371.33 Blog Anniversary: Three & almost 2/12 Years & Counting

Yes, this anny post is WAY overdue...any post on this blog is now way overdue. I hadn't meant to let things go this long. I REALLY meant to post my anny review post during the Thanksgiving weekend as usual. I had several postings I wanted to share that now will remain forever locked in my brain because I let too much time and brain cells escape to make sense out of what I wanted to share.

I really can't point anything in particular that lead to ignoring my little piece of the blogging world. I still have 24 hours in every day like always. My job is still as busy as ever and not really any more demanding that it always has been at its high points. My family issues remain the same and their long distance relationships haven't gotten any longer or farther. My dog continues to demand his meals at the same rate as always and his outdoor visits no more than normal. And I still mange to sleep 6-7 hours a day, whether it is on my couch or in my bed.

So, let's see what else could have steered me in another direction the last few months...

the transformation of our libraries has occupied a lot of thinking time...we deployed (the district's term, not ours) lots of MacBooks and iTouches to our 39 campuses...have been fielding lots of questions and sharing how-tos because it is has been a long while since Apple products were part of our resources. I was re-learning right along with everyone else.

Part of my "free" time was taken up with Facebook. The district opened it up last Spring and we initiated some professional development opportunities for librarians, teachers, and others. I have a small group of friends and family and I continue to explore the finer points with them...admittedly a little more since Daughter #1's wedding this summer...used Facebook to share adventures and have continued playing around with the tool more than I thought I would.

And I have techno addiction that HAS robbed some of my free time...I have always played a few word games on the computer, but I got hooked on online Scrabble and I do know it did use some of the time I used for blogging! I guess I could say that it is a technology application that I have gained knowledge of, but really and truly it has just become an obsession. I am working on cutting back...I really am! Hey, I'm writing this blog post and I have not played one game of scrabble this evening or checked FB...in the last hour or so. :-)

Ok, enough ramblings. As with my other anny posts, let me quickly review some of the high points I found in my little corner of the tech world.

Animoto continues to amaze me...with the new pieces it adds and the various productions people in my circle create with it.

The new fun thing in my world is Glogster...if anything can bring about the demise of posterboard projects, this glitzy, colorful, razz-a-matazz, cool tool could be the one to do it! It is a great way to bring lots of things together in one place and the structure prevents the "death-by-PPT" syndrome of a presenter reading too much text and boring an audience to "death."

Clay Sharky's TED presentation "How Social Media Can Make History" is worth 17 minutes of your time, maybe more than once!

I wonder what the next year will bring!

Photo credit: Flickr CC by Pink Sherbet Photography D Sharon Pruitt

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

745.5 Voki Fun...and Questions

Was helping someone set up a blog with avatar today. She selected a Voki. So I made the one you see in an attempt to answer questions that came up as we did hers.

Does anyone know if you can remove the comment button on the frame?
If you have tips and can point me to any help, I'd appreciate them.



Get a Voki now!

027.8 A Good List of Librarians

If you want to check out what blogging librarians are talking about these days, here's a Top 50 list...although it really is a Top 40s + 10 Tweeters...and I won't go there tonight...still trying to wrap my head around that concept. Suffice it to say, the Tweeters have plenty of important (and fun) things to say too!

I have read and follow regularly 9 out of the top 10 plus a bunch further down the line. And I am pleased to say that I have had opportunity to hear many of these fine folks in person...an extra treat! I have a feeling I'll be adding a few more once I give myself time to completely work through the list. 

There are a few missing from the list in my opinion. Among them are Blue Skunk and Library Stuff who have been teaching me a lot over several years! But it's not my list. Enjoy what is there!

Take a look...you'll learn something...all the time!

953.63 Qatar or Bust: Community Effort

Since the inception of our Library2Play 23 Things professional development almost a year ago, there have been many players who have embraced the 2.0 world and given their students new keys to learning.

One such player is Estie Cuellar, a CATE teacher in our district in Houston, TX. From her culminating comments about the 23 Things adventures:
"I have become proactive in seeking out and learning new technologies that will help me grow as a teacher professional and affect positively the lives of my students."

She has done this thru many things:
"Kids today are in sync with technology...it's practically in their DNA. They are proficient multi-taskers. They cannot be reached in a one-dimensional classroom. I understand this.... The vast majority of my lessons are interactive. I play music in my classroom everyday. I make sure that my students conduct Internet research and complete online activities. This year, I will incorporate blogging to replace notebook journals as the students' reflection piece after completing lessons."

