MCSWeb2.0 Reflection

Library Thing has expanded a great deal over the years due to the growth in the number of users. Today when I visited zeitgeist I noticed that one of  the most tagged books was the Harry Potter series.  I’m guessing that a large number of the taggers are personal libraries of young avid readers.  Prior to this exploration I had never visited the local tab. I’m glad I did since now I am aware of book signing events, readings and such within a specific community.

I have come across various groups in Library Thing but have not participated in the past. This tool is awesome to establish personal library categorizing as well as specialized library holdings. An example of this can be found in the Library Thing of  UWC Primary Years Programme in Singapore (UWC-PYP). The compiler of this particular catalog, Katie Day,  is doing so in order “to collect books to support the PYP (Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization.” The tagging has a specific purpose in identifying books that support the IB learner profiles and attitudes.  Katie Day generously shares her library as public access.

I see this as a great tool to catalog one’s personal library or keep track of what one has read. It works especially well as a reader’s advisory. There is still one thing that Library Thing requires and that is time. Time to sit down and input data. I have not chosen to do this yet but one day I aspire to catalog my personal collection.

I don’t know why I have not set up a Delicious account until this point.  Except  that I had to open a yahoo account to be recognized by Delicious , ( gmail was not recognized) and a few other odds and ends in the learning process, tagging and searching is a a breeze.

Delicious tagging has been used in the educational setting for several years now. One of the ways I have seen it employed is to pull web sites to support student research needs.  Searching for and compiling web sites in this manner can assist students in accessing credible sources for their research.

Another great aspect to online bookmarking is the fact that you never lose your bookmarks and can access them from any internet connection.  This past summer my computer crashed and with it went all my bookmarks and contacts.  It has been a task retrieving and recreating all that was lost. But from now on I am a delicious user.

My reader does get read/reviwed about every 2 -  3 days. There have been a number of exciting events going on in the blogosphere.  Discussion about the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) conference was the object of discussion by two of the blogs I read regularly. What struck me was the behind the conference or the back stream activity in the conference.

It seemed to have been recorded by tweets and bloggers but there was a disappointment voiced by Joyce Valenza in her blog The Never Ending Search. Her concern is that in all effort to make the conference accessible it really was not. In this case it had to do with reliable and accessible  wireless internet connectivity. A far greater concern will be down the road. She posed the question as to whether these conferences should be made available to interested parties who are not members of  the association or do not pay the conference fee.

She expressed  the concern that we school library media specialists as a profession “face imminent threats  to the very existence of our programs and our positions, at a time when fewer of us have any funding to travel, sharing our Conference broadly might have been a risk, but it would have been an especially generous and thoughtful risk.” She also pointed out the as media professionals we are about effective use of information and communication technologies. To not have the conference open and actively shared runs counter to who we are.

That was just one post to reflect upon. Another one I appreciated was from Judith Epcke in a Tech & Learning Blog. The post in the Lifelong Learning Toolbelt was an effort “to refocus professional development on learning how to learn with technology.” She noted that so much of  our technology training is on the product, not how to learn through/with technology. It is definitely something to think about. Perhaps a slight rotation of the our web 2.0 focus will make us better users of technology.

http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/25302

I had fun checking out a number of the tools in week 6′s session.  I see the practicality of calendars and the creativity in editing photos. My most favorite tool to use with students is ToonDoo.  This tool could easily be used by the younger elementary students. Students as young as second grade could independently click, drag and drop.  I have watched second and third graders become enthralled with the ability to add clip art to their power points, now I am imagining how they will respond to this tool. The ability to create a storyboard aids in understanding sequence of events. The visual learners  will find this to be a convenient tool to create and retell stories.

I’ve signed up for a trial subscription for 15 days. If I decide that I can introduce this tool to my enrichment class the rate of $8/mo is reasonable. I especially appreciate the site offering private virtual space to be shared within a private,  secure environment. Another benefit is that students do not need to have an email account.

I viewed the conference presentation titled “Web 2.0 Tools to Amplify Elementary Students’ Creativity and Initiative” presented by Jackie Gerstein, on October 24, 2008. I selected this presentation with the idea of learning how an elementary teacher implemented web 2.0 tools in their classroom. After viewing this presentation I noticed that many people in a Web 2.0 class had also viewed this one.

