Added a few more subscriptions - mainly relating to school libraries, web 2.0 but also found an interesting education.au one called "You are never alone" about participating in online PD.
And, to assist with a task for school next term I subscribed to a few copyright ones.
I also enjoyed the Common Craft video on RSS. I have viwed a few of these and find they are easy to understand and put it all in perspective. I 'follow' Common Craft on Twitter now too so I can get other information from them!
RSS is a great tool for me for my own PD as I can collect ideas/information/comments/articles etc and then persue them in my own time. I just have to be a bit strict with myself in how many I subscribe to so it doesn't become too overwhelming - but I find it a great way to organise it all.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
#15 RSS
Thanks - some useful introductory information on RSS but Tute#1 wasn't working today but #2 very good.
RSS via Google Reader makes it all so simple! What I like so much about using RSS is that it collects the information ready for you to look at. One thing I (and I assume many others too!) need to be careful of it to limit the number of subscriptions we have. I have subscribed to a number of library related ones and have been getting some very useful information/articles etc.
In a school setting it would be a very useful tool for teacher PD to show them how to collect the type of articles they are looking for or to subscribe to blogs etc they have found relevant.
For students it would be useful to subscribe to a range of services that relate eg to a particular assignment. One example I can think of is a topic for Year 12 Nutrition which is global hunger. There are a number of NGO's and other sites where upto date information, statistics etc are coming through and will build up a great selection of current resources.
There are also many other subjects that require students to choose a current topic/theme etc and using RSS would give them another 'set' of information to use.
The options to star useful 'feeds', save to delicious etc are all very helpful and assist in joining the web2.0 tools together almost seemlessly!
RSS via Google Reader makes it all so simple! What I like so much about using RSS is that it collects the information ready for you to look at. One thing I (and I assume many others too!) need to be careful of it to limit the number of subscriptions we have. I have subscribed to a number of library related ones and have been getting some very useful information/articles etc.
In a school setting it would be a very useful tool for teacher PD to show them how to collect the type of articles they are looking for or to subscribe to blogs etc they have found relevant.
For students it would be useful to subscribe to a range of services that relate eg to a particular assignment. One example I can think of is a topic for Year 12 Nutrition which is global hunger. There are a number of NGO's and other sites where upto date information, statistics etc are coming through and will build up a great selection of current resources.
There are also many other subjects that require students to choose a current topic/theme etc and using RSS would give them another 'set' of information to use.
The options to star useful 'feeds', save to delicious etc are all very helpful and assist in joining the web2.0 tools together almost seemlessly!
Friday, April 2, 2010
#14 Facebook
I already have a Facebook account so did not want to set up another one.
I have used Nings - eg for Syba Signs events and also ASLA events and think they work really well and offer a range of tools to work with. My aim is to set up a Ning for the library staff at the Distance Education school I work in and share with the library staff at SIDE - the distance ed school in WA. A Teacher Librarian and I have discussed this and want ot have it set up next term for us to all share.
I have tried LinkedIn and find it interesting but a bit more than I need as it is quite broad with the people who are involved and the information that comes through. But useful to see too - as we can get a bit library-scentric or even school library and not look beyond that enough.
I also use a Twitter account and have deliberately set the Facebook account and Twitter one to serve different purposes for me. Facebook is where I keep in touch with family and friends and Twitter is more professional and PD for me. I 'follow' a range of other Teacher Librarians and other library related people plus a range of speakers I have heard at recent conferences. This year I am also 'tweeting' significant events in my library so I am keeping a record of these. I find Twitter great PD and it doesn't take up heaps of time but keeps me very in touch with new ideas, information and introduces me to people out there all over the world doing wonderful things!
In many schools Facebook and Twitter are 'locked out' but through this course I am finding out about other options that will be worth trying and possibly suit students who will want to keep their 'social' tools separate from the school ones but still use the skills they have to share ideas and information and interact with others.
I have used Nings - eg for Syba Signs events and also ASLA events and think they work really well and offer a range of tools to work with. My aim is to set up a Ning for the library staff at the Distance Education school I work in and share with the library staff at SIDE - the distance ed school in WA. A Teacher Librarian and I have discussed this and want ot have it set up next term for us to all share.
