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The Information Revolution May Not Improve Education

I found this interesting article by Gertrude Himmelfarb that discusses some concerns about education and technology. The article discusses the original impact of books, yes there has been corruption, the reliability of online information, what may be wrong with reading books on a screen and the electronic revolution as it relates to intellectual development. Th article appends a fine list of other book and periodical readings on this subject.

Himmelfarb, Gertrude. "The Information Revolution May Not Improve Education." Opposing Viewpoints: The Information Revolution. Ed. Paul A. Winters. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Palomar College. 6 May. 2010 &contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010147216&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=cclc_palomar&version=1.0>.

The Future of Publishing

I came across a very, very interesting You Tube video that I wanted to share with everyone. It is called: The Future of Publishing. Click on the title to access the link. Please check it out…and oh please, oh please, watch the whole thing. It is an amazingly well made video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg

Is technology affecting the way Teens write?

To follow up on my last post: “Is Teen reading on the decline?” I found some interesting information on a similar topic. In the same way that technology is changing how teens read, is technology also affecting the way they write?

According to one article, it was stated that a considerable number of educators and children’s advocates were concerned that the quality of writing by young Americans was being degraded by electronic communication, with its carefree spelling, lax punctuation and grammar, and its acronym shortcuts.

Others wonder if this return to text-driven communication is instead inspiring new appreciation for writing among teens. The American Life Project and National Commission on Writing conducted a national telephone survey and focus group to see what teens have to say about the role and impact technology has on writing. These were some of their findings:

•85% of teens ages 12-17 engage in some form of electronic personal communication, including texting, emailing, instant messaging, or social networking. However, 60% of teens do not think of these electronic texts as “writing.”

•50% of teens say they sometimes use informal writing styles instead of proper capitalization and punctuation in their school assignments, while 38% say they have used text shortcuts in school work such as “LOL” (or “laugh out loud”) and 25% have used emoticons (symbols like smiley faces ☺) in school work.

•50% of teens say their school work requires writing every day; 35% say they write several times a week. The remaining 15% of teens write less often for school. Also, 82% of teens reported that their typical school writing assignment is a paragraph to one page in length.

•47% of teen bloggers write outside of school for personal reasons several times a week or more compared to 33% of teens without blogs. Moreover, 65% of teen bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life and 53% of non-bloggers agree. Blogging encourages teens to collaborate and contribute with their opinions and ideas. This, by default, promotes language skills, comprehension, and cohesiveness.

•15% of teens say their internet-based writing of materials such as emails and instant messages has helped improve their overall writing while 6% say it has made their personal writing worse. Some 73% of teens said this kind of writing made no difference to their school writing.

•57 % say that when it comes to using technology for school or non-school writing, teens believe that when they use computers to write they are more inclined to edit and revise their texts.

•93% of teens say they write for their own pleasure. The anonymity allows for a certain freedom of expression; They can write without the fear of being graded.

They survey noted that teens are more motivated to write when they can select topics that are relevant to their lives and interests, and report greater enjoyment of school writing when they have the opportunity to write creatively. Having teachers or other adults who challenge them, present them with interesting curricula and give them detailed feedback, motivates them to write. The report also pointed out that when teens write for an audience, such as blogging or social networking, it also serves as a motivation for them not only to write, but to write well. Ultimately, teens will continue to write for a variety of reasons—as part of a school assignment, to get a good grade, to stay in touch with friends, to share their artistic creations with others or simply to put their thoughts to paper, virtual or otherwise.

Book Worms

My oldest daughter, Bethany, is...(dramatic pause) a BOOK WORM!!!

OK, so for a librarian to have a book worm kid isn't that big of a deal, but it sure makes me proud. Even better is that she likes books independently of me, and while we share some books, she is not above asking to have some extra time in the library to just browse her favorite sections (Manga!).

One library activity that Beth participated in was Kid Vid Book Chats while she was an 8th grader at San Elijo Middle School. The librarian there, Mrs. Denney, encouraged students to come in and review books on film so that others could find out about literature from a teen perspective. As we all know, teens know WAY more than any of us adults, so it's awesome that Mrs. Denney recognized and made use of that particular teen trait. She's harnessed that self-absorbed power for good, and for that, I applaud her.

I've also got to applaud Bethany though, because she stepped WAY outside her comfort zone to do the book chat, and on camera no less, and she was so nervous about doing the videos that she didn't even tell me until it was all over. She wanted to participate in this project so much that she "auditioned" and lobbied hard for the chance to be a part of it.

Obviously, Mrs. Denney has done something right in her library to have teens fighting for a chance to do a book review. What a great example for those of us who want to be in a school library.

