The How 2 of Web 2.0 has been an interesting challenge It has introduced some Web 2.0 tools which, given time need deeper investigation, however as a final comment I feel a little disappointed.
Many potentially interesting topics were introduced but little information, if any, was given about them other than that they existed. I didn't really feel we were taught anything.
There is potential to learn from other participants in an online course such as this. We were given a list of participants blogs but I found it very time consuming to click on these very often to find this person had not started or was not up to where I was. There was no corrolation between this list and the Progress Table.
From our first assignment I felt it was established that Web 2.0 was about learning through collaboration rather than learning on our own. I didn't feel this happened in this course.
Earlier in the year I completed a Challenge with Edublogs. Like this course it was all done online. Each week, along with our assigned task, we were directed to certain blogs for a particular reason and were encouraged to leave suitable comments. eg. Visit these blogs to see how they have used Google maps or see these blogs to read some interesting ideas about e books etc.
As a consequence of this activity, dialogue was established between participants as we visited each others blogs and left comments.. This activity over time ensured that all participants blogs were visited at least once over the course of the Challenge. As we visited each others blogs, reading what each other had done for various activities we found like minded people. Five months later many of us are still communicating and learning with each other initially through our blogs and later through email.
As I began, this has been a course which has introduced some very interesting topics some of which I will most certainly delve into deeper.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Monday, 23 May 2011
More on e books
Harper Collins has just released several picture book titles as ebooks – available via the Australian Apple iBookstore. They are limited to use with the Apple ipad
The titles are:
9780730444244 $8.99 Diary of a Wombat written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley
9780730446040 $8.99 Zoobots written and illustrated by Bruce Whatley
9780730497202 $8.99 Queen Victoria’s Underpants written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley
9780730499220 $8.99 Feathers for Phoebe written and illustrated by Rod Clement
9780730444602 $8.99 Josephine Wants to Dance written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley
9780730443513 $8.99 Baby Wombat’s Week written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley
9780730445487 $8.99 The Tomorrow Book written by Jackie French and illustrated by Sue deGennaro
All great favourites. The market must be there.
#22 and #23 Downloadable Media
E books and audio books are not things that I have used so far but I can see this is going to change.
I have been aware of the Project Glutenberg site as my youngest son, (in his late 20's) enjoys reading many of the old classics on this site and has been talking about it for some time.
I enjoyed checking out the World e-Book Fair and found a few books to enjoy. I had always thought reading on the computer screen would not be pleasant but it was much easier than I had imagined.
Last week, Jennifer Byrnes conducted an interesting interview on ABC TV titled 'The Future of Books'. Although it was probably more about the future of reading in this digital age, rather than the future of books, there were some very interesting thoughts given. The observation was made that in 2009 3% of books sold in Australia were e books compared to 10% in 2010.
It was also suggested that the price of e books could determine their success. The history of books shows (according to the program) that when books become cheaper we get an explosion of of literacy and great literature. (eg printing press and the advent of paper back books).
I think there will always be a place for the beautiful feel of pages flicking through your fingers and the unique smell of a new book. To be able to linger on page and connect wth its contents is something only a real book can give.
However in this quick multi tasking world we now live in there seems to be a place for the audio book. On a long drive to work through traffic snarls and jams, the audio book is a wonderful way to soothe the self.
For those who are not fluent readers this is a fantastic way to access the written word.
As a teacher-librarian in a Primary School I pride myself on reading aloud well and bringing a book alive for the children. Oh, how often I have wished someone would read to me. Maybe this is my chance.
I have been aware of the Project Glutenberg site as my youngest son, (in his late 20's) enjoys reading many of the old classics on this site and has been talking about it for some time.
I enjoyed checking out the World e-Book Fair and found a few books to enjoy. I had always thought reading on the computer screen would not be pleasant but it was much easier than I had imagined.
Last week, Jennifer Byrnes conducted an interesting interview on ABC TV titled 'The Future of Books'. Although it was probably more about the future of reading in this digital age, rather than the future of books, there were some very interesting thoughts given. The observation was made that in 2009 3% of books sold in Australia were e books compared to 10% in 2010.
