortunately, like many of my other searches, this was another comparison that has not been reviewed.

Starting today, I plan to train myself to start using a web bookmark so I can again access my saved sites from either of my two schools or from home and hopefully avoid spending time looking through the cluttered and scattered saved favorites I've collected on various computers. So I'm on my own to find the perks and problems between Backflip and Delicious. Anyone want to join me?

Jammin' with Jango

2009-06-30T12:31:00.010-05:00

Who doesn't enjoy listening to music while working? Give me the right beat and the usual chore of housework becomes a dance scene!! Slow down the tempo and I am able to relax to sit and complete paper tasks.

Although I enjoy the XM stations on my TV at home, I need some tunes when I'm working at school at the end of the school day. That's when I tune in to these favorites (and of course they are free!!):

Jango http://www.jango.com
Pandora http://www.pandora.com
The Radio http://www.theradio.com
Playlist http://www.playlist.com

(These are streaming sites that require bandwidth so your school site may request that you use such sites selectively.)

You'll need to set up a free account to save your profile and music selections. All sites allow you to set up personal playlists or save favorites based on music genre or original artists that you can rate and share. Some of the sites provide additional information about the artists or provide suggestions to other artists as well as the option of purchasing music downloads.

Since these are free sites, you will see ads but some offer a fee-based version without ads. Due to copyright or other agreements, these sites play the songs or artists you request but you also may discover new music as most of the sites also play music similar to the artists/genre you have specified. However, I have found that Playlist allows song after song of your favorite artists that you have saved in a list.

You are able to share your station/playlists on several social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace. Some have options to be shared to your blog or uploaded to a mobile device.

I'm sure there are other free online music sources out there but these are my favorites (so far!). Each has its own perks and problems--so you'll need to check them all out to determine your favorite.

Enjoy and rock on!!! :)

Taking a "cue" from CuePrompter

2009-06-28T14:39:00.006-05:00

I was watching a TV program not too long ago that was featuring President Obama's use of the teleprompter during his speeches. Students may wonder if the president and other TV personalities memorize everything they say.

Now I've just recently come across an interesting (and fun!) free site called CuePrompter: the Online Teleprompter http://www.cueprompter.com/ that was recommended from TeachersFirst Featured Sites. This tool would help students understand how people are able to give speeches and newscasts without the appearance of notecards.

This tool is free, requires no user/password registration or membership, and is very easy to use. However, it can only be used with Windows software and it does not save your text for future use. The site recommends that you have your text printed in another file or program that you can easily access to copy/paste the needed text into the CuePrompter.

How or why would you use this in the classroom? If you were to project the text onto a white board or a SmartBoard, it could be used in whole class situations. The site mentions its use in foreign language or ESL/ELL classes. Since the text is scrolling, it would require students to be automatic in recognizing and pronouncing the words being displayed. You are able to set the speed of the scrolling as well as some other settings, such as text size and a black or a white background.

Another projected use for a whole class would be to read text to build fluency. Fluency seems to be the most assessed component of reading in my district. The CuePrompter could build reading fluency as students read the text aloud. Each time the text is read, the speed could be increased. I can remember using a speed reading machine when I was in 6th grade (and that's been a long time ago!). After we read the selection, we answered a worksheet to assess our comprehension. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure that comprehension is assessed with fluency these days.

The CuePrompter could also be used in public speaking classes or in cases where students make oral presentations. Students need to learn eye contact skills when addressing an audience. Although notecards or some type of written speech form would be expected prior to the actual oral presentation, the text could be shown on a laptop or computer that only the presenter would view. The use of the CuePrompter would require them to look up to face the audience rather than looking down at their notecards.

Lastly, the site mentions that speech teachers could use this tool to build articulation skills.

What are some other uses for this tech-tool? I'm sure both students and teachers will come up with more applications after it is used a few times in a classroom.

Exploring Twitter and Facebook

2009-06-20T22:56:00.003-05:00

Time is getting away from me as I research Web 2.0. How does everyone keep up with monitoring their email, read online blogs, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and find time to do laundry, read a book, and other everyday stuff?

I've been exploring both Twitter and Facebook--I view this research as equivalent to taking a summer class and thus it justifies the time I'm spending on it. :) But really, it can become time-consuming--or maybe the key word is "addictive!"

I've been looking at Twitter as a possible home/school communication tool. How many times have you found printed school announcements wadded in the back of student desks and in the bottom of back packs? The intent was clear--provide information to parents--but the mission failed.