Way to go!

Teens Reading Habits Changing

Nearly 16 percent never visit school, public libraries
By Brian Kenney and Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2006

Nearly 16 percent of teens don’t visit their public or school libraries, according to a recent joint study by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and SmartGirl.org, a Web site that surveys teens. And many young adults don’t expect to visit public libraries in the next five years because they’ll likely be using search engines at home or elsewhere, says “Perception of Libraries and Information Resources,” the latest report by OCLC that examines the public’s attitude toward libraries and resources.

What message do these two reports send? The results may show that teens prefer accessing the library remotely from the Internet, rather than in person, says Beth Yoke, YALSA’s executive director. But they may also mean that libraries need to focus more attention on teenagers because they tend to visit libraries that have dedicated teen centers or teen librarians".........

This is a great article; we need to focus on talking teens on their language. Everyday there are more cyber citizens that need our help. It seems that with the invention of the internet, the habits of students are shifting and according to all those surveys, they preferred the Search Engines and Instant Messaging. On the other hand, we also want to make the library inviting so they may want to come to visit, instead of Texting. We as librarians need to dedicate more time to have activities for teens and make an area of the library a place where they feel comfortable and they can come and explore the library in person. The SDCL has a great teen page. The library is making an effort to be on the cyber lines to reach the teens, and broadcast the teen activities. We need to be proactive, and remember that if they like the library when they are young they will keep on coming back.
Oceanside Library is doing a good too. They have different activities for the teens such as Band Hero, Teen Movies “Twilight and new Moon”; Teen crochet, Teen Candle craft, Science Seekers, and Anime and Manga Club. They are doing an awesome work at bringing the teens in so they have different activities and they can choose what they want.
Teen reading habits may change, but if they like the books and the fun they have at the library they will keep on coming back.

(follow the link and you can read the complete article)

Welcoming Teens to the Library

The Morton Grove Public Library is a lucky organization - they've got Director Ben Shapiro, and Teen/Reference Librarian Katy Opderbeck working for them, and they have their fingers on the pulse of the teen population. Shapiro and Opderbeck wrote a great article about getting teens to "get" the relevance of libraries to them, as well as bringing them physically into libraries.

Shapiro tickled my funny bone when he said food would be a good lure. Before you panic, he's not recommending that we start a buffet line in the Manga section! What he meant was that teens like to browse the 'fridge and pick and choose from a large selection, so use that teen mentality of trying something at least once and get them interested. Check out the source article for more great ideas to bring in teens and keep them coming back!

Marketing the Library to Teens

I read a great article today by Anastasia Goldstein about how to get teens into a library. The article really describes teens' quirks and idiosyncracies, and how you can use those special teen features to your library's benefit. Here's a summary of the quirks, followed by my suggestions for using that to the best advantage for the library (in bold italics):

Illustration by Max Scratchmann

Teens are multitaskers: Today's teens take multitasking to a whole new level, and can do homework, surf the internet, listen to music, play games, and interact on social media...just don't ask them to do chores!! In her article, Goldstein quotes a 2005 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation that says students between the ages of eight and 18 spend more than 25 percent of their media time multitasking. Libraries can capitalize on this by allowing internet access with headphones handy so that teens can listen to their music while doing homework and IMing friends.

Teens prefer byte-sized entertainment - Because of their penchant for multitasking, keeping a teen's attention for one single thing is a herculean task! I think libraries are currently doing a good job of providing entertainment in short snippets by having teen areas that specialize in media attractive to teens.

Teens expect content on demand. With iPods, DVRs, YouTube, and the like, teens today are used to getting what they want when they want it. This entertainment on demand attitude has begun to drive the way people market to teens. According to Goldstein, "...the CW series Gossip Girl was initially a complete bust—at least, in terms of traditional TV ratings. But when network executives noticed the buzz on teen blogs and fan pages and the number of times the show was downloaded on iTunes, they realized they had a huge hit." What this tells us is that if libraries use social media, teens will listen!

Teens want to participate. Teens like social media because of the instant gratification, and it's easy to see that when you look at how many young people participate in things like American Idol. Teens want to share their opinions more than adults might even want, but libraries can use that by offering young people the opportunity to share their book reviews in podcasts and video blogs. Put a camera or microphone in a teen's face and they will go!

To read more about this topic or to see the author's suggestions for using the quirks that teens share, check out the source article.

Teenreads.com

I came across two websites yesterday while looking for the next post. This one that I am going to write about looks on the outside to be very teeny. it has color, attitude, and energy, all things a teenager has. The other one, http://www.teensadvisor.com/teen-books/teen-reads.html, looks very bland, but only has a minor area about books. To really get the teens to see the books that other teens are reading it should have that web page look like it was made for a teenager.