It was also suggested that the price of e books could determine their success. The history of books shows (according to the program) that when books become cheaper we get an explosion of of literacy and great literature. (eg printing press and the advent of paper back books).
I think there will always be a place for the beautiful feel of pages flicking through your fingers and the unique smell of a new book. To be able to linger on page and connect wth its contents is something only a real book can give.
However in this quick multi tasking world we now live in there seems to be a place for the audio book. On a long drive to work through traffic snarls and jams, the audio book is a wonderful way to soothe the self.
For those who are not fluent readers this is a fantastic way to access the written word.
As a teacher-librarian in a Primary School I pride myself on reading aloud well and bringing a book alive for the children. Oh, how often I have wished someone would read to me. Maybe this is my chance.
Friday, 29 April 2011
# 21 Youtube and Teachertube
It was interesting to note the number of video sharing sites available.The only one I had previously heard of was Vimeo. This is the site used by our school for sharing videos on our school website. This maybe because the DET blocks Youtube from student use.
I am quite familiar with Youtube and often find sites to help teachers in the classroom. All classrooms in our school have interactive white boards so youtube has replaced my collection of pictures and sometimes (but not often) replaces a book as well.
I thought this was a great way for students to show their learning as they help produce the video.
I think as we begin to have our students produce these great things it is important that we teach about copyright from an early age.
Mrs Yollis who teaches young students has recently written an excellent post called Using a Creative Commons Licence on her blog relating to copyright. To find the post open her blog and scroll down to find the post. It was written on April 22nd 2011 In this post she directs her students to flickercc where we can use images without fear of copyright infringment. Her post also shows another use for Youtube in the classroom.
When I investigated Teachertube I found this great video explaining Google Docs and its use in schools. I thought that would be a good one to share with staff.
I am quite familiar with Youtube and often find sites to help teachers in the classroom. All classrooms in our school have interactive white boards so youtube has replaced my collection of pictures and sometimes (but not often) replaces a book as well.
I thought this was a great way for students to show their learning as they help produce the video.
I think as we begin to have our students produce these great things it is important that we teach about copyright from an early age.
Mrs Yollis who teaches young students has recently written an excellent post called Using a Creative Commons Licence on her blog relating to copyright. To find the post open her blog and scroll down to find the post. It was written on April 22nd 2011 In this post she directs her students to flickercc where we can use images without fear of copyright infringment. Her post also shows another use for Youtube in the classroom.
When I investigated Teachertube I found this great video explaining Google Docs and its use in schools. I thought that would be a good one to share with staff.
#20 Podcasts...a little more
While researching podcasts I was amazed at how many there are and the variety of topics they cover. Anything from Literature to Politics, Technology, Travel, Self Development, Daily Bible Readings, the topics seemed endless.
Not yet for me.....enough time with technology already and I MUST be choosy. Podcasts are for later....
Not yet for me.....enough time with technology already and I MUST be choosy. Podcasts are for later....
#20 Podcasts
Podcasts are something I have not used before although of course I had heard about them and was interested to learn more. It was good to have an excuse to investigate them futher.
I did a little bit of exploring and found some, that given time, I would love to subscribe too.
As a daily life style I do not listen to radio at all. (a downside of living close to where I work and prefering to listen to my CD'S ), however when I make the two and a half hour trip to visit my mother I love to listen to ABC radio. I always find the interviews and discussions very informative and entertaining. Thus finding ABC AM an ABC PM as podcasts excited me. I do not have the time to listen to these broadcasts at present, but I believe there will be a time when I can.
Another ABC podcast I thought would be worthwhile is Conversations with Richard Fidler I have heard his broadcasts before and find he often has very interesting people on his show.
Vodcasts are similar to Podcasts except the have visual download as well as audio. One Vodcast I really enjoy is Talks with TED.
Wikipedia describes TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) as "a global set of conferences owned by the non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate ïdeas worth spreading." These talks are usually entertaining, thought provoking and worthwhile.
I know some teachers do use Podcasts as a teaching tool and I did look for some but they all seemed to take too long to download. I will be interested in reading what sites other people found useful when searching for podcasts to be used in teaching.
Thank you for this opportunity to investigate Podcasts.
