Finito

We have been shown many differentWeb 2.0 tools, some of which I had very little interest in (eg Facebook, MySpace), but others I would have liked to have more time to explore.  I know! I could find the time if I wanted and I know I can revisit my more enjoyable ones at a later time, but I found during the 12 weeks I was obliged to keep on going on the week by week programme.  To have this overview of the 20 something tools was good, but from a personal view, I would have liked to see more tools with an educational focus and ones that can be used in a classroom/school library environment.  An opportunity to share ideas with everyone else doing the course would make the learning more productive.

Thankyou for your time in overseeing the course and I would recommend this to my colleagues if they had a wish to find out more about Web 2.0 tools.

Activity #22 and #23 E-books etc

I have been building up our school library collection of audio books over the past few years.  They continue to be popular with the struggling readers and our high numbers of ESL students.  It is a shame we are not allowed to make backup copies of the CDs as these get easily scratched/lost.

On a personal level, reading a book on the computer or Kindle etc does not appeal to me and before this programme, I hadn't read more than a page of a book online.  Not owning an IPad or Kindle and having a slow internet connection at home, I think I'll stay with the paper version for the time being.  At school where there is a faster download speed and the children have grown up reading from a screen, I can see a future for such media.  The sites I have looked at certainly have a wealth of material that could be used in a school environment and some of it free which is a plus when school finances are limited. It is worthwhile sifting through to locate suitable reading/listening material for the students.

Activity #21 TeacherTube

Like Podcasts, you could spend alot of time looking through these clips (especially when your internet connection is not that fast - I wonder if the NBN will lessen my waiting time?)

I chose to share this clip on my blog, but the other 2 video clips in this series are equally as stimulating.  This clip would be good to show a couple of my staff who still see the LRC as an added extra.  The clip emphasises that the library is an extension of the classroom and the lessons that the teacher librarian does should be planned with the classroom teacher and complement the learning that is occurring in the classroom.




I am trying to add this clip of The Hare and the Tortoise using the embeddable player.  I'll publish the post and hope it works.

<embed src="http://www1.teachertube.com/embed/player.swf"  width="470"  height="275"  bgcolor="undefined"  allowscriptaccess="always"  allowfullscreen="true"                                                                            flashvars="file=http://www1.teachertube.com/embedFLV.php?pg=video_233897&menu=false&frontcolor=ffffff&lightcolor=FF0000&logo=http://www1.teachertube.com/www3/images/greylogo.swf&skin=http://www1.teachertube.com/embed/overlay.swf&volume=80&controlbar=over&displayclick=link&viral.link=http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=233897&stretching=exactfit&plugins=viral-2&viral.callout=none&viral.onpause=false" />

Does not seem to work.  Maybe I'm not selecting the right parts of the code.

Activity #20 Podcasts

Wow, so much out there and if you go patiently searching you will find "stuff" that caters for your interests.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Naked Scientist podcast and while I was not interested in everything, I found myself spending alot of time here.  The EdPod had a current discussion about the Fed Government's plan to reward the best teachers with a cash bonus.  A great thought provoking argument from 2 well informed experts.  For me this highlighted one of the possibilities for using podcasts in the classroom, namely listening to the views of others eg debating, persuasive arguments etc.

Other ideas for using Podcasts in the classroom could include: Book reviews, short stories, giving a report after an excursion or a visiting guest author. Being able to embed these into a Blog or Wiki makes them even more appealing.

The Ken Robison Changing Paradigms article I have seen twice before.  It is a favourite with presenters at ICLT workshops. 

Activity #19 Rollyo

I have created an account for Rollyo and set up a Search Roll.
http://www.rollyo.com/johnrob1/exploring_space/ "Exploring Space"
This will provide students in primary school a safe list of sites to use when they are wanting information on Space and Exploring Space.

I am undecided on the benefits of using Rollyo.  In my school situation, it is much quicker to go to the Student Common drive on the server, create a folder in Favourites, call it Exploring Space and add the web sites to this folder.

