Thing 9 - Creative Commons

Creative Commons affects me professionally in that I have a responsibility to teach its guidelines to students and teachers. I don't think it will necessarily impact the way most students learn because it is such a grey area. Young children seem to need either black or white and no grey. I think they will heavily rely on "the teacher" to make judgments for them regarding fair use.

Children love to get photos from the web to use in reports they are doing, e.g. biographical reports. I warn them to make certain that they indicate the source of such photos. Given what I have read, I don't see how my direction on this matter will change.

I often use digital images, audio, and video clips in my teaching. I have never really thought about who owns the materials once I develop them. I'm just not a territorial type person so the thought has never occurred to me. I use the materials to teach kids stuff they need to know and if I can share it with someone else who will use it for the same purpose, it's great! In the educational arena where we are not creating materials for financial gain, I just don't see that copyright is that big of a deal. The work is being used for teaching, and that's OK. Right?

Thing 7 Stretch

Today I was doing some research in order to upgrade my cell phone. I wanted to get information on the Blackberry. Many links that I chose from search engine results directed me to commercial sites where the Blackberry is actually being sold. I just wanted non-sales information, so I tried wikipedia. The content seemed valid and well written. Because of this exercise, I visited the History and Discussion tabs. I had never done this before although I have used wikipedia quite a lot. I found the History tab info to be quite cumbersome and confusing. The Discussion section provides the reader with a sense of whether or not the info within the article is valid and even gives the article a quality rating based on several criteria. That's pretty strenuous. But what/who gives the source of the quality ratings their expertise? What qualifies them to do the rating?

Thing 7

Let me first say that I just love those CommonCraft videos. Never thought just "the hands" could convey information in such an interesting way!

After looking at some wikis from the suggested list, the one that impacted me most was Kubler Reading at http://kublerreading.wikispaces.com/. I think the organization is super. The creation of this wiki seems to have been very well thought through. It is developed to really make the students think and inspires them to read for comprehension. Students have been given clearly designed roles (word wizard, creative connector, etc.) and each chapter of a book has been pulled out for its own special treatment. I don't see how the organization could be any better, really. The only missing piece that I see is that the writer of each blog entry does not introduce him/herself. I think this should be done consistently.

I like this blog so much that I could see myself actually using this same application in the media center.

The Grazing for Digital Natives wiki - http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/ - is introduced with an animated character called a voki. The wiki user uses this voki to tell a bit about herself and the wiki. I think this is a nice approach because it is different. However, the voki's lip movements not being in sync with the words, was a bit distracting for me. This wiki effectively uses a Table of Contents to organize the material presented. Each chapter is a link on the page.

The author goes to great lengths to tell about herself. Perhaps she wants to establish her credibility. After reading her vitae, I did have a sense that I was reading the material of a person with experience and expertise, but I have mixed feelings about including one's vitae within the wiki. Perhaps that is going too far? I don't know. It seems that maybe the content itself should establish credibility for the author.

The Schools in the Past wiki - http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/ - tells readers up front how to participate in the wiki. I think this is nice. These clearly written instructions might help increase the number of people who will actually contribute to the wiki. It is really cool how another teacher has contributed to the wiki to enhance the learning. She tells the students of the wiki page, "I'm giving you the link because there are links, information websites, pictures, and everything you guys may need to know about schools in the past. In my wiki, you would get the information in lesson 1, and . . ." This is a great example of how learning can grow and grow with the use of a wiki; here these students are benefitting from the resources and expertise of another teacher who they may not even know! The teacher is right on point when she provides a link to her wiki.

I really like this one. The division of the content into sections is very helpful and enhances the organization, e.g., Library, Rules, Playgrounds. This is much more effective than just lumping all of the interviewee responses together within the wiki.

Thing 6

I have been struggling a bit with Diigo. So far, I haven't been able to import my favorites from IE and I'm just having a bit of "newcomer frustration" with it. But I'll get past this. I just haven't found it to be particularly user friendly, but I DO (very much) recognize its benefits. I also need to figure out how to organize my bookmarks in Diigo.

I like the idea of using Diigo instead of google or dogpile for professional searching. I think this will generate more beneficial results that would actually be helpful for work!

Here's the link to my Diigo bookmark links: http://www.diigo.com/user/nclett

Thing 5a

The School Library Journal blog has a link to a spot called Common Talkback Threads http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6640367.html#talkBack. Here, I found a great article and accompanying video on the duties of a library media specialist in the 21st century. The New York Times featured the article, "The Future of Reading: In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update" on a front page edition in February. I saw myself and my school’s library in some parts of the article but not at all in others. I could NOT believe it when I read, “At the end of every week, Ms. Rosalia opens the library for classes to come in solely to check out books. . . . . By the end of one period, more than 30 students stood in line at the circulation desk. This is an everyday occurrence at my school.” At my school, we check out books throughout the instructional day for the entire school year! Not to belittle, by any means, any of the technology/Web 2.0 “stuff” that this librarian and others are doing, but if they only open the library for check out one day a week, then I’m sure there is plenty of time to show students how to create videos, blogs, and Powerpoint presentations.

As a media specialist, I think it is incumbent upon me to go with the flow of what my teachers and principals “want from” the media specialist. My group is big on the reading component – far more so than on technology. So I need to approach Web 2.0 applications in concert with inspiring a love of reading, with the objective of serving a two-fold need for students. However, at my school, we are in a place where the reading takes precedence.

Thing 3

http://www.ted.com/ I found this to be a fascinating site. It presents approximately 18 minute talks (speeches, presentations) of provacative people from many walks of life. TED (Ideas Worth Spreading) is actually a venue that gives these speakers an opportunity to present their ideas, causes, platforms, knowledge, etc. at a common site. I recognized people like Al Gore and Jane Goodall and saw many others whose names were unfamiliar to me. There are notables in fields like music, business, brain structure. I was hoping to find some talks that might be informative for my students, but most of the offerings appear much too advanced for most K-5 students.

However, I had several thoughts "rush" through my head as I learned about and explored this site. Although the talks I visited were not suitable for my students, what a great idea this whole thing is! What if we did TEDs for students' show and tells? How about as a means for teachers to share professional learning experiences? What about as a book sharing medium? Some things to think about.

Thing 2 - Part 1

As I read the blogs, I found much thought-provoking content. There is the point that "blogging creates enthusiasm for writing and communication." How true! It parallels the way many of us treat e-mail, i.e., we feel obligated to read it and often, to reply to it. The same is true of blogs. As a media specialist, I don't see nearly as many technologically illiterate teachers as I did 5 years ago. The comment that "if a teacher today is technologically illiterate and is unwilling to learn more, it is equivalent to one 30 years ago who did not know how to read and write. Wow! That really brings it home. There is no excuse for technological illiteracy on the part of teachers.

I was intrugued by the blog Questions for One of Our Favorite Authors: Grace Lin. It demonstrates ongoing conversations between an author and 3rd graders. This is a real life example of blogging creating enthusiasm for communication.

I am impressed with the serious, yet casual nature of blogs. Everyone seems to be so "invested" in the subject matter and there is no "playing around." Most questions posed are answered so learning is facilitated.