Summing it all up...Learning 2.0

Lifelong Learning I liked the ideas I could understand in the presentation and they mirror what I have learned about reading and language acquisition in my master's program so I think that it is important to try new things and be learning in different ways. I think it is good for students to see adults as lifelong learners also. I am excited to try new things. Blogging I have changed my mind about some blogging. I got my undergrad degree in journalism and love to read well-written work. A lot of blogs are not well-written and there is a lot of blather out there. I was anti-blog but found that there are great blogs by some well-known and lesser-known writers. So like everything, I guess it boils down to finding what you like and I found several blogs I am following loosely now. Photos and images This is my strong point. I have published photos in several national magazines and I love photography. I have used a lot of photo-editing software and used sites like PhotoBucket for years and years. I like some more than others but love the cool effects and things you can do. I am getting better at using brushes and though I am just a dabbling amateur, it is interesting and there are lots of videos online to help improve photography skills. Wikis I was enthusiastic about the Wiki but it won't work for me. So I am trying to regroup and create a Google Docs account that will hold all of my important documents. The wiki is a good idea if others are willing to contribute but my school decided it was too much work. So I am moving my concept of what I wanted. After playing with Google Docs, I wish I had worked with that and had that option instead. Skype It was interesting. I would use it more if I had friends in foreign countries or out of the area. I may get a camera so we can Skype in an author visit. I am really liking writers@random and Scholastic for their short author videocasts. Play! Again I like images and my bookshelf so this was fun. Kind of interesting. Social Bookmarking I am not a book marker. So far, I am also not a social book marker but I will have to play with it more over the summer as I have time. I want to integrate some of my lessons with online tools and sites so it may be a cool thing with the mobile lab. RSS, Newsreaders Not as into newsreaders because I don't have tons of time. I guess I am a go when the "spirit" moves me to read and research. I am kind of old school and love the newspaper...I love the smell of ink and worked at a newspaper for years. Twitter Ah, Twitter. Ah, tweets. It makes me feel like a twit actually. I am not sure I like the shorthand and hash tags associated with it. It almost seems unreadable. I got on a few famous people's twitter feeds. Duane "the Rock" Johnson is as boring as anyone else though he is in better shape. He is cute. That is all I know. Spring Break I loved spring break. Online Video Watched these a ton before the assignment. I like book trailers. I like youtube videos that are instructional, about teaching and books and done by authors and how-to videos, especially book repairs. Who knew I would be a book repair junkie? And I have to listen to a little SheDaisy while I cruise youtube. Podcasting Still on the fence about podcasting. My main experience was a little boring though it had such promise (personal journal podcasting). I have listened to some NPR podcasts and KSL does one with Doug Wright since to try again. I am unmoved by the appeal of podcasts. It may be my job. After meeting the needs of 250-350 students in a day and hearing their stories, book reviews and ideas, I like a wee bit of silence. I was raised on a ranch in a remote area so a podcast of quiet and a cricket may be what I need. Tag Clouds WORDLE Wow. This was the most frustrating of the learning 2.0 assignments and it leads me to something. I couldn't find very well written help instructions on several sites (Skype, Wordle and Podcasting) I had to go to youtube or google and find instructions and those sites need a bit of help writing clear, concise instructions. If these services want digital immigrants to catch onto their techy sites, products or ideas they should make it clear and easy, not frustrating. I didn't like Wordle after I had to wrestle it to the ground and go to another computer. Google Docs I like Google Docs. I think that it will be a doable change for the documents and collaboration that I am trying to organize for my school. I think it will be tough to move around from school to school as I get working but I will get going with my ideas and add a few new things each year. ONE LAST THING I love funbrain, Poptropica and several of the other sites listed here. I am heavily into using the free sites think that there is value in students exploring the web on safe sites as well. I will continue to work on sites like webgarden for web questing and others. I know that teacher/librarians are fabulous to share ideas and resources to help each other and that is a great thing. Other things to try I have tried many and will work on them all over the summer as time permits. It will be my first break in 18 months that I am not attending two schools and I will have some time to lesson plan. I liked the challenge and learned some new things. There are other sites and skills I want to work on gaining like QR codes. I think it will also help to have an open mind and conceive ideas as libraries evolve.