I did a little bit of exploring and found some, that given time, I would love to subscribe too.
As a daily life style I do not listen to radio at all. (a downside of living close to where I work and prefering to listen to my CD'S ), however when I make the two and a half hour trip to visit my mother I love to listen to ABC radio. I always find the interviews and discussions very informative and entertaining. Thus finding ABC AM an ABC PM as podcasts excited me. I do not have the time to listen to these broadcasts at present, but I believe there will be a time when I can.
Another ABC podcast I thought would be worthwhile is Conversations with Richard Fidler I have heard his broadcasts before and find he often has very interesting people on his show.
Vodcasts are similar to Podcasts except the have visual download as well as audio. One Vodcast I really enjoy is Talks with TED.
Wikipedia describes TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) as "a global set of conferences owned by the non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate ïdeas worth spreading." These talks are usually entertaining, thought provoking and worthwhile.
I know some teachers do use Podcasts as a teaching tool and I did look for some but they all seemed to take too long to download. I will be interested in reading what sites other people found useful when searching for podcasts to be used in teaching.
Thank you for this opportunity to investigate Podcasts.
# 19 Rollyo
I had a little play with this tool but didn't think I would personally be bothered using it. I sometimes think we can spend alot of time trying to play around with what we already have without gaining too much advantage.
That's what I felt about Rollyo. I'm more than happy with Google and feel I can refine my searches fairly well without the need to create my own custom search engine.
It is good to know there are other alternatives though.
That's what I felt about Rollyo. I'm more than happy with Google and feel I can refine my searches fairly well without the need to create my own custom search engine.
It is good to know there are other alternatives though.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
# 18 Wikis
Wikis are an interesting collaborative tool with potentially great uses in both our personal and professional lives.
I have used a wiki with my daughter when we were planning her wedding. The wedding was to be in my home town and my daugter lived some 6 hours away. It literally meant we were on the same page and not making decisions twice. Very handy.
It is interesting that in a discussion between Teacher Librarians on Yammer ( a communication tool similar to Twitter) this week there has been a suggestion to create a teacher librarian wiki. This would have great potenial to share information. Unlike classroom teachers T/L's are physically insolated from each other. In rural areas, maybe many hours away. This often means we are all in our own school doing the same research to create great lessons or find good resources for our students. With a wiki this information could be shared in a central place.
I found the set up of the teacher librarians wiki at http://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/19823570/FrontPage very good. I did wonder though why it hasn't been used in over 2 years.
I have used a wiki with my daughter when we were planning her wedding. The wedding was to be in my home town and my daugter lived some 6 hours away. It literally meant we were on the same page and not making decisions twice. Very handy.
It is interesting that in a discussion between Teacher Librarians on Yammer ( a communication tool similar to Twitter) this week there has been a suggestion to create a teacher librarian wiki. This would have great potenial to share information. Unlike classroom teachers T/L's are physically insolated from each other. In rural areas, maybe many hours away. This often means we are all in our own school doing the same research to create great lessons or find good resources for our students. With a wiki this information could be shared in a central place.
I found the set up of the teacher librarians wiki at http://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/19823570/FrontPage very good. I did wonder though why it hasn't been used in over 2 years.
# 17 Delicious and Social Bookmarking
As I move from my computer at home (and sometimes hubby's as well) and then to several computer at school, I used to email myself great sites I had found. When I was introduced to Delicious some time ago I was delighted. Yes I thought it was delicious. Delicious made it very easy to keep track of the great sites I found.
However late last year word was spreading that Delicious was about to disappear so I moved all my bookmarks to another social bookmarking site called Diigo. The Diigo site makes moving the bokmarks amazingly simple. I guess they want you to make the change.
I really enjoy using Diigo. I love the tags and the tagging clouds. I also enjoy the ability to use sticky notes on my saved pages. Although, like with Delicious, there is a feature that allows you to share your bookmarks with others I keep mine private. I guess that reflects my non risk taking personality
I have learned some extra features about Diigo by reading Margies Post #17 Delicious. It is a very worthwhile read.
