Thing #18 Online Productivity Tools

I am familiar with google docs, and I'm working with a teacher to figure out a way to have the kids write a group essay using this tool. Again, the biggest issue is that all of my students do not have an email address. I hope we can get them all set up when school starts this year. I love the idea of them all working on the same essay while still being responsible for certain parts/information. The biggest advantage I see with google docs is that the students could access their documents from any computer at school or at home.

I have heard of Open Office, but I have never used it. I did read the info to learn more about it. This is wonderful if it is really compatible with all office products.

Thing #17 Rollyo

This is one more thing I have never heard of. I can see this being extremely useful when doing research. With our 7th and 8th graders, most teachers like to give them specific sites to explore. With Rollyo, I can easily design a search engine that will eliminate all the completely useless hits that the kids might find if using google or yahoo (their two favorites).

The searchroll that I set up today was YA Book Reviews. I use Amazon when creating carts for school book orders or looking for something for me to read. By including it in a searchroll with other review sites, I could have everything right in front of me rather than going back and forth between several sites.

I will certainly be exploring this further and sharing it with my teachers and tech people.

Thing #16 Wikis

Since collaboration is key to a successful library program, wikis might be a good place to start. One of my English teachers wants her students to do group essays. We discussed using google docs, but a wiki is another option. If we decide to go with a wiki, I think it needs to be ongoing throughout the year. A class wiki would be a good place to work on essays, post notes, hold discussions, post book reviews, etc. I'm certainly going to show her some of these wikis to see if she is willing to give it a try!

Thing #15 Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

Loved the video! I hope to have the opportunity to share it with the teachers on my campus during one of our inservice meetings at the beginning of school.

As a librarian, I am completely aware of the need to integrate technology into every aspect of our curriculum. What I see happening right now is a big push to use technology just to say we used technology. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers think technology consists of powerpoint and movie maker. Our job as librarians is to get everyone on board and make them aware that there is so much more for our kids out there. Of course, this means educating our teachers, administrators, and students while working with our technology department.

My main reason for participating in this project this summer was to learn more about what is out there. I have lots of teachers that are terrified of anything beyond powerpoint and word processing. If I have a better grasp of what is available, I can persuade my teachers to "play" and find out what's out there.

Thing #14 Technorati and Tags

This is my first time to spend a lengthy amount of time playing on Technorati. Needless to say, it would be very easy to get sucked in and waste a lot of time there! Obviously, it will be very useful when trying to find info for students or teachers and their projects. At least once a year, some teacher on our campus assigns some crazy food assignment. With technorati, there is a ridiculous variety of recipes, not to mention the videos on how to prepare the foods.

I loved the Popular Blogs and added several baking blogs to my google reader. I think Mashable: The Social Media Guide might be a nice way to keep up with what's going on in social networking.

Technorati will certainly be one of my go-to sites when I'm helping teachers prepare lessons. The tags will make searching much easier than just going to yahoo or google!

Thing # 13 Delicious and Tagging

I have had a Delicious account for a while now, but I rarely used it until I started traveling. I discovered very quickly that every time I needed a website, it was bookmarked on my computer at the other campus. I remembered my Delicious account and life got much easier!

I looked at the other sites, and I am currently trying to decide if I should switch to one of the other sites. I need to figure out the benefits and decide if it is worth my time to make the switch.

The benefit to delicious that I've seen so far is with the tags, I instantly have research sources ready to go. If a teacher needs sites to do colonly research, all I have to do is go to my Delicious account and find the sites that I've already saved.

Thing # 12 Commenting

On the Blue Skunk Blog, Alan Levine was quoted as saying that "it can be more of a dialog than a sermon." Sometimes we are hesitant to blog because we don't think anyone wants to read what we have to say. However, but looking at a blog as a discussion rather than dispensing wisdom, I'm much more willing to blog. I love discussions!

Cool Cat talks about how all blog readers become a part of the blogger's life. I know from my experience on message boards, online "friends" are very real. I know from reading blogs, I feel like I really know these people. After reading how important comments are to bloggers, I plan to start commenting more.

In Google Blog Search, I typed in Gifted Children. My son was identified several years ago, and my daughter will be tested this year. While I wouldn't trade my kids for anything, parenting gifted kids certainly has unique challenges. The author of this blog has a son that sounds very much like my own. I willl be checking out Hormone-colored Days very often. http://hormonecoloreddays.blogspot.com/

One blog that I read regularly is written by one of my best friend's from high school. We don't see each other often (families require most of our time), however, when I read his blog, I can hear him telling these stories. If you need a good laugh, check out Do You See the Glory at http://www.jaxxshirts.com/blog/