Week 6

Another class down, and only one more to go until I get my masters! I have statistics to take this spring, which actually has already started. The 515 class has been a great experience. I've learned even more web 2.0 activities and I enjoyed all the different uses of google. I'm starting to use all the different applications more and more now. It's just so handy to have everything right there; word processing, spreadsheets, presenter, calendar, and sites. I didn't use my flash drive at all for this class which is the first time I've done that for my entire cohort. I also have already implemented google calendar at my school to keep track of all the room reservations that I'm responsible for. I also am starting to use google calendar in my personal life too now and love the fact that you can subscribe to a variety of calendars. I already have the Brewer's schedule on my calendar. The spreadsheets are very handy too as I'm using them with my friend's as we keep track of our Brewer tickets. I also have talked to my district's tech coordinator about using google and it seems like it could be a possibility in the near future. The sharing capabilities just make too much sense. It beats saving documents and then sending them out as email attachments or saving them to a computer drive on a district network.

Week 5

What we are studying so far has had some impact on my teaching. I think it will have more effect down the road. I only teach my library skills class for a 3.5 week period to five different groups of sixth graders throughout the year. That does not give me very much time to cover many different things and I haven't had much of a chance to implement what I have been learning, but I will try next year. A major part of my class is dedicated to using voicethread for their final project which I learned in a previous class in my practicum. It helps students bring together everything they have learned in our time together. I would love to incorporate google sites into my curriculum for the future but that would take some discussion with higher-ups in my district.

In terms of my library work for my job, I've already incorporated google calendars into my school by moving all the reservations for the library, library computer lab, and school computer lab to that format. I have also had a discussion with our technology coordinator about using google docs in the district and he sounded interested and mentioned that there had been discussion about implementing it earlier but nobody really knew much about it. Also, just this week a teacher asked about websites that could be used for students to create their own websites and I suggested google sites to her. I just have to find out if our students are able to access google sites or if they'll be blocked. Plus, they probably would have to have some form of gmail to access it.

Week 4

I searched In Time under the subject of Information Literacy and found 8 videos. Only one of the videos was for the middle school level. However, it was for sixth grade which is the grade level I teach my library skills class to. The lesson was about using a WebQuest for a Solar System Colonization project. It is a nice blend of science and information literacy and they also are using the internet for their information source. The teacher pre-determines the sites that the students can use so she knows they will go to appropriate sites.

Students are researching the livability of other planets and are each taking on different roles during the research process and then they will be determining their location for a space station to be and presenting their findings in a multi-media presentation. This lesson is from the year 2000, so it is a bit dated. Especially with all the changes that have occurred in the online world since then. However, it brings to light ideas that I teach in my library skills class such as using reliable websites, how to search for information online, and citing sources. This lesson is a great way for a library media specialist and a science teacher to collaborate on a lesson or unit.

Week 3

This week's main focus was on spreadsheets, in particular google spreadsheets. I found them to be very useful and handy. The recipe was a good way to implement using formulas and I like seeing all the different foods on the forum. I may have to try some of them out. I think the best part of google spreadsheets is the ability to share with anyone out there. I have started a google spreadsheet for my 9 pack of Brewer tickets that we're sharing as a group of friends and we're claiming games on it and keeping track of who is going to which games. In terms of at school, I was thinking about transferring my library budget spreadsheet to google to help me keep up to minute information on my financials.

I have had limited results in my district in terms of finding out about software purchasing. I finally heard back from our head tech guy and we talked for a little while about it. Basically people can pretty much get what they want, within reason, if they're using their own money. For larger district wide things, people make suggestions to him and he will eventually have the final say in the purchasing.

515 Week 2

I thought the 20thingsilearned was an interesting little book. Some of the stuff mentioned in it seemed like pretty basic stuff at first, but then I realized just how much stuff there is out there on the internet and what all goes into something as simple as a web address. There is also a lot out there that can harm your computer or steal things from you, like your identity, so it was good to learn more about malware and phishing.

I currently have all my documents, pictures, pretty much anything I have saved digitally to either my hard drive or to some sort of portable drive, (I have two jump drives that have pretty much anything I've saved in the last three years or so, and then I still have some 3.5 inch floppy disks that have some real old stuff on it--none of which I really use anymore). I should probably save some of the more important stuff to a cloud app, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Plus, all my pictures are taking up a lot of space both on my hard drive and in my jump drives.

I have been a dedicated google user so far in my online life and I really don't plan on switching from it for my searching needs. I almost always am able to find what I need in a very short period of time, but it is nice to see what else is out there and know that I at least have options.

515 Week 1

I'm back writing on this blog for the first time in 4 months. I was just reading some of my old posts reminding me of previous classes. I'm excited to get going with this new class. It sounds like we will be learning about some great web based technology tools. I've already learned about a lot of what's out there from previous classes that Louis taught so I'm interested to compare these tools to what I already know and use in school. I'm always looking for new and exciting websites to share with both staff and students and for me to use in my library skills class.

Using graphics could be beneficial to me in a few ways. I definitely could jazz up my web site for me school library with some graphics. I know the art teacher in my school is always looking for new ideas to use so I plan on introducing some to the graphics sites to her. The book is also interesting so far. It is almost more like a workbook with all the questions it asks along the way and provides great tools and learning activities.

I'm sure glad I'm a renter on days like these!!!

Go Pack!

Week 6!

I was very impressed with everyone's units in class on Wednesday. We had a nice variety of topics covered, plus I was able to see how someone did a unit with a similar topic (Jenny with immigration) than me in a different way. I got a lot out of the class too. LoTi levels was a completely new concept for me and it allowed me to look at lesson/unit planning in a different way. I was also introduced to some great ideas for project based learning that I could either use with my future students or suggest to future colleagues.

On now to start another phase in my life. I'll be moving back to the Madison area (Middleton) on Sunday and I'll be back living there for the first time since my undergrad days. I'll be starting a new job on Tuesday in a new field (Library Media Specialist at River Valley Middle School) so I'm very excited but also a little bit nervous for that experience. I'll also enjoy the three week break before we start our next and final class in the LMS cohort.