Thing 5. Create a Teacher Web Page

Yes, it is 6:15 pm. Yes, I am still at work. I have been working on my webpage since about 3:00 today after Leslie Yoder explained the fundamentals. I think it is so fun to create this, probably because there is something orderly about being able to collate all essential information in one page (it is the aspiring librarian in me that needs things ordered and labeled). Since Leslie Erickson provided some yummy treats, I have been quite content to sit and work uninterupted while the building is calm. Thank you Leslie Yoder and Leslie Erickson!

check out my webpage:
http://central2.spps.org/peifer

Thing 12. Other Search Engines

Wow! I had no idea how many search engines and metasearch engines there are. I could spend an eternity checking this all out. I really liked dogpile.com and then I found that it won the Best Meta Data Search Engine award in 2003 on the search engine watch website:

http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2156241

This provides links to over 30 meta data search engines, which I thought was great. I don't know how much new information any of these searches actually find, but there is some comfort knowing that these search engines are compiling the sites for me. For example, I searched Going After Cacciato in dogpile and then searched the web results and the image, audio, and video results. There wasn't anything very relevant in the image, audio, or video results, but I don't know what I was searching for either. I was just testing the search engine.

I also liked customsearchengine.com, because it allows a more limited, customized, search. I found the Liszen site which is a Library and Information Science search engine that I found mildly interesting. I entered National Geographic Library Services since this is what my project is focusing on for my Special Libraries class in grad school. I found some interesting blogs about NGL that I would not have found otherwise, but they weren't particularly useful either.

All this searching just reaffirms that the web is a beastly project to try to understand. I am happy to spend more time getting used to it--and then I get information overload and have to stop searching. I hope that each time I search my patience stretches--as well as my knowledge, of course.

Technology Update

I used United Streaming again yesterday in my Modern Fiction class. I am teaching Going After Cacciato and I wanted to show them a little background info on the Vietnam War. I found a five minute video, which was perfect. I also was able to use the laptop and projector in this lesson. I updated the Modern Fiction blog and then I linked a photo of Dali's "Persistence of Memory" to the term surreal that I wanted to discuss with the students. I also was able to go to a definition of it after we discussed the term and how it relates to the book--very fun!

I have been trying to keep up on all the blogs that I have created. I have been updating the 9 Quest blog with what we do every day for students who are absent. It is a short summary of the class and it makes it really easy when students come back to tell them to look at the blog.

As for the wikis I have created, the one for my small group work for graduate school seems very helpful. One person had never used a wiki before so I was glad to have helped her get more familiar with the wiki process. The English department wiki seems at a stand still. The ninth grade academy wiki seems helpful because I post the minutes from the meetings on it. I think the teachers like knowing where to find the information when they miss a meeting. It makes life easier for those of us who run the committee as well so we don't have to chase after absent staff. One teacher asked me about how to add pages to the wiki at the meeting so I know he is at least interested in learning more about it.

I also, finally, picked up some library card applications from the Rondo library. The librarian was really helpful and said that I could bring in class lists if I wanted and she would get everyone signed up. Since some students already have a library card, I didn't do this, but what a great option!

I am looking forward to the Urban Planet workshop at school tomorrow. I am anxious to get my web page up. I am excited that the workshop will be hands on and I will have the web page up tomorrow...or at least have a good handle on it.

Another BBC News Article on Technology

This article warns young people to protect their personal details over social websites stating that "Millions of young people could damage their future careers with the details about themselves they post on social networking websites" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7108627.stm).

The quote that I found most interesting is: "The commission said the young needed to be aware of their electronic footprint," something we should all be aware of. I think that adults who did not grow up in the Internet age are a little more weary of posting personal information all over the web, but I think it is a good statement to keep in mind--and to tell our students.

Thing 11. All About Google

After reading LMC Lady's post about Google, I decided to check it out. I read through the handout that she added a link to--fantastic reference! I subscribed to Web 2.0-- the educator social network that I found through this source. Google has a lot of different handouts that you can download from their site as well. I also looked through the infinite thinking site that LMC Lady wrote about.

I had this feeling while wandering through all of these google references that I had discovered myself to be on the edge of a brand new world, and with every new trip into an unknown destination, it is both daunting and exciting. Should I step into this new world? How will I ever find the time to explore these new things that I have discovered? Since I have walked this far, I might as well keep walking and see what exploring will uncover :)

Moodle

Thanks to Leslie Yoder, I was able to attend the Moodle workshop on Monday. It was really educational and very interesting; I enjoyed the workshop immensely. I think that if I can get it up and running, it will be a great resource for students. It takes a lot more work than creating a blog or a wiki, but I think in the long run, it will be easier to maintain.

