070.5 Working Out The Kinks with Bookr

In one of the online summer professional development programs we have going this year, one of the activities to make and post a bookr. We were having trouble at one of our f2f recesses trying to get this particular book to load. So I promised I would play with it this weekend. I needed a place to post it ...and so you reap the benefits of technology trial and error.

What did I do to get it to post? Absolutely nothing! Apparently all the stars were aligned and I held my mouth just right and boom, up it went ...with no hassle. And it fits the blog...no edge overhang...another issue that has popped up with these this summer. So I will make a note that I do it with my Mac. (Will try my PC later.)

Patience is one of the tools you have to have in the 2.0 world. When at first you don't succeed, [be willing to] try, try , try again!

Anyway, enjoy the lovely insect collection put together by Honey Bear. And if you've not put a little visual treat together for yourself, go grab some Flickr pix and play. There is a huge archival collection (7000+ so far) for your viewing pleasure as well.

629.45 The Adventure Begins: we Choose the Moon

Five...four...three...two...one...

We had lift off this time 40 years ago!

The first manned mission to the moon is being celebrated this week.

A new website We Choose the Moon with enhanced video will be "launched" today.

The entire audio record from launch to splash down of the event is also available.

Apollo 40 Years Interactive Landing

Quote this morning from one of the astronauts: "You hold more technology ability in the palm of your hand than we had on the mission"

Image fron NASA

363.34 Natural Disaster Preparededness: You Better Practice A Lot!

A friend sent me this link (might be re-thinking that relationship after this experience.) It's a game, but not like checkers is a game; more like chess is a game...for masters!

Stop Disasters! A simulation game for all kinds of natural disasters...wildfire, flood, tsunami, earthquake, hurricane. You are given an amount of money and time to strategically buy resources that will protect lives and lessen the economic impact.

I failed miserably when I played with the tsunami...yes, that is what they said "failed miserably." I did better with the flood...only a few lives lost, but it would not have been a pretty community because I put up every safety measure possible. This time I was awarded a medal. I took a picture of it, but lost the screen shot in all the confusion...you will just have to believe me!

Great for the classroom. Background information and teacher plans included. FAQs include the suggested age of 9-16. Timing would work with class periods (provided procedures and practice were done ahead of time.)

Would be a great collaboration project... and then pit one team against an other.

ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Relief) is the sponsoring agency.

658.8 Double Meaning: A Lesson (and Laugh) in 2.0 Vocabulary

When I saw this on TV this week, it made me laugh out loud. I loved the company's take on the 2.0 term "social networking."

Coleman - Airtight® Inflatable System
Shared via AddThis

They have a companion video that I featured here.

And not to ignore the print part of the world, the Coleman Co. included one for magazines, etc.

Hummm...2 posts about ads back-to-back? Nothing but coincidence!

Visual & video available here.

659.102 100 Best Ads: Little Bits of Cultural History

Comments from bloggers can take you to the most interesting blog posts/sites.

The latest one lead me to the The Top 100 Advertising Campaigns, not necessarily a new site, but new to me. I had fun going down the list and remembering all those little mini-movies and stories that entertained us between breaks in the stories we were watching on TV. Most of these

became household icons because A. we had no remotes and B. we had only 3 TV stations to watch for a really long time.

Granted there are a handful from as far back as the 1920s included, but the vast majority made the list because of the time they spent on the airwaves, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s...up to and including the infamous 1984 Macintosh computer commercial!

As is my usual plan, I went thru the list thinking about a visual to include...one of the campaigns that was a personal favorite of mine. Most of the symbols, etc. were found on sites that had rights reserved so I decided on Smokey, the fun icon of my childhood who taught me a lot about how to be careful in the forests of my summertime home.

Once I started reading, I found out the campaign is the longest PSA (public service announcement), Smokey has a very comprehensive interactive website with all kinds of safety info and history of the real Smokey and the ad campaign itself!

By the way, Smokey doesn't remind you that only you can prevent forest fires. Starting in 2001, it was changed to wildfires...doesn't have quite the same ring...messes with the cadence of my brain, but nevertheless, is still an important thing to remember. AND even an icon as important as Smokey does have to undergo a makeover every once and awhile so "GetYour Smokey on!"

Ok, ok, I digress...back to the list of ads. There are so many on it that were fun: Where's the Beef...inspirational: Keep America Beautiful's Crying Indian...and even some that go straight to the heart: Hallmark anything! Come on, you know you tear up sometimes!

Now it's your turn. What's a favorite for you? What memory didn't make the list and should have?

P.S. Not sure what criteria was used in making selections and the information attached to the list doesn't always talk in the "lovely memories" tone of this post. Each to his/her own. That's what great about the 2.0 world!

Visuals from SmokeyBear.com

770.79 A Burst of Photographic Fireworks

Happy 4th to all!

I played with this particular image generator Tag Galaxy awhile back (months, years?) but just came across it again. It uses photos from our friend Flickr...who doesn't?

If you are in a playful, messin' around mood just go and throw out a keyword or two and see what happens. You will have to pull yourself away!

No, I don't have any ideas how to use it in an educationally settings...not sure how you would pull pictures off (except thru screen print) and even less how you would credit them.  Sometimes, things are just fun ...and should be enjoyed just for the fun! 

It is as simple as this:

006.7 EdubloggerCon: One Year Later

Gosh, one year ago today...I was attending one of the best educational gatherings ever (for me anyway)... EdubloggerCon08 that was held in San Antonio. I learned SO much on several levels about working in the virtual world, learning in the virtual world and just how much fun all of it can be. The big plus was meeting and talking and sharing with like-minded people! I was floating and didn't need Second Life to do it!

The whole week (as it moved into NECC 08) was so overwhelming...all the things there were to see and learn and all of the people who wanted to share.

