Excited!

I am SO excited!!! I have been given the opportunity to interview for my first librarian position! I'm nervous since I have only had 3 classes under my belt, but I am also excited to be starting the next phase of my career. This position is opening up after the Christmas break, so I would have to sacrifice losing an amazing group of second graders. They make me think, smile, and laugh every day! I worry about how the rest of their school year would go. Will they get an amazing teacher that will push them beyond what they are capable of, or will they get some "shmoe" off the street that will allow their behavior, which I have worked so hard to get under control, to go right out the window? I worry about them and want the best for them! Ultimately though, I need to look out for myself and what is in my best interest to be happy and changing schools and districts may be what I need to do right now.

To my parents

title="Wordle: Thank you"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/107294/Thank_you"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">© 2008 Jonathan Feinberg subscribe

This wordle was written to thank my parents for their love and support as I begin my journey towards my Masters.

Can't stay away

I started this whole process July 15,2008 and now less than a month later I have completed 22 postings. Even though I had to do this activity for a grade I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do it. Now that we have permission to take parts of 23 things back to our campuses, I would like to talk to my principal about doing a workshop with our staff. Maybe I will start them out with something small like a wiki. My hope is that our librarian will help me with setting it all up and getting it started.
I couldn't stay away today, so now that I have my "blog fix" I can move on! Have an outstanding day!

thing 23!

I have used this adjective many times throughout this process, but this has been AMAZING!!! I am so excited about all of the new things that I have learned! I can't wait to go back to my school and share it ALL with the rest of the staff and my students! I highly recommend going through the 23 Things...although completing it in 4 weeks is taxing!!! Web 2.0 has amazing (there I go again) tools to use in the classroom and in the library.
Feel free to check back to my blog from time to time. I plan on posting some of the dare I say...amazing...activities that we have done in the classroom.

Thing 22

I have always been one to join social networks like MySpace, FaceBook, Yearbook, etc. but I had never joined any networks that involve people in my field. What's wrong with me?! I have now joined TeacherLingo which will give me more resources when it comes to lesson plans, ideas for activities and it will offer me a place to vent my concerns. Not that I EVER have any :)
What a great way to talk with people all over the world and be able to see what they go through on a daily basis. I have also decided that when I DO become a librarian, I am going to join Texas School Librarians. I found tons of information there that will help me out as a first year librarian!

My first video Thing 21

This video shows a small portion of Mr.&Mrs. Chief's honeymoon/anniversary cruise. This is just one of many "perfect moments" we have shared. I hope that you enjoy it!
831 Chief!

Thing 20

Here is a "commercial" created for a SUPER LIBRARIAN!! This came from YouTube.



Here is an activity from TeacherTube that I want to use to introduce domino addition to my students.

Thing 19

I just finished exploring several of the different sites that made the Web 2.0 Awards List. I was suprised to see just how many of those sites I have been affiliated with or have explored through this whole 23 thing adventure. Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with my teaching team and have already introduced some of these sites to them. They are very excited as well to explore these with their students. Del.icio.us was very exciting to them. We were constantly emailing sites back and forth to each other and end up losing the email. Now we can all use the same on line activities with our students and they are all in one place.

Thing 18

I have enjoyed using Googledoc for my graduate class. I was spell bound from the first time that my collaborative group started working with it. It was neat to see how three of us could work on the same document at the same time. Googledocs still have some kinks in it though. There are times that when you and someone else are working on the same page, that it won't save what you have just entered. It is also sometimes hard to format your page. All of this didn't deter us from completing our project though. We figured out how to work through all of it and have created a final presentation that can be used again and again.

Thing 17

Rollyo is the topic of this thing. I registered, but I am not convinced that this site is easier to use. Maybe I am so enamered with del.icio.us that I can't see the benifits of Rollyo. I did several searches, and wasn't really able to find exactly what I was looking for. I guess I will need to spend even more time searching here. My fear is that I will have so many search engines I won't remember where I have put everything. Any suggestions?

Thing 16

Today I had the opportunity to delve into Wikis. The use of a Wiki seems like it could almost eliminate the use of weekly team meetings since we can post the notes from Team Leader meetings, add any additional information needed, and comment on what is happening for the week. This would allow us as teachers to spend more time preparing for our lessons. I can also see Wikis used as a way to have contact with parents. As questions/requests arise, parents can create a post, and then I could go back and answer their questions. Then others with the same concerns can get their answers right away.

Thing 15

It's amazing to me how far the internet has come! I can remember back to when I was young and my father was teaching me how write programs so that I can make a "game". Now I am collaborating with people that are miles away from me and I can see exactly what they have done. Sometimes I wonder if I have the training needed to even teach today's children. I need to educate myself more on Web 2.0 applications. My students should be using blogs, wikis, webcasts, and google docs as part of their lessons. I have just scratched the surface when it comes to what is on the web. I am excited to see how all of this can be used in the classroom as well as in the library.

