Learning 2.0 Through Play

Welcome to Learning 2.0 Through Play!

2008-06-03T20:58:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Mesquite ISD's Learning 2.0 Through Play program & blog.

Learning 2.0 Through Play is an online learning program that encourages MISD staff to learn more about emerging technologies on the web that are changing the way people, society, schools and libraries access information and communicate with each other.

Over the course of the next several weeks, this website will highlight "23 Things" and discovery exercises to help you become familiar with blogging, RSS news feeds, tagging, wikis, podcasting, online applications, and video and image hosting sites.

To familiarize yourself with this project, be sure to read the About page. The FAQs should answer most of your questions about this program. If not, then please add your question to the FAQ page as a comment.

So fasten your seat belts, grab your mouse and get ready for a discovery adventure… and remember, it's OK to play in school and have fun!

#19 Beyond MySpace: other social networks

2008-06-03T20:30:00.005-05:00

MySpace and Facebook may grab the headlines in social networking, but there are many other social networks. Social networks are online communities created around interests with people-to-people recommendations and communication. These specialized social networks allow like-minded users to find and interact with one another, whether around crafts or cars or any other shared interest. In this Thing, we'll take a look at some of these networks.

Discovery Resources:

Gather
Gather describes itself as the “leading social networking and media site for adults, with some of the highest quality user-generated content on the internet.” Most of the discussion on Gather is in a debate format, focused around a single issue, book, or theme to appeal to busy professionals. American Public Media is heavily invested in this site as an outlet for National Public Radio listeners.

Ning
Ning is a social networking site with a different focus. With Ning, you can set up your own social network based on your particular interest or join one that someone else has already created. There are several educator networks from which to choose. To learn more about Ning, check out one of the librarian or school related groups below.

Video demo of Ning by its CEO Gina Bianchini
School-related groups on Ning: Classroom 2.0, Teacher-Librarian Ning, Texas School Librarians, Teachers 2.0

Other social networks provide recommendations and reviews, focus on various political candidates, promote career development, or revolve around an interest like music, pets, or food. Even AARP is getting into the social network sphere.

Wikipedia list of social network sites

Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network, TechCrunch July 24, 2007

Tips and tools to help your nonprofit get the most out of online networks, TechSoup, May 5, 2006

My Guide to Social Networks, a satirical article on social networks in PC Magazine

How Gather hopes to be the MySpace for Books in Publisher's Weekly

Discovery Exercise:

1. Mesquite Librarians also have a brand new Ning network. Join it and do at least 2 of the following:

Leave comments for another member
Upload your photos or video to the Ning
Add the Ning badge to your blog
Add another of the Ning widgets to your blog

2. Find another social network that might interest you. Explore the ones mentioned already or one of these suggestions:

Education

Music

Food

Movies

Books

Hobbies

Fuzzster(pets)
Yelp (local reviews/recommendations)
Crafts

Getting Things Done

43 Things

You get the idea; there is a social network for everyone. And, on the chance you can't find a social network that matches your interests, start one of your own.

3. Write a blog post discussing the following:

Are you a member of any online communities?
Are any of these social networks appealing to you?
What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later?

#16 Get organized with web 2.0 tools

2008-06-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

While it may seem that the Internet is populated by people with endless time on their hands who are out to torpedo our productivity, there really are Web-based applications that can improve productivity--or at least make some things easier.

These applications fall into a variety of categories including online office tools like the spreadsheets and word processing tools we learned about in Thing #13, calendars, start pages, project management tools, to-do lists, personal organizers, sticky notes, online collaboration tools, and much, much more. A search on “online productivity tools” turns up many lists of these tools.

RSS aggregators like Bloglines and Google Reader from Thing #10 also help your productivity by helping you keep up with the news and information you need.

In this Thing, we have selected several organizational tools for you to try. These are tools that have use in schools and libraries, as well as at home.

1. Customized start page

A customized home—or “start” page— like the one above, lets you collect and organize all of the information that is important to you on one page that displays whenever you open your browser. Since it is online, you can access your start page from any computer anywhere. iGoogle, PageFlakes, and Netvibes are three examples. Each lets you choose headlines, weather reports, links to your email and RSS feeds, and dozens of other widgets (or gadgets, in Google) to manage information—or your life. Note that many widgets require a download.

2. Online calendars

Online calendars all offer similar features—add events, get reminders, search, repeat events, coding, etc. and of course, the hallmark of Web 2.0, the ability to share your calendar with others. Google and Yahoo! Calendars integrate with their other services and features. Choose a calendar from this article and try it out. Other calendars include 30 Boxes and Scrybe.

3. Online to do lists

Try one of these online list tools to manage your activities. Ta da list or Remember the Milk or Jott.

4. Some tools roll multiple features—calendars, lists, reminders, etc--into one service. Take a look at Backpack's features.

But wait, there’s more! In addition to the tools listed above, here are some other productivity/organizational tools to explore.

Discovery Resources:

Top Ten Productivity Web Sites
Top 25 Web 2.0 Apps to Improve a Student's or Professor's Productivity, Online Education Database
2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
Lifehacker is a Web site that provides daily updates on tools and applications. Add it to your Bloglines account if you want to really see all that is offered in the name of productivity.

