Thing #7 Goggle

After exploring Google’s tools, I see that Google is a whole world in itself. Like Who-ville in Horton Hears a Who, the Google world was there all the time, and I never knew it! I am excited about using Google calendar and Google’s Advance Search. The calendar app would be very useful to post library events so parents, as well as students, could access it 24/7. I hope to utilize this tool as a homework calendar for my students. Now, no more excuses for missed homework assignments! The calendar was easy to navigate and easy to embed in this blog (see below).

The Advance Search option was a great tool, also. I found an interactive site on latitude and longitude ( http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/k9mod/Mapskill/mod3fl5.swf ). To find it I had to narrow down the search by displaying only Shockwave files. The Advance Search option also can narrow the topic by date and/or by domain. I like using the Advance Search option because you weed out thousands of pages of irrelevant information. I will definitely use this tool more often.

Thing #6 Mashup

I’ve never used Mashups before and really found it fascinating. I absolutely love the poster making app at Big Huge Labs. The two posters above are pictures of my son and daughter doing what they do best—running and pole vaulting. I think my students would enjoy making posters on this site, as well as making the trading cards. In the library, students could make trading cards for their favorite characters, and the librarian could display them on a bulletin board. Bookr would be an easy site for elementary students to create their own books; however, most schools block Flickr, so Bookr could not be utilized since it links to Flickr pictures. Does anyone know of another Web 2.0 app like Bookr, but where you can upload your own photos? Below is the book I made on Bookr. Fun!

Thing #5 - Flickr

I got lost while viewing the plethora of pictures in Flickr. The picture above was retrieved from Flickr, and it is copyright–free, but it took some time to find a good picture that I could use. Some pictures I saw corresponded nicely with their “tag”, but there were a few that seemed to be tagged incorrectly. That is one of the problems with Flickr. Another problem with Flickr is that it contains some pornographic pictures. (Yes, I tried it and found some. I immediately blocked Flickr on my home computers because I have a teenage son!) Now I understand why Flickr is blocked in my school district. There are benefits, though. Teachers or librarians can make groups, and members can make comments on others’ photos. Students can receive feedback on their photos, and this can build relevance in creating projects. Libraries have used Flickr as a tool for advocacy and staging photo competitions. There’s even a list of libraries across the globe that have Fllickr accounts. Overall, Flickr is a great Web 2.0 tool, but because of the possibility of students viewing banned photos, most school districts will continue to block this site. Like YouTube, librarians and teachers can view at home and then save the pictures they need to compliment their project or presentation for school.

Thing #3

Creating a blog is not that hard; you just have to know where to point and click! It had been awhile since I created a blog for another class; so, I had to look at the “Help” section for a refresher course. It thoroughly explained how to embed and navigate around in the blog. The avatar was fun to create. Only thing, it made me want to jump on an airplane again and fly to another world, but for now I will have to be content traveling in cyber-space posing as my avatar. Off we go!