So I explored Diigo which did have some interesting tools like highlighting and post-its. I am already synced with FireFox so I won't use it to duplicate the bookmarks I have listed. I have tons of bookmarks.
Diigo has interesting uses and I explored the education area and found ideas on reading and writing and read an article "What parents should know about 21st Century learning" which had good ideas. They talked a lot about using Skype in the classroom. It also had a short article on using World of Warcraft in the classroom. I wouldn't consider that but it is an idea and could be good for engaging boys in an assignment. Most of the parents posts were interesting but several were in Spanish. I could read those too, though one made no sense and looked like code-- OLE!
Technorati was also interesting. I am not sure what constitutes a lot but there were hundreds of blogs about every subject and popular subjects like autos had thousands of blogs. The smallest numbers of blogs were for sports with tennis and hockey having fewest blogs, tennis had 882. That seems like a lot of info about tennis to me however.
Information Tech had 35901 entries for blogs with them divided. I think it is amazing that there are nearly 13,000 about gadgets alone.
• Info Tech (23674)
• Gadgets (12889)
Read more: http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/#ixzz1rC5lXBqe
I looked up scrapbooking and found 1779 blogs. Most are for companies and businesses which makes it feel a little more like advertising. I don't mind that personally if they are up front about it and not trying to sneak it in like they are just newsy about such topics.
What categories are lacking? I am not sure. Since blogs are started by businesses and individuals who just want to share about an interest, it seems like those things would rule how much a topic is written about and how many blogs it attracts. I tried out the blog posts search tool as well and only got 3 items so the tool really narrows down the subject. I am sure all 1779 blogs talk about scrapbooking but may not use that term (it comes up as a spelling typo when you type it). So if you were looking for something very specific, it could really save you time. It may also miss information since it is just looking for a specific term and if you speak in general, not specific terms, it could be overlooked.
Christopher Harris in School Library Journal May 2006 stated, "Redefining the school library is not a response to some inherent failure on the part of the institution. It’s an opportunity for library professionals to engage in some exciting activities that will enable our institutions to remain effective in the midst of fast-moving technological change. It was school libraries, in fact, that led the way in the first wave that brought computers and then the Internet into our classrooms. This is about adapting, once again, to a new, perhaps even more compelling digital revolution, in which powerful new ideas are enhancing the way in which we function in an electronic information environment."
I am breaking it down one step at a time. The article talks about using a variety of ideas and technologies in the classroom. One that it mentions is using a blog or wiki with the class. My experience in INST 6030 has been that it is a good outlet and tool for writing. I took a class that was considered digital hybrid. It was half in-class and half online and I like it the best personally. We had a discussion board that was much more interactive than the blogs seem to be. You can discuss with everyone in one place at one time instead of having the discipline to skip all around looking for the blogs. It also encourages discussion. Attending the class half of the time keeps the deadlines clipping along and I have liked those classes very much. One of my professors who taught the hybrid class started every session with a synthesis of comments that had been on the discussion. It was a great way to really digest the information.
It also discussed the fixed vs. flexible schedule in the library. I agree to a point. Mrs. Jones may be in the library with second graders but unless they are doing self-checkout, the librarian is still needed. That is a lot of small people with tons of reference questions and they are still best served by the librarian.
I like the idea of Skyping with an author. I would need a bigger space to do and a camera. I think it would be great for writing centers to have an author presentation and have used recorded ones from writers@random and scholatic's websites.
The idea of moving the library is also interesting and works well. I go into classrooms with the portable computer lab to teach use of public pioneer, research tools including the Big 6 with topic research and when we go web questing. Being portable, adaptable and relevant help us as librarians to meet the needs of our students. I think that as we move forward, more technology will be integrated into learning and we will need to adapt. My concerns prompted by working with students and feedback from the librarian at Centennial Jr. High in Kaysville are two-fold. First we need to teach students to focus and use online time wisely. All year, their school has had problems with students hacking through the firewall to play games instead of study. Secondly, we need to teach students how to work effectively and know how to find accurate, reliable information. There are so many sites and they need to know how to negotiate information that is growing exponentially and it is a huge task to navigate it intelligently.
I liked the article by the way and you can find it on the School Library Journal website.
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