Thing 12

I just posted to two totally different types of blogs. I first started looking at baseball blogs, then I went to scrapbooking, teacher, people from back home, and other people starting their masters. It was amazing how easy it was to respond to what others had been saying. It was similar to writing a blog entry. Say what you want to say and make sure that it doesn't offend anyone. (Hopefully I would NEVER say anything to anyone that would offend them...that's not my style)

Thing 14

Technorati Profile

thing 13

(created by Presta Dec. 2007)
Del.icio.us is amazing! As I was watching the video telling more about the site, it hit me that I need to get my entire team together and save our favorite sites. Then we wouldn't have to keep sending the individual link out in an email. It would be right there for all of us! What will they think of next?! I have one friend who lives to find new websites for school. She will have a hayday! Especially when she finds out that she can then see those same sites AT SCHOOL!!!

Thing 11

This was a fun and easy way to document what books I have read recently. I have found within the past year that I haven't had time for recreational reading. I really need to make time for that again. Maybe a good time would be while my students are doing their silent reading. Then at least I would get 20 min. in each day. Creating a LibraryThing would be a great way for students to record and keep a list of what they have been reading. They could even write a small review of what they thought about the book. It also looks like we could create our own group as long as the students all have an email account. My concern would be if we would be able to keep others out of our group and make it "by invitation only". Maybe that's when a wiki would work out better for us.

I am an Ombudsman! (thing 10)

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender
(this was created with Poetry Blender from ImageChef.com)
This is what I am talking about!!! I love taking pictures and creating new ways to display them! Thing 10 is way more fun that Thing 8&9! I was very frustrated with Custom Sign Generator. I had this great idea and could never get it to work. First I found what I wanted...then I couldn't upload a picture. The directions are very clear once you find what you are looking for. I never did get anything created! Very disappointed!

I can see how a lot of this could be used in the classroom. I am excited about trading cards. I may have each student create one and use it as a display this year instead of the same old thing I have done in the past. I would have to say that the sites I had the most fun with were ImageChef and BigHugeLabs. I will definitely be using them again.

Thing 9

So, the assignment this time was to "explore some of the search tools noted above that can help you locate some RSS feeds." I looked at all of the sites that were listed and became overwhelmed with information. There was so much out there for me to read, I went into overload and couldn't read any of it. I know that may sound wierd, but sometimes too much information isn't good for me! My statement still stands from thing 8. I have not found ny niche when it comes to RSS feeds. I will come back to it as needed.

Thing 8

Here is the scoop on me....plain and simple....I don't read the news. I don't watch it on tv...I don't discuss it with friends and family. I know as an educator I need to keep up on what is going on around me, but unfortunately it doesn't interest me much. Now, I'm not saying that I NEVER see the news. I just don't go out of my way to check on it. I have set up my RSS, but honestly will probably never use it. It was easy to set up. It's linked to other accounts that I have. It would be great in the library because you can set one up to fit the needs of the students in your school and they can go there for information on their level.

Thing 7

I have really enjoyed looking at all of the amazing things that google has to offer. I have used Picasa Web albums to share photos with family and friends and I have recently downloaded Google Earth. After my husband got back from his deployment, he was able to show me where he was at and where everything was around him. When I drive, I am more of a landmark person than being able to read street signs, and Google Earth can sometimes show me what is around the location I am looking for. You have to remember though, that it is not "live time" and there may be things that are there now that weren't there when the photo was taken. I have also found that Google Earth isn't 100% acurate on pinpoint locations, although it gets you within approx. 100 feet.

Thing 6

There are SO many things to play with out there! I like trading cards, mosaic, puzzle...and the list goes on and on!
Students can use mashups when creating their Texas Reader books reports. As a classroom teacher we used to do "brown bag" book reports. Now I can have them work on those in a different way! Very excited to see what they come up with!

Thing 5

I remember the days when my brother and I would go to our public library and have to look through the card catalog to find a book that we were looking for. Have times changed!!!

Thing 3

I was going back to look at my list of 23 things and realized that I didn't comment on thing three. It was amazing just how easy it has been so far to set up my own blog!! The avatar was something that I already used, so all I had to do was update what I was wearing and my background. I didn't realize that you could use her elsewhere, so I will be moving her to another site as well. I noticed that Yahoo puts their logo at the bottom showing where it came from! YEAH!
Now what I consider the "hard part" is looming overhead. My blog is up and running, but now I have to go out and get other stuff!! Here is where the "fun" begins!

Easiest of the 7 1/2 Habits

Habit 3: View problems as challenges is an area that I have had to work on over time. As I was first starting out my teaching career as a Kindergaten aide I came across situations that I considered problems and would fly off the handle (not in front of the students of course) and had to learn how to deal with what came my way. My cooperating teacher said it best when she siad that you have to go with the flow and not let the little things upset you. Take everything as a learning experience and use your previous problems as a way to avoid the situation in the future. Learn from your mistakes and keep a watchful eye out for challenges that may come your way and try to figure out how to solve them.

Hardest thing about 7 1/2 Habits

Here I am sitting in front of my computer wondering about which of the 7 1/2 habits is really the hardest for me to get a grip on.

I would say that Habit 6: Use Technology to your advantage has probably been my biggest struggle. You would think that with a father and a husband both working in the technology industry it would come easier for me. I have always wanted instant gratification and when it comes to searching the web, it can take sometimes what feels like FOREVER to find what I am looking for. I don't always have the patience to sit and look through all of the sites. That just isn't fun for me....now give me a cool site any time and I will use it over and over and over again.

My goal through all of this is to gain a better understanding of what is out there in the web and how to better utilize my time in order to experience it.