However late last year word was spreading that Delicious was about to disappear so I moved all my bookmarks to another social bookmarking site called Diigo. The Diigo site makes moving the bokmarks amazingly simple. I guess they want you to make the change.
I really enjoy using Diigo. I love the tags and the tagging clouds. I also enjoy the ability to use sticky notes on my saved pages. Although, like with Delicious, there is a feature that allows you to share your bookmarks with others I keep mine private. I guess that reflects my non risk taking personality
I have learned some extra features about Diigo by reading Margies Post #17 Delicious. It is a very worthwhile read.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
#9 Virtual Worlds
I have already posted for this task but wanted to add this information that I found interesting...especially after so many negative thoughts about virtual worlds.
The students and I found it interesting that one of their favourite authors, Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid series ,considers himself not an author but a cartoonist. He created the virtual world poptropica.com which the students really enjoy. When we talked about this in class I was surprised at how much the students knew about poptropica.
The students and I found it interesting that one of their favourite authors, Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid series ,considers himself not an author but a cartoonist. He created the virtual world poptropica.com which the students really enjoy. When we talked about this in class I was surprised at how much the students knew about poptropica.
#13and #14 Social Networks
I feel I have enough internet exposure without creating a My Space account. I acknowledge its existance and will leave it at that.
I use my Facebook Account to keep in touch with friends and relations who live a long distance away. I do not use it for work or to promote my work related blog.
I found it interesting to read some of the articles recommended in this course. I didn't previously know I could put my friends into groups. In the information provided in the readings it did say that my friends would not be able to see that I had put them in groups so I found it surprising when I received some emails back from some people commenting on the group name I had put them in.
I have always been pretty private about what information I put on Facebook but I still found the information given about creating privacy settings useful.
Beginning next week the New South Wales Department of Education and Training are lifting the block on Facebook for teachers on school computers recognising its potential for collaborative networking and information sharing among teachers.
I use my Facebook Account to keep in touch with friends and relations who live a long distance away. I do not use it for work or to promote my work related blog.
I found it interesting to read some of the articles recommended in this course. I didn't previously know I could put my friends into groups. In the information provided in the readings it did say that my friends would not be able to see that I had put them in groups so I found it surprising when I received some emails back from some people commenting on the group name I had put them in.
I have always been pretty private about what information I put on Facebook but I still found the information given about creating privacy settings useful.
Beginning next week the New South Wales Department of Education and Training are lifting the block on Facebook for teachers on school computers recognising its potential for collaborative networking and information sharing among teachers.
Monday, 18 April 2011
#9 Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds will not be part of my teaching.....
however there is an online training program presently being developed for teachers which will be using virtual worlds.
PLANE is an on line learning experience being developed by a collection of educators and others from Department of Education and Training, Association of Independent Schools and Catholic Education Commission. As part of the training program participants will be able to enter a digital virtual world for experiencial learning, problem based simulation learning, collaboration and communication.
I have been following their blog this year as they begin what has the potential of beging a great learning tool.
however there is an online training program presently being developed for teachers which will be using virtual worlds.
PLANE is an on line learning experience being developed by a collection of educators and others from Department of Education and Training, Association of Independent Schools and Catholic Education Commission. As part of the training program participants will be able to enter a digital virtual world for experiencial learning, problem based simulation learning, collaboration and communication.
I have been following their blog this year as they begin what has the potential of beging a great learning tool.
# 15and #16 RSS Feeder
I created a RSS Reader some years ago as I was following several blogs for personal reasons. I loved reading the blogs of my friends and relatives and found it a quick and fun way to keep in touch with what was happening in their lives. By using the RSS feeder I was able to quickly check to see if there were any updates without going into each individual site.
However life was to become more complex.
In January I created a blog to promote the school library where I am Teacher Librarian.
Initially the blog (http://cosysorner.edublogs.org/) was meant as a communication tool for our school community but it found an audience in other towns and countries.
Other teachers and Teacher Librarians began to follow our Cosy Corner Blog. This following, lead me to discover other library blogs which I then wanted to follow. I added these new blogs to my RSS Reader and now checking my RSS Reader has become an essential part of my daily routine.
By adding my RSS Reader to my iGoogle page checking new postings has been made even quicker.
