Thing 10: Downloading YouTube videos

Wow. This is a great feature. Yes, youtube is blocked in our district. I downloaded from Zamzar a book trailer, entitled "American Born Chinese" based on the graphic novel that won the Printz Award (and part of my collection). I am interested in using Photo Story 3 to create book trailers and this is a simple example of one with background music and excerpts from the book, without narration. You may view it below. The process was easy. I saved it as a .wmv format for viewing in Media Player. I'm excited that I may view this at school! In contrast, the youtube video that I embedded in the last post (entry 9) cannot be viewed at school because of the embedded feature.

I tried Zamzar last year when a student saved in Moodle Personal Folder a document file from Wordperfect and we converted it to Word. The problem was I did not know at the time that it would take 45 minutes to an hour. I think I received it the next day, actually. By that time, the student had converted the file at home. I realize now that Zamzar might serve other purposes, such as the youtube video opportunities.

As a bonus, I discovered that I could also link to the Destiny online card catalog detail page of American Born Chinese. Note above link of American Born Chinese. This is a very useful feature, such as when I send emails notifying staff about new books.

Thing 9 and Thing 10 (part 1): YouTube

What do you like or dislike about YouTube? Did you find videos that would be useful for teaching and learning? Is YouTube banned in your building? Add comments to the video you embedded. Why did you select it?
I've seen YouTube before but had not subscribed and therefore, had never rated a video or left a comment. Now I don't feel like a voyeur anymore. I also started a Favorites list and posted a video on my Facebook account. I like the fact that you can share videos by emailing, posting on a social networking site, provide a link, or embed the actual video clip.

I see unlimited possibilities for educational usage. For example, there are videos related to Chinese opera. Students can take a virtual field trip to hear music from countries they are studying. TeacherTube also has outstanding videos.

We don't have access to it at school, which is increasingly frustrating. The students know how to get around the filters, but usually the teachers don't. We can ask the technicians to lift the filter for a particular site, but that is not convenient. The example, News14 with RGH, I am providing here was done by one of our staff, Cathy Gibson, and her former student. We run a daily broadcast at school. Rodney, who is now in high school, has taken it to the next level by producing his own daily news show and posting it on YouTube. I personally enjoy watching my favorite musicians, such as a local guitarlplaying/composer favorite, Laith Al-Saadi. I'm posting a sample of Laith for your listening pleasure. On it you will hear both original music and his rendition of other famous guitarists.

Thing 8: Image Generators

What can I say? This is fun! I created this using Spell with Flickr . I wondered how you created the banner and was so excited to learn how. How do I get the images that create one word to fit on one line? I tried making the images smaller. I also liked the Flickr Montager, but wish I could save it. My frustration with the montage/mosaic was that I wanted images about fall, but sometimes the tags did not match my concept of "fall."

Thing 7

Fall 2008
Originally uploaded by fox.tamar

Here is one of the pictures that I posted on flickr. I uploaded more than 5 pix, but my tags aren't showing up yet. I guess I need to be patient, as they say it may take 24 hours. My only concern about using flickr in education is the lack of filtering. My other reflections about flickr were previously posted.

I created this directly from flickr. That feature is very easy to set up and use.

Thing 5

How might you use RSS in your personal or professional life? Find anything in your searching that you'd recommend to others?
This is a great way to keep up with my favorite blogs. I read blogs professionally to keep up with young adult literature, because we don't often get to go to conferences. I use the information to assist me in my ordering decisions. I enjoy reading author interviews on many of these blogs. An example is Interactive Reader. A group of bloggers also created the Cybil Awards. These are books nominated by individual readers. You can view the nominees on this same blog.

Thing 4 Revisited

How do you handle information overload and how do you think RSS might help with that?
My whole life is information overload! I live for information. Seriously, as a media specialist, I am fascinated by information and the technological ways we share information. As mentioned earlier, I recently learned how to use IGoogle Reader, which is similar to Bloglines. I read lots of author blogs and other library media specialists' blogs to stay current in my field. This will really help. One of the problems was that I had saved my blog web addresses at work. So, then I set up delicious.com so that I would have access to them wherever. However, in reality, I didn't access them at home. I had seen the term RSS several years ago, but did not understand what it meant until recently. RSS feeds will simplify my life. No doubt about that. The question will be which I will like better, the Reader or Bloglines. Time will tell.