Getting Things Done

Stikkit - personal organizer

StickyNotes.net and MyStickies - sticky notes (requires download)

CutePDF (requires download) - PDF converter

PDFConverter - converts files to portable document format (PDF) so they can be read on any computer

Zamzar - This program will covert one file type to another.

Discovery Exercise:

1. Look at the intro pages for each of the customized start page tools and choose one to create your own customized start page. Add, delete, and re-arrange the features and widgets on your new homepage.

2. Create an online calendar or to do list using one of the tools above.

3. Choose one other tool from the lists above to explore.

4. In your blog post for this Thing, address the following questions:

Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page?

How can the online calendars be useful to you?
What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…?
Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the school or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?

Challenge (optional)

1. Have a big project that you need to complete? Online productivity tools can help with complicated tasks involving multiple people, deadlines, and activities. Compare and contrast these project management services. Write a blog post and let us know what you think.

Project Management Services

2. Explore more tools from any of the lists above. Share any you find especially useful.

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tidalotter/538731706/

#4 - Commenting is important

2008-06-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs according to this article in Wikipedia. A blog is a vehicle for a group of people with common interests to communicate, share, and learn in spite of barriers of time and distance.

Discovery Resources

How to comment like a king (or queen!) - from The Coolcat Teacher Blog

Your comments? - from The Blue Skunk Blog

Edublogger Etiquette - Responding to Comments - from Drapes Takes blog

The 10 commandments of blog commenting - from Brown Thoughts blog

10 techniques to get more comments on your blog - from ProBlogger

Commenting using an alias vs. your real name - from Blogging Basics 101

Discovery Exercise:

1. Read 2-3 of the blog posts above about the importance of commenting.

2. Since commenting has been described as essential for building a blog's community and interaction, we want you to have the opportunity to comment on your colleagues' blogs. Choose at least five (5) of your Learning 2.0 - 23 Things colleagues' blogs (found in the sidebar) to read and comment on throughout this course.

3. In Things 10 and 11, you will learn how to find blogs of personal interest to you. If you already know how to do this, select two blogs of interest to you from the blogosphere at large and make at least one comment on each of these. These blogs should not be a part of our Learning 2.0 - 23 Things community.

4. For your Thing #4 post:

explain why commenting helps create a sense of community and interaction
discuss two other points from the readings about commenting that you found important
give the names of the seven blogs (5 from our group + 2 others of your choice) you selected to read and comment on and tell why you selected them
discuss the comments that you chose to make and why you made them

NOTE:
Since you are just starting the 23 Things, it is understood that you will be making your comments at various times throughout the course. To fulfill this requirement for Thing #4, you may:

1. Create your Thing #4 post as usual and as you make your comments, come back to the post, use the edit feature, and add the information about the comments you made.
OR
2. Do your blog post about this activity at the end of the course. As long as you label the post with "Thing # 4," it does not have to appear in numerical order.

Web 2.0 Hints

2008-05-12T16:10:00.002-05:00

Many Web 2.0 tools are in beta--not the final version of a product or Web site, but close enough to show in public and work the bugs out. But the bugs may still pop up when you are using a site. Here are some hints if you encounter a bug:

Flash is required to view many of the applications. Chances are this is already installed on your computer, but if it is not, click here for a free download. Adobe Reader is required to read a few of the links. If you do not have it, you can get it free here. Always check with the MISD Helpdesk before downloading anything on a school computer.
Java needs to be enabled in your browser for many of the applications, too. Here are instructions on how to enable Java.
Be sure you are using the site as designed. You may not be able to use the back arrow, for example; the site may require you to click on a link to return to previous page. Read any instructions the site offers on uploading, exporting, labeling, or whatever you are trying to do.
Not all sites like all browsers equally. Switching browsers may solve your problem. Most sites seem to work with Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Check that your browser is up-to-date. Services may work only (or the best) with the latest version of Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Click the Refresh button to make a stubborn tool wake up.
Try closing the site/browser/program and re-opening. This often solves the problem.
Not all links work all the time. Since there are often multiple links on a page to get to where you want to be, try clicking on another link. This often works in Blogger.
Firewalls and filters can limit access to sites or block actions on sites. Try clicking on a different link to that screen or just click again. If you are trying to do this at school, you may need to work on your home computer if you can’t do what you want.
Check your browser settings—you may need to enable pop-up windows, allow cookies, and make other setting changes to see if that works.
Some sites require plug-ins like Flash to operate. Be sure you have the up-to-date versions installed on your computer. Do a search on the plug-in name to find the download, then follow the directions to install.
Most sites like Blogger, Bloglines, Google, Flickr, & YouTube will have a Help or FAQ section. Use these to solve your problem.
Ask another participant for help. And offer your expertise on another "thing" to them.
Type a description of your problem ("can't change font size in blogger," for example) into a search engine. Odds are good that someone else had the problem and you might find the answer in a forum or group discussion.
When all else fails, move on to something else and try again later.

Keep in mind, too, that things change. Beta sites change a lot--you will see on the Blogger Dashboard where the Blogger Blog is, that Blogger is adding stuff all the time. Flickr, Google, Yahoo, and the others are continually adding and improving.

This recent New York Times article suggests some ways to Defang Scary Technology. It may help you think beyond the "which button in which order" approach to learning.