She also created a TeacherTube video about her teaching:



Estie has a group of students who have been particpating in the Flat Classroom Project this Fall. In this adventure the students have been working with students around the world on various topics. It is now time for these students to come together with their global peers. The meeting is to be held in Qatar in January.

These nine students need YOUR help. It is going to cost $20,000 for the students and their teacher to make the trip. These students can not do it alone. The Spring Branch Foundation has set up an account for donations towards this life-changing trip for these students.

If you would like to see more that Estie has done, please go to her wiki and blog.

Here is the Qatar Conference blog she and the students have created to talk about the summit and their plans...and needs! The students rap:

[converted from a YouTube video to a wmv file by ZamZar]

On the blog page is a form for contributing to their trip. You can contribute by check made out to the Spring Branch ISD Foundation or use a credit card as well. I chose to write a check.

This is a tough time of year to be asking for funds...especially this year in our community. Many folks are recovering from IKE in our area and are facing the national financial crisis in many ways. Plus the holidays are fast approaching and we all have obligations in that area as well. But please, if you can, help these kids. They deserve to go as much as any other member of the project.

Please consider leaving off that extra fancy coffee or two...take peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a couple of times for lunch rather than doing take out. Reach down in the sofa cushions or shake some coins outta that change jar on your dresser. Please.

Bloggers are known for creating community. Please widen the circle a little today and include Estie and her students. Please put a little money where your keyboard is. 'Tis the season!

371.33 Blog Anniversary: Two Years and Counting...

This blog is two years old this holiday weekend. I am fast running out of time to meet the anny deadline, but I am getting it started and will write on it a bit all day as I shoe-horn it in between life in general and the list I set for myself over this long weekend!

I am proud that it exists and that it is two years and counting. In the past I was not comfortable with my writing and very little exits, but this does...mostly because I could write down thoughts to be "used" by others. In my mind that makes it possible to accomplish because it is (hopefully) for the benefit of others.

There is very little original thought here. I simply report what I find or that others share with me (and thousands of others.) One of the BEST things about the online world...the possibility of sharing!

This second year has been a busy one. My team and I came across the 23 Things phenomena that has been making the rounds so we created our own version and have conducted it twice...so far! The first go-round of Library2Play included about half of our campus librarians, a few district teachers, an administrator, and a few brave souls from around the state who heard about it thru the Internet grapevine. THEN we repeated it in the summer...where we were joined by 300 district librarians, teachers, and several administrators along with educators from a wider state circle and 3 other states! What a terrific experience these encounters were and continue to be...several participants have kept their blogs active and share their online adventures with all of us.

I got to attend NECC this year, basically because it was right down I-10 in San Antonio and I went to the EduBloggers' thing the Saturday before the official conference began. I got to be in the same room with SO many of the bloggers who I have admired from afar...it was a BLAST!! It was THE highpoint of this two-year experience. And the rest of the conference was an adventure itself!

And yes, I do consider myself a part (a tiny part, but a part nevertheless) of the revolution in learning!

And of course, there was that little event in December which gave me an opportunity to visit a bit in Second Life...all of it... from the "surprise" beginning to the virtual world visit was so surreal.

I have gotten to meet so many wonderful people thru the blog...first establishing a relationship online and then thru events like TLA Conference, NECC and staff development trainings, I have had opportunities for face-to-face encounters. Several have become long-distance friends now. The blog will also be the vehicle to keep up with one special friend who been transplanted east...WAY east. I will get to see her sing and dance and watch her grow! O, yeah and keep up with her mom, too! :-)

Animoto remains my favorite tool...not necessarily the most effective or efficient tool in my toolbox, but it is so fun...and gets better and better! I couldn't live without my Reader, my various wikis that I have created to park various bits of info and Google Docs. Most of it all relates back to my blogging experiences in some form or fashion.

Now we are trying to experience FAceBook from an educator's point of view and how we can help students use it properly and safely. I'm a bit behind the circle with this particular social networking tool because it's just a tad too much for me...tends to be too "up close and personal," but I have put it on my list...and yes, that includes going thru the long list of friends-in-waiting!

