THING 20 - Youtube

I think that youtube and teachertube offer wonderful videos that can enhance the learning process.  For example, I quickly pulled up a youtube video from School House Rock that combines music with a lesson on adjectives.  This is a cute, quick was to keep kids interested in a lesson or introduce a new topic in an exciting, entertaining way!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obQzaU5FN7Y

THING 19 - 2.0 Awards

I really like the music guide last.fm!  It is a really cool tool that gives you musical suggestions based on what music you like.  It is also divided into types of music... classical, jazz, etc.  

I also had a blast with hairmixer.com

I saw what I would look like with Jessica Simpson's hair and it was NOT pretty! I think that the kids at school would have a lot of fun with most of these programs recommended by 2.0 awards.  They are truly the best of the best.

THING 18 - Online Productivity Tools

I played around with the online productivity tool from OpenOffice called "multiplatform".

I posted some of the offered features that I really like!

OpenOffice.org now uses a technique called anti-aliasing to improve the way it draws on screen (lines, circles, etc). You will notice an immediate improvement in the clarity of graphics - particularly charts - wherever they appear throughout OpenOffice.org.

When you drag an object in a drawing across the screen, OpenOffice.org now shows you a 'shadow' of the object, rather than just a dotted outline. This makes it much easier to place images accurately in complicated drawings.

There are a number of changes to make sorting more logical, consistent, and powerful. The first time you use sort (or if you use the toolbar button to sort), Calc will assume you want to sort by the column where the cursor is located. The toolbar buttons now use the same logic as the sort dialog to determine if a range has column headers. Finally, when you sort, Calc now preserves the original order of entries with equal sort keys.

THING 17 - Rollyo

Rollyo is a really interesting tool.  I didn't think it was the easiest tool to figure out initially.  I decided to do a search for music education news since I will be teaching music next year.  Teachers are always interested in keeping up to date on their subject material and I think this tool would interest them.  I think Rollyo would be helpful in a classroom setting because it would keep kids on topic and not drifting too much to all the other sources of information available on the internet.

http://rollyo.com/kelly8737/music_education_news/

THING 16 - wikis

I did not really know what a wiki was before I started reading about them in this lesson.  Wikis are a great teaching tool!  They are the perfect platform for a book club.  It would be so fun to read a book for a club and then have everyone post their comments on a wiki.  You could even have an entire grade level participate and contribute to a wiki.  I also really liked the professional wiki "the book lovers wiki" created by Princeton Public Library.  I thought the book reviews were very honest and helpful.

THING 15 - Library 2.0

I tend to think of myself as a technology-challenged individual.  I got a blackberry and wanted to return it the next day, because it was just too much!  Too many beeps, e-mails, notifications... just too much.  But now I can't leave a room without it.  

Honestly, I need to look at technology that same way... it's gong to infiltrate the libraries whether we "want it" or not.  So I might as well get with the program.  A librarian is the heart of the school and should be up to date on current technology.  For example, I am sitting in a coffee shop, working on a masters degree with guidance from online discussions, websites, and video links.  That would not have happened 15 years ago.  I am grateful for the freedom that technology creates in our lives.  And that freedom of information certainly extends to schools, children, and libraries.

THING - 14 Technorati

I was less than impressed with Technorati widgets and tags.  The Technorati browser was easy enough to apply, but I felt misguided on my searches for information.  The searches resulted in a hodgepodge of information.  I just didn't feel that it was the most beneficial research tool.  However, I would not disqualify it entirely as a tool.  I would probably attempt to use it in the future and see if I was more successful in accessing information.

THING 13 - Tags

Wow!  I was really impressed with Delicious.  I did a search for "teaching music" and got linked to some amazing sites.  Some of the sites even included how to teach math through music and Spanish songs.  I was really impressed with how simple Delicious is to use.  I would definitely use this to get new teaching ideas rather than just do random google searches!

I was a little disappointed with Digg.  When I did the same search for "teaching music", the results were random stories.  One tagged item was about a music teacher that killed his family and another link was about a school that taught figure skating... very interesting articles, but certainly not helpful to the music teaching process.  On the other hand, I have something to talk about in the teachers lounge now! 

;-)

THING 12 - Commenting

I think the two most important aspects of commenting are 1)write a meaningful comment and 2)invite comments.  Meaningful comments are important to a blogger - no one wants to be insulted with comments or waste time reading about frivolous things.  If a blogger invites comments, then an open forum for discussion is created and everyone can learn for other's comments.