As our parent base gets younger and younger, I believe we need to consider communication styles they are accustomed to using--such as texting and social networks. As Twitter only allows 140 characters (note characters and not words), public announcements are kept short and to the point: "Family Night will be held on Tuesday, September 26 at 6:30 pm featuring a first grade presentation." Teachers and the school office can compose short, quick messages on the computer. This helps to save the school paper costs to encourage "green" communication. After parents have been informed of this communication format, they can sign on and "follow" to receive these school memos. Thus, teachers are not spending time entering parent information. Additionally, parents could access the information via their online computer or by mobile devices, such as cell phones with online access.

We may need to consider a "tighter" community than Twitter. From Free Technology for Teachers: Here is a free version of a specific community microblogging program called Present.ly Comments for education application: "Twitter can be good for getting instant feedback and taking informal surveys of a class. The problem with using Twitter is it's too public for some school settings. Present.ly provides a free place to get the same type of feedback as you'd gather on Twitter, but in a closed setting."

(6/29/2009 I have recently encountered another free community to use Twitter between teachers and students called Edmodo http://www.edmodo.com/ and here's a slideshow to demonstration how to use Edmodo http://www.slideshare.net/zemote/edmodocom-microblogging-for-education-presentation ).

Now Facebook--it has been fun to explore and I have even found some college sorority sisters through Facebook. I have posted some photos on my profile page and occasionally I will post some obscure comment about nothing. I have even searched friend profiles to see the groups they belong to, how many friends they have, and to view their photos (friend settings can be set to allow other confirmed friends to view profile information so it isn't as though I'm spying even though it feels like I am!).

However, I'm not sure that this social networking tool could be utilized for school communication purposes. Several teachers in our district are already on Facebook so postings may not always be as professional as one would like when a parent can view your activities with "Farm Town" and other Facebook games. Maybe you can tweak the settings in a way that I've not yet determined for this type of professional communication. Or maybe teachers could continue to use Facebook for their own social community and our school could use Twitter for our home/school communications.

I would appreciate comments from others utilizing social network tools for school/home communication. What have your schools tried? What was the response from both teachers and parents? What tips would you suggest in getting started?

And one last thought offered by a friend and colleague after my "I maybe be famous" post--"Now that you’ve Googled yourself you know what your “digital footprint” looks like. Most of our students, and probably lots of our staff, have not gotten this concept. What will it look like when someone Googles you? What will a prospective employer find? One of our former students is on my Facebook list, and recently he posted his status as follows: “The job hunt is not good. I’ve gotten one offer so far, but it sucks!” I had a report of one of our high school student’s MySpace page which had a picture of the student and parent both holding alcoholic beverages. I guess they think nobody’s looking or something – or they’re not thinking.

Now most kids will say, “Yeah, I’ll take all that stuff off before I start looking for a job.” Perhaps they haven’t heard of www.archive.org – that stuff doesn’t just go away.

Food for thought!"

Vocab Grabber Will Grab Your Attention!

2009-06-16T17:32:00.008-05:00

As I've discussed in an earlier post, I have been exploring two RSS feeds--Bloglines and Google Reader. I have been pleased with the RSS feeds that I've set up so far. It is nice to view them in one online location (or in my case, two locations) as opposed to filling up my email box. Today I'm sharing vocabulary sites--one that impressed me and one that disappointed me.

I recently came across Vocab Grabber http://www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber/# which is a free program developed from Visual Thesaurus, a site that I discussed in an earlier post. Vocab Grabber works a little differently than Visual Thesaurus which focuses on one word. In Vocab Grabber, you copy and paste a portion of text. It then sorts and creates a "word cloud" of the most frequently used words from that text. Vocab Grabber provides definitions of selected words in a side window and sorts the words into academic categories.

Free Technology for Teachers suggests a great time-saving use to install the Vocab Grabber bookmarklet (a drag and drop installation) which allows the user to generate a vocabulary list from any Internet page. For educational use, the site explains that Vocab Grabber "provides teachers with a way to quickly pick out which difficult words students may run into in a text. From the results Vocab Grabber provides you can then determine which words your students may need to study in a vocabulary lesson". I think Vocab Grabber offers a great visual display of words that will generate good student interest and involvement.

I also wanted to share a site I found earlier this year called Montage-a-Google http://grant.robinson.name/projects/montage-a-google that supposedly helps to develop flexible thinking by featuring visual images to accompany the multiple meanings of words.

Educational uses from TeachersFirst suggest using an interactive whiteboard with this site to "create a visual anticipatory set/activator for ANY term you plan to teach that day." It could be used to build background as you introduce new vocabulary before reading or in an art class to create their own drawing for words they think of. After your students master Montage-a-Google, you might want to try the reverse guessing game, Guess-the-Google.