Thing 6- Grand Canyon - South Kaibab Trail on the way to the Colorado River

Grand Canyon - South Kaibab Trail on the way to the Colorado River
Originally uploaded by Al_HikesAZ

I've heard of Flickr, but since I already use Shutterfly and also upload photos on Facebook, I never got around to trying Flickr. The photo I chose was taken at the Grand Canyon. It is an excellent example for a school project because it is a beautiful photo, the photographer commented on the photo, and it gives students an opportunity to experience the beauty of the Canyon, whether they have had an opportunity to be there or not.

I am thinking about a 6th grade project coming up at school. We are doing research about landforms and are teaching students the difference between primary and secondary sources. As an example of a primary source, we will be showing students photos related to landforms. Visual learning is very effective with middle school students. We usually demonstrate Google images for projects like this. However, I can see many possibilities using Flickr. My only concern would be issues of appropriateness. While Google is not foolproof, Flickr might include inappropriate images.

BTW, I had trouble loading the image I saved from Flickr. It saved as a .gif file, but the actual image did not show up when I attempted to upload it. Then, I learned that I could send it directly to this blog from Flickr, so I did! However, while the alignment looks right on the preview, it is not aligning correctly on the published post.

Addendum: I've since discovered flickr's blog. They recently posted a screencast explaining their new feature called "Recent Activity." This is similar to a home page on flickr, with lots of options very well explained on the screencast. To view, click here.

Thing 4

Unfortunately, I have not been success in getting my Bloglines account confirmed. I resubmitted it several times and have contacted their customer support. It's a real bummer, since I have a bunch of blogs I follow and until I knew about RSS, I've set it up under My Favorites and just visit the blogs when I get a chance. Using Bloglines will be so much superior. So, I'll get back to this one. Meanwhile, I did learn how to use IGoogle's Reader in August. I'm looking forward to comparing the two RSS reader systems to see which I like better.

Thing 3

How might you use a blog with students?
I would like to use a blog to share new books in our collection and to post technology tips (also for staff). I've been reading the blog created by the Teen Services Librarian at Plymouth District Library (see my links) and would like to do something like it. My concern would be the comment field. I'd like to think that our students would comment responsibly. When we tried something similar in Moodle e-classroom, there were a couple of examples of irresponsible comments. We would likely need to set parameters and consequences (after all, it's a middle school).

Thing 2

How does writing on the Internet, knowing anyone could read it, change how you write or feel about writing?
Writing is one expression of communication. Writing on a blog, knowing that anyone in the world may view it, is powerful. There is a responsibility to the unknown audience to make the blog meaningful. When you are taught to write for an audience, but you do not know who that audience may be, it is daunting. Do you write for yourself (journaling) or write for the collective learners taking this online class?

In my case, this is my second experience with blogging. The purpose of the other blog was to share information, mostly with family and friends who were invited to visit the blog. While messages/comments from those I knew were appreciated, it was most powerful when a stranger commented on an entry, found it beneficial, and made a connection with me.

I'm also a Facebook user. Check out what Doug Johnson has to say about Facebook as an educational resource.The power of social networking expands when the user chooses to communicate on a regular basis. Communication may take various forms, such as posting information, uploading photos, writing status statements which post as "news," or commenting on other people's "walls." Writing is one expression of communication.

Thing 1- Part 2

Reflections: "Pay Attention" youtube video
I've watched this video numerous times and find it amazing. Our district provides many opportunities to use technology, but in some cases, our philosophy is outdated. We do not allow our students to use email, to use ipods, or to text. We filter out you tube at the middle school level. One of the products we do have available is Moodle's e-classroom features. I participated in a workshop at Oakland Schools this summer and have worked a bit with it with my student tech team. I'm excited to do more, especially with discussions and collaboration.

We also just upgraded our online card catalog to Destiny. Now students are able to access the OPAC from any Internet-connected computer. This changes the way we do business. Students will be able to plan their visits to the Media Center and share more experiences with families at home. Students will be able to post reviews. This also opens up the old discussion about the haves and have nots. We still know of many students who do not have Internet access at home.

Thing 1

What do I hope to get out of "23 Things?"
In my role as a media specialist, I've been a technology cheerleader for many years, teaching both teachers and students research skills using the Internet. I still remember ClarisWorks on the Mac and getting excited about Tom Snyder products on laserdisc. I proudly share with my middle school students that I have a Facebook page, use Skype, and love my Ipod. They are so impressed. Meanwhile, I've never created a podcast or regularly use RSS. That is why I am particpating. Web 2.0 tools emerged quickly on the horizon and I'm no longer one step ahead of my students.