And games... we are trying to show how games of all kinds belong in the library and the educational plans of our kids today. I love the Wii...bowling is my favorite right now, but gosh, every time I turn around TV shows us something new! I spent a fun afternoon recently watching kids fool around with Guitar Hero...how fun it was! Card games, board games, online games...they all belong. Watch...I'll be writing about some as time goes by.

Both personal and professional things took time away from my blogging fun. I hope to get things back on track and keep up a little better and a little more regularly. Looking forward to what awaits. Hope you will continue to check in and keep the conversation going.

Here's to Three!

027.8 Libraries: Creating Community

Two months since I have blogged here! Whew! Feels like forever and yet, I haven't been very far away actually...just haven't had time to write any posts.

My district's Library Information Services Dept. (of which I am one-third of the team) conducted a second session of 23 Things this summer. In the Spring, we had about 75 folks participate, mostly librarians from our district and around the state, but also some interested teachers.

This summer we had about 250 participants!! The majority were teachers this go-round. Loads from the district, but also teachers from around the state and the country. Librarians in the local area participated as well as some around the state and nation. In addition to Texas, we had players from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and Alaska! Talk about the power of the Internet in creating community. What a great way for teachers and librarians to learn from each other and together.

In reading the posts of the participants and attempting to help them understand activities, answer their questions, or simply enjoy their productions or their outlooks on learning and life, I have lots of new colleagues to call upon in getting thru this thing we call teaching and learning in the library setting. But more important I made a few friends along the way as well. Friends I have never met in the conventional way, but friends nevertheless. An unexpected outcome!

It was great fun running into players thorough all the events around back-to-school. In workshops and meetings, we would identify ourselves and share a moment or two in reflection about our adventure. I was privy to many plans various folks have in using some of the "Things" they have learned with their students or to change the way they work with team or department members.

What a perfect follow-up to my own experience in sharing that I had at NECC this summer in San Antonio. I got to meet "up close and personal" EVERY blogger I consider my blogging mentors and a handful of others who I now follow as a result having a great conversation or encounter. No, don't look at my blogroll for any changes...yet! I haven't had time! Arrgghh! But soon...

Anyway, it was an action-packed summer...one I deemed not exciting enough...so I purchased a home to add a cherry to the top of the pile of fun I have had. [3rd time I have chosen to move at the beginning of school...you would think I would learn or have my head examined.]

So I have fulfilled my goal. I got this post written. I promise more to come that have a little more substance, I hope!

006.7 The Ying & Yang of Blogging

Been away for awhile for a variety of reasons. FINALLY felt I had some things to say...and the TIME to say them.

Write the first post...BANG...my blog has been declared a spam blog! Ugh? The results of such a dubious honor? You have to type in those ridiculous "drunk" nonsense arrangements of letters EVERY time you edit, save, or publish. Sure, I'm used to doing that when I comment. No problem. Want to do my part to keep spammers away.

HOWEVER, when it has to do with original posts, those crazy letters are on steroids...they are bigger, thicker, skinnier and more of them. It takes me about 4-5 attempts to get through EVERY time I edit, save, or publish. One time, I was having so much trouble "reading" the letters, I used the handicap sound out the letters option!

On top of that I had to contact the powers-that-be and declare (beg) that I am not a spammer, but instead a modest little librarian blogger from Texas. I had to wait four days to be absolved of my sins (although I have NO idea what I did to bring on this suspended state of free-flowing communication form.)

NOT fun!

But THEN...

One of the education world's premier bloggers (and one of the world's most generous commentors) COMMENTED on MY blog...he thanked me for some nice thing I said about some of his ideas...

But THEN...

He admitted that he too has human frailties in that virtual world known as Second Life. He can't land ("gracefully"...read-- crashes?) I can't sit. He can't land. I feel...so...much...better!

I think I might just have to do that happy feet thing again!

Gosh, I love blogging. You have the most interesting adventures...and never spend a dime (or a bucketful of dimes) for gasoline.

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.

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!

006.7 Blogs & Blogging: A Community Conversation

This is the post is where I will write am writing a reaction to a presentation I am making made at a church in my community that is having a technology workshop Saturday.

I want them to have access to the Common Craft video Blogs in Plain English so I am including it here so the participants can access it easily at the point they want it. I have chosen to use the Teacher Tube version so that it can be seen district as well.