I have tried LinkedIn and find it interesting but a bit more than I need as it is quite broad with the people who are involved and the information that comes through. But useful to see too - as we can get a bit library-scentric or even school library and not look beyond that enough.
I also use a Twitter account and have deliberately set the Facebook account and Twitter one to serve different purposes for me. Facebook is where I keep in touch with family and friends and Twitter is more professional and PD for me. I 'follow' a range of other Teacher Librarians and other library related people plus a range of speakers I have heard at recent conferences. This year I am also 'tweeting' significant events in my library so I am keeping a record of these. I find Twitter great PD and it doesn't take up heaps of time but keeps me very in touch with new ideas, information and introduces me to people out there all over the world doing wonderful things!
In many schools Facebook and Twitter are 'locked out' but through this course I am finding out about other options that will be worth trying and possibly suit students who will want to keep their 'social' tools separate from the school ones but still use the skills they have to share ideas and information and interact with others.
#13 MySpace
I had set up a MySpace account a while ago but haven't used it - but it was still there!
I find it very busy and lots of ads but can see it would have appeal for some.
I checked out Drupal, including the Slideshare and that got me thinking that it could be an alternative way to set something up for the 12 members of my library staff to use, where we can put library information, try out some of the tools etc in the first instance before we go 'live' with all the staff and students. I think Drupal will be a very worthwhile tool as it encompasses a range of things available on eg MySpace but less public etc. The 'look' also appears to be more business like than MySpace which is more social.
I will also do more comaprisons with Moodle which is being taken up by the 2 schools I work in
I find it very busy and lots of ads but can see it would have appeal for some.
I checked out Drupal, including the Slideshare and that got me thinking that it could be an alternative way to set something up for the 12 members of my library staff to use, where we can put library information, try out some of the tools etc in the first instance before we go 'live' with all the staff and students. I think Drupal will be a very worthwhile tool as it encompasses a range of things available on eg MySpace but less public etc. The 'look' also appears to be more business like than MySpace which is more social.
I will also do more comaprisons with Moodle which is being taken up by the 2 schools I work in
#12 Flickr
I decided to go with the option of uploading photos (not my blog) as I think this is more in line with what I want to use Flickr for in the future. I would like to use it for my own personal photos but will also set up one to file the photos of events etc in the library.
I also checked out the Creative Commons tags as I wanted to make sure what I put up will be acknowledged.
I was also pleased to see the choices about who can see what as this is important in the school setting where we need permission from students to use their photo/image, so in this case I would make this a private collection or for selected people in a group I set up.
I know I could spend hours on Flickr - organising my photos but also checking out the great ones from others.
It is also a wonderful collection of images that could be used in presentations etc (acknowledging the source, of course)!
I also checked out the Creative Commons tags as I wanted to make sure what I put up will be acknowledged.
I was also pleased to see the choices about who can see what as this is important in the school setting where we need permission from students to use their photo/image, so in this case I would make this a private collection or for selected people in a group I set up.
I know I could spend hours on Flickr - organising my photos but also checking out the great ones from others.
It is also a wonderful collection of images that could be used in presentations etc (acknowledging the source, of course)!
This photo on my Flickr account is added in this blog entry.
#11 Library Thing
Have set up a Library Thing to highlight some of the Australian Children's Literature books I have in my collection.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SueJohnston
I found it very easy to use. I think it would be great at school to add a list of titles for students to work with - eg a particular theme/author etc. The reviews and other features are good and I think students would really enjoy working with ratings.
So - lots of uses for me - I just need to get organised and add other books from my personal library.
But, would also lke to try this with students and get their reactions - I think they would be very positive!
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SueJohnston
I found it very easy to use. I think it would be great at school to add a list of titles for students to work with - eg a particular theme/author etc. The reviews and other features are good and I think students would really enjoy working with ratings.
So - lots of uses for me - I just need to get organised and add other books from my personal library.
But, would also lke to try this with students and get their reactions - I think they would be very positive!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
#10 Image generators
A great range of ideas and products to use.
I looked at a few different ones and enjoyed playing around with them.
And it also reminded me that we need to add graphics to work for our students as it really does add the sparkle
Image created using: www.vistaprint.com.au
I have also used meez.com and dude.msn with staff and students to make avatars and everyone has always wanted to do more!
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