Activity #18 Delicious.

Created my account OK but will think about retaining the Side Bar as I feel it clutters the screen.  The Commoncraft Youtube clip was helpful in explaining what delicious is all about. (all in this series that I have seen are worthwhile.)  At first I thought keeping my favourite websites organized in Folders in Favourites would be simpler than using Tags, but after playing around I can see the real worth of using Tags.  They will save so much time in doing advance searches for specific sites eg geometry games for upper primary could be found immediately by using the tags: geometry, games, upperprimary.  Better than creating 3 separate folders.

There is also great value in having your favourite websites available on-line so any computer can access them (home/work)

This is another site I will continue to explore and introduce to colleagues when I learn more and am more confident in knowing how to share with others. 

Activity #16 Subscribing to RSS

I have obviously jumped the gun here.  In completing activity #15, I did in fact subscribe to some feeds.  I should have read what was required for this activity #16 first and then completed #15.  Nevertheless, I did subscribe to ESA and Unshelved tonight and when I visited Google Reader noticed that a feed I recently subscribed to, had been updated.

I am impressed with how all this works and will be on the look out to subscribe to any other interesting blogs/sites I come across.

Activity #15 RSS Feeds

Another great activity.  I had alot of fun looking for different sites to subscribe to and of course went off on many tangents in the process, but I finally decided to subscribe to Classroom 2.0 and a Dr Karl podcast.  Both of these sites have content in which I am interested and the beauty of RSS feeds is that I don't need to log on to the site to be updated.  Often you can go to a site looking for new information and nothing new has been posted.  By subscribing to a RSS feed, you can see straight away if content has been added.  If each
student in your class had a blog and were asked to present something on their blog, by subscribing to a RSS feed on each blog, you as a teacher would not need to go and check the blog to see if anything had been posted.  Instead going to Google Reader would be all you need do.  Even from a personal view, subscribing to RSS feeds on hobbies, forums etc can be time efficient.

Activity #17 Wikis

I thoroughly enjoyed this activity because I have heard so much about wikis and wanted to know more about them.  After viewing several wikis, I realised there is a great range of differing uses for a wiki.
They can

• provide information ( be it text, images, video, podcasts)
• create a space for discussion and sharing ideas
• encourage collaboration
• display students' work etc

Alot of the wikis I looked at had a Home Page that was well set up with links and well presented but seemed to be managed by one person (usually an enthusiastic educator) and contributions from others was limited even though there was plenty of opportunity for others to add to the wiki.  Secondly, many had been last updated some time ago.

I am keen to set up a wiki using Wiki spaces but see two challenges.  Firstly, keeping the site current and adding to it regularly to keep it active and "alive' and secondly, encouraging and enthusing others to make a contribution to the site.

The school library where I work would be ideal for creating a wiki.  On it I could put info about opening times, borrowing policy, procedures etc. Advertising and promoting Book Week short-listed books, authors and illustrators, Literature Circles and a place for sharing photos, upcoming events, news etc could all be placed on a wiki.

Each class could also create their own wiki and do things like debating, pick-a-path stories, solving open-ended math questions, orientation of new students (what you need to know) to name a few.

Activities #13 & #14 Myspace and Facebook

I could not get excited about what these two sites had to offer.  Firstly with Myspace, the Listen to audio link was "not available" and when I clicked on the link "How libraries are using Myspace", I "m taken to the Myspace site and log in, only to see the message: "Myspace Group is getting an upgrade".

With Facebook I came with a preconceived belief that too much time is flittered away with trivial messaging.  I have resisted the temptation to get an account but will concede that I could use it when travelling for example, to keep in touch  (photos/news etc)

When I tried looking at the Ning link on the Web 2.0 blog, I got a message: "The page you are looking at doesn't exist".  A slow internet connection doesn't help either.

I don't wish to be negative, but these sites hold little interest for me - I would much rather speak to some face to face or on the phone. (am I showng my age?)