So if something looks different, something disappeared, or has a new name, the functionality is probably still there. You just have to explore the site some more. That's life in the Web 2.0 world--challenging, exciting, changing.

Is it the end or only the beginning?

2008-01-07T17:12:00.000-06:00

Wow! You’ve completed the 23rd thing. Give yourself a pat on the back for finishing this program!

Please give us some feedback by reflecting on your learning journey in one more blog posting. Here are some questions to guide you:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
How has this program affected your lifelong learning goals?
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
How will what you have learned influence your practice as a school librarian?

Where do you go from here? Some things you might want to do now are:

maintain your blog as your personal learning journal
add your blog URL to your e-mail signature line
re-purpose it as your school library blog
share it with your colleagues and administrators
continue your learning by subscribing to the RSS feed for the Learning 2.1 blog

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Our hope is that this not the end of our learning together, but rather it’s just the start of something amazing …that will impact the way we work with our 21st century learners.

#23 - Creative Commons

2008-01-07T16:48:00.000-06:00

Putting the ‘social’ into social networks allows us to freely exchange information. But with the free exchange of information comes the responsibility of how we share it, and how we give credit to the author of that information. Check out this video, “A Fair(y) Use Tale” and learn some history of copyright.

In the school library and classroom, we are often faced with the challenge of determining when it is acceptable to copy something and how much an item [book, website, music, video, etc.] we can copy. Faced with declining budgets and little time, we are tempted to make the copies. But with the advent of file sharing, downloading, and RSS, we must acknowledge and teach the ethics of information gathering and sharing.

Creative Commons is a copyright license that allows us to choose to share our intellectual property. This course is designed under a Creative Commons license and is an example of how one can take a piece of information or a product and re-work it to make it fit your needs. By acknowledging the original authors, they have given permission for you to share. One place for good information about what's going on with the Creative Commons is Lawrence Lessig's blog. Lawrence Lessig is one of the Creative Commons developers and a Stanford University professor.

Discovery Resources:

Online copyright comic book developed by students at Duke University Law School.
Creative Commons website
Get Creative - covers the basics of Creative Commons
Wanna Work Together?

Discovery Exercise:

Find an example or attribution that shows this program has been modified from its original.
Now that you know about Creative Commons licensing, how will you use it in the future as a school librarian.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

#21 - Animoto

2008-01-07T16:42:00.001-06:00

Make video clips like the pros!

You don't have to be Steven Spielburg to create professional video clips online. Animoto is a web application that produces professional videos using their own patent-pending technology. Animoto is the brain child of producers from ABC, Comedy Central and MTV who definitely know their stuff. Animoto analyzes your images and the music you use and pieces everything together to where it all flows perfectly in sync. If you don't like how your video turns out you can click the Remix this Video button and have Animoto automatically change it up for you or tweak it yourself. No two video clips come out the same which makes for hours of fun, as I found out today. Here is an example of one I did earlier using some images from a Myrtle Beach trip.

Animoto is still in beta mode which means they are still testing things out and adding new features. One feature it doesn't offer yet is the option to link to your Photobucket account. But rest assured, I contacted the Animoto guys and it should be available in the upcoming weeks. Also, if you want a clip longer than 30 seconds it will cost. But, you can make as many 30 second clips as you want for free.

Discovery Exercise:

Create an account on Animoto.
Create a 30 second clip or Animoto Short, by uploading at least ten pictures. Still got the Flickr account from Learning 2.0? Animoto can link directly to it.
Choose from one of the songs in Animoto's music library or upload your own music file to go with your clip.
Embed your new 30 second clip onto your blog. There is a special code just for Blogger that you can use.
Blog about your experience using Animoto.

(originally posted on Explore...Discover...Play: Learning 2.1 and used here under a Creative Commons license)

#22 - Podcasts: no iPod needed

2008-01-07T15:22:00.001-06:00

The following podcast was included in the original Learning 2.0 program. Turn up your speakers and click the Play button to listen:

powered by ODEO

The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.

In 2005, "podcast" was named the "word of the year" by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last 24 months, it's easy to see why.

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries (like the ones used in this Learning 2.0 program) to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

For this discovery exercise participants are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your Bloglines account as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.

Discovery Resources:

To find out more about podcasts start with the PodGrunt: What a podcast is and how it works video on YouTube.
There are many, many podcast directories and finding tools out there. Here are just three of the more popular ones that, unlike iTunes, don't require a software download:
What? You want to learn how to be a podcaster too?
(Optional Resources for those who want to learn create podcasts)
- TeacherTube: Podcasting v. audio files
- Odeo’s Studio – online recording studio
- How to podcast tutorial

Discovery Exercise:

Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines or Google Reader account.
Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?

#20 - You too can YouTube

2008-01-07T14:24:00.001-06:00

Within the past year online video hosting sites have exploded allowing users to easily to upload and share videos on the web. Among all the web 2.0 players in this area, YouTube is currently top dog, coming in at #4 on the list of most visited sites in the US and allowing users not only to upload their own video content easily, but also embed clips into their own sites easily.

Do some searching around YouTube yourself and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from 1970s TV commercials and 60s music videos to library dominos and a video made by library school students for National Library Week. There's also the cult classic Conan the Librarian. You can even see the book cart drill team from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD doing their award-winning routine at ALA 2007 in Washington D.C. Other videos include:

Of course, like any free site you’ll also find a lot stuff not worth watching too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore and see for yourself what the site has too offer. :)

Discovery Exercise:

Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to your library website?