My observations about this type of conference will be to the point.
On the positive side of the equation:
Sessions can be viewed when convenient.
Cost to attend such a conference is nonexistent as long as you have a computer and consistent internet connection.
All sessions of interest can be attended and even those not so interesting.

On the downside:
I found that I couldn’t read the screen to follow what was actually being shown or demonstrated.
The audio fluctuated from loud to faint.
Unable to ask questions in real time.

Overall, these type conferences will continue to grow and serve a specific type of conference attendee. I can see coming back to check on some other sessions as well as visit the 2009 conference.

I did make a voki but the confirmation never came through, so I’m moving on to something else.  There certainly are a plethora of options.

I’ve been seeing a number of posts where the images support the message extremely well. The Slide I selected and created doesn’t do a good job at supporting the story. I searched for the best photos to match my search terms in Flickr’s  CC and used Slide to present them. After all the time spent searching and compiling I’ve decided that the method of presenting was the real disappointment. The photos are fine but delivery of them for  my purpose was inappropriate.  Since time is of essence I opted to not rework the photos in another program. I do think using cc photos is a convenient tool and have introduced the idea to some of my students.

The Slide presentation follows.

Creative Commons photos from Flickr

Penang House by Scaredy Kat retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/scaredykat/118531746/

Fireplace by A-Wix retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/436303031_0341a615e2.jpg

Big Black Cat by Daily Matador retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/1870016391_3fa8384074_m.jpg

Creative Commons(CC) is looking for donations to stay afloat. At last check they had raised 43,000+ . As far as I can tell the fund raising is to keep CC legally viable. If CC makes the sharing of materials and projects simpler it’s a good thing.

Copyright is restrictive and difficult to understand at best. In general practice the media specialist has been considered the copyright contact on the school campus. To be considered knowledgeable about copyright does not mean media specialists are totally in the know or incapable of making errors. In this age of the internet and instant sharing of ideas and digital material ignorance of copyright is common yet not correct.

To be beneficial Creative Commons has to be implemented by the content creator and then sought by and selected by the user. The content creator of the original work or image must decide to offer it as part of CC and expect that it will be used as permitted. There are various degrees of CC as well. Can all of this be easily understood and taught at younger elementary age? Will this need to be implemented across the curriculum or will students assimilate this knowledge vicariously? I think not to the latter. As a matter of course educating other educators and students about CC will be a worthwhile undertaking. The benefit of sharing creative material can only expand knowledge.
Carl Malamud in Commoner Letter #2 from the Creative Commons web site states that “The genius of Creative Commons is a simple, universal way to let people know what they can do with your content without having to bother you each time… as long as they’re not making money?”
I question the simplicity but not the necessity for it.

Another thing to think about is age appropriate content in image and video searches. In order for younger students to randomly search for images, instruction in how to set filters needs to be done. I haven’t run into problems performing searches when the filters have been set. It’s another step but one that shouldn’t be missed in the elemenatry grades.

Penang_house by Scaredy Kat

There are so many creative ways to utilize Flickr and certainly more to discover. I enjoy searching for photos to use in various settings. Photos can visually illustrate concepts that some younger elementary students have difficulty conceptualizing. I used  Flickr CC photos to to enhance story time last week. Except the photo I used was not found in CC but I thought it had been. It was one of those I thought I was searching in the right place but actually hadn’t. The photo posted above is the one I could have used to support The Big Spooky House by Donna Washington. I also could use the following pictures to further illustrate and emphasize the aforementioned book.

Fireplace by A-Wix

Big black cat by DailyMatador

Prior to week 5 I had thought that all Flickr photos were available for use by Creative Commons. I hadn’t explored the site well enough to know otherwise. Now that I am aware of the particulars of CC use I will be certain to adhere to it and share the knowledge with others.

Another observation about Flickr and searching  is to copy the url immediately. If it is forgotten, locating the image may be difficult, especially if the search term is uncertain.

