Susan's Lifelong Learner Blog

23rd Thing!!

2008-12-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

These reflections are the last assignment on 23 Things Learning 2.0 class:
I made it through the class!! Yea!

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discoveries of the 23 Things class were Open Culture with the many podcasts, using the social networking of the Ning and playing around on this blog.
I enjoyed all the messages sent back and forth between my colleagues when we were investigating each new assignment.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This class has reinforced my desire to learn all about the newest web 2.0 tools. I had successfully avoided using blogs except to look for answers to tech questions and this class has shown me that so much more is available.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
A new Ipod would have been a great bonus, but I think I will probably get one in the next year--everyone in my family has an ipod but me.
As far as the class is concerned, I think it would have been beneficial to have the first 2 contact classes meet a week apart so the concepts of 1)what a blog should look like 2) where to blog and 3)how to set up "friends". I know that I posted too much to the ning blog when I should have been posting to my blogspot. Once I got the concepts, the class became a fun and productive learning experience.

2008-12-08T08:20:00.001-08:00

Audiobooks

2008-12-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed using Netlibrary. I was surprised to see how many types of audiobooks were available.
My husband has an ipod and enjoys listening to audiobooks in his car, so I will show him Netlibrary and help him to find some titles to download.

Podcasts

2008-12-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed looking around on Openculture.com It seems to be a nice source for educational podcasts. I found some great podcasts and I used iTunes to subscribe to NPR programs.

You Tube

2008-12-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

I found a couple of great vodcasts on youtube that I have embedded on my blog. They are about using document cameras in school which is something our Technology committee has been looking at. Students use Youtube all the time--so now I look around for tutorials and educaional videos as well.

web-based apps

2008-11-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

In looking at web-based apps, I turned my attention to spreadsheets. This type of app could be used to collaborate when on committees or I can see sports teams using this type of online app.
http://www.editgrid.com/user/siulung/Web-based_Spreadsheets_Comparison_Matrix
The above site has a comparison chart for the spreadsheets.

PB Wiki

2008-11-18T13:16:00.000-08:00

My pbwiki is at http://suzlab.pbwiki.com
This seems like an alternative to using Blackboard.
Files were easy to upload.
I started a pbwiki to handle training files for NetOp School 5. Teachers and staff members could use these to discover some of the new features of NetOp School which controls our computers in several of our computer labs.

Zoho Writer

2008-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

I created an account on ZoHo Writer and I tried to publish my document to my blog, but it did't seem to work. Perhaps I need to login to the blog first and then link to my document. I will try that next.

Wikis

2008-11-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Wikis: I seem to remember there was a lot of uproar not so long ago about how inaccurate Wikipedia was because anyone could post to it. We encouraged students not to use it!! I believe Wikipedia has become "moderated" so the information is more accurate. It leaves me to wonder about the accuracy of some of the other Wikis...

New Website to Try

2008-11-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

I came across this website which looks a lot like our ning. It is called Classroom 2.0
I like some of the discussions located under the Forum Tab.
A link in one of the Forums has led me to a Teaching with Technology wiki which seems to have a lot of technical knowledge.

Other blogs

2008-11-11T07:37:00.001-08:00

Here are the blogs from most of our class:

Open Culture

2008-11-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

At our class last night I was delighted to hear about open culture. It looks like a wonderful way to find vodcasts, podcasts, and even language class podcasts!! This will come in handy when helping teachers find resources.

Rollyo

2008-11-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

I used Rollyo (create your own search engine) a few years ago when I took a Power Library seminar. I recently revisited it and found lots of new resources! My rollyo search is aimed at doing Research.

Library Thing

2008-11-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/suzlab
This is my page on Library Thing. I haven't used it to catalog all my books, but I intend to do this when time allows.

Delicious

2008-11-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

I have had a delicious account for awhile now, but really hadn't used it in a year or so.
It would be a great way to save all my bookmarks to access while on vacation or when out of reach of one of my computers.

Technorati

2008-11-11T06:17:00.000-08:00

I recently joined Technorati to explore how useful it could be in finding blogs, information, etc.
It seems to work smoothly and locates tons of information.

Newspapers

2008-11-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

I like RSS Feeds, however there is something to be said for reading a newspaper, so I have linked to some of my favorite newspapers using CRAYON (Create Your Own Newspaper). It is easy to use.
My newspaper is located at: http://www.crayon.net/read.cgi?suzlab@psdschools.org

Mr. Picasso Head

2008-11-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

This website is fun and so easy to use!!
I created "my own Picasso" in minutes.

http://www.mrpicassohead.com/canvas.html?id=82ad38d&skin=original

I hope everyone tries it.

Librarian blog

2008-10-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying my class so much now that the filter doesn’t block us from reading and posting to blogs! Here is a fun librarian blog that I found to read.
I especially liked her entry on Friday September 26.
http://libetiquette.blogspot.com/

"Librarians should puff up their self esteem by reciting daily professionally-self-righteous affirmations, like...
I promote literacy
I support free speech
I am an advocate for communities
I am a defender of civil liberties
I am an educator"
Nice thoughts to live by!

Learning Adobe CS3 software

2008-10-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

I am currently trying to learn how to use the Creative Suite CS3 by Adobe. I have found a few of the Quick Start guides which help. The tutorials on Adobe Live
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/

Librarian blogs

2008-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was searching around on the internet and ran across this site.
Meredith has links to library blogs that seem to be relevant to the issues that libraries and librarians deal with daily. It would be a good spot to investigate.

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2008/09/08/how-i-got-started-blogging/

Taking an online class

2008-09-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

The online class that I am taking introduces librarians and teachers to web 2.0 technology. I am exploring how this can benefit students at Fort Collins High School. Creating this blog has been one of the first steps in the class.