OPTIONAL: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.

Here's a video from YouTube that I embedded. It's called Introducing the Book and I think you'll enjoy it.

#14 - Go with the flow

2008-01-07T14:06:00.001-06:00

Who's a freak for flowcharts? I know I love 'em. They can make concepts easy to grasp and solutions easy to find. When describing complex relationships or presenting a variety of choices and outcomes, they're wonderful at keeping important points from getting lost in translation.

Mind maps (an offshoot of the same idea) are similarly useful, though I think they work better for the creator than the reader. They're good at uncovering the relationships between multiple ideas and are not restricted to linear concepts like time and work flow.

So, here are some web-based tools that I've used for projects in the past (I just hate installing stuff):

Gliffy (flowchart)

Bubbl.us (mind map)

Flowchart.com (flowchart, duh)

mindmeister (mind map)

Discovery Exercise:

Choose at least two of the above (one flowchart, one mind map) and set up an account.

Note that flowchart.com will have you request an invitation which should arrive within the day (mine took 15 minutes).

Explore the differences between mind maps and flowcharts, and consider using (or at least testing) one of these tools with a real project that you may have coming up.

Enjoy, and leave a comment here with your thoughts on these or other similar tools.

-Russ

(originally posted on Explore...Discover...Play: Learning 2.1 and used here under a Creative Commons license)

#6 - Discovering web 2.0 tools

2008-01-07T11:55:00.001-06:00

Throughout the course of this Learning 2.0 Through Play program we’ve explored just a small sampling of these new internet technologies and websites that are empowering users with the ability to create and share content. But given time there are so many more we could explore. Current estimates place the number of web 2.0 tools at somewhere between 300 & 500 with only a handful emerging as market dominators. And although time will only tell which of these new collaborative, social networking and information tools will remain on top, one
thing is for sure, they're not going to go away (at least anytime soon).

For this discovery exercise, participants are asked to select any site from this list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees and explore it. With so many to choose from, it might be handy to first select a category that interests you (like Books or Personal Organization) and then simply select a tool/site to explore. Be careful to select a tool that is Free and that doesn't require a plug-in or download. The majority of these are free, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

Discovery Exercise:

Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees. (If you prefer to select from just the winners, here’s a link to the short list.)
Explore the site you selected.
Create a post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?

Web 2.0 – with so much to explore, just start with ONE. :)

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/circulating/254126209/

#13 - Web-based applications: not just for desktops anymore!

2008-01-07T11:03:00.001-06:00

The availability and use of online productivity web-based applications (think word processing and spreadsheets) has exploded over the past two years and for good reasons! These powerful applications provide users with the ability to create and share documents over the internet without the need of installed desktop applications. Some experts speculate that this emerging trend may mean the death to Microsoft Office and other software-based productivity tools, while others think web-based applications have their place, but not in the office. But no matter which side of the office suite platform you side with, on this both sides seem to agree; web-based applications ("apps") have their place.

One large benefit to web-based applications it that they eliminate the need to worry about different software versions or file types as you email documents or move from PC to PC. Another bonus is that they easily accommodate collaboration by allowing multiple users to edit the same file (with versioning) and provide users the ability to easily save and convert documents as multiple file types (including HTML and pdf). And, you can even use many of these tools, such as Zoho Writer and Google Docs* (formerly known as Writely) to author and publish posts to your blog. It’s this type of integration with other web 2.0 tools that also makes web-based apps so appealing.

For this discovery exercise, participants are asked to take a look at a web-based word processing tool called Zoho Writer, create a simple document and then document your discoveries in your blog. If you're up to the challenge, you might even export your document as an HTML file or publish it through Zoho to your blog.

Discovery Resources:
A short list of web-based productivity applications – Note: This list was authored in ZohoWriter and exported as HTML.

Discovery Exercise:
1. Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer
2. Explore the site and create a test document or two.
3. Try out Zoho Writer’s features and create a blog post about your discoveries.

Optional: If you’re up for the challenge, try using Zoho’s publish options to post to your blog.

* Note: You can also explore Google Docs, Google's online word processing/spreadsheet/presentation applications, as an option for this exercise.

BTW: Here’s a Zoho-created document (viewable as a webpage) about some of the beneficial features of Zoho.

Photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallkennedy/374276243/

#16 - Add an entry to the Sandbox wiki

2007-12-29T23:06:00.000-06:00

A sandbox is a term that wikis often use to describe the area of the website that should be used for pure play so for this discovery and exploration exercise, go to the sandbox portion of the Learning Through Play wiki -- go ahead and play! The magic password is "schools."

Discovery Resources:

· PB Wiki Tour - Find out how this collaborative tool can be used

· PBWiki Video Gallery - Short videos of PBwiki features

· PB Wiki Tips

Discovery Exercise:

1. Visit the Learning Through Play Sandbox wiki and read some of the ideas posted there.

2. Select some of your favorite curriculum ideas from your own blog, then copy and paste them into the appropriate page on the Learning Through Play wiki.