However life was to become more complex.
In January I created a blog to promote the school library where I am Teacher Librarian.
Initially the blog (http://cosysorner.edublogs.org/) was meant as a communication tool for our school community but it found an audience in other towns and countries.
Other teachers and Teacher Librarians began to follow our Cosy Corner Blog. This following, lead me to discover other library blogs which I then wanted to follow. I added these new blogs to my RSS Reader and now checking my RSS Reader has become an essential part of my daily routine.
By adding my RSS Reader to my iGoogle page checking new postings has been made even quicker.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
# 12 Flickr
This beautiful tree was photographed while in Buckinghamshire, England. I really loved the beautiful lines made by the truck as it crept its way up the wall.
I previously didn't have a flicker account but it was not hard to create one as I already had a yahoo account. It was interesting to see when I logged into flickr photos I had previously saved from emails were already in there.
This is certainly a quick and easy way to upload photos to the blog. I also have an edublog which I use with my students. I have yet to see if I can link that to flicker also.
In a primary school setting I cannot see that I will be teaching my students to have a flickr account but knowing about the Creative Commons feature is very much worth showing and teaching about.
Monday, 28 March 2011
#11 Library Thing
Wow! This one I could play with all day!
I joined up and was delighted that each book I entered was quickly 'found' and had been entered by other members. This led me to see what they liked reading and also to some interesting discussion groups (that I stayed out of...enough time on the computer without that!)
As we have an automated catalogue at school (even though it is over 20years old) I see no use for this there, however I have been wanting to start a library at church and this just might be the tool to get me organised. Mind you the pastor doesn't know about this yet...just ideas brewing in this old head of mine.
Oh so much to be discovered! Joy Oh joy.
I joined up and was delighted that each book I entered was quickly 'found' and had been entered by other members. This led me to see what they liked reading and also to some interesting discussion groups (that I stayed out of...enough time on the computer without that!)
As we have an automated catalogue at school (even though it is over 20years old) I see no use for this there, however I have been wanting to start a library at church and this just might be the tool to get me organised. Mind you the pastor doesn't know about this yet...just ideas brewing in this old head of mine.
Oh so much to be discovered! Joy Oh joy.
# 10 Online Graphic Generators
I think this is alot of fun and very time consuming but I'm not sure what use many of these tools have in the primary classroom setting.
I enjoyed playing with 'says it.com' and made some fun signs for my private viewing only. I didn't try to save them at all.
I did however save my avatar...but I'm not sure where it is saved to. Pity because I was going to paste it on this post.
Now I've had a play with adding captions to photos. The process was very slow. It maybe the computer I'm using at the moment. (mine is away being fixed so I'm using a loan computer). The activity itself could be used by students before adding their photo to a presentation be that photopeach or powerpoint or other. The difficulty would be time. Computers are always in such high demand at school waiting for things to happen is not good use of computer or time. Anyway here is my use of BigHugsLabs
I enjoyed playing with 'says it.com' and made some fun signs for my private viewing only. I didn't try to save them at all.
I did however save my avatar...but I'm not sure where it is saved to. Pity because I was going to paste it on this post.
Now I've had a play with adding captions to photos. The process was very slow. It maybe the computer I'm using at the moment. (mine is away being fixed so I'm using a loan computer). The activity itself could be used by students before adding their photo to a presentation be that photopeach or powerpoint or other. The difficulty would be time. Computers are always in such high demand at school waiting for things to happen is not good use of computer or time. Anyway here is my use of BigHugsLabs
Thursday, 24 March 2011
#8 igoogle
Igoogle is fun.
This is a tool I had not used before but being a very visual person I really enjoyed putting my homepage together. I have little turtles to feed each day and I can now check the daily weather and radar all in the same place. It is great to have my RSS feeds and gmail there as well but my favourite gadget is the to-do-list. My facebook account is with yahoo mail so it doesn't load. Nor is there a way to add my yahoo mail...but I can cope with this.
Working at Google....mmm. My son shared a house with a chap who worked at Google. His discription of working conditions was just as on the video. They lived very close to the 'office' so the chap seemed to be going to work at all hours, even Sunday over a long weekend. The food and company always seemed a good draw card.
