I like this resource! I have spent a lot of time already adding my favorite websites to my Google Reader. I chose this aggregator as I already had an account with Google - and this allows me to go from one Google account to another without signing in every time. Google Reader will become even more valuable to me this coming school year, when I have little time to go to each of my favorite news sites.
There are some good education sites out there - I have chosen to share a few stories of interest from these sources with a link on this blog... at least I hope it's working! I will keep sharing stories that I am interested in or that I feel pertain specifically to something I'm learning with 23Things.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Thing #2. What is Library 2.0?
When encouraged to "check out" 23 Things on a Stick by my colleague, a K-12 Media Specialist, I was intrigued. I am constantly looking for ways to incorporate technology (and our ever-shrinking library resources - my colleague included!) and use it to enhance my students' learning experiences. I had no idea the depth Library 2.0 is running at - or Web 2.0 for that matter (or Education 2.0, perhaps?)
Here's where I have to admit I thought I had a leg up on everyone else when it came to 23 Things on a Stick: I am Web 2.0 proficient...or so I thought. I feel just like I did when I took my first history classes in college: overwhelmed. I thought I knew a lot! It only took two weeks (and my first quiz) for me to realize how I had barely scratched the surface of knowledge. I am learning though - and this time it only took me two days to discover how little I know. =)
It is strange to think of something like Library 2.0 as radical, yet, the problems that arise with the need to revolutionize our libraries are completely new. The ideas we use to solve them will, indeed, be radical. This is tough to wrap my head around!
At the same time, though, I know it is not the information that is radical - I think it is the format in which the information is presented. If I were browsing my library's online database for a favorite author, the database might recommend other books I might like (same author, subject) in the system as well. But why limit this database in this manner: what about books in other libraries, published reviews on this book, readers' reviews typed in the database entries, or even readers' blogs - and authors' blogs? Or if I wanted any "How To..." information (videos/blogs). This is information I could obtain by other means - it is not new information. But having this readily available from my small-town library and all in one place - wow! (And I do not simply mean a new database system!) It sounds like libraries, or rather, the people working in the libraries, are finding new ways of presenting this information to the public, while still preserving The Library itself.
Here's where I have to admit I thought I had a leg up on everyone else when it came to 23 Things on a Stick: I am Web 2.0 proficient...or so I thought. I feel just like I did when I took my first history classes in college: overwhelmed. I thought I knew a lot! It only took two weeks (and my first quiz) for me to realize how I had barely scratched the surface of knowledge. I am learning though - and this time it only took me two days to discover how little I know. =)
It is strange to think of something like Library 2.0 as radical, yet, the problems that arise with the need to revolutionize our libraries are completely new. The ideas we use to solve them will, indeed, be radical. This is tough to wrap my head around!
At the same time, though, I know it is not the information that is radical - I think it is the format in which the information is presented. If I were browsing my library's online database for a favorite author, the database might recommend other books I might like (same author, subject) in the system as well. But why limit this database in this manner: what about books in other libraries, published reviews on this book, readers' reviews typed in the database entries, or even readers' blogs - and authors' blogs? Or if I wanted any "How To..." information (videos/blogs). This is information I could obtain by other means - it is not new information. But having this readily available from my small-town library and all in one place - wow! (And I do not simply mean a new database system!) It sounds like libraries, or rather, the people working in the libraries, are finding new ways of presenting this information to the public, while still preserving The Library itself.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Thing #1. Set Up Your Blog
The hardest part of Thing1 really was choosing a title and URL for my blog; the crew at 23Things had that one spot-on.
I anticipate the most difficult part of 23Things will be overcoming my perfectionist tendencies. I have a difficult time writing anything (even a grocery list!) without wanting to go back and re-write or edit it in some way. This first post has been a painstaking endeavor.
Wish me luck on the next 22 =)
I anticipate the most difficult part of 23Things will be overcoming my perfectionist tendencies. I have a difficult time writing anything (even a grocery list!) without wanting to go back and re-write or edit it in some way. This first post has been a painstaking endeavor.
Wish me luck on the next 22 =)
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