2. Create a post in your blog about the experience. How might you use a wiki?

#15 - Wikis and how libraries are using them

2007-12-29T19:22:00.001-06:00

A wiki is a collaborative website and authoring tool that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content. Wikipedia, the online open-community encyclopedia, is the largest and perhaps the most well known of these knowledge sharing tools, but with benefits that wikis provide, the use and popularity of these tools is exploding.

Some of the benefits that make the use of wikis so attractive are:

Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content.
Tracking tools within wikis allow you to easily keep up on what been changed and by whom.
Earlier versions of a page can be rolled back and viewed when needed.
Users do not need to know HTML in order to apply styles to text or add and edit content. In most cases simple syntax structure is used.

As the use of wikis has grown over the last few years, libraries all over the country have started to use them to collaborate and share knowledge. Among their applications are pathfinder or subject guide wikis, book review wikis, ALA conference wikis and even library best practices wikis.

Discovery Resources:

Use these resources to learn more about wikis:

Wikis in Plain English - video that describes what a wiki is and how it can be used in easy to understand terms

Wiki, wiki, wiki - from the Core Compentency blog of the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.

Wikis: A Beginner’s Look – an excellent short slide presentation that offers a short introduction and examples.

What is a Wiki? – Library Success wiki presentation.

Using Wikis to Create Online Communities – a good overview of what a wiki is and how it can be used in libraries.

Discovery Exercise:
1. Take a look at some ways libraries and schools are using wikis.

10 reasons why your next pathfinder should be a wiki - blog posting from the Neverending Search blog by Joyce Valenza
SJCPL Subject Guides – a pathfinder wiki developed by the St. Joseph County Public Library system.
Book Lovers Wiki - developed by the Princeton Public Library.
Library Success: A best practices wiki
CSLA Conference 2007 wiki – an example of a wiki created to support a specific event.
Mesquite ISD Library Policies and Procedures – an example of a wiki created for library staff to document procedures.
Westwood Schools Computer Science class wiki
Sample Literary Circle Wiki (10th Grade English)
Sample AP World History Wiki
TeacherLibrarian wiki
Welker's Wikinomics - winner of the 2007 Edublog Award for Best Educational Wiki .
WikiEducator - free e-learning content

Texas School Librarians' Wikispace

2. There are many sites where you can create a free wiki of your own. Here are three that offer ad-free wikis to educators.

PBWiki
Wetpaint
Wikispaces

3. Create a blog post detailing your thoughts about wikis. What did you find interesting? What types of applications within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki?

[Note: Please remember to include THING# in your heading posts.]

#5 - Read some perspectives on web 2.0, school 2.0 and the future of education

2007-12-18T17:10:00.003-06:00

There is a growing desire to rethink education and learning, and the phrase "School 2.0" is being used to describe the new direction many think education should take. There seem to be three factors driving this discussion:

New collaborative computer technologies, in particular the read/write web or Web 2.0, distance learning programs, free and open source software, and videoconferencing.
The move from an industrial to information economy, and a change in skills that are valuable to employers.
A culture that is rapidly becoming more transparent and collaborative because of the new technologies, allowing a more open discussion about many aspects of our society, including (and especially) education.

School 2.0 is term used to describe a new vision for education in the 21st century. The name, as you may guess, is an extension of Web 2.0 and shares many of its same philosophies and concepts. In School 2.0, learning doesn't just take place in the school, but in a combination of home, school, and community that collaborates to bring the wider world into day-to-day instruction and provide a rich array of learning opportunities. In School 2.0, there is no one path to achieve learning.

Library 2.0 is also a take-off on Web 2.0 and shares many of its same philosophies and concepts including harnessing the user in both design and implementation of services, embracing constant change as a development cycle over the traditional notion of upgrades, and reworking library services to meet the users in their space, as opposed to ours (libraries).

Discovery Resources:

General Web 2.0 information

Wikipedia - Web 2.0

The Machine Is Us/ing Us (video)

What is Web 2.0? (Atomic Learning video)

Web 2.0 is Not About Version Numbers or Betas

Perspectives for teachers

Web 2.0: A Guide for Educators

Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail and Learning 2.0

New Literacies: Enrichment or Essential?

Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

More on School 2.0

Perspectives for Librarians

Away from Icebergs

Into a new world of librarianship

To more powerful ways to cooperate

To better bibliographic services

To a temporary place in time

Wikipedia – Library 2.0

Library 2.0 Discussions (list of great references from Wikipedia)

The Horizons Report - 2008 Applications of emerging technologies to teaching, learning, and creative expression.

Discovery Exercise
Web 2.0 and School 2.0 - these phrases mean many things to many people.

1. Read two or three of the perspectives from the list above.

2. Create a blog post on your reactions and thoughts regarding the articles you chose. In your post, make sure you include the answers to these questions:

What does "School 2.0" or "Library 2.0" mean to you?
What does it mean for schools and libraries of the future?

#17 - Tagging and social bookmarking with Del.icio.us

2007-12-11T19:25:00.001-06:00

Tagging is an open and informal method of categorizing that allows users to associate keywords with online content (webpages, pictures & posts). Unlike library subject cataloging, which follows a strict set of guidelines (i.e.Library of Congress subject headings), tagging is completely unstructured and freeform, allowing users to create connections between data any way they want.