Thing 8. Dribbling Lessons for Information Literacy

I reviewed the dribbling lessons and although there is a lot of great information there, I cannot think of how I would integrate these particular lessons into my curriculum without really stretching to hammer it in where it doesn't belong. I did email some other English teachers about the information where I thought the lessons would fit more naturally. I thought that I might have missed something the first time I reviewed the lessons, so I looked again and again. There are a few pictures that would be fun to show students though. I'll keep looking through the information to see if I can use anything. I still feel like I must have missed something.

Social Networking article

On Wired Top Stories, another blog that I have been following, there was an article that the teacher's union in Columbus, Ohio, believe that teachers should not use social networking like facebook or my space. The article stated that "the state's teacher's unions recommend that teachers not post profiles on social networking or online dating sites because it could lead to the appearance of improper relationships with students." The article's author then followed that up by saying, "Holding teachers up to a 'higher standard' -- symbols of an 'ideal purity' that the rest of us are relieved we don't have to attain -- is not only impossible, it works against our goal of helping young people mature into responsible adults." I thought the article was interesting. It can be found: http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/sexdrive/2007/11/sexdrive_1116

Teaching the Research Process

I spent the hour showing my AP Literature and Composition students about the subscription databases, MNLink, WorldCat, MLA, Research Calculator--and anything else I could think of to show them about researching. They are working on a 7-10 page paper related to Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man that is due on December 3rd. I am very glad to have taken the hour to show them all of this because it seemed that a lot of this information was new to them. I also showed them how to use these resources by using some of their topics. I think they were really impressed by how much information is out there that they didn't know about--and how fast it was to find. Showing them how to use these resources was fun. I hope that they are excited about it as well--and that they start using these resources this weekend! They seemed really excited about the research calculator and how it would break the steps of the research process down--and how each section would be emailed to them. It made me think--if my AP students don't know about these resources, what are the odds that my ninth graders know about them? Very slim odds indeed. We won't cover the research process until second semester for the ninth graders, but I am excited to see what they think.

Thing 9. Streaming Video

Usually the first time I try something new, I end up being very awkward and feeling disorganized. Streaming video was no exception. I thought that it would be easy. I thought that I would be smooth. I thought that since I had prepped everything on my desk top, hooked up my projector to my laptop, borrowed speakers to project the sound, streaming would be fun and the kids would love it. I wanted to show an eight minute video on characters in fiction before the students started writing their character papers on Lord of the Flies. Here is how it really turned out:

Hour One: my laptop needed something downloaded in order for the streaming to work. "How can this be?" I wondered for this laptop is much newer than my desktop. I tried downloading it, but it still didn't work. I passed out the paper assignment, explained the assignment, and had them work on it while I tried to figure it out. I downloaded the wrong plug-in, I didn't hit the right link to open the download onto my computer--the whole process was messy so I gave up and skipped the video for this hour.

Hour Three: Now, I think I am all set up. I figured out the downloading business during second hour. I play the video, but how to I get it to be full screened? I saw the icon a minute ago, but where is it now? It must be somewhere? I ended up clicking on several (maybe 10) wrong buttons while the students were dutifully trying to watch the video. After apologizing about the screens I was opening over the video, etc, I gave up and allowed them to peacefully watch the small screen version of the video. They actually seemed really receptive to the video and the paper intro went smoothly after that.

Hour Five: A student knew how to make the screen bigger, but it did something strange to the computer as well. It was alright, but overall--I don't know if I would use streaming very often after all this fuss. Is an eight minute video worth all the running? On the other hand, if the papers turn out better, it is worth it. I'll have to wait and see how the paper writing goes.

Thing 20. Podcasts, Downloadable Audio Books and More

I was really glad to have Leslie share information on podcasting. It reminded me that I once was really interested in this and had since then, I had completely forgotten where to start. I am excited to play around with this again and find downloadable audio books as well. I browsed through itunes tonight and browsed the audio books that are available. I have never actually listened to any book on tape. As an English teacher, I suppose this is no suprise; I love language, the words that create images, the physical artifact that is the book. As I look through the list of books that can be downloaded, I start imagining how much more productive I could be, how much more information I could get into my brain if I downloaded information to listen to on my ipod versus listening to the same music over and over as I run, which is usually the only consistent time I listen to my ipod; I have literally not changed the music on my itunes for two years. That is embarrassing to admit.

