Saturday, May 21, 2011
A little addicting
Okay, so I'm seeing how this can all get a little addicting. I think I will miss it when the class is over. I keep checking back to look for comments, not that I have many. Still I don't think I am in danger of becoming one of those people who stay up all night on the computer.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thing 8: Video
Okay, so I tried options 1 and 3 so far. I think I will try #2 at some point, but I wasn't feeling photogenic at the moment. So...
Option 1: I looked at a video that had been sent to me on YouTube. I decided to try to find it on Teacher Tube because it would be more accessible. Success. It was very easy to embed in the blog. No worries!
Option 3: I went the Animoto route because I've never done it, but I have been interested. I didn't understand that you have so little control over what is shown when and how. Strangely, none of the text I entered showed up except the title! Still, the idea of makeing a video is doable. I either need more time with Animoto or maybe another product that gives you more control. The Screenr option looks good, too.
I went to CSR's Technology in Education conference this week. I learned that you can get a special downloader for FireFox that lets you download YouTube videos without all the ads and stuff. Seems like a good idea. I have to investigate.
Also, related to this week's topic is NBC Learn. Too bad it seems expensive because it sure could be useful.
BTW: Regarding Social Networking. There is another site I learned about at the conference. My Fake Wall. Sounds good for education purposes. I'll have to check it out.
All in all this CDLC class is keeping me motivated and directed toward technology. Sometimes I need a push.
Option 1: I looked at a video that had been sent to me on YouTube. I decided to try to find it on Teacher Tube because it would be more accessible. Success. It was very easy to embed in the blog. No worries!
Option 3: I went the Animoto route because I've never done it, but I have been interested. I didn't understand that you have so little control over what is shown when and how. Strangely, none of the text I entered showed up except the title! Still, the idea of makeing a video is doable. I either need more time with Animoto or maybe another product that gives you more control. The Screenr option looks good, too.
I went to CSR's Technology in Education conference this week. I learned that you can get a special downloader for FireFox that lets you download YouTube videos without all the ads and stuff. Seems like a good idea. I have to investigate.
Also, related to this week's topic is NBC Learn. Too bad it seems expensive because it sure could be useful.
BTW: Regarding Social Networking. There is another site I learned about at the conference. My Fake Wall. Sounds good for education purposes. I'll have to check it out.
All in all this CDLC class is keeping me motivated and directed toward technology. Sometimes I need a push.
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
Here is an interesting video that I received. Not sure I agree with everything it says, but it sure gives you things to think about.
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms
Friday, May 13, 2011
Thing 7 continued
So, here is my report on Zamzar: It did convert my MSWorks spreadsheet (.wks) file into an Excel format (.xls), BUT it is not really useable. The words and numbers are there, but they are not appropriately separated. Oh well, it was worth a try. I still might try the conversion of the MSWorks word processor (.wps) files to Word (.doc) format. I'll see if it is worth the effort, or if I should just rename the files and clean up what I get when they open.
Thing #7
So I am trying out delicious. I already had an account at IKeepBookmarks.com. I am importing the bookmarks. We'll see which I like better. If nothing else, now the bulk of my bookmarks are backed up. Every time IKeepBookmarks was unavailable, I worried that the site had gone under. How do these things make enough $$ to stay afloat?
Remember the Milk looks good, but you need the pro account to get it to work on your Android phone. That seemed like the real plus to me. Otherwise I just send myself e-mails of to-dos.
I know I am a throwback, but I still mainly use Internet Explorer, so while Readability sounds great... I tried looking through the IE Gallery Addons list, but it is just too long and I am just too impatient.
I know that I want to use Zamzar because I think I can use it to convert my old MSWorks files to Word +/or Excel. I had gradually been converting them as I needed them, but that takes a long time. (BTW, the school just got a new version of PrintShop and I learned that it can't read any of my files from the old version. GRRRRR!) I just can't convert files fast enough and I don't understand why the companies would make their own product files inaccessible. What possible advantage could it be for them to make me spend hours recreating my work! I understand they want me to buy the new version, but shouldn't that be enough?!
I'll edit this after delicious successfully uploads my bookmarks AND after I use Zamzar.
Okay, preliminary opinion of delicious versus IKeepBookmarks: the "Word Art" of most popular tags is pretty, but I think that I like the visual of the folders in IKeepBookmarks. I guess it is just how my brain works. I'm sure I can get used to delicious, but it will take time.
