Try www.shelfari.com, won't you?

Hi MILI's, Regarding Thing 13: Social networking.

Let's be Shelfari.com friends. That's what I'm telling bookgroup buddies, friends who live in an alternate bookgroup world, my too-far-away sisters, and the reading teacher at the high school. Her Shelfari page has the books her students can chose to read. Next year she says all the students will keep their reading logs on Shelfari. 

The good thing is it's as little or as lots as you want. Keep track of what you've been reading. Someone's always asking, "Read anything good lately?" I can only remember the last two months of good books. Shelfari remembers. Rate the books, keep a list of what you're going to read next and it'll be online at your library, not a list lost in your wallet. By the way, it's two great Dane dogs better than Fuzzster, a way for pets to connect??? Connect to what? How uncomfortable it is for cats to sleep on your keyboard??? They've gone too far.

PodCapture Podcasting with Novak's

What a blast today was, our first attempt at podcasting! The kids are pretty composed and respectable, but the teachers? Novak and I intruded and screamed like 5 year olds in front of the camera, and there are no apologies for that. 

Using PodCapture (Applications folder, Utilities folder has PodCapture), and getting Michael Williams, ITS, to set up our system, we got all the kids usernames entered so they'd have access. The kids make a podcast, "publish" it, and an email with the link is sent to the teacher's email boxes to preview it and laugh like we're watching the most popular UTube video, "Charlie Bit Me". Today was day one, working on logging in and mechanics of podcasting. The lesson and standards happen Thursday. Can't wait for more fun.

Animoto: Create a cool slideshow

I hate blogging. What are you thinking while you read my stupid diary-like entries? The writing pressure is  like writing a Christmas letter. Blaahhhck.

Of the things we're talking about, my students aren't using yet; like blogging, wikis, del.i.cious. They're using uTube, FaceBook and text messaging. Some of the ways to with their tools is digital photos so here's a couple ideas.

Get a digital photo album for the library and ask students to pose for pictures with books they have read. Or it could be books in our library they've liked and would recommend. Students come in and see themselves with a book in their hands. Instead of a digital photo album, just use the old eMacs or the display board in the entryway.

Animoto: www.animoto.com. The end of slideshows. Upload digital photos. Of what? Of the front of a new library book, of a website link (enlarged and a photo taken of it), of students working (on task), of the cool media specialist. Add any text that should go in between the slides. Put the slides in order. Prioritize them so the most important or cute ones stay up longer. Submit it and wait for it to be turned into a blazingly cool non-slideshow. 30 second of razzle-dazzle. Upload it to your school website. Over and out!

Can we Razzle Dazzle the Electronic Library of MN?

When this is all over, I'm going to read every MILI blog. 

I'm feeling like I'm treading water technologically, staying in a comfort zone with the databases, those old buddies of mine. There's been numerous introductions to CultureGrams - grade 9 S.S. students researching a South American country (love the comparison graphs!!!).  

The ELM databases get better and more appealing, but there's no pizazz to them. Does reliability have to look so plain-Jane?

The Discovering Collection with the chemistry class and Urban Education class got a "Why didn't anyone ever tell us about this before?" and 'so much better than Google". Was that kid for real?  

ProQuest Newstand results were international and useful on the topic of 'urban education' and 'achievement gap' and but it was hitting only foul balls with searches for elements in chem class. 

EBSCO Host was phenomenal! Right-on the money in searches for concerns of acrylic nails (chem class research project and EBSCO has several cosmotology trade/scientific journals.)

How do you, dear reader, help students think about the complexity of reliable journals vs. Google search results? Should I bring in the Onion newspaper or a tabloid with a baby with two heads or the image of the Virgin Mary on the refrigerator to compare with the WashingtonPost? Election ads? It's a big move up into becoming thinking readers and it's media literacy, too. Who's the creator? What's the purpose? (Is it to entertain, pursuade, or inform.) Who's the audience?

Shopping for productivity tools

I've backtracked to Thing 4: Online Productivity Tools and found I don't need them...too productive already.  My life is too simple and I'm a social sloth who doesn't need to share her calendar, personal or professional, with many others for either coordination or for the curious. 

But if for you, every night is an outing with friends or projects, GoogleCalendar can be your pet. It's a dream for an in-demand babysitter or school principal, letting others see the schedule of availability and to allowing certain people to change events (a secretary, a mom, a team coach.) Requires a Google account to edit it. Nice looking, too.

I love making to-do lists and misplacing them just as they're needed. www.ToDoIst.com or www.tadalist.com might help. The to-do lists you make are emailed to you and other designated persons. ToDoIst.com lets you shuffle your priorities in the list and check them off, the most satisfying moment of all. 

Who is reading your blog?

Your audience is bigger than you think. After posting that dry blog about CultureGrams, the project manager of CultureGrams emailed me, saying he'd come across the blog (via a human or automatic search). I appreciate his offer, asking for suggestions about the product or giving help with links, etc.  I recommended one tech mistake to fix and requested adding an image to the paragraphs about government, etc. You can't go wrong with an image. It's like adding a bright broach to a classic navy dress.

CultureGrams and the Election, tied together

Susan Sarandon is threatening a move to Canada if John McCain becomes the president.

Seal and Heidi Klum it's 'Germany here we come!' if it's a VP Palin next week.

Tina Fey will leave the planet.  Where would you go when the going gets tough?

I started the CultureGrams intro with pictures of the rich and famous listed above, and asked the 10th grade students what country they'd consider? How would they get solid information to determine if the governmental system of this country is more palatable? Not just facts but customs and traditions? They said Wikipedia but today's new answer was CultureGrams. 

Unique in it's heritage, CultureGrams was conceived by Mormon missionaries to acquaint others of the faith who might visit and attempt to convert the locals. So it was best not to offend them with a handshake instead of a kiss (usually on the cheek). The 'database' (an unpalatable term) of states and countries is now written by long-time residents. The graphs and tables, either custom made or originals by students, compare literacy rates for women and men, life expectancy, gross domestic product, etc. and are all pretty clear to the kids. 

I had to point out the Human Development Index rank, a UN developed evaluation based on freedoms, education, jobs, and opportunities. Look how good we've got it! But kids found out the dating and marriage customs amusing, while I was mesmerized by the diversity of their country selection and their verbal analysis of the data. But without an easy link to it on our webpage they'll still pull up Wikipedia with their Google searches. Google is their 'binkie', an addiction that they won't give up without bribes.