Social Networking

There was a post about social networking and the risk of identity theft in the UK posted on BBC news at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7090096.stm

I am always worried for people that post such personal information online; I don't actually think about identity theft, but, of course, I know that it is a problem. I wonder how to use social networking without placing oneself at risk. Maybe the answer is using a "closed" invitation only kind of social networking. Anyway, I thought the article was interesting and it has tips on making oneself safer too.

Thing 26. Digital Image Collections

This is by far one of my favorite things to research! I found so many collections that it is hard to pick a few favorites to share so please forgive me, as always, if this gets to be a bit wordy...

1. http://artstor.wordpress.com/2005/01/10/major-art-museums-to-share-digital-image-collections-with-artstor/
“ARTstor has announced that sixteen art museums have committed to share digital image collections and associated data through ARTstor. Image and data from these collections will enhance ARTstor’s ability to provide broad-based access to art images for educational and scholarly use in museums, colleges and universities, and the K-12 sector”
This is such a great site, which includes links to some amazing museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, The British Library, British Museum, The Minneapolis Museum of ARt--and so many more!

2. steve.museum
This site is a social tagging project so you can participate and add tags to pieces of art.

3. http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm
This in New York Public Library's site which has 550,000 images.

4. http://content.lib.washington.edu/
The University of Washington...

5. powerhousemuseum.com
This is located in Sydney, and it has a teacher's guide section which is fun.

I haven't actually figured out how to use these images in blogs, but they are great resources to add to a powerpoint presentation or to show students on the projector during lectures, etc.

Projector usage

Two of my colleagues and I are trying to organize a trip of students to go to England, Wales, and Ireland this summer. It has been great having the computer and the projector for projects and this is no exception. We had a parent meeting and I created a keynote presentation for it. We then got together and practiced our presentation and it was really fun! It felt really great to collaborate with other teachers on this as well as share the technology. I think I have also paved the way for them to learn about keynote. For me, it was great to have other people to trouble shoot with as well about this technology. There were a few things that I couldn't figure out and although they don't know about keynote, they know a lot about trouble shooting so we were able to solve some problems together, which also felt really good. This technology made the presentation so seamless.

On the other hand, during the staff development day today, I was amused at my desire to take the presenters overheads and turn them into a power point presentation. I was almost bothered by how awkward flipping overheads seemed and how they had to use a piece of paper to block out pieces of this cartoon they were using to cover the punchline--and how the punchline was ruined when the overhead slid off and then they put it back on upside down...anyway, I remembered how lucky I am to have this technology and know how to use it.

In both cases, I was struck by how technology creates an impression of professionalism that outdated technology does not. In both cases, the content of the presentation would have been the same but the audience's reception of it is completely different. I know that students like the power point presentations I provide them, but I wonder if they are more receptive to the information in this format as well. Is there any research on the impact of technology in terms of learning and retention of information?

Thing13. Subscription Databases

I wish I knew how to get my students to use subscription databases more and google searches less. Leslie gave a great presentation about the databases when she talked to my classes, but now what? I have given the students the information and created a pathfinder for one of my classes last year on where to start in using the databases for one of the research projects I assign, but I don't give that out until second semester. Maybe I need to do that for all my classes earlier on so they know where to start. We have a hard time at Central due to our lack of a computer lab that could hold all of the students in a class, but thankfully Leslie is working on that. Until then, I might try to create a scavenger hunt assignment using the databases to find the information that they can do either in school or as homework. This would be great to do this all together off campus, but how do I get three classes of ninth graders to the public library? If I could set that up, that would allow them to get library cards if they do not have on--as well as make sure they know how to use the databases in both locations. I will try to get this together.

UPDATE FROM NOVEMBER MEETING: It was really great to have the time to work with different databases and have others show the way. Often I use trial and error to get to know a database; searching for hours trying to find information in my first year of graduate school was frustrating--how great it would have been to have had this session before I started graduate school. I hope to transfer this information to my students so they don't have to go through the frustrations that I did. After reading one of the other participant's updated blog posting about the meeting, I also added a link to my class blogs to the resources we explored today. Now--if I can find the time to show each class how to navigate each one...