edZone

The California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN) is offering a comprehensive set of tools to support teaching and learning in California classrooms. This free suite of tools, edZone, currently includes blogging, videoconference scheduling and a file sharing system where educators can upload videos, podcasts, images and documents.

EdZone is an excellent tool to share lesson ideas, upload student learning objects, disseminate best practices, and more! Make sure you take advantage of these free resources provided by the California K-12 High Speed Network and the California Department of Education.

The New Cartographers

The New Cartographers What does it mean to map everything all the time?
By Jessica Clark
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3524/the_new_cartographers/

“We no longer go to maps to find out where we are. Instead, we tell maps where we are and they form around us on the fly.”

Remember the days when you would buy a Thomas Guide and leave it in your car so you could find your way to a meeting or appointment. In today’s Web2.0 world maps may help us get somewhere, but more often than not they show us where we have been and what we have been doing. They give us perspective, advice, ideas; they show us relationships; help us find jobs and people; they document and decipher; they aggregate and disaggregate. I think they do everything but clean the kitchen sink.

From maps about health trends (Who is Sick?) to 360º city views around the world (360º) to Linkfluence’s Map of the Political Blogosphere and more Jessica Clark tells us how the old ways of mapping is a thing of the past.

Another technology in the world high tech world of mapping and destination seeking is the global positioning systems (GPS). If you want to get somewhere maps are passé, you can much more easily find your destination with a GPS unit from your car, boat, or even on your bicycle. If you look closely at the jogger passing you by at the stop light you may even see a GPS unit on their wrist or in their hand.

I was thoroughly amazed at the number of different ideas that were mapped. Want more about maps? Try the Mapsmania Blog by Mike Pegg http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/ Started in April of 2005, Mike has hundreds and hundreds of maps and ideas to use.

You can even find a LIBRARY near you!

http://www.libraries411.com/ by name or sip code.

AUHSDteacherLibrarians

As if I don't have enough to do! After this weeks District TL meeting I created a Blog and Wiki for collaboration amoung our district Teacher Librarians. Every one of our TL's will be a contributor - I hope it catches on. What I am finding however is that some of the same information may have crossover from this blog to the district blog - I appologize ahead of time for the duplication.

• AUHSDteacherLibrarians BLOG
  
• AUHSDteacherLibrarians WIKI

The Impact of Library 2.0

Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.

- Greg Anderson

It has been an adventure to take part in the Library 2.0 experience. I have learned a great deal about Web 2.0 and have discovered many new tools to help me become a better teacher, collaborator, and teacher librarian. I thoroughly enjoy these kinds of activities and am a life-long learner at heart. I hope that there will be a Library 2.02 or maybe we will need a Library 3.0 soon.

One of the prompts suggested for this blog is to describe the program in one word or one sentence. I think the best descriptor I can give Library 2.0 is “POWERFUL”. Learning is just that, powerful. I can’t wait to put what I have learned into action and share many of these tools with my students and staff.

I hereby pronounce my completion of the Library 2.0 program, and will move in to the implementation phase of my learning.

I proclaim to:

• Take the web2.0 skills I have learned and use them in my daily teaching and learning.
  
  
• Provide students with the tools that will support and excite them about learning.
  
  
• Encourage teachers to “take a risk” and step into the land of Web 2.0 where they can learn new technology skill that support student learning.

The important work of moving the world forward
does not wait to be done by perfect men.

- George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

#23 (WEEK 9) Copyright, Creative Commons, and Congratulations!

I love the video, “A Fair(y) Use Tale”. Although it does take some listening to in order to get and understand the message, I think students will enjoy the presentation instead of tuning out the message most commonly presented in a lecture or handout format. The Creative Commons web site and concept is another excellent way to bring home the idea of copyright and allows students to have something that they can use for their own work. I believe it is not until someone takes your intellectual property or other work that you really appreciate the concept behind copyright.

#22 (WEEK 9) Explore eBooks and Audio eBooks

I am an avid Books On Tape/CD/mp3 listener. There are points in my personal and professional life that the only time I have to read a book is while driving (which I find a bit dangerous). I have a personal digital library of well over 200 books on tape and am always looking for places to find good reads. It is also funny that just last week my principal requested the all our core novels be purchased on CD for student use. I will spend some time to see if any of our district core novels are available through the several sites listed in THING 22.

One of the links on the "Best Places to Get Free Books" site - #3 (BookCrossing - Where real books are released into the wild to be found by others - Thanks Engtech) was familiar to me. This is a site that is also advertised on the geocaching.com web site. If you are not a Geocacher and love to walk and discover new places check it out. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt activity for anyone of any age using a hand held GPS.

#21 (WEEK 9) Podcasts (No iPod Needed)

One of the only Podcast series I subscribe to right now is November Learning Podcast Series that can be downloaded for free from iTunes. Alan November is a public speaker who is dedicated towards supporting and challenging teachers and students to expand the boundaries of learning. I heard Alan speak at a technology conference last year and was inspired and educated throughout his presentation.

