Extra: Top 5 New Bloggers Beware

Just read Here's My Top 5 Mistakes Made by New Bloggers by Sue Waters and thought it would be good for us all to read.

Thing #10 Online Image Generators

This one I created using ComicStripGenerator.com. Easy schmeezy. I'm not very good at coming up with "funny" sayings though. This is my best shot!

I really like using Image Chef. I used it to create this image for my library website and catalog's homepage the last 2 weeks of school.

And this is the one I currently have posted, also created with ImageChef.

BigHugeLabs aka FD Toys is a really good one. I hope it is not blocked from school. I can see us using the magazine cover creator or the trading card creator for quick and easy research projects over historical people or even authors. I know we are planning to do something for Women's History Month and this would be a fun way to incorporate a little history research with a technology product. Last year we had a summer reading photo contest. We used Big Huge Labs tools for the entries.

Thing #9 Newsfeeds and blog searches

I tried Technorati to search for blogs and didn't really find it user friendly. I liked Google's Blog Search because it came up with relevant blogs and at the bottom it allows you to sign up for email notice of any new additions to the search results for my search terms, or RSS feeds added to my Google Reader of new blogs or a search gadget added to my Google homepage. I like to use all of the applications from a single provider like Google because they all integrate so seemlessly.

I tried Topix.net for the first time looking for news in my area. I was rather shocked that it did come up with something, not for Evant but there was plenty of bad news from Gatesville! What a breeze to just type in the zipcode of the city for which you want news. Too bad we can't filter out all of the bad news and just get the good! or can I? Hmm. I'll have to check that out!

Thing # 8 Google Reader and feeds

I started out using the little orange button to add feeds to my Internet Explorer toolbar. It is in the same section as Favorites and History. From there, I could just click on the names of the blogs that had been updated since I last read them. (they were in bold print) That way I could keep up but I found that I didn't always want to read everything they had posted. Next I tried Google Reader. I was setting up my IGoogle page and found I could put the Google Reader widget in my homepage. If the title of the post intrigues me, I can just click it and the post will open in a bubble window right there on my screen. I don't have to go to the website itself, although that option is there if I need it. For some reason, Joyce Valenza's blog on SLJ doesn't show the complete posting so I do have to click the Show Original Item link to see it in it's entirety.

I like the use of newsfeeds for research projects. I know Ebscohost has this feature so you can create a search and then subscribe to it so any new items published on your research topic can either be added to your current newsreader or emailed to you directly. We've come a LOOONNGG way from the big red books haven't we?

Thing #7- Technology and the use of it.

There is so much to think about regarding technology. Not just the latest tools and web2.0 applications, but the use of it all. I just read a blog post by Sue Waters about the use of student pictures and names on the Internet. Reading all of the comments posted by others shows that this is an issue with which we should all be concerned. Do our school districts have up-to-date AUPs with regard to web2.0 usage? Are our teachers trained about what to do and not to do regarding not only student pictures on the web but also with implementation of blogs, wikis, etc.

We can be aware but sometimes things slip past us. The last couple of weeks of school, I set up a wiki as an alternative assignment for some students. I made sure I only used their first names but I caught one putting his last name on a powerpoint he uploaded. Once we uploaded a student created video created with PhotoStory3 we were so excited to share. However, when the movie played in the media player on the website, the student's complete name showed up as the name of the file. Another instance was a wonderful 8th grade video project that we wanted to share via our school website but the students had used their complete names in the video and the credits so we could not. Not only do the teachers need to be trained, but the students as well.

Our district is planning to implement an online safety curriculum this year. I hope it is a good one that will cover all aspects of online safety and we will have the opportunity to educate the teachers as well as the students.

Thing 6: Flickr Mashup

I've been playing with the tools from fdtools, Big Huge Labs. I have been using the mosaic maker but it cuts off part of my pictures. I finally just picked the ones that would work. These are my children and my grandaughter.

Extra - YouTube find

I found this video via BoortzNews (husband's favorite newsletter) who got it from Kim Komando (America's Digital Goddess) and wanted to share.

Thing #5b Flickr

P1060540
Originally uploaded by sandracarswell

Here is one of the videos I took.

Thing #5a Flickr

Caution tape butterfly
Originally uploaded by sandracarswell

This is a picture of one of the butterflies I took today at the Butterfly Rainforest at the Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, FL. I had a hard time getting them to pose for a good shot! I do have some videos as well. Fun Fun.

Thing 4: Twitter

I'm trying out Twitter. I just don't see much use for it for my library, students, or myself. I prefer my librarian listservs and reading blogs for getting the latest information.

Thing #3 About me

I have been a school librarian for 6 years, the last 3 in junior high. The 13 years prior to that I was a 5th grade teacher. I love my job and all things tech that go with it. In this class I'm hoping to learn more about web 2.0 applications and how they can be used to motivate learning throughout the curriculum.

I had difficulty figuring out where to post the html for the avatar. Finally found that on the Layout page, I had to click Add a Gadget and then select Html to have a place to paste the code.

Testing

This is my first blog post using Blogger. Our school website service, School Wires has a blog style page so I have been using that to post book talks for books I have read. I find it hard to make myself write them but maybe this type of blog will be easier.