I also wanted a place for the link to the PPT that I prepared to go along with the conversation.
I look forward to a fun and interesting morning...come back later to see what happened and what we learned!

UPDATE:
It WAS a fun morning...such nice, enthusiastic participants during my session. I think they enjoyed learning about the vocabulary associated with Web 2.0 (thumbs and pointers, digital natives and immigrants, social networking, etc.) and seeing some of the background about and behind blogs. We talked a little about how children or grandchildren, nieces and nephews in their lives are totally into all of this stuff and we should all use it as well to be "hip and cool" with the kids! Here are a few of the people who came to my session...aren't they a nice looking group!

It was interesting to me from the standpoint of the "equipment" I got to use... a computer with Vista...that was a new experience...just enough difference to make me a little nervous since it wasn't my computer! And then I used a wi-fi connector for the Internet. Another new experience for me. The Geek Squad from Best Buy was there offering tips, tricks, and information so after my session I had a long talk with one of the Geek guys (really nice & patient, I might add) about setting up wireless for my place and how to go about doing it.

And on top of that...it is absolutely the most gorgeous day outside so I'm outta here. Copper & I have a date with a bench and a book!

920 International Edubloggers Directory: 2.0 Representatives

Want to see who is involved in edublogging? Want to see what successes they report...what frustrations they deal with...what questions they have...what fun they are having?

Go to Edubloggers International Directory. It made it first appearance in January 2008. Its founder Patricia Donaghy of Dublin, Ireland commented on one of my posts and invited me to take a look. I found a lot of familiar names and faces so I have joined.

She states a simple purpose for her project:

The purpose of this site is to provide an up to date directory of edubloggers
from around the world. The site will provide an easy way to find out what other
edubloggers are blogging about. I hope you enjoy using the site and that you are
able to make many useful connections. Please feel free to add any suggestions or
recommendations for improvements by adding a comment.

It is simply another way to find your way through the maze of the blogging world, especially if you want to only concentrate on those bloggers who have an education base. And you don't have to join to check out the membership. Plus each member has written a description of the blog(s) listed and includes tags of interest. So if you are looking for certain topics or ideas you can search through the ever growing list of members without having to go blog by blog!

005.3 Feedjit: Virtual Trip by Blog

On of the most interesting aspects of this blog for me has been the opportunity through various means to connect with librarians, educators and other bloggers from all over. When I started, I thought I would merely be interacting with a small group within my circle of influence. Had no idea how big that circle would become.

As I learned about things like Technorati, I signed up because of how it let me know who was linking to my blog. I found it fascinating and it has brought me many hours of virtual travel experiences. Even studying another blogger's blogroll was often done just so I could see where I would end up, geographically speaking.

As I have already noted, I have more blog readers (many I affectionately call "lurkers") than commentors because they verbally tell me so! But no way of knowing where all of them come from.

So when I began to notice the Live Traffic Feed widget from Feedjit on several blogs over the last few days, I took the plunge. Now I can see where visitors to my blog come from. It is SO cool!

But I can make a case for it being an educational tool as well. Having the flags of different countries pop up is a review of sorts, plus a understanding of where English speakers are. It also is a clock of sorts because certain areas of the world tend to pop up in clusters during certain parts of my central time zone day.

But I'm not going to get too serious about it...I added it simply because I think it is fun.

O BTW, it is super easy to add. It is basically all done for you from the site if you are using a Blogger or Typepad blog. Unfortunately, the creators say that it is not possible (or maybe not easy) to add to a WordPress (including Edublog) blog...at least right now.

So take a look...to the right and all the way down.

378.1 DKG Meeting: Being With & Sharing With Friends

My Delta Kappa Gamma chapter met today and I was able to attend for the first time in quite awhile. The ladies above represent many of the founding and long-time members with whom I have had the privilege to share some interesting professional and personal moments. Aren't they lovely looking? And even more amazing...there is around 150 years of teaching represented by these five women!

I was asked to talk about Web 2.0 and specifically some about blogging. Many members are retired teachers and some of this was new information to them. We had a light-hearted discussion about blogs and how they represent the "new" interactive sharing of information and learning. We discussed how every one of us in the room qualified as a digital immigrant...how long has it been since you could say that!...and that the students, children and grandchildren we teach, raised, and enjoy are digital natives!