I just adopted a puppy so I did a Google Blog Search for "How to potty train a puppy" and I found the blog  http://waggstoriches.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-train-puppy-puppy-training-potty.html

This blog was well developed and informative.

I also did a blog search for "Migraine Treatment" and found another informative blog...

http://migrainetreatments.blogspot.com/

This is a helpful site because I occasionally have very painful migraines and I will take all the suggestions that I can find!

These type of sites really help create a sense of community and let blog-readers know that they are not alone with their challenges in life.

Thing 11 - Library Thing

I am so impressed with Library Thing!  It is such a simple program to use.  I searched for my favorite books and they popped up right away.  I really also like the recommendation feature.  I am constantly asking friends and family to recommend books to me, but their favorite books usually don't capture my interest for long.  The recommendation feature gives quality book choices and I will definitely use Library Thing in the future.

THING - 10 Image Generator

These websites would be great for students to use to create their own images rather than just using simple clip art over and over again!  I really had fun with the Comic Strip Generator and the Happy Face Generator!  They are so simple to use and the kids will love them.  I did have trouble saving my creations to my MAC, but the school lab computers would not have any difficulty with these programs.

THING - 9 Blogs and News Feeds

I really liked some of these tools to search for helpful blogs. Technorati was the easiest one to use for me because it has a very simple filtering system.  I also really liked the Google Blog Search.

Atomic Learning was really cool because it has information on "how to" do things and has a ton of video clips to guide the reader.  

I didn't really like Syndic8 because it was more confusing than the other sites.  It had so much going on that I was slightly confused and overwhelmed.  I preferred the simpler sites.

THING - 8 RSS

Google Reader is an amazing time-saving tool.  I really like that the information that I am looking for or interested in is sent to me, rather than me having to dig through various internet sources to find it.  This would be a great technological asset to me in my school when I am searching for book reviews or ideas for lesson plans.  I could also use this in my personal life because I am a news junkie and I love to know what is going on!  Librarians, teachers, and administrators can use reader to their advantage because they can share what they are reading easily with others!

THING 7 - Google Tools

Google is usually frowned upon by librarians because it is often the ONLY search engine that people use regularly.  But Google tools are really extraordinary tools that are simple and functional.  Google Calendar is a really great way to stay organized and keep up with your friends and family's activities as well.

My other favorite Google tool is Google Earth.  Some former students showed me this tool years ago!  They had so much fun using the satellites to show me their homes.  It is a pretty amazing tool that still blows my mind at times!

THING 6 - Mashups

I had a lot of fun today playing with mash-ups, mosaic makers, and other flicker tools!  This is a really fun way to get creative with photos.  And all of the programs are simple enough that children at school would be able to use them!  This would be a great way to display photos from author visits and storyteller visits!

THING 5 - Flicker

FLICKER is a great way to organize, save, and share photos.  As a music teacher, I can constantly taking pictures of my adorable students during their music performances!  This would be a great way for the students to see themselves and far parents to see their children's accomplishments.

THING 3 - Blogs

Setting up my blog was easy... the most difficult part was thinking of a name!  Blogger.com is such an easy site to navigate.  Teachers and students would be able to blog easily with minimal instructions.

The avatar part was also very simple to use.  I had a lot of fun creating my avatar.  I had to stop myself from playing around on it so much!  I know that my kids at school would also love to create their own avatars.

THING 2 - 7 1/2 Habits

The habit that is the easiest for me would be habit #1 (begin with the end in mind).  I am great at making schedules, listings tasks, and meeting my objectives. I am very driven to meet my goals. I am organized and diligent in my tasks.
Habit Six (using technology to my advantage) would probably be the hardest habit for me... technology is not something that is easy to master and I tend to get frustrated with my inabilities.  I realize the importance and necessity of technology, but it is overwhelming at times!

I think the easiest of the habits for me will be setting goals. I am a chronic list maker and I make plans according to the lists. When I have a plan in action I am able to reach my goal in a timely fashion. I am not a procrastinator either so completing goals is not an issue once I have a plan in action.

I think the hardest thing for me is having the confidence to really learn Web 2.0. I considered myself tech savvy until my last technology course. I had to work much harder than I anticipated and I just didn't have the confidence in myself and this showed in my fi