Thing 10, part 2

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/atom

Did this work?! If so, this Wordle shows the names and subjects of my team members at school.

Thing 12

While I welcome comments from others, I do not make very many of my own. I guess I need to change that, especially since they always encourage me! To get more traffic on my blog, I need to start asking questions. I've treated my blog as kind of a journal tracking my accomplishments. Instead, I need to focus more on the process.

I've commented on the following Library2Play blogs: Book Diva, Read On, Pam Loves Books , Christina's Music Notes , and No Apples, thank you.

And the following blogs found elsewhere: TODAY Show and Rachael Ray. The summer months are the only times that I get my "fix" of these shows, so I thought it would be fun to follow their blogs. On the TODAY Show, I made a comment on the upcoming Harry Potter movie. Then, on Rachael Ray, I agreed to try a lemon bar recipe. I'm not much of a baker, so we'll see how that goes!

I could not find these on Google Reader; I tried until I was frustrated. I don't know if I missed a step or if I didn't type in the correct search words. When all else failed, I went to the websites and found the RSS feed icons/links. Maybe I should've tried "entertainment"...

Thing 11

I spent quite a while exploring Library Thing and even added the books-I'm-reading widget. As I checked out the Groups, I noticed that they were by topic within each category - which got me thinking. This is so much easier than the TLC listserv! I could read only those posts which interest me. I'm not knocking TLC; they have lots of timely info. This could save time, though.

After I added books to my have-read list, I discovered the mystery/thriller genre group. It gave me good insight to several books that I need to put on my must-read list!

Thing 10

This was fun! I played around with the Custom Sign Generator, the Image Chef , the Happy Face Generator, and Wordle. I was not able to save my Wordle, though, so that was disappointing.

I'm imagining the signage I could use in the library! As far as what the students could do, I'll have to think about that. They have done this sort of thing in the computer lab, but not in the library. I'll need to restructure some lessons so I can incorporate these. It comes down to availability since I see 35+ kids at a time with only 8 computers for less than an hour at a time. I'm sure a lot of you out there have a similar problem! I can see that the mosaics would be useful with vocabulary and any of the subject areas. Mostly, it would just be fun. Imagine kids learning while having fun - what a concept!

Thing 9

There is SO much information out there! It was so easy to jump from one blog to another that I became lost - I didn't know which search tool I was using. I think I liked the Blogline's Search and the Edublog's award winners. Those were the easiest to use.

When I used School Library Blogs on Suprglu, I was slightly confused. It was all about one blog, Gargoyles Loose in the Library, instead of multiple blogs. It might be the time of year, so I'll be sure to check back from time to time to see if others have been included.

Topix.net was cool. Everything you wanted to know about Houston, TX. I then typed in "dancing" and was reminded that one has to be specific when searching the web.

Thing 8

Oh my goodness, how fun is RSS?!? I began this Thing 2 hours ago and have just been playing around. I'm following my mother's blog, 2 news blogs, a dancing blog, a library blog, and my friends' flickr. I've put some of them into folders; I've clicked on the titles so that I could go to the original source; and I've renamed one. What a cool time-saver! Thank you, Library2Play!

Thing 7, part II

http://www.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1
Here's my calendar!

Thing 7

Google has so many things with which to play! I created a calendar, clicked the option that said "make it public," but how do I know if it worked?

I also looked into Google Earth. That's really cool! Since I'm waiting for a new computer (& mine doesn't have very much memory), I need to make my way to a faster one so that I can fully appreciate it. I would like to try out the one where you can see how a neighborhood has changed over the years. It's amazing what Google can do nowadays!

Thing 6, part II

OK, it worked this time! Yea!

Avatar question

I keep forgetting to ask: Why can't I see my avatar? 80% of the time, I can't see it. Can others see it? Did I miss a step?

Thing 6

OK, I'm frustrated. I haven't ever had much luck with photos/images and this Thing is about to drive me crazy! There is SO much to learn, I'm overwhelmed. The slowness of my computer may also be contributing. I also think I've been staring at the screen for too long...

I did accomplish making a Trading Card. Since tomorrow is Father's Day, Dad was my subject. Once I found the photo I wanted, making the card was remarkably easy. Looks cool, too!

My frustration is with BigHugeLabs. I wanted to play around with a mosaic, using photos that I saved onto my computer. It allowed me to find the photos, and it seemed that I uploaded them. However, I haven't figured out how to use them. It seemed that BigHugeLabs wanted me to use only photos from my flickr account. Since I just created an account with flickr, I do not have any photos in that account yet.

Thing 5

I enjoyed exploring flickr. A friend recently completed the 365 Days Project, so I frequently looked at his photos. But, that was all I would do. Who knew that there was so much? I need to join so I can add comments. I'm intrigued with the library version of 365. I, of course, would need to make sure that everyone included in the photos had permission to be photographed. Interesting idea... It would help dramatically in the "all you do is checkout books" argument!

I'm not sure my elementary kids could do this, but I liked the scenario given at the beginning: architectural students taking photos and commenting on them as a class project. It would need serious modification; I'll give it some thought and see what I can come up with for the fall. Perhaps starting with one grade level, or even one class, and going from there.

Thing 4

I registered! Four Things in one day... it's time to take a break from the computer!

Thing 3

There were so many choices of avatars...who knew? I'm glad there were directions on how to export it; that always scares me a little. I didn't get a chance to go through all of the choices, so might have to change it every once in a while.

Thing 2

The easiest & hardest of the 7 1/2 Habits... The easiest is probably Habit 1: Begin with the End in Mind. I know where I want to go, I just don't always get there efficiently. The hardest would be Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as competent learner. I'm camera-shy. I don't feel competent when it comes to technology. I expect that this course will change that!

Let's see how this goes!

OK, it's Day 1 of my second attempt of "23 Things." I started last summer, but became distracted. Here's hoping that I can maintain my stamina this time around! I've lost count already, but I think I'm on Thing 4. Pretty good for the first day, I think.