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.

648.5 Cleaning: Necessary Tips Even in the 2.0 World

Good article for keeping the Wii Fit Balance Board sparkling clean...especially when you are encouraged to use it barefooted!

Now don't get too excited...I am NOT saying you should encourage the kids to do that at school...it is just what the article hooks you with!

And realizing that everyone in my district has been using their laptops for a year now (gosh, time flies when you are having fun!), here is an article on how to clean a laptop keyboard. The ol' turn it over and shake isn't necessarily the best thing to when the keys are attached to the unit itself. :-)

Nice website overall...good tips on lots of stuff  HowtoCleanStuff.net 

027.8 Library of Congress: Going Where the Users Are!

Library of Congress videos on YouTube...potential overdose for this  history & trivia dabbler! But how cool of them to take all their great stuff and put it out for all to see and use! Going where the users are instead of sitting back and waiting for them to come to them.* Aren't libraries just getting so smart these days! ;-) 

Look at the two samples I pulled up in the first five minutes I was in the new collection.

[I have requested conversions of these from Zamzar so they can be seen in district. When I get them and have a few moments to upload them...I'll add them. Even more reason for this important resource to be available at school...ALL schools!]

Enjoy!

*I intend to still  get there some day to the "real thing" and be able to stare up into that beautiful dome!

025.1 TASLA Day 2, Afternoon

The SBISD team showed Student Products for the 21st Century and talked about Library2Play 23 Things. Despite the slow Internet, a fun time was had by all...we think!

Comments and ah-ha moments...stay tuned! here you go!
Thanks Dr. T T for handling this for us!

• ooh, I have to show my librarians this!
• I’ll be ready for the first of school now!
• Give kids cameras and let them go out and take pictures to use for this.
• This is way too cool.
• Where are you trying to go? Can I go there, too? How did you get there?
• Let’s GO! I figured it all out.
• It takes awhile loading, but is worth it.
• I’ve seen this before.
• SAVE IT FAST!
• This would be great for beginning of the year library orientation…If we take pictures of every point of interest, you can go back and narrate it all in this Photo Story. I begin to say less and less because I get tired.
• I could add to this every year.

Ideas you would have your students use? Things you are doing with technology in your district?

• Our senior English kids do Renaissance magazine covers. I framed some and put in the library. When Dr. Alan November did recording of kid who never would talk, they posted it on itunes and shared it with friends.
• 
  Research Vietnam War, do citations, videocast themselves as newscasters.
• I use Photostory and sent out questions and got librarians to speak and put it on google so new librarians can meet everyone.
• Best practices from veteran librarians.
• We have 5 year technology switchout and teach teachers the new downloads so they can use these in classes.
• Creating your own 23 Things
• Place in Florida has how to use and why you would use these.
• If teachers need 12 hours, we could copy and paste and create our own? YES
• This is a big, huge opportunity for those teachers who have dragged their feet.
• Christine McNew says we can offer credit in the fall. Barry will work out the details.
  

The book that Liz showed on podcasting
Podcasting at School by Kristin Fontichiaro
ISBN: 1-59158-587-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59158-587-9
$30

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David talked about TEKSLink
It will be a community effort. We need to share our knowledge. "No one has time to do this all anymore."--a quote from David!
It is in the form a wiki making updating easy and an easy way to see who is working on what!

Then we went into the business meeting...and it was just that...business!

Of course, our day will end with a nice dinner and lots more bonding, discussions, and wonderful story-telling moments. Life is good!

031 Encyclopedia Britannica Freebies

Encyclopedia Britannica has decided to make a subscription free to some bloggers and other web publishers. You must register/apply to be considered for the service. It will last one year. I saw this announcement over at Joyce Valenza's Neverending Search so you can see more details there. She got some information about it from Tech Crunch as well, including a little discussion about whether this is a good thing or not.

Another new thing that could prove to be interesting is the widgets of information that EB is making available. Here is the current list of topics. I have added one about presidents so you can see what is available. Might be good additions to a web page or wiki where you are building resources for a project or research needs?