My Library Department is sponsoring a 23 Things professional development and I invited the members present to join us in the fun if they so desired...or at the very least, experience at their leisure, the various 2.0 tools represented. I think I got a few takers and they will enliven the experiences of all involved.

On a more personal level, part of our meeting today was a Remembrance Ceremony held to honor the memory of one of our founding members who passed away in late 2007. Several members who lived with, taught with, laughed with, and loved this person spoke beautiful words about their personal and professional times together. It was very moving to hear their thoughts and feelings. I know I have "school" friendships that have gone way past the "someone I worked with" level and I was thinking about those terrific memories today. I can only hope my friends...both in & outside of DKG feel the same way!

Enjoy your friends...do something soon that makes a fond memory!

006.7 Happy Birthday to "Weblog"

December 17, 2007
The term "weblog" is 10 years old today.

It's author Jorn Barger has written an article the Top 10 Tips for New Bloggers over at Wired as a celebration of the past 10 years...or at least I assume he thinks in terms of it being a celebration of sorts.

Check out his newer picture...some things don't change!


As for some of the pointers for new bloggers (or old ones too!)
2. ...reminds us that links are "essential"...makes a blog the unique communication tool it is rather than just someone's essay.
4. ...it's ok to include the quirky little items of interest to you...whew, makes me feel a little better!
9. ...importance of a feed reader...amen!

I have been indirectly (reader/lurker) and directly (writer) involved with this communication form for a little more than half its official life...that's exciting for this little pioneer heart of mine!


More about the event...
Happy Blogiversary - NY Times
Blog turns 10 - Who's the Father? - C/Net News ...a bit of debate?

006.7 More Edublogs Awards (and Second Life) Reactions

The teacher winner of the Edublog Awards Betchablog has an entertaining description of the awards ceremony in Second Life. Enjoyable reading especially since he was a fairly new in-world visitor like me!

...What did intrigue me though was the notice I received to say that the awards ceremony would be held on Jokaydia Island. “Cool!” I thought, I get to fly off to some tropical resort on some exotic island somewhere to attend the ceremony. Well, it’s true, I did fly off, and it was an exotic island, but it existed only in the virtual world of Second Life. Yes, the Edublogs Award ceremony was to be held in a virtual 3D space - a space existing only as a collection of bits, bytes and packets inside my computer, arranged into an amazing 3D environment by the creativity of the people who build these virtual spaces...

He also has some more pictures that show some event highlights. And lots of other good stuff as well that I will be working my way thru!

Another view of the whole awards process including graphs (that I am not totally sure I understand) was put out by James Farmer, brains behind the Edublogs thing itself and a major player in the awards and its super ceremony, (and a right nice friendly, helpful guy when I was having fits at my Edublogs blog.)

...The process was split into three stages, nominations of blogs for the awards over a few weeks (we received over 500 via an email contact form...nice barrier!), voting over a couple of weeks and then the announcement of the winners...

I am so in awe of all these creative people that I get to learn from!

912 The "Worldliness" of the Edublog Awards

I have had some inquiries as to where are the winners from...as in how worldly is this thing?

So I did a map...please, it's not perfect...it is a generalization of where the winners are (some of them are multi-authors/hosts) and where the other great librarian finalists are from. And I know the other finalists in other categories would make the map even more colorful, but I just don't have the strength!

Locations...Spain, Hungary, Shanghai, Scotland, UK, Australia, Canada and the USA (CA, NC, GA, CO, MA, NJ, and Texas! How is that?!

I have been reading and learning from many of these people for quite some time. One of the best things about this whole experience is that I have now "found" other people to learn from. And I will be sharing some of those new learning experiences as time goes by, but in the meantime, you can watch for additions (some are already there!) to my blog rolls.

And you can learn from these folks on your own.

P.S. 195 votes, 34%, total cast 575

Other winning percentages for some categories

41% Is it Ok to be a technologically illiterate teacher? Karl Fisch
41% elearning Technology
46% Smartboard podcasts
41% Welkers Wikinomics
43% Suffern M.S. in 2nd Life (warning...an Animoto may play automatically...loud!)
52% 587 votes! just for this blog Classroom 2. 0 (they do have 4000+ members :-) )
61% 644 votes! just for this blog El tinglado (tech support)

006.7 Edublogs Awards: A Surreal Adventure

The Edublog Award winners were announced Saturday at a multimedia, video streamed event held in Second Life (SL) and through other audio connections.


