Week #7 Thing#18

I have been experimenting with the California Curriculum Connections wiki by adding some ideas for curriculum connections. One that I added is here: Idea: Create a magazine cover to introduce possible projects along the same lines as the articles indicated on the cover. Inside each student could expand on each theme as it related to him or her. This can be applied to almost any subject area. For a sample see: http://dejongsplace.blogspot.com/2007/06/week-3-thing-6-plus-curriculum.html

I also added another about creating a scavenger hunt for practicing path finding when doing research. I have only seen one sandbox item and I have not played there yet, but I guess I will because it is needed. Now, will my entry remain or be erased as in a sandbox with a stiff breeze, a hard rain, or a shuffled foot of a happy child?

I have returned to edit my original post after finding the sandbox-luckily there was no evidence of cats! I did not see a link to the sandbox. I only saw it mentioned as a recently edited page. I also did a search to see if I could find it. I arrived and left my mark. I am unsure if what posterity will see will be what was wanted; but as in a sandbox I played.

Week #7 Thing #17

There are a number of things I learned from the California Curriculum Connections wiki http://calcurriculum.pbwiki.com/. I saw the applications from the PBwiki site. It helped me visualize what I was seeing in the tutorials and sample wikis I had visited. By doing this "thing" I caught the idea of how to add pages and where they appear on the first page. There is much to do. As I went through the various pages for the weekly assignments in the SLL 2.0 program, I enjoyed the added curriculum connections. I am starting my own wiki as a laboratory for my learning. It will be a slow and ongoing process. I will then change it to become a fully functioning wiki as I gain skills and confidence.

Week #7 Thing #16 and curriculum connections

Wikis look interesting. They seem to have many applications from dissemination of information (some seemed more like a simple blog) to internal tools to help an organization meet and deal with communication needs. It seems a blog with specified access would be able to do much of the same. Perhaps the Wiki is simply a blog with almost unlimited access. I will have to look at the other sites more and review more of the information. I was impressed with many because of the vast variety of links and organization they demonstrated. These make me realize that I am going to have to keep working with some of the web tools available. I need to explore more sites beyond those listed. The one fact of this course is that there is too much to be able to know it all. My personal motto and belief is still true and continues to lead me toward life-long learning: I know enough to know I don't know enough.

Many of the wikis demonstrated an interesting method of tying the Internet into the classroom paradigm. It is a great collaborative tool. It allows a way to allow students to work together yet know who has contributed (up to the point shown by the computer via entry tags). It also makes a hard copy of instructions and possible help links available to the students.

Wikis can easily be used if they are allowed under school district acceptable use policies. this is one of the only possible barriers. In my Spanish classes it would be simple to create project wikis for historical or geographical projects involving group work. Each group would have access limited to their group members. Instructions regarding the specifics needed could be listed on the wiki. Each group would have to cite references, both print and non print. They would have to use some of the other tools available to add visuals such as graphs, pictures, maps etc.

They could also use some of the image editing and posting tools to create games or study tools for the class. Each person or group would have their tag on each entry to document participation and achievement.

As a library Media Teacher: this could become a great tool for scavenger hunts, book discussions, even library club presentations, planning and ???????

The only limit is the limit of the imagination and district policy. LOL

Week #6 Thing #15

I read the following articles regarding Web 2.0: "To More Powerful
Ways to Cooperate" and "To Better Bibliographic Services". In the articles there is a discussion of ways to 'harness collective intelligence" by "[touching] the entire web at the same time". This can and will effect libraries now and in the future. WorldCat seems to play a significant role in the future of libraries. Web 2.0 opens many avenues to increase and improve collaboration and exchange among many and possibly all of the internet community. There are useful and vital sites mentioned such as WorldCat that bring online searches and publishing within the reach of all. The tools that are available are within the abilities of regular people. There are tools to meet most simple publishing needs. A widening of relevence and authority will be forthcoming as things evolve and improve. Interaction is growing between users of information beyond just libraries. Contributors, experts, etc are becoming part of a meta search tool. OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) is an organization that is working to tie libraries and the web into a meaningful and productive union. For more information go to: http://www.oclc.org/default.htm For WorldCat go to: http://www.worldcat.org/

Week #6 Thing #14 Curriculum Connection

I plugged in some tags regarding my political views. I pulled in hits both for and against my position. The best thing was the ability to discover some primary sources directly or by following new tags, links or verbal comment. I realize there is little authority to many blogs, but they often provide the clues to valid, authoritative sources.

Week #6 getting my blogs tagged with technorati tags

I was unable to figure out the html to do this. Can anyone teach me?

Week #6 Thing #14

Exploring Technorati.com is really interesting once you see how well it works and how many options are available. I started the simple exploration of popular blogs. There is (as always) too much to see and to do. I first looked at blogs tied into earning $ from blogs. The old fashioned Edison Light Bulb went off in my head (LOUD DRUM ROLL), "Can I use a blog to generate extra funds for my future library?" An interesting thought for school fundraising. I then saw one entitled simply "43 Folders". I then followed some live links to sites regarding "GTD". This required finding out what the heck GTD meant:Getting Things Done. What a SCORE for me. I am always looking for a way to become more efficient and to beat my distractability. These comments may help me implement some great ideas that mesh with who I am. They may also turn dormant software into productive elements in my day.I was blown away by some of the technical tools in the gadget blogs. I was impressed by Skitch. I need to wait for it to become available for PC. As I explored some of the top searches, I had to retreat very quickly. It is scary to see what some people are searching, or I am too prudish.