If you click here, you can review the posts I wrote while there.

The results from my attendance:

1. After seeing almost EVERYONE working on a MAC, I was determined to bring MAC back into my life and I did and I love it just like I knew I would!

2. I AM a part of the revolution and PROUD of it.

3. I came away even more convinced that I must be an agent of change and do as much as I could to bring about change in my own little circle of influence. In my mind, it is not that education (and school libraries right along with the bigger picture) need to change ...they HAVE to change...and not everyone involved believes it...yet!

and I almost forgot one of the most important things I learned...

4. be sure and bring the power...the power strip that is! If you have an extra plug or two available, you get to meet the coolest people up close and personal. That is Cathy Nelson of TechnoTuesday who shared a bit of power time with me! I really enjoyed the 2-3 brief encounters we had thru the week.

I came across the pictures while searching for something else in FlickrCC and just decided to mark the anniversary by showing you I was there! :-)

Here is the link to this year's EduBlogger Conference...including the traditional "stair" picture and notes from the discussion.

Here is the link to NECC 09 and all of the resources.

To everyone there, have a grand time...I am definitely there in spirit! And I will be checking in as much as I can.

Credits: The Edubloger08 pictures are from kjarrett

428.1 Save the Word: Vocabulary Builder of Out-of-Fashion Words

This is the coolest vocabulary site: Save the Word...you will want to adopt a word or two...or many! The words call out to you, begging you to select them and save them from old word extinction.

Try it...you will NOT be able to resist. I dare you!

909.08 Iconic Photos: Another Collection Worthy of Your Time

Spent some time this weekend catching up with the thoughts of some of my favorite bloggers and David Warlick at 2 Cents pointed me to this photo collection found at WebDesigner Depot.

It is another group of 100 historically significant portraits/photographic portraits of individuals who have impacted our world for many reasons over the last several hundred years. Yes, most of them are from the last 100 years or so, simply because of their photographic format, but there are classic portraits of much older, and no less significant, historical characters.

I am not here to debate the whys and wherefores of some people being included and others being left out of the collection. Just look at it for who is there and the shear beauty of many of the visuals themselves. As for uses in the classroom and library-related projects...please, there are SO many!

Now, the nagging question is, can these be used for educational purposes? I think you will agree with me that many of them are available from other copyright friendly locations (some are in the LC collection and some are found in the recently uploaded Life/Google collection) so I am assuming this one is as well.

What is the significance of the 4 photos I have chosen to included here, you ask?

Anne Frank -- I have been haunted by her eyes ever since I read the book at about the age of 12 (and many times since then). I have NEVER been able to put myself in any situation, real or imaginary that I assume she encountered. I C-A-N-N-O-T imagine, pretend, or even dream...

Migrant Mother -- this picture simply represents what the Dust Bowl/Depression looks like to me....and after becoming a mother almost 30 years ago, I have learned to "see" other things in her face as well.

Afghan girl -- I remember when she came out on the cover of the National Geographic magazine back in the mid-80s. I remember holding onto that copy for a long time and returning to look at it many times...not knowing that the true significance of the photo was not her green eyes (which really was the focus of the story), but the fact that she represented so much in a region of the world that captured our attention so completely a few years later. I followed the story also when the photographer/reporter went back to find her and see what fate had dealt her. I can't help it...as trite as it sounds...she is hauntingly beautiful on many levels.

And the final photo--Buzz Aldrin on the moon reflecting back a smaller image of his partner (and photographer) Neil Armstrong...a pinpoint of time frozen in my mind...the Apollo 11 moon shot is a HUGE marker on my personal timeline....I can close my eyes and remember vividly historical details of those few scary, and yet, exciting days...both inside and outside my own house!

Ok, enough nostalgia for now...go hunt up some of your own.

TASLA 3rd Morning Session Google Docs, legislative Update

Google Docs
Debbie Schwarz, Mesquite ISD, talked about using Google docs. They collect their end-of-year stats on Google docs. She opened up the presentation portion which I really never have spent time with. I was glad to be reminded of it.

She showed how forms could be sent, filled out and then the spreadsheet would be populated automatically. She created one as an example. It is under New, Form. You can give help for the blanks so they would know how to answer properly. you have different types of questions...short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, check boxes, choose from a list (drop-down), scale. You can even add a theme to it to "decorate." and you can save it to different formats including MSExcel.

I see lots of uses for this new (to me) tool! It is good that others explore so I can take advantage of their ventures.

Legislative Update

Jennifer LaBoon

Key Issues for Schools that did not successfully get all the way

K12 Databases

Full time librarian on every campus using counselors standard (1 per campus of 500 or more) -- would have been unfunded mandate. The timing was just not right to push any herder this time on this.

One of the issues raised was tying it to accountability that each campus has librarian...would solve issue of exemplary campuses who have no librarian.

two opps to help --can you help? Contact Jennifer or Cindy Buchanan

PTA Summer Leadership conference in Austin, Jully 24-25

TASA/TASB Conference in Houston October2-3

Julie Todaro

the results of the public survey on libraries

http://www.txla.org/html/pr/survey.html

(FYI: If you want a source to lots of data go here)

SOME results of the survey:

strong, intense voter support

women, older and Hispanic voters, public library users most intensely support need for school libraries

essential because of opportunities to learn to read

under the funding part...concerns about cuts in hours and resources, do not want less available

the voters do see connection between student achievement and strong libraries

this the point she considers the point to use as the hook to all this info....

Question from audience: what was her perception of legislature receiving this data:

stunned looks that data exists

their curiosity was peeked..so other data was put up also

**************

It was a good conference. Yes, I learned some new things...I always do. But the most important aspect of this whole thing is the opportunity to get to spend time with people I admire, enjoy, and learn from each and every time I am around them.