I created an Avatar and went to the ceremony on Jokaydia Island. It was fun and frustrating, interesting and intimidating, cool and confusing. Having only spent about five hours total in the virtual world of SL prior to the event, I was struggling to operate outside of my comfort zone and still take in all the excitement around me.
Click on the picture and you can see a few screen shots I took to give you an idea of everything that was going on. You can see other pictures as they are collected on Flickr.

JUST like at the Academy Awards, I really did not think my little blog entry would "win" against the heavy hitters that were in the category and so when the blog was called, I really had nothing prepared to say! It was ok tho' because others were waiting to speak at the end due to all the technical issues (yes...even in something this BIG!). I tried at the end to use my headset and my 15 minutes of knowledge of the set-up to try and say thanks...I "screeched" so badly that attendees begged to pull my plug so I did! Newbies with new toys should not try to "play" with the big boys and girls!

There were several people who were so kind to me as I tried learning how to maneuver around...walking, sitting...flying! I spent more time in the bushes and UNDER structures. And as far as the flying goes...well, those of you who have seen me operate in the real world...let's just say it wasn't a pretty picture. But Jokay, the island owner, spent precious time the day before helping me while she should have been tending to more important details, and Ruby Imako and Sandbox Builder Leah Planer gave me several pointers during the ceremony itself.

It was S-U-R-R-E-A-L!

And now I must try to adequately say thanks to everyone who was responsible for this nice thing happening to me.

I started this blog a little over a year ago to do something that looked like a fun way to share bits and pieces of information I find with people who might want to read what I had to offer. I have a great group of colleagues and friends who follow my ramblings fairly regularly and, on occasion, would share their thoughts with me and others about the topic. I also know I have a lot of them lurking...they will talk to me about the posts, but won't write. My goal this year...more commentors, less lurkers!!

No way did I think ANYTHING I wrote about would attract attention outside my little circle of influence. But the structure of blogging allows for others to find my words when they match up with their words! And that is just plain cool! to see something I thought about quoted in someone else's post...o wow!

I feel very honored to have been nominated and selected as a finalist because there are so many good things going on out there in the library blogging world. And to have had friends and colleagues put out the efforts needed for me to be the "winner"...I appreciate all their efforts and time...and more importantly, their confidence in and support of me.

I want this honor to reflect ALL the good things we have going on in our libraries, but especially with respect to the "new" ways of doings things. Many of us have been fighting an uphill battle for many years to prove our worthiness to others. It's a win for all of us.

I will work hard to earn the respect connected with "winning" something like this by continuing to have lots of fun learning and sharing...and I will do my best to pay it forward.

THANK YOU!

468.8 Spanish Language Reading Materials for Kids

I have been following La Bloga for some time now...covers all kinds of books by, for, and about Hispanics for all age levels.

Now they are supporting and promoting a Spanish language blog for young readers...includes stories, poetry, books...and more.

It will be a challenge for me and my basic skills in reading Spanish to follow everthing that is included, but I look forward to the challenge because it looks fun!

006.7 Blogging: A Vote for Social Networking & Collaboration

So many kind remarks regarding the nomination of this blog for an Edublog award. They are all appreciated. I think I floated most of the day from just the shock of the nomination. I do appreciate any and all efforts that went into this action from any and all who prefer to remain "anonymous."

So many more questions about the voting. Currently the voting box is "missing" inside the district because it is blocked. A request has been made to get it open, but no one knows when. So for the time being, voting, if you choose to do so, must take place away from the district.

AND the award managers put out some voting guidelines late today :

Please note that we’ve set the maximum as 50 votes from the one location (as long as it’s an institution - home internet accounts submitting that many votes are being dodgy) as that would seem a reasonable amount of support to garner from your students and peers, and also be in the spirit of things (voting being decided by quality, not quantity).
So… if there are more than 50 votes from one location they all get removed.

...please take a look before enthusiastically jumping into voting mode. One very enthusiastic science teacher about 1/2 a day's drive away who is near & dear to my heart added about 70 votes after school and they were removed before she got home (and she lives across the street from her school!)...she didn't see the informative email before starting!

So, if you are inclined, I appreciate your vote of confidence...I look at your support as support for the things that, as a group, we are all trying to achieve...for the benfit of our most precious resource...our students, our children.

Thank you all.