Thing #11

Library Thing is a really cool way of cataloging books. I chose to catalog a few children's books. I have quite a collection, so I need to go through them to get a more complete list. I like being able to tag them. That would have been very helpful to me when I was a kindergarten teacher because I could have used the tags to go along with themes.

The groups were really interesting. There are several that I would like to follow, including, Librarians who Library Thing, Read YA Lit, Crime Thriller & Mystery. The first two groups appeal to me for professional reasons and the third appeals to me on a personal level. I am also interested in the author chat group.

I would like to introduce Library Thing to my students, particularly those students who are avid readers. I think that they would benefit from the variety of groups that are available, too.

Thing# 10 some of the images

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Here is my welcome to Vegas Sign and a Rubik's Cube with my nephew, Adrix.

Thing#10

Thing #10 is by far my most favorite activity so far!!! I absolutely love photography and playing with images so using image generators is right up my alley.

I am posting some of my favorite "creations" on my blog for all to enjoy.

I used Image Chef to personalize my conversation hearts. I used Sign Generator to create a Las Vegas welcome for my husband. I used Dumpr to create a Rubik's cube with my adorable nephew. I used Wordle to create a montage of words that have to do with Texas A&M. (My husband, son and daughter are all Aggies.

Most of the image generators were extremely easy to use. But I tried to create a Fake Magazine cover and it required the use of my webcam, rather than being able to upload a photo. I have also taught myself how to superimpose faces onto bodies, so I was excited with the site called "Your face on a different body," but it wasn't as easy as I was hoping. I didn't spend too much time on it because it was kind of complicated. (Of course superimposing using PhotoShop is also extremely complicated.)

Students could use Wordle for all kinds of projects. They could use it to describe a person, character or historical event. They could use it for brainstorming.

They could use a comic strip generator to comment on current events.

They could create a trading card of a character from a book or as part of a biography project.

Thing #9

Google Blog Search was easy to use. When I entered the search term Library2Play, it yeilded over 4,000 hits. Many of the hits were from fellow players. Using the Edublog Awards was even better for ensuring that you could find the type of blog that was most pertinent for individual needs. In my case, I am most interested in blogs for librarians.

I found both Topix and Syndic8.com too overwhelming. I don't have the time or the inclination to go wade through information overload.

Superglu, the School Library Blogs were awesome! I am always looking for ways to make the school library more user friendly and this was a great place to look for ideas. The photos that were included were a definite bonus for me.

Thing# 8

The RSS feed will allow me to organize the sites and blogs that I would like to follow. My main concern is the amount of time that it would take for me to stay up to date with them all. I have been surprised with the amount of time that I am spending on each of the "things" that I have learned about so far.

I think that using the reader will help me to focus on blogs and information that can help me to excel in my job as a school librarian by keeping current. The blogs that I chose to follow include ones that deal with books and teacher/librarian collaboration.

Thing #7

Google tools are great! I created a homepage using iGoogle! It was great to be able to choose the types of links that I wanted. I really spent too much time playing with some of the links - comics and Soduku were among my favorites.

I also created my profile using iGoogle. It really shouldn't have taken as long as it did. I put the information in several times before it worked.

Another great tool for me was the calendar feature, because I was able to put a reminder on the calendar to give my dogs their heart worm preventative. It's little things like being that that I appreciate.

Thing #6 - additional thoughts

I would like to have my book club members create their own trading card. Another idea would be for kids to create a photo montage using Mosaic Maker to represent their reading preferences.

Thing #6

Mashups are really cool! I had a great time playing with Mosiac Maker. I tried to upload some photos from my computer, but the files wouldn't upload. I had to upload to Flickr in order to create a mosiac from my own photographs.

Flickr Color Picker was also a very cool mashup. I enjoyed being able to select a color and seeing the various photographs that were selected.

Thing #5

I have used Flickr before. It's very useful although sometimes the tags can sometimes lead you to some inappropriate photos for students. I have used it to create book advertisements and to play with superimposing.

Thing #4

Registering my blog was easy. I am looking forward to learning through play this summer!

Thing #3

Okay, I admit that I was reluctant to create a blog. I really don't think that many people are interested in my thoughts and opinions. But I can see how it would be very useful to incorporate with a book club at school.

I loved creating my avatar! That was so much fun. It reminded me of creating all the me's that we created for a wii bowling party! I chose Las Vegas as my background since that is our favorite vacation destination and I'll be headed there in a couple of weeks!

Thing #2

I definitely consider myself a life long learner. I was able to complete my master's degree online. It was a challenge, but so rewarding to be responsible for my own learning. So I guess that one of the 7 1/2 Habits that comes easy to me is being responsible for my own learning. I am very excited by the prospect of learning new things. This course is really a great idea. There is always so much new technology, and there isn't always a "reason" for me to use it. I'm not sure that I ever learn anything with the end in mind. I feel sure that once I learn to use this information, I will find a way to incorporate it, either personally or professionally.