,, { ipod's Laundry } ,,

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

I didn't know what to expect when we attended the Library 2.0 training, I just had this feeling it was going to be big. Huge is more like it. As cheesy as this may sound, I feel like this was a life-changing experience. My thoughts about technology will never be the same. I know I probably still only have just a little knowledge about what is available to me and my students, but I know I do have a lot more to offer now.

According to Sir Winston Churchill, I may have only just come to the end of the beginning. So where do we go from here? I think my most important next step is to get this information out to my teachers. This new knowledge is only as good as how many people you get it out to.

My students and teachers are already enjoying the new additions to the library web page. Seeing the new photo collages of their field trips has been fun. My first plan is to work on a podcast covering the research we just completed in fourth grade. Hopefully, from there, it will just continue to grow.

Honestly, I do not think there was any activity that I did not gain some knowledge from. Every time I sit down to work on something on the computer, my approach is different because of something I have learned. Now I just want to maintain this knowledge and learn how to keep up with new technology.

Thing #23 Creative Commons

Probably not the most entertaining "Things," but definitely a "Thing" I need to know a lot more about. No matter how much I read up, I never feel like I know enough about copyright and fair use. Each year when I present this to my teachers, I feel like a hypocrite, knowing that I probably do not know enough to feel confident enough in what knowledge I give them.

Not that I feel like that has all changed now, but I do feel better informed, and ready to present this information a little diferently next year. I really do not believe I have ever heard of Creative Commons, but I do know that this is a guideline we follow with New Jersey Writing, especially when we have to re-certify or when we teach in the summer. It is such a waste of time to recreate resources that you know someone out there has created, or you know you have just created the perfect tool that would benefit others. This is the perfect way to share your creations and find creations, but the proper attributes are being given.

Thing #21 Podcasting

Our library staff development introducing us to Podcasting left me wanting to learn as much as possible, in order to incorporate this into the library and classrooms. This activity just leaves your mind racing with the endless possibilities. I have been subscribed to the Radio Willoweb out of Omaha, Nebraska, "a podcast created for kids by kids," since our first podcasting class. Up to this point, all I have done is listened to the podcasts. Now I am ready to "dive" in and learn as much as I can about creating a podcast. I noticed all the background music they use, transitions, and how smooth each podcast sounds. Most importantly, I noticed all the different age groups that work on the podcast. My first plan is to create a 4th. grade podcast over the reasons for conservation of the rain forest and its resources.

Thing #22 Animoto

Animoto was, in fact, the easiest Thing ever. I think I had a video ready to go in about five minutes. It was late, so I just used the photos I had in my Iphoto folder from Children's Book Week. I am going to go back and link my Flickr account later. All of my music is on itunes, so I decided to upload one of Animoto's songs. I think I spent more time here, but it was fun listening to the different genres of music of various artists that they promote as up and coming.
This is something I would use all the time to put together quick photo videos together of research, library events, and even things at home. The problem is being able to share these with our teachers, parents, and students. Now that you have created US monsters, is it time we try a new type of web page design so we can utilize ALL of these great tools we have learned to work with?
I know we could create a My Space for our libraries, but even that would still be blocked at school. Lots to think about as we draw this project to a close.

Thing #20b You Tube

Okay, this one is a no brainer.

Thing #20 YouTube

In lieu of Super Bowl Sunday and all the great commercials that usually come from this weekend, I thought I would post my favorite football commercial out there right now. I always thought it would be hilarious to see a referee get a little more involved than they were supposed to.

As far as uses for the library, they are endless. I found conservation clips that my fourth grade tecahers could use. I just spoke with our music teacher just yesterday about how she uses YouTube to view different operas before our sixth graders attend their opera field trip. She was talking about how much of a pain it was to override the block. She is not afraid to override the filter, it just slows the process down. So many of my teachers are afraid to do this, I have made it a point to discuss the fact next year that they are allowed to override blocked sites that are appropriate for use in the classroom.