In the past few weeks, we’ve already explored a few sites – Flickr and LibraryThing to name two --that allow users to take advantage of tagging and in Thing #5 many even used a common tag (MISDLTP20) to create an association between photos that we individually uploaded. This week, we want to take a look at how tagging enables people to share their favorite web sites with others by using a social bookmarking site.

There are several social bookmarking sites available, but the most popular and widely-known is called Del.icio.us. Del.icio.us allows you to bookmark a web page and then add tags to categorize your bookmarks. Many users, however, find that the real power of Del.icio.us is in the social networking aspect, which allows you to see how other users have tagged similar links. It also allows you to discover websites on topics that interest you that other people have found. You can think of it as peering into another users’ filing cabinet, but with this powerful bookmarking tool each user's filing cabinet helps to build an expansive knowledge network.

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a look at Del.icio.us and a couple of other social bookmarking sites to see how this tool could be used in your school.

Discovery Resources
1. Start your exploration of social bookmarking by watching this video by the Common Craft guys.

2. Watch the Del.icio.us podcast tutorial (8 minutes)
3. Check out Furl and Ma.gnolia - two other social bookmarking sites.
4. Watch a Furl tutorial here.
5. There's a Ma.gnolia tutorial
also.

Discovery Exercise

1. Review the resources above to get a good overview of social bookmarking - especially the Del.icio.us tutorial.

2. Take a look around Del.icio.us using the MISDLTP20 account that was created for this exercise. Note: In this account you will find lots of resources that have been highlighted or used throughout the course of the Learning 2.0 program. You can keep up to date with what's added by subscribing to the RSS feed.

3. Explore the site options and try clicking on a bookmark that has also been bookmarked by a lot of other users. Can you see the comments they added about this bookmark or the tags they used to categorize this reference?

4. Create a blog post about your experience and thoughts about this tool. Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere? How can libraries take advantage of social bookmarking sites?

Would you like to read more about del.icio.us and other social bookmarking tools? Go to MISD Libraries del.icio.us page and look for entries under the tag headings “del.icio.us” and “socialbookmarking.”

OPTIONAL: If you’re up to the challenge, create a Del.icio.us account for yourself and discover how this useful bookmarking tool can replace your traditional browser bookmark list. You might even want to explore Del.icio.us’ latest addition, a network badge. (Psst! see it over there in the navigation sidebar.)

Image by cambodia4kidsorg, http://www.flickr.com/photos/cambodia4kidsorg/260004685/

#18 - Explore social networking

2007-12-03T08:56:00.003-06:00

You've heard of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. In this Thing, we will explore these two sites.

According to the Wikipedia article on MySpace, it is "currently the world's sixth most popular English-language website and the sixth most popular website in any language, and the third most popular website in the United States. ... The service has gradually gained more popularity than similar websites to achieve nearly 80 percent of visits to online social networking websites. It has become an increasingly influential part of contemporary popular culture, especially in English speaking countries.^{"

Facebook is another popular social networking site. Launched in 2004, it was originally intended
as a network for students at Harvard College. The site quickly expanded to other Ivy League
schools, then other universities. In 2006, the site was opened up for anyone over 13 to join. According
to Alexa, a web site that monitors web traffic, Facebook increased in popularity from September 2006
to September 2007, moving from 60th to 7 (right behind MySpace).}Discovery Resources

What Is MySpace? from about.com
Create a Myspace Profile from about.com
YouTube tutorial - How to Set Up a MySpace Profile

About Facebook
How to Use Facebook video series from ExpertVillage.com

Discovery Exercises

1. Set up an account with MySpace or Facebook and post the link to your profile in your blog. If you are uncomfortable using your real name, use an alias.

2. Search for libraries, authors or people you know and add them to your friends list.

3. Write a blog post about your experience that addresses these questions. Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? Which site had the most useful features? Can you see a library or school application for any of these sites?

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You're more than halfway through! Still having fun?? I hope so! Leave us a comment and let us know how you're doing so far...

#11 - Check out LibraryThing!

2007-12-03T08:18:00.000-06:00

Are you book lover at heart? Or do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read? Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for book lovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title – or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget (see the sidebar of my 23Things blog for an example) to display titles that are in your catalog or install a LT Search box on your blog.

So why not join the ranks and create your own library online. With over 65,000 registered (BTW: LibraryThing also has group forum for librarians users and over 4.7 million cataloged books, so you're bound to discover something new.

Discovery Resources:

Discovery Exercise:

Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.
Add a least 5 books to your library.
Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog.

Photo credit - Microsoft Clip Art

#9 - Online Image Generators

2007-11-20T16:18:00.001-06:00

Generators? No, I’m not talking about those gas powered back-up things. The generators I’m talking about allow you to easily manipulate image and graphics to create fun images like these:

For this discovery exercise, I just want you to have fun. Find a few fun image or text generators to play around with and write a post in your blog about one of your favorites and display the result. Often adding the image you mocked up to your blog is as simple as copying and pasting code that the page provides. If not, you may just need to right click on the image and then save it to your hard drive before using Blogger’s image button to add it to your post.

If you’re having difficulty getting your image added to a post in your blog, ask a colleague for help. In looking at several of your blogs, it’s easy to see that we have lots of people in the district who have figured out how easy it is to add images to their blogs.