My exploration of the site provided some interesting results but mostly disappointing ones. I did not find many "multiple meanings" with words I inserted and it did not pick up on slang words--ie "bread" simply resulted in photographs of various types of bread and did not include "money." And a cautionary note: the word "cash" provided photos of Johnny Cash in addition to one where he was using the finger. Not acceptable at my elementary site and probably not at many sites. Thus, as with any site or material, preview before use.

There are so many wonderful educational sites out there and it is difficult to remember every single one that you find. But I'm hoping that my search will offer a few worth checking out and remembering to use in the future.

I think I may be famous . . .

2009-06-13T20:57:00.006-05:00

Don't laugh, but this is just beyond belief for me.

A friend emailed me as she is looking into applying for a library position in Texas and so I was sending her some sites I have used to develop my program. I forgot that I had Larry Bell's reading strategies on my web page so when I googled "Larry Bell"--was I surprised to see that my website page came up as a link.

So I wondered about my "Survivor OKLAHOMA" program. I have had many hits on my webpage for that as I presented it at Encyclo-Media in 2007--and I was the 6th listing under that search.

So now--very scary. I googled my name and found several listings but my school webpage was the 4th listing.

If you are interested to view my "Survivor OKLAHOMA" reference resources activity, here's the link to my school web page http://woodward.ok.schoolwebpages.com/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=13173

Another exciting moment was receiving a comment from Kathy Schrock on this blog. Yes, I realize that it was probably a computer-generated response but still it was exciting for me .

So don't laugh, but I think that I may be famous. :)

Blog Sharing--Reflections on "Summer Vacation"

2009-06-10T15:55:00.005-05:00

I'm taking advantage to share a blog from a teacher and her comments on "end of the school year" adjustments. Her comments reflect my thoughts almost exactly!! Do you ever experience "melt down" after the school year ends? Some type of emotional experience that takes a day or two (ok--maybe even a week!) to get yourself reconnected to having a life again?? Her blog addresses those experiences plus offers some suggestions to make the most of your vacation time so you can return to school feeling relaxed and ready to face the coming challenges of the new school year. So I'm taking advantage of a posting from Cool Cat Teacher on "School Daze" to share with you--hope you enjoy it as well!!

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/06/school-daze-recovering-teacher-within.html

Vocabulary Resources & 25 Tools 2009

2009-06-10T01:30:00.005-05:00

As I come across educational links, I'm always trying to think how my classroom teachers might utilize the resource--as well as myself. We are very fortunate as every classroom at my two schools is equipped with a SmartBoard. My media centers have a projector and whiteboard but I use an Airliner/Smart Tablet as my wall space didn't allow for easy reachable access for either students or myself. It has worked pretty well for my applications and PPT presentations with my information skill lessons.

Vocabulary is a big item in our testing criteria. A few years ago, I shared a site with my teachers called "Visual Thesaurus" (once free but for purchase now). Just recently I came across a very similar resource that is free called Visuwords http://www.visuwords.com/. I think that it would be a great resource for teachers to use as they introduce new vocabulary. Additionally it provides experience in reading graphic organizers.

Another free site to promote vocabulary is the Visual Dictionary Online http://visual.merriam-webster.com/ which is based on images rather than words--it features more than 6,000 images with 15 major themes that span from Astronomy to Sports. The site features diagrams that label important parts of the item with a short definition provided as well.

Sometimes a helpful way to introduce new concepts or vocabulary is to compare it with a term the students already know. For a quick search with uncomplicated information, Diffen http://www.diffen.com/ allows you to "compare, contrast and find the difference between any two things." I hope this might be a helpful resource for my first grade teachers when they discuss the concepts of "living" and "nonliving." If you request a search and come up without results, you can request a search article on your topics; however the site does not indicate how long until your request will be made available.

Back to my Web 2.0 quest:

Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day has organized a list of 25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals 2009 http://janeknight.typepad.com/pick/2009/06/another-milestone.html) --many are free online resources and several include tutorials. Here's the link to the full directory which includes over 3,000 entries and where 3/4 of items are free http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/

It does take time to locate and test some of these sites but it is so amazing what is available for free online!! I hope this blog helps to promote some of these sites to other librarians and educators--if I can use them, so can you!!

Of course, Kathy Schrock!

2009-06-04T21:00:00.004-05:00

I was cleaning out my emailbox and found some emails from Kathy Schrock I'd saved to explore this summer. Of course, I need to include Kathy Schrock in my Web 2.0 quest!!!

I subscribe to Kathy's "Site of the School Days" (SOS) newsletter to receive her weekly postings of innovative technology http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/sos.html This page lists all of the sites she shared this year plus archives of previous years. What a treasure house!!

Since Kathy shared Diigo in March 2009 #31, she has created this great organized listing of various 2.0 tools using Diigo (June 2009 #41). http://www.diigo.com/list/kathyschrock/web20tools

This lady leaves me breathless!! I have very little time during the school year to explore many of her offerings and unfortunately many of her tools are beyond my understanding and use at this time! :/

Some of the tools I specifically want to explore are:

Site 6 bubbl.us http://bubbl.us/...an easy-to-use, online concept mapping tool; great to use when introducing a topic and using an interactive whiteboard or in computer lab when students are starting a project

Site 23 My Webspiration http://mywebspiration.com/...Inspiration, the useful mind-mapping tool, comes to the Web in an easy-to-use, collaborative version

Site 24 Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/...an easy-to-use site that allows you to upload your presentations, share them with others, and also creates a text-based "transcript" of the text on all of the slides; in addition, there are thousands of presentations to search for, preview, download, and edit for use with your class

Thank you for sharing your research and expertise, Kathy!!

23 Things & Twitter in Libraries

2009-06-04T14:12:00.009-05:00

OK--I'm setting up RSS feeds today and came across Bloglines http://www.bloglines.com/ This was very easy to set up with no additional downloads and included several library blogs (including The Shifted Librarian and Librarians' Internet Index) to include in my subscription account.

However, I had also made an account with Google Reader and one feature I've found there is the ability to "star" certain blogs to go back to reread later. I think the "clipped file" feature on Blogsline is going to work about the same way. (Does Blogspot provide a "saved" feature? I haven't noticed it yet.)

For an example of something I want to save to reread later, I found a blog from Resource Shelf about an article featuring links and information on Twitter for Libraries (and Librarians)
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/may09/Milstein.shtml It cautions that Twitter is actually a conversation medium (of 140 characters!!); however using it as a broadcast mechanism may help open doors to use it as "Twitter holds great promise for libraries of all kinds, and your creativity will expand its utility. "

Now moving on to something I was very excited to stumble across!! The Librarian in Black has been posting blogs about a conference she attended and I became aware of 23 Things http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/#23 a tutorial program to help learn how to use Web 2.0 tools (technologies that students are using to put them in touch globally through social networking, wikis, video, podcasting, and gaming sites). So disregard the dates and prizes to notice the P.S. at the bottom of the blog--"PS: If you’re not a PLCMC staff member, you can follow along as well. Just use the list discovery items found on the 43Things website to record your progress. Alas I’m sorry that I can’t include any MP3 players or laptop as incentives. For you, I hope just the fun of following along is enough. :)."

I'm really excited to find this 23 Things tutorial as it organizes my Web 2.0 quest into an achievable project to focus on specific tools each week. I've already accomplished some of the exercises (ie "set up your own blog" and "set up a Bloglines RSS newsreader account" ) but I'm hopeful that some of the links will include additional resources and helpful tips.

Speaking of completing projects, I need to get my summer calendar in order as I hope to accomplish more than mastering Web 2.0 tools this summer!! August will be here before I know it!

Jumping in!!

2009-06-03T13:42:00.004-05:00

Here I go!!! My friend, Dawn, is doing it and so I decided that I can do it, too. Do what?? I'm talking about blogging!!

Can you really teach old dogs new tricks? Well, I am trying to use the summer to explore and learn to use RSS, Twitter, FaceBook, and blogging more effectively. Yes, it's time I joined the world of Web 2.0!! I just don't have time during the school year to "play" with these online tools and thus have not pushed myself to learn to utilize them.

I have realized that phone texting is the easiest way to contact my twenty-something children--they tend to ignore voice mail and email. I'm hoping that I will get faster as I compose messages--and I now understand why teens tend to use abbreviations!! Acronyms and mnemonic devices never really helped me remember what they were intended to help me remember ( the order of the 9 planets MVEMJSUNP--My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas or My Velvet Eyes Make Johnny Stay Up Nights Proposing or now updated My Very Educated Mother Just Said Uh-oh No Pluto ) so this site of text abbreviations is now on my list http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp HTH (Hope This Helps).

If you are interested to join me on this Web 2.0 quest, here are some links to information for using such tools and their possible application in school.
Twitter http://tweeternet.com/
http://twitter.com/
http://www.techlearning.com/article/17340
RSS http://www.rss-specifications.com/benfits-to-rss-feeds.htm
FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/facebook http://teachers.net/gazette/MAY09/levinson/

Are you a visual learner? Check these:
FaceBook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5gtN16gOr8
Twitter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

I hope to send you a "tweet" soon!!!