This is a tool I had not used before but being a very visual person I really enjoyed putting my homepage together. I have little turtles to feed each day and I can now check the daily weather and radar all in the same place. It is great to have my RSS feeds and gmail there as well but my favourite gadget is the to-do-list. My facebook account is with yahoo mail so it doesn't load. Nor is there a way to add my yahoo mail...but I can cope with this.
Working at Google....mmm. My son shared a house with a chap who worked at Google. His discription of working conditions was just as on the video. They lived very close to the 'office' so the chap seemed to be going to work at all hours, even Sunday over a long weekend. The food and company always seemed a good draw card.
Monday, 14 March 2011
#7 Google Books
Well here was something I had not come across before. I'm not sure if as a teacher librarian in a primary school I have need for this resource but it is certainly interesting and worth a look. I will be interested to see how others in my situation find use for it.
I tried entering the titles of a few fiction books that are in my school library with no success. Perhaps they are too modern.I then entered Pride and Prejudice as a search topic and had a wonderful time browsing and reading reviews. This is as tool I think I will use in my retirement as Iam seeking the books to read that I have no time to read now.
I found it interesting to read mwallin's comments on how Google Books is used in the academic setting.
I tried entering the titles of a few fiction books that are in my school library with no success. Perhaps they are too modern.I then entered Pride and Prejudice as a search topic and had a wonderful time browsing and reading reviews. This is as tool I think I will use in my retirement as Iam seeking the books to read that I have no time to read now.
I found it interesting to read mwallin's comments on how Google Books is used in the academic setting.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Task 5 Google Docs
I have used Google Docs before. My son who lives 6 hours drive away has on several occassions asked me to share a document with him. It has been a fasinating experience especially when we are both working on the document at the same time. We have highlighted our individual changes by changing font or colour so the other person could check over the changes before final publishing.
At the moment I am accessing a Google Docs as part of a Postcard Project. In this project classes around the world are sending and receiving postcards to each other. We are able to keep track of what is happening by signing into the Google Doc.
This process has always fasinated me and I thought the person creating the document was so so clever. Now I've had a play and discovered the process is much easier that I thougfht it would be.
At the moment I am accessing a Google Docs as part of a Postcard Project. In this project classes around the world are sending and receiving postcards to each other. We are able to keep track of what is happening by signing into the Google Doc.
This process has always fasinated me and I thought the person creating the document was so so clever. Now I've had a play and discovered the process is much easier that I thougfht it would be.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Task 4. Web 2.0
I think the authors of the document Library and information Service 2.0 summarised Web 2.0 well when they suggested that Web 2.0 is not about technology. Rather it is about what technology is allowing us to do.
Web 2.0 is about users creating the learning environment. Unlike the traditional methods of learning where learners were passive intakers (is there such a word?) Web 2.0 is about an active exchange of ideas.
With Web 2.0, learners take control of what they want to discover. They are the users and the contributors. They are not limited by restraints such as time or location.
Tools to help them in this process include flickr, del.ici.ous, blogs, wiki’s, Wikipedia, twitter and facebook.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
A New Journey of Discovery.
Hi. I am a teacher librarian in a Primary school with around 300 students. I enjoy my profession and see it as a privilege to guide students in their learning. I also see it as my responsibility to engage students in a meaningful way and to expose them to some of the tools they may need to be life long learners.
I have a wonderful supportive husband and three grown up children. Our children left home some years ago to pursue their studies and careers in the city but they continue to provide me with the inspiration to be involved in continuing my own learning.
I am looking forward to this Web 2.0 course although I am a little concerned about my ability to find time to complete all tasks. However my mum, now 90years old, always says we don't find time to do the things we really want to do...we make the time. So here goes. A new journey of discovery.
I have a wonderful supportive husband and three grown up children. Our children left home some years ago to pursue their studies and careers in the city but they continue to provide me with the inspiration to be involved in continuing my own learning.
I am looking forward to this Web 2.0 course although I am a little concerned about my ability to find time to complete all tasks. However my mum, now 90years old, always says we don't find time to do the things we really want to do...we make the time. So here goes. A new journey of discovery.
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