Thing #23--Copyright, Creative Commons and Congratulations

This course has shown me so many tools that I can use and show others. At first I thought the course would be a breeze because I am technology oriented already but a majority of the items I was not currently using and was flabbergasted with what is out there in tech land. My favorite items were, of course, the blogging information, social bookmarking, rss feeds and wikis. However, it is hard to limit myself to a few of them because I really feel that most of the tools can be incorporated into my library website. Podcasts, audiobooks, flickr, etc... are all items that my middle school students can utilize easily. The teachers in my school are going to love these tools. I can't wait to offer in-services to show them.

The only downfall was the amount of time devoted was way over the 23 hours. Each new tool I would get lost in researching and using and probably spent 2-3 hours on each individual tool. Even though I spent a lot more time on this course then I thought I would it was well worth it and I really enjoyed the class. I would love to keep abreast of any newer technology tools if another course is ever offered.

Now if I can just get our school to unlock the filter so my students can use my blog and some of the other tools at school . . .

Thing #22--E-books and AudioBooks

I've been using NetLibrary for my audiobook download. I like to listen to them while I am in the kitchen cooking since that is the only time my three boys are not harrassing me as much. I would like to try to download an audiobook and have it work through my blue tooth but haven't done that yet. I really like http://www.storylineonline.net from the Screen Actors Guild. The actors read the book, it has captions and sometimes shows the page. I consider it an audiobook and use it with my special education students that I get once a week. They love it and it is something different for them to experience besides having me read to them. The site doesnt have a lot of books yet but the books they provide are pretty good. Give it a try.

Thing #21--Podcasts

Just subscribed to two podcasts that I was interested in--School Library Journals and Hornbook Podcasts. I tried to find podcasts that only dealt with ideas for school libraries but really didn't find anything that fit the bill. I've used podcasts in the past when I could play them in the background while I was doing something else and liked to multitask in that manner.

Would be interested in creating podcasts with my students for book reviews this coming school year. Will have to try it out.

Thing #20--YouTube

This video was so funny. I'm always joking with my students about my blonde tendencies so this will be perfect for my blog. I've used YouTube in the past and haven't uploaded anything yet but enjoy searching and checking the videos out. I do find that I spend a lot of time trying to find what I want because of the vast amount of videos available and the tagging people use. I prefer to use TeacherTube for school related material because YouTube is blocked through our filter at school. The advanced search feature on YouTube will definitely save you time if you put in a few terms to look for and limit showing only videos based on their duration--which I like.

Thing #19--LibraryThing

As you can see to the left I added "my library" from LibraryThing. Huge Dean Koontz fan. I wish that you could click to select more than one book at a time, that is the only con to using LibrayThing. This is a really neat website and if it is easy to do I want to upload my school collection for everyone to use. I liked reading what others said about the books that I have already chosen. It's great to see what others are reading because I want to branch out to different authors and this is a great way to do that. Another great tool!

Thing #18--Online Productivity Tools

I used ZoHo Writer to publish the below scavenger hunt. Not sure how to get it so you can see the whole page but was impressed with the abilities the word processor came with. I am a die hard Word fan and thought the basic features given with ZoHo would be at least a beginners area with my middle school students. One of the things that I liked about Zoho was the fact that you could collaborate online with only the users that you added. This might be a plus with teachers that are hesitant to use wikis. On the downside, it does not import graphics that you may have in your document the greatest. You would have to upload the graphics separately into Zoho to get the same results as your Word document. Overall, it is something that I would love to use at school.

Thing #18--Online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.

SCAVENGER HUNT!

Let’s get to know your library a little better. Just like insects we are going to scatter all over the library to look for these answers. To be successful you are going to have to be like cockroaches and infiltrate every crevice in ??? Library. Your goal is to get all the answers within 30 minutes. If you get all the answers (on your own or with a partner) you will receive a small prize. If you get all of the correct answers and handed in your scavenger hunt the fastest you will receive the grand prize! Good Luck!

Questions	Answers
Locate/Write down the call number to the book titled “Where do they go? Insects In Winter”.
In “Where do they go?...”,besides California, where do butterflies migrate to in the winter?
Locate/Write down the call number to the reference book titled “Facts About The States”.
Using “Facts About The States” what is Nebraska’s State Insect?
Track down the picture book titled “Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears”by Verna Aardema. On the cover of the book you will see that an award was given in 1976. What was the award?
There are movies for everyone at the library that can be checked out. List the one that is not lost, is a dvd and deals with an insect that could sting you.
Find the book with the call number 595.709 EVA—What is the title?
Check the indexin the back of 595.709 EVA for the Sowbug Killer and list how it kills its prey.
Using the World Book Dictionary in the reference area, list the pronunciation of an arachnid.
Using the World Book Dictionary again, look up lightning bug and write down the official name.
Find out how long lightning bugs live using theWorld Book of Knowledge.
There are many copies of the Guinness Book Of World Records. Locate the 2008 version in the reference area and list the name of the longest beetle and how big it gets.
Choose one of the books about insects brought from the school library and write down the title.
Library Computer—Open Library Website and click the POWER LIBRARYicon, click on EBSCO FOR ANIMALS, in the find area type INSECTS and press ENTER. Choose one of the insect articles listed and show me.
Use www.google.com and find a picture of any insect you want and show me.

WEBSITES

Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Entomology Insect Illustrations

http://www.life.uiuc.edu/entomology/illustrations.html

Researchers to pay $12 an ounce for fireflies

June 23, 2008 12:06 pm
As the season begins, collectors are looking forward to the prospect of having fun, helping science and earning extra money at the new, higher price of 42 cents per gram or $12 per ounce (approximately $1.65 per 100 bugs). Scientists at the Promega Biosciences in San Luis Obispo, CA, use the insects for public health safety testing of food. For more information, please contact the Firefly Project, c/o 122 Emory Lane, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 or call 1-888-520-1272. The e-mail address is fireflyproject@yahoo.com.

University of Florida Insect Records

http://ufbir.ifas.ufl.edu/

Nature Recordings and Pictures

http://www.naturesongs.com/

Iowa State University's Tasty Insect Recipes

http://www.ent.iastate.edu/misc/insectsasfood.html

Central Pets How To Care For Insects

http://www.centralpets.com/pages/insects/insects.html

Clemson University Arthropod Museum

http://entweb.clemson.edu/museum/

Insectclopedia

http://www.insectclopedia.com/

Insect Game—Bug on a Wire

http://www.miniclip.com/games/bug-on-a-wire/en/