Teen Reads contains a lot of energy. It has contests and polls for kids to enter to win even more books. I thought that was really great.

Their recent newsletter for April has a small book review for the teens to read to see if it is either a book they would like to read or recommend to other friends. It also promotes National Library Week, which I heard about on National Public Radio for the first time a couple weeks ago. They have about one to two newsletters out a month, which is pretty good. It gives young adults a chance to read the books and not have their emails crowded with notifications.

Overall I think they do a wonderful job trying to get young adults attention to reading and showing them what books are being read by those their age and keeping up with teen technology.

Is Teen Reading on the decline?

I came across an article that read: It is believed that in the United States, teen reading is on the decline, especially among the young. With technology changing so fast and new gadgets evolving each day, I began to wonder what affect this had on Teens and reading. Were teens seeing reading as a chore? Were technological gadgets distracting teens from reading? Was teen reading really on the decline? I did some research and this is some of the information I found:

•A study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project showed that on the average 8-18 year olds spend 6 hours and 21 minutes per day using technology including TV, DVDs, video games, audio media, computers, and print media.

•This same study, from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, reported that 71% of teens use the Internet as their primary source for completing school projects.

•According to another study done by Harris Interactive in 2005, 86% of youth aged 8-18 have a computer in their home, and 74% have Internet access in their home.

Many experts stated that reading is far from dead for adolescents, and is actually on the rise in many ways. It just depends on how you look at it. Richard Beach, a professor in the literacy education program at the University of Minnesota says: “When people express concern about kids not reading, they don’t realize that they’re really reading all the time. It’s just what they’re reading and how they’re using media that’s changing. They’re on the forefront of an evolution in how reading is being redefined.”

Teens have become adept at using technologies to communicate with each other, find information, and connect with new people. Teens now spend more time online (often while in front of the TV) than just watching TV.

“Reading online involves a different set of conventions—for example, the non-linear process of selecting buttons or links on a website as opposed to a left-to-right linear reading of print texts,” Beach says. “What we need to understand better is how to make connections between different kinds of text.”

Libraries are helping increase teen reading by increasing their collections of print and online zines, manga, and comics. At St. Paul’s Highland Park Library, the use of games has prompted many kids to check out books that relate to what they’re playing. Anime and manga have even started a wave of interest in Japanese history and culture.

“If teens are excited about a game or anime, they’ll explore those subjects in different mediums like Web pages or books,” Lowry says. “The important thing is not to say books are better than games, or that they should be reading the classics.”
Sometimes librarians or teachers tend to develop groups based on what they think teens should be reading, rather than what they actually like, resulting in empty discussion tables. On the other hand, technology provides more ways to stay connected to friends were the conversation never ends.


The good thing is that there are many teachers who are integrated blogging, wiki writing, podcasts, and writing in gaming-based simulations into their courses. And as more technological tools are introduced, they will continue to offer different venues for teens to read. Whether it’s by a computer, eBook, iPhone, iPod, or some other type of hand-held, teen reading is far from being on the decline, it just depends on how you look at it.

Teen Tech Week

In doing some research, I came across this website about library teen services. It is an initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association, or YALSA, a branch of the ALA. It is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. Their purpose is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of new technologies, including DVDs, databases, audio books, and videogames.
Teens’ use of non-print resources has increased dramatically in recent years, yet more teens are doing this from home instead of the library. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use the libraries non-print resources for education and recreation. They also encourage that librarians be recognized as qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology.

Teen Tech Week began in 2007. Its first general theme was called Get Connected @ your library.

This year, it was celebrated March 7-13, 2010 and their general theme was Learn Create Share @ your library. Their focus was to foster teen creativity and to position the library as both a physical and virtual place for safe exploration of the new technology available to libraries, such as music, gaming, video production, online homework help, social networking, tech workshops and more.


The next Teen Tech Week is scheduled for March 6-12, 2011. The theme will be Mix and Mash @ your library. Although their goal is the same, each library can choose which new technology they want to focus on each year. Everyone is encouraged to participate. Registration will begin in November of 2010.

The following year, Teen Tech Week will be held March 14-20, 2012. Typically, it is held each year the second week in March. However, some libraries may not be able to have a Teen Tech Week celebration the second week in March for a variety of reasons, such as spring break, while others may expand Teen Tech Week into Teen Tech Month. Be sure to call your local library for more details or log onto yalsa@ala.org

Getting Teens Into The Library

As I was searching for my next article I found this one. It’s a how-to guide on getting teenagers volunteering in libraries. I thought it was very interesting because the author advises scheduling the