Guess we will need to see how this all shakes out as far as how people feel about it being a good thing or not. Me--for now, it is access to information and that is never a bad thing, I don't think.
The widget info is pretty basic...might prove to be nothing more than a gimmick, but if it makes one more learner take a look....what is the harm?
Will be glad to hear how others feel as the news spreads and the idea develops.

020.Views of TLA Librarians/Information Specialists & Their Conference

As promised a few days ago (wow, how time flies when you are absorbed!) here are some sights from the conference in Dallas. Not as many as I had hoped because 1. the camera battery conked out on me most of one day & 2. I was just too darn immersed to remember to take a shot or two of who or what I was immersed in! Sorry!

A whole room full of...catalogers! And not scary at all! Everyone there was just trying to learn and, more importantly understand RDA & FRBR & the implications on our way of doing things...especially in the cataloging world. Shawne Miksa did a fair job of making it understandable. And then Scott Piepenburg (for which there is no photo -- good or bad because that is when the battery went dead) assured me that I did know what I was doing...it is always to check in with yourself.

Along with a colleague, I am "in love" with Alan November now! Always on the fringes of my reading and learning, I am now going thru some of his stuff more carefully and in greater detail because I want to capture even a small degree of his passion for learning and understanding AND helping kids to learn and understand the world as it is now...where technology is considered a critical part of the success and not something to be scared of and worried over. A great way part of his message was done was simply by having the other participant, Kathy Schrock, on board thru Skype! It was fun"seeing" her long-distance.

And then two action-packed & insanely intense sessions with Joyce Valenza. The picture is terrible I know, but even if I had been closer, I'm not sure I could have done much better because it is hard to capture a speeding bullet and I was worried the energy coming from this terrific woman would blow me over like a tornado's wind! She is incredible in what she knows, what she does, and how much she wants to share it all with anyone within earshot!

I have to admit that the cataloging portion of TLA was more of a "have-to" than a "want-to," but the time was well-spent. The technology sessions I attended were more "fun," but really tied me in knots trying to keep up and understand everything they were demonstrating. I will go into more details as time permits.

But then there were the REALLY fun moments of conference...when opportunities just happened! Take a look!

025.56 TLA Wednesday: Library 2.0, All Kinds of Resources

Wednesday was Resources day here at the conference for me. I attended Joyce Valenza's (of NeverEndingSearch fame) session on everything 2.0 I knew and more. Thank goodness for 23 Things...I was able to keep up with what she was talking about...barely.

She is SO into wikis with her students for ALL kinds of things and I couldn't agree more. I just can't figure out where she gets the gazillion extra hours a day to do it all. Here is one of her newest things...a Global Studies Ning. I see lots of potential here in high school...World Geography, advance studies courses, AP this & that, but even 6th grade World Cultures could find a place I think!

She is truly amazing at what she has put together...and wants all of us to use as well...don't re-invent the wheel...go to her things and adapt. I will go back and get all the particulars later, but if you have not read her blog..start there...put it in your reader...move it to the Top 5 of your list. You want be sorry...if you really want a taste of what can be done in 2.0 with students and for students. I am going back to hear her again on Thursday.

I also heard Walt Crawford...a long time agent of change and a "study-er" of trends like blogs....interesting info there...lots of his work has been with public libraries and academia, but his thoughts have filtered down into the school libraries as well. His presentation evolved into some nice discussion amongst attendees. It was worth my time.

I also got here all about the changes coming to TeachingBooks...you are going to like them...next Wednesday the 23rd watch for the new look and then next fall you will also see some new things...lots to do with what we & teachers can do with the material.

And my day ended very nicely with an EBSCO talk about what is coming there. Pretty much a one-on-four exchange of what changes they are bringing and what things we like and still need to see. I have totally forgotten the timeline of the changes....I will find out!

A good day...

Hope to get some pictures posted today of some fun stuff that has been happening...so keep watching!