Tagging seemed to really open up options for searches and brought to view optional search tags or keywords. It will be a big help up to a point, but it will also have a lot of imprecise hits. The blogs where I followed hot links seemed to be very useful as long as I was selective with my choices. there may be a problem in the public school environment because of the lack of filtering in the search engines. This will probably be overcome by filters in place at the educational sites. Then we reenter the intellectual freedom and censorship debates.

Now to see if I added my blog to technorati's search and tags.

Does anyone have a simple set of instructions to do this? I added the last tag into my Label section in an attempt to do the optional activity of linking my blog into technorati's search engine.

Week #6 thing #13

del.icio.us was a great tool. the tutorial was simple and user friendly. I really enjoyed exploring some of the suggested sites, especially the SJLibraryLearning2 site. there were too many to bookmark of value, so I bookmarked the entire site and a few standouts. I have barely scratched the surface of my exploration. I think it is great to use this to make my favorites available on any computer. I use a variety of computers at home and at school and want to have a quick fix for this. I see it as a possible extension to some searches and finding ideas for a variety of key words, or phrases that may not be the first to come to mind. I liked the note that someone else wrote for one site and chose to copy it for my note. I did sign up and create my own account. I still see the advantage to my regular favorites for the very most used sites on my home computer, but theses will also be included on del.icio.us.

Searchbox tool, help!

What exactly is a searchbox tool? How is it used? What value does it have if you already have a specialized search engine on Rollyo? Rollyo does not give much explanation at all. If we are laypeople, then there needs to be more clarity and direction. Cool tools are only cool if they are understood and usable.

Week #5 Thing #12

I have created an account on Rollyo.com. I began a search engine for World War II because I am working on a project for a reference class. I am curious how you find appropriate search engines without going through the major tools such as Google etc. Where to you find topic specific search engines or tools? Hopefully the team leaders or a brave participant will answer this question in the comment sect. I have asked a number of questions or sought a comment in previous posts. Without response or comment, this activity loses a great deal of value. It leaves participants floundering and guessing if they are on the right track or need to adjust some of the things they are doing. Everything is a great start to blogging, but for those that want to really progress we could use some more specifics. Rollyo is one. I emailed them seeking a tutorial. I played around to see how it worked, but was not sure at first. If I get an answer to the original question of this entry, then Rollyo will be quite useful. If not, then it may be easier to use the mega(meta?)engines and simply bookmark them.

Week #5 Thing #11

I explored www.zillow.com. It has a mapping capability and gives real estate information. The searches can be general or specific. I experimented by using an address and a general location such as a town only. the mapping tool allows quite detailed arial views. I could see my own house and out-building very plainly. There are a number of possible views: the arial, the street map, and the hybrid (combination of the arial and street map views). There is also one called the heat map. ( This just seamed like a standard highway type of map with little detail.)There could also be another use. I love to fish. If I locate a known town or location near a body of water, I can maneuver the satellite to follow the river or stream. It could help in the way a topographic map might help. It also tells about properties for sale in an area and the values of the properties in the surrounding areas. This would be an excellent tool for those wishing to sell, buy, or invest. It might become useful in historical or geographic projects where there is a need to see the terrain. It could also help authors that are attempting to use real locations in their works. Louis L'Amour would have died and gone to heaven with this tool.

Week #5 Thing #10 Part 2

I still need to figure out how to get the images to line up as a strip without being separated. Does anyone know a simpler way to locate each image without dragging and dropping? Does anyone know if these are a copyright infringement?

Week #5 Thing #10 part 1 and 3

The picture I have generated here will work well for a sign or poster in my library. If the bubbles are left blank, it can be used to generate a writing assignment in my Spanish II or III classes. The students would have to create the thoughts for both dogs.

Week #4 Thing #9

I am exploring some of the search tools to discover new RSS feeds. Edublog was interesting. I will have to explore more to see if I missed and archive. (There are archives) Some of the blogs were interesting. I enjoyed the perspective of "copyleft" presented on "tilt". It was fun to be able to use my Spanish on the bilingual site with a contributor from Chile. There were a number of sites that would be of interest to teachers of a number of disciplines.

I was not overly impressed with the search capability of Feedster. Perhaps I need to return to look for an advanced search tool. There were many irrelevant hits using a variety of indicators. Topix.net helped me locate local news feeds. There is so much to sort through with the other sites that it is quite daunting. Time is the necessary element. More advanced search tools would add precision to the searches.

Blog Search was fun, especially seeing what was available regarding school library learning 2.0. There are more hits for this than for just library learning 2.0. I also experimented and entered my blog name "dejongsplace". It had a few hits. I think this is the tool that is most productive for me.

Week #4 Thing #8 the beginning

I have reviewed both bloglines and Google Reader. I signed up for Google Reader since I already have several (now) accounts with Google. I tried to follow the link to "differences" between the two and it had nothing to do with either. Perhaps the live link has been edited to change the connection path. I see the potential for use of an RSS feed reader in many areas. I also see a possibility of the equivalent of spam (useless or inane information to wade through). I will have to review and study more carefully to select those that may be of most benefit. I am seeing some general categories that seem like they would be of use or interest to my students. After I learn more about RSS, perhaps I will be able to make knowledgeable selections and not need to wade through the useless items. At this moment I feel there is so much available, it will be hard to find what is truly of value. I am hoping to read in other blogs how others view the value of the RSS feeds. I am definitely open to comments.

Randy de Jong

I know enough to know I don't know enough.