Discovery Resources:

Comic Strip Generator
Custom Sign Generator
Image Chef
Happy Face Generator

Also try a Google search for online generators, text generators or image generators!

Discovery Exercise:

1. Play around with some image generators and find one that you like.
2. Create several different types of images and save them to your computer.
3. Post some of your creations to your blog and describe your process for creating it.
Note: Be sure to include a link to the image generator(s) you used, so other participants can discover it too.
4. In your post, be sure to include ways you might use these image generators in the library, classroom or personally.

Take some time and have fun with this exercise. (And remember to be tasteful too!)

#11 - Finding Feeds

2007-11-02T14:16:00.001-05:00

Now that you have an RSS reader(your Bloglines or Google Reader account), you can begin adding other feeds that interest you. Technorati, a blog tracking site, reports that they are currently tracking 110.7 million blogs. Out of the millions of blogs available, how do you find the ones that are of most value to you? There are several resources that you can use.

First, read this post from The Cool Cat Teacher blog for some great suggestions on how to select good RSS feeds: How to Create Your Circle of the Wise.

Next, explore some other options for locating appropriate RSS feeds.

Discovery Resources

When visiting your favorite websites -- look for RSS feed icons (like those on the left above) that indicate the website provides it. Often a feed icon will be displayed somewhere in the navigation bar of the site.
Use Blogline's Search tool - Bloglines recently expanded search tool lets you search for news feeds in addition to posts, citations and the web. Use the Search for Feeds option to locate RSS feeds you might be interested in.
Consider Edublogs' award winners
School Library Blogs on Suprglu - this site offers a selection of postings from lots of different blogs by school librarians. Click on the link under each post to visit the actual blog.
Other Search tools that can help you find feeds:
- Feedster - One of the largest collections of RSS feeds, Feedster lets you search for feeds in three categories: news, blogs & podcasts
- Google Blog Search - See what appears when you search "school library learning 2.0" or "mesquite isd"
- Topix.net - This search tool allows you to locate recent newsfeed items based upon keyword or phrase searching. The tool focuses specifically on news and media outlet RSS feeds for information, not weblogs.
- Syndic8.com - Syndic8 is an open directory of RSS feeds that contains thousands of RSS feeds that users have submitted.
- Technorati - Technorati is a popular blog finding tool that lets you search for blogs. Since RSS feeds are inherent to all blogging tools, Technorati Blog Search can help you find RSS feeds for topic specific blogs you may be interested in.
  Additonal Resource: Technorati Tutorial on finding and adding your blog

Discovery Exercise

Explore some of the search tools noted above that can help you locate some RSS feeds.
Add any pertinent feeds to your RSS reader.
Create a blog post about your experience that answers these questions:
*Which method of finding feeds did you find easiest to use?
*Which Search tool was the easiest for you?
*Which was more confusing?
*What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels?
*Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?
*What other tools or ways did you find to locate newsfeeds?

EXTRA STUFF -- Feed icon information:

In February of 2006, the adoption of a standard feed icon among websites and browsers finally began to assist in stopping the madness and confusion caused by so many variations. So far this icon has been adopted by many websites and browers, including Opera and FireFox, where it displays in the address bar:

Internet Explorer 7 has something like this as well. For more information about this emerging new standard, see Feedicons.com

#10 Make life "really simple" with RSS and an RSS reader

2007-10-23T17:22:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of RSS? Maybe you’ve seen those little orange symbols on websites? You’ve heard co-workers and acquaintances swear by it, but still have no idea what RSS is? Well don’t worry, according to this survey you’re still in the majority, but this is changing rapidly. In the information world, RSS is not only revolutionizing the way news, media and content creators share information, but it also is swiftly changing the way everyday users are consuming information.

As leaders in the acquisition of information, it is one Web 2.0 tool that you MUST know how to use and use regularly.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the web. Just think about the websites and news information sources you visit everyday. It takes time to visit those sites and scour the ad-filled and image-heavy pages for just the text you want to read, doesn’t it?

Now imagine if you could visit all those information sources and web pages in just one place and all at the same time … without being bombarded with advertising… without having to search for new information on the page you’d already seen or read before… and without having to consume a lot of time visiting each site individually. Would that be valuable to you? Well, it’s available now through an RSS reader (sometimes called an "aggregator"). These discovery resources and exercises focus on learning about RSS feeds and what free tools you can use to do this.

Discovery Resources:

Watch this video - RSS in Plain English

Click To Play

It Really Is Really Simple: RSS for Educators
(article)

CNET Video: RSS – Feel the Need for Feeds

Feed Me: A gentle introduction to Internet feeds - a good tutorial

Using Bloglines (or how to keep up with dozens of blogs every day)

Getting Started Using Google Reader

Discovery Exercise:

1. Watch the tutorials above to learn about the difference between RSS feed readers, Bloglines and Google Reader.

2. Choose the service you like best, and create a free account.

3. When your account is set up, subscribe to at least 5 different feeds that you will WANT to check every day or so.

TIP: Do not select any predefined information channels during the set up process. If you do, your reader will be prepopulated with a lot of feeds that you may not be interested in.

Some feeds to consider when subscribing:

Dallas Morning News

The Top Shelf

One of the School Library Journal blogs

Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

Not So Distant Future

4. Create a post in your blog about this exercise that answers these questions:

What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
Optional: If you're up to the challenge, provide a link to your public Bloglines account or create a public page with Google Reader.

