Success & Satisfaction

After being bummed out trying to master Thing#18---my confidence has been replenished with the exploration of Thing #19! The Library Thing serves an immediate purpose. WAY COOL! After playing with my own personal book list, I set up an account for my daughter, a sophomore early childhood major, who is currently taking Lit for the Young Child. She has started collecting titles so she was excited to discover this tool that will help her keep track of the titles she has and wants. And, the HTML loaded successfully! What an eclectic collection--with more to be added and lots of folks to share the list with AND to share this 2.0 tool with. Perseverance pays--eventually. Happy Thanksgiving all!

ZOHO

Thing 18 has caused me frustration to the point that I'm about ready to give up---but so far I haven't. I think I understand the premise that ZOHO is a free tool to use anywhere, as is Google tools. I am somewhat familiar with some of the Google tools, but I am just now understanding windows 2007 which was a surprise on my school laptop so I had to learn it --in addition to a new library system that was becoming familiar until a crash that set our entire district back to the point of its installation 6 months prior-- so relearn and reinstall recent and re-remove items that had been weeded and so consequently I think I am on learn & produce overload ( quite a run-on sentence, too). I understand if you leave (or have already left) this post at this point. This post is more of a vent for me to try to get my thoughts together. I really don't want to quit the 23 things--I think I'll skip #18 for a while---it just isn't sticking. Like a familiar quotation says, I can't do everything but I can do something---so I'm moving on to something else. I'm not happy to admit this frustration publicly, but I've got to put it in a box, tie it up and set it on the shelf. There, done. Now I'm moving on to Thing 19. I think I feel better now. I shall persevere.... And, that's why I call it Ramblin'.

Post on the SCASL Wiki

HAH! It worked. I think. I'm still not so sure. I am apprehensive that I will do something really boneheaded to mess up the SCASL wiki. What if I mess up somebody else's stuff? What if all disappears? Anxiety will eat me up one day! Although I couldn't use the [ ] to write the http---the "add a link " in the toolbar seemed to work. Like I said, I'm still hoping that I didn't mess it up. I think it is working. I was able to connect on click. Technological self-confidence is VERY slow in coming. Doubt lurks like a huge monster in the back of my head. I don't mind messing up my own stuff. I can delete and start over, or grin and try to bear it. But being involved in someone else's public display--- believe it or not, my hands are still slightly trembling after hitting that save button. Breathe deeply and keep going! Because I know that I feel like this after tackling and attempting a "technological feat," I do try to be very patient, encouraging, and compassionate while helping my fearful colleagues as they consent to explore and step out to try new things. Successful or not, we must persevere and find those who are "in the know" and are willing to help. So, if you see that I made a boo-boo or an out right goof---don't hesitate to bring it to my attention.....and that is why I call it ....Ramblin' :-&

Wiki

Lots of info from EdTech 08 and the cool info from the 23 Things ---I get wikis!! AND, I want to get wikis started for our teachers to use for collaborative projects, and for the students to use for collaborative projects, and for the library to use to promote students' favorite books, and for web resources, and the copyright wiki, and, and, and, the list goes on and on!! We will have a wiki world. Who would have thunk it? After so many years of putting out CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION about the use of wikipedia----and now here it is the HOT topic. My, how things evolve. Then there are all of the gadgets and widgets that go with the wiki to really jazz it up and make it a place where students and teachers want to take part. I think this may be the portal for pulling some of my reluctant 20th century learners and teachers into the ways of Web 2.0!

Technorati

Technorati is too vast! I couldn't decide where to start. I've discovered that I don't browse well if the area offers so much. I prefer a specific search. I do enjoy my RSS feeds where I have selected the blogs that I wish to follow. Usually they have been recommended by others whose opinions I value. (That would be the SCASL 2.0 wonderwomen and supermen!) While searching Learning 2.0, I found familiar names like David Warlick and Ewan that I have become familiar with in the SCASL2.0 quest. The blogger directory was less helpful. It was interesting, however, to find so many blogs representative of so many languages. I continue to broaden my horizons--one step at a time--but still moving forward.

Library 2.0

EdTech was promotion for Library 2.0! I attended several sessions about Web 2.0 tools. Seems I need to hear everyone's opinion and perspective to help bolster my confidence for moving beyond using and exploring -- to promoting these tools to my colleagues and our students. I have the uncanny need to be sure I understand completely before I move on to "teach" others but I am finding that I am becoming more comfortable in the idea that we MUST learn together---teachers, admin, students and parents. They can't wait until I master the content. We can't be left behind. We have to find the means to allow and promote the Web 2.0 tools as part of our Library 2.0 or we are history as library media specialists -- the heart and hub of the school.