Alan has a series of Podcasts (free) to download on iTunes. I highly recommend them all, but will point out a 3:34 Podcast entitled - Rethinking Libraries of Today! In this Podcast Alan states. “The Library becomes more important than ever” when talking about education, technology, and information in a global society.

iTunes also hasa new feature called “iTunes U”. I was amazed with all of the podcasts, videos and Universities that were connected to this new feature. I was also pleasantly surprised at the price for downloads – “FREE”. Check it out – you don’t have to be a MAC user or even have an iPod to download these great resources. A computer with an Internet connection will get you in business.

KQED had some great Science videos, and also included the Arts, Science, Language Arts and How to create Digital Story Telling in a New Media Studies section.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/

You will need to download iTunes 7 on your computer if you don't already have it. ALSOCheck out the Podcasts section. There are all kinds of Educational podcasts for your professional development as well as use in your teaching.

#20 (WEEK 9) Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos

I have been a YouTube and TeacherTube user for awhile now – I guess I jumped ahead and just never got to b#20 to blog about it. There are some fantastic educational videos and podcasts that have I have shared and learned from over that past year or so. Some of my favorites include:

• Trailer for Sasha Cagen's New Book "To-Do List"
• Wetpaint Wikis in Plain English
• Give Education a Second Life
• The Human Network
• The Machine is Us/ing Us (Final Version)
• 180 Days
• A Vision of Students Today
  
  And for fun –

• Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

I have also discovered a way to convert and save the videos using ZAMZAR. This helps when I am unable to view a video through the Internet. I simply save the video on my desktop for future use.

#19 (WEEK 8) Check out LibraryThing

I created my account a long time ago and never really had time to go back and learn how to use this tool. I just spent some time adding a few books and I can’t wait to catalog my personal books. I have a couple hundred books on tape/CD that friends and family borrow all the time – this will be a great way to keep track of my collection. I have added the blog link to my sidebar on Library Evolutions as well.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/maier_k

#18 (WEEK 8) Take a look at online productivity tools (word processing, spreadsheets, and more)

This blog was created using ZOHO Writer. I see that this is a great tool for online work and accessible at any time from anywhere. I work on about 5 different workstations and often find that my documents are saved on one computer and I am at another (sometimes on another campus or at home). My email inbox is very full as I often email myself documents and save them so I have access to them at all times. ZOHO Writer or Google DOCS seems like a better solution. I like that you have most all the features found in the MS WORD program. I also like the public Docs section if I am working on a report or something that needs editing from different people such as our WASC report, School Plan or other such documents. As I was just spell-checking I did notice that some of the right-click functions are left-click functions in the program. I am sure it will take some getting used to, but I do see a use for myself and my students.

#16 (WEEK 7) Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them #17 (Week 7) Add an entry to "Sandbox" Wiki

#16 (Week 7) Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them

#17 (Week 7) Add an entry to "Sandbox" Wiki

I love the concept and activities that can take place in a collaborative environment like a wiki. My favorite wiki idea was from the Princeton Public Library wiki entitled Booklovers. I am planning a one book one district program next year and can see how a wiki and/or blog would be a great resource for the event. Unfortunately for our student’s blogs, wiki’s and other Web2.0 tools have yet to pass through the fire walls of our county and district. I started a wiki awhile back (napkincommunications) and can see many other educational applications. I am just very frustrated that the only time this tool is accessible to me, my colleagues or students is from home – kind of defeats the purpose.

#15 (WEEK 6) Read some perspectives on Web 2.0. Future of Libraries

The future of library services is really the title of this blog Library EVOLUTION and Web 2.0 is part of the living thing we know as the library. If we are to keep up with the information age we have to teach our students the power of information literacy. Web2.0 is a means of communicating in our global society and sharing our thoughts and ideas with those around us.

According to Dr. H. K. Kaul, Director of Developing Library Network (DELNET) in New Delhi (http://drtc.isibang.ac.in/DRTC/consortia/files/symposium/index_files/papers/pdfppts/hkkaul.pdf)

• Online information doubles every 6 months
• Unstructured information doubles every 3 months
• Corporate information doubles every 18 months
• Medical information doubles every 19 years
• Scientific information doubles every 5 years
• Biological information doubles every 5 years and
• Useful genetic information doubles every 18-24 months
  
• The world’s knowledge doubles every 6 months
• Printed knowledge doubles every 8 years
• The sum total of human knowledge doubles every 2-3 years
• Technical knowledge doubles every 3 years
• Medical knowledge doubles every 7 years
  
• Mechanical capacity to process information doubles every year
• Capacity of chips to hold information doubles every 18 months
• The database of printed information doubles every 8 years