How to find your public Bloglines URL:

1. Click on the Share tab within your Bloglines account.
2. Scroll down the right screen pane and locate the public URL.

Why have a public page? To share your blogs with others!

Getting your news, personal and professional information via RSS is the wave of the future. Ride the wave!

#12 Google - not just for searching anymore

2007-10-17T19:00:00.001-05:00

Google is the most famous search engine on the web these days, with the very name becoming a verb in our language. Here's Wikipedia's entry on this phenomenon:

The verb to google (also spelled to Google) refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web. For example, "Mary googled for recipes." A neologism arousing from the popularity and dominance^[1] of the eponymous search engine, the American Dialect Society chose it as the "most useful word of 2002." ^[2] It was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006,^[3] and to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in July 2006.^[4] The first recorded usage of google used as a verb was on July 8, 1998, by Larry Page himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep googling!"^[5]

Although we generally equate Google with web searching, that's not what this "thing" is about. Google also has a variety of free web tools that can be particularly useful in education. Some of these are:

Google Alerts - will e-mail the news to you as it happens. Just enter a search term (news topic, person, event, sports team, etc.) that you would like to keep tabs on. Whenever that topic appears in a news item or on the web, Google Alerts will send you an e-mail.

Google Calendar - lets you organize your schedule and share it with family and friends.

iGoogle - gives you a customizable home page where you can add links, news feeds, gadgets, etc. (Be sure and look at the gadgets - these are really fun!)

Google Notebook - lets you clip and collect information into an online notebook as you do research on the Web. It can be shared with others.

Picasa Web Albums - similar to Flickr; Google's version of photo sharing.

Discovery Resources

Google Alerts - FAQs

Google Calendar Tour

Google Notebook Tour

Learn More about Picasa Web Albums

Discovery Exercise

After looking at each of Google tools, choose two of them to explore further. Try setting up an alert, calendar, notebook, picasa album or iGoogle page and using it. If sharing is an option for the tools you choose, make them public. Blog about your experience with both tools and include a link to your creation. Be sure and include possible educational uses.

#8 Flickr mashups

2007-09-17T12:33:00.002-05:00

What is a "mashup"?

Wikipedia offers a great article that explains mashups. Basically they are hybrid web applications that take features from one application (like Flickr) and mash it up with another (like Google Maps). In this example, you get Mappr (http://mappr.com).

Like many web 2.0 sites, Flickr has encouraged other people to build their own online applications using images found on the site. Through the use of APIs (application programming interfaces), many people have created third party tools and mashups that use Flickr images.

Discovery Resources:

Here are a few examples of mashups that use Flickr:

Mappr - allows you to take Flickr images and paste them on a map
Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find public photos in Flickr that match a specific color.
Mosaic Maker – create a photo mosaic from photos found on Flickr.

Discover more mashups, web apps, and Flickr tools.

Discovery Exercise:

Your discovery exercise for this “thing” is to:

Explore some of the fun Flickr mashups and 3rd party tools that are out there.
Create a blog post about one that intrigues you.
In your post, talk about some ways Flickr and/or Flickr mashups could be used in your library program.

One of our very favorite tools is FD Toys’ Trading Card Maker. And there’s a ton of librarians out there who have created their own Librarian Trading Card.

So have some fun discovering and exploring some neat little apps. And if you're up to the challenge while you’re at it, why not create a trading card of your own?! :)

PS: Play image above created by Spell with Flickr.

#7 Discover Flickr

2007-09-17T12:13:00.001-05:00

Photo sharing websites have been around since the 90s, but it took a small startup site called Flickr to catapult the idea of “sharing” into a full blown online community. Within the past year, Flickr has become the fastest growing photo sharing site on the web and is known as one of the first websites to use keyword “tags” to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site.

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries are using Flickr for.

Discovery Resources:

Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)
Mediamazine Flickr Tutorials
Flickr: Popular tags
Interesting- Last 7 days
Flickr Services (3rd party applications & mashups)

Discovery Exercise:

In this discovery exercise, you have two options…

Take a good look around Flickr and discover an interesting image that you want to blog about. Be sure to include either a link to the image or, if you create a Flickr account, you can use Flickr's blogging tool to add the image in your post. Another option you have for including images in your post is to use Blogger's photo upload tool.

-- OR --
If you're up to an easy challenge ... create a Free account in Flickr and use your library's digital camera to capture a few pictures of something in your school. Upload these to your Flickr account and tag at least one of the images "MISDLTP20" and mark it public. Then create a post in your blog about your photo and experience. Be sure to include the image in your post. Once you have a Flickr account, you have two options for doing this: through Flickr's blogging tool or using Blogger's photo upload feature.

So go ahead, explore the site and have some Flickr photo fun and if you're interested in looking at some other photo hosting sites, then check these out:

Picasa Web Albums from Google
Smugmug
Bubbleshare
Photobucket

PS: A quick word about photo posting etiquette - When posting identifiable photos of other people (especially students) district policy requires that you get the parents' permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog. Take a look at this blog posting for an example of how to cite an image from Flickr.

Magazine cover created with fd's Flickr Toys Magazine Cover.