The 7 things you should know about facebook is a must to read and I hope anyone signing up for an account does so.  The section on Digitl Citizenship is particularly worthwhile.

Activity #12 Flickr

Teia de solidão!, a photo by Rubens.Campos on Flickr.

It is wonderful how a spider is able to create such an intricate and beautiful, silken web.

Activity #11 Library Thing

Created an account.  This was very easy to do.  I could see this site being used effectively by a group of avid readers who might like to form a literary group but do not always have the time to meet face to face on a regular basis.  It seems to be a good way to discuss books with others who have read the book or get suggestions for similar books to read, or books by the same author/genre.  I was amazed to see 16 772 members nominated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Here is a link to my catalogue:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/robbo53

Activity #10 Image Generators

This is where I spent more time than I should have.  The Says-it site had so many useful (I found them useful as opposed to Activity #9) ideas to use in the classroom.eg Student of the Week, and if a weekly class newsletter goes home images to announce what is happening in your class during the week can be used.  A library blog could advertise new books through an image.

Dopple Me looks great to create avatars for children to use when commenting on blogs etc.  Primary students would really go for this.

Generator blog and Make me babies would be appealing to those so inclined.

Activity #9 Virtual Worlds

This week's 2 activities were a mixed bag.  I found it difficult to be enthused by any of these 3 virtual world sites.  I viewed the Second Life video and the Ohio State Library Youtube clip where I thought the Learning Kiosk idea could have some potential for online courses.  I am sceptical however, of sites offering a free sign up then offering extras (eg sign up bonuses) for those willing to pay.

Exit Reality was slow to load and didn't appeal to me at all.  I could not see any relevance for the classroom and thought that I could use my time more effectively doing something else. 

Activity #8 iGoogle

You can certainly spend alot of time in iGoogle with all the great range of things you can add to it.  I liked the news, sport and tech items and added the Optical Illusion of the Day and Sticky Notes as well as a few others.  I tidied the page up a bit by deleting or moving some items.

When I tried to add Google Docs I got an Internet Connection error though.

i Google has value for me in that you can have alot of the things you use in the one place.  Maybe when I get better organised, and have more spare time for browsing, I could make better use of it.

Activity #7 Google Books

All books I searched for in Google Books were found, but by searching just in Google, the picture books I looked for had more info on the storyline and the illustrator's technique.
For adult fiction, the ability to read some pages is a handy feature if you are considering buying.
I would consider using this for home for previewing books, but for work, I would continue to use the publisher's website to get the info. I need.

Activity #6 Google Maps

Of the 3 views the Map view was quickest to download.  But having to wait for the Satellite and Map views was worth it.  An interesting feature on the Map view was the North pointer and the ability to face in any direction.  Studying the geographical features of countries would be easier using Google Maps.

A play with the Get Directions tool was fun and would be useful for those who don't own a NavMan etc.

Activity #5 Google Docs

Have created a document and added an image but was not able to format the image so that the text wrapped around it.  The image stayed:  in line with text.

By creating the doc in word, saving it and then uploading it to Google Docs, would have been a better option.

I would like to know more about sharing documents created with Google Docs.

Activity #4

Web 2.0 is so much more interactive and driven by people making comments and adding things to the site.  In contrast, sites from Web 1.0 are created and driven by the person who created the site with very little collaboration from those who visit the site.

Will there be a Web 3.0?  If so I wonder how that will operate? 

The longest journey starts with a single step.

Hi,  I have made a start and created a blog.

I am a primary trained teacher/librarian in a P-12 school setting.  I have often thought how exciting it would be to be familiar with Web 2.0 tools and to use some of the applications with students.  Having viewed the video clip on how the students of today (2008) learn, I am more convinced than ever that to keep students interested and focussed on learning, we will need to adapt our teaching strategies to cater for the way they learn.

I am hoping this course will provide me with the confidence and the skills to do that.