Remember the Milk looks good, but you need the pro account to get it to work on your Android phone. That seemed like the real plus to me. Otherwise I just send myself e-mails of to-dos.
I know I am a throwback, but I still mainly use Internet Explorer, so while Readability sounds great... I tried looking through the IE Gallery Addons list, but it is just too long and I am just too impatient.
I know that I want to use Zamzar because I think I can use it to convert my old MSWorks files to Word +/or Excel. I had gradually been converting them as I needed them, but that takes a long time. (BTW, the school just got a new version of PrintShop and I learned that it can't read any of my files from the old version. GRRRRR!) I just can't convert files fast enough and I don't understand why the companies would make their own product files inaccessible. What possible advantage could it be for them to make me spend hours recreating my work! I understand they want me to buy the new version, but shouldn't that be enough?!
I'll edit this after delicious successfully uploads my bookmarks AND after I use Zamzar.
Okay, preliminary opinion of delicious versus IKeepBookmarks: the "Word Art" of most popular tags is pretty, but I think that I like the visual of the folders in IKeepBookmarks. I guess it is just how my brain works. I'm sure I can get used to delicious, but it will take time.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thing 6: Online Meetings
So, I just attended the archived webinar: Superbooks: How Graphic Novels Can Save Your Library Part 1 (intro) and Part 2 (presentation) . It was one of several that I had saved in my e-mails to do sometime. I have been interested, but time is always an issue. Frankly, it is too bad that school librarians can't do webinars instead of some of the meetings that we have to attend, both locally and regionally.
It was easy to connect. The topic was one I was very interested in. The graphic novels and comics, in general, go out very well in my library. Babymouse is tremendously popular. Now, even the boys are reading it! I have to find some more series that aren't Star Wars or Superheroes for that age range. I think some of the girls just read the old titles over because they love them so much. The kids get angry and tell me I must have moved them because there aren't any on the shelves. Babymouse is as popular as Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
It was a long time to sit in a chair near the computer. I found myself moving about some and not watching the screen, but simply listening. I'm glad I was watching an archived one because I could pause when the need arose.
If I were in charge of a library system or a group of libraries (like Albany Public or Schenectady), I could see using webinars to get together without physically having everyone come together. There is a lot of time lost to travel when we force people to come to one place. If the meetings happened before (public libraries) or after (school libraries) hours, they wouldn't necessarily even affect our patrons. I personally have been to a lot of meetings where my physical body was not really required. I could skip the soda and cookie to not have to leave my library without a librarian. Also, there are times when people cannot attend the meetings, because they are sick, their kid/parent is sick, their car broke down, etc. By Archiving the meetings we could keep everyone in the loop. Frankly, although we may have liaisons who are supposed to report back, it is not the best system.
So, all in all, I think webinars are a hit. I am not sure how I will fit all of the ones that sound good into my daily work/home life, but, as a school librarian, I will try to catch up over the summer!
Yeah, I am caught up on Learn with CDLC!
It was easy to connect. The topic was one I was very interested in. The graphic novels and comics, in general, go out very well in my library. Babymouse is tremendously popular. Now, even the boys are reading it! I have to find some more series that aren't Star Wars or Superheroes for that age range. I think some of the girls just read the old titles over because they love them so much. The kids get angry and tell me I must have moved them because there aren't any on the shelves. Babymouse is as popular as Diary of a Wimpy Kid!
It was a long time to sit in a chair near the computer. I found myself moving about some and not watching the screen, but simply listening. I'm glad I was watching an archived one because I could pause when the need arose.
If I were in charge of a library system or a group of libraries (like Albany Public or Schenectady), I could see using webinars to get together without physically having everyone come together. There is a lot of time lost to travel when we force people to come to one place. If the meetings happened before (public libraries) or after (school libraries) hours, they wouldn't necessarily even affect our patrons. I personally have been to a lot of meetings where my physical body was not really required. I could skip the soda and cookie to not have to leave my library without a librarian. Also, there are times when people cannot attend the meetings, because they are sick, their kid/parent is sick, their car broke down, etc. By Archiving the meetings we could keep everyone in the loop. Frankly, although we may have liaisons who are supposed to report back, it is not the best system.
So, all in all, I think webinars are a hit. I am not sure how I will fit all of the ones that sound good into my daily work/home life, but, as a school librarian, I will try to catch up over the summer!
Yeah, I am caught up on Learn with CDLC!
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