Creative Commons photos from Flickr

Penang House by Scaredy Kat retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/scaredykat/118531746/

Fireplace by A-Wix retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/436303031_0341a615e2.jpg

Big Black Cat by Daily Matador retrieved from Flickr Creative Commons http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2191/1870016391_3fa8384074_m.jpg

The first classroom wiki of Vicki Davis was, per her description, quickly put together. I noticed that she implemented her class wiki immediately upon return from a conference where David Warlick spoke. I was  impressed with the excitement her students exhibited over the new tool. I think in 2005 Ms. Davis was an early adopter of the web 2.0 technology.

Cool Cat Teacher’s first wiki was straightforward. She wanted her students to participate in the experience that she herself had just begun. Navigation is basic to this wiki and the purpose is apparent. This one was simple, with text only, no other media and no links, but it served its purpose. The greatest learning experience would be for students to realize that they could collaborate simultaneously on their projects.

On the other hand the other three wikis I investigated varied in complexity as well as  information they imparted and or created.

The Flat Classroom Project was a collaborative project by Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki Davis) with international and U.S. based teachers. It was highly evolved and involved individual student wikis and final collaborative video projects. One of the things added to the student instruction page was a self evaluation. The students were asked to check their wiki for accuracy, currency, readability, omissions and creativity. I think these are questions to ask of any wiki we read or create. The Flat Classroom Project scored high marks in all categories. One area that was not evaluated was the flow. Is it easy for the user or reader to understand the purpose of the wiki? Is its format easy to follow and not distracting? I found that this wiki had much to offer but it bogged down because I wasn’t a part of making it. As a reviewer or observer of the wiki I see the task that was undertaken as impressive. It had many web 2.0 tools. From frappr, to Vimeo, google video, nings, flickr and great resource links to teach how to create better videos and photos. When I reflect on the effort put into the students’ final product I think that the process of discovery was the greater life lesson.

The  Thousands Project is a classroom wiki created for the purpose of inviting comment. It serves more as a platform for requesting a listing reply. Basic in design, a question is posted and responses are posted in an enumerated list. The entries are archived monthly. I think the students’ monthly anticipation of response is the actual learning outcome in this wiki.

Primary Math was established to share the math learning of a classroom with others around the world. The wiki used several Web 2.0 tools such as one true media, voice thread as well as embedding photos. At first I thought this was a wiki created by the teacher to share what the students had learned with parents. To my surprise I learned that other primary grade classes have been posting to the wiki as well. This is a great teaching tool since the students can see what others have created or what they understand and can then expand upon their own understanding. The wiki has a widget that keeps tracks of members and the member’s last activity. This is a great way to keep up with wiki currency. The wiki is easy to navigate with sidebar subject tabs and a site navigation bar located on the header.

I am still thinking about how I will create my first wiki. It may be for one of my enrichment classes to communicate to the school about books they read.  If a wiki is the best tool or if a blog would serve the purpose is yet to be determined.

After reading the suggested blogs and then reading some linked blogs I found that I had spent a great amount of time reading and not writing. I really, really do enjoy reading (perhaps too much) various blogs and learning what others have to offer in particular areas of my interest. It is almost as though I could be sitting with other educators having a long discussion about these various topics.
I now understand through reading Ben Wilkoff’s blog the Ripe Environment that the real importance of the web 2.0 tools is the contribution to collective intelligence. He states that in a 1:1 environment ideas are not able to go beyond that particular frame but in blogging the individual, educator or student, has the opportunity to share and expand collaboratively.
He gives me much to think about, such as if only a small percentage of educators participate in the collaborative environment will the knowledge grow? To borrow a commonly used idiom are we preaching to the choir?
In the various blogs read, the writers were professionals posting for similarly minded people (educational field). There is a certain body of knowledge that is already understood prior to writing. Commenting can expand the understanding of the particular item, especially if the post introduces something not already expressed. We may look at the
same issue from a different perspective or lens of interpretation. Adding comments benefits our understanding as well.

Blogging takes a good deal of thought and effort from me. I consider that what is posted can be viewed by others. Bloggers need to be aware of their anticipated audience and write thoughtfully. Classes that utilize blogging as a tool need to be educated in blog etiquette. Drafts are highly recommended! Eventually, blogging will t