Thing #19

Time for Twitter!

According to Wikipedia, Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.

Twitter is a great tool to update information in a concise format since the user is only allowed up to 140 characters in each post. When you follow another person, their updates are posted onto your home page. This is a convenient and efficient way to quickly get up-to-date information.

Libraries and educators in the schools can use this tool by creating profiles and following other libraries, authors, and educators. The teachers in your school can follow the school library Twitter page and be up-to-date on the happenings in the library such as changes in the library schedule, new books, author visits, etc.

Let your library Tweets be heard!

Thing #18

Open Office is a free multi-purpose office suite.

Open Office is an easy to use tool that takes the place of Microsoft Office. Open Office is free and allows students to download word processing, spreadsheets, and databases to their home computers without having to pay the big bucks for commerical products. Also, this tool runs on multiple operating systems (Linux, Windows, and Solaris). Open Office is also open source, which means that the software can be customized to individual or organizational needs. This software also allows students to import Microsoft Office documents.

However, the downside to Open Office is that the common office suite standard throughout the world is Microsoft Office. Since it is not as known (and has not been around as long), Open Office is competing for users.

Open Office allows students to practice and learn technology skills at home and in the classroom without having to spend money on the software.

Thing #17

This was my first experience with Rollyo. Rollyo allows you to create a custom type of search engine using only the websites you select. I created a Searchroll for my 4th grade students on Famous Texans. They are currently researching Famous Texans for a research project. Parents and teachers are often concerned with the types of information that students are exposed to when they are researching online. Rollyo is a great tool that allows students to only retrieve information from creditable sources that were selected by the teacher.

Here's a helpful youtube video that shows how to use Rollyo and the Rollbar.

Thing #16

A Haiku for You...

I like the wiki
It helps me collaborate
Won't you try it, too?

My students are currently studying different forms/elements of poetry. One way the wiki could be used with my students is for them to upload their poems to the wiki and share them with their classmates. These exchanges are likely to encourage conversations on the various forms of poetry, as well as, the different subjects the students have chosen to write about. They are able to ask their peers questions and develop a deeper knowledge of the subject.

The downside to Wikis is that once a user has permission to edit the content on the page, they are able to change any and all the information available. It's important that students understand this. If they understand this concept, then they will understand why teachers do not let them use Wikipedia as a resource for their research projects!

Thing #15

Wikipedia describes Library 2.0 as library services that are frequently evaluated and updated to meet the changing needs of library users. It goes on to state that the library user is a significant component of Library 2.0. The user is a participant, co-creator, builder and consultant – whether the product is virtual or physical. I think this idea is extremely important in the 2.0 world. Students must be in charge of their learning. As librarians, we must teach students how to effectively search through information and thinking critically about the information that they find.

I have never heard the term Library 2.0, but it makes sense when you think about the changes that are occuring within the library system. Rick Anderson, author of the article "Away from the Icebergs" states that it can be disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves. I completely agree with his viewpoint. If libraries are to continue to be central to student learning, then they must adapt to these changes. Students are engrossed with technology and spend a majority of their day using technology (in some way or another). If we are to reach them, then we must make the information relevant to their life.

Thing #14

I'm vaguely familiar with Technorati because we used it in another "Thing" activity. When I searched "School Library Learning 2.0" using tags/posts and blogs, there were no results. I'm assuming this is not what is expected for this assignment.

Hmmm...I've tried many times to search for the popular blogs on Technorati, but unfortunately I keep getting this message "Technorati's Popular section is currently unavailable." I guess Technorati is in a mood today. The end of Spring Break does that to me, too. :-)

Being able to search for content withing tags and blogs cuts down the amount of search time for users. I think Technorati is valuable in that it connects regular people who are interested in the same information easily. I can see this tool being used by teachers and librarians as a way of getting other educators' perspectives on various teaching techniques and lessons.

Thing #13

Hear ye! Hear ye! I am currently looking for delicious network members! :-)

Tagging is fairly new to me. Although I have heard the term, I have never really used tagging and have certainly never visited a social tagging network. In fact, I didn't even know they existed!

I am now hooked! I looked up the keyword "Big 6" because I am just about to start this process with my 4th grade students. I found some great sites that contained different information. I did not find it hard to come up with different tags, either. I wanted to make sure I understood just exactly what the bookmark was about by trying to be clear with my tags.

The video on social tagging was extremely helpful! I know that this is a tool that my fellow teachers and I can use in the classroom to share valuable websites. Also, this tool would be a great resource for librarians to use and share websites/tools they are using in the library.

The main point I learned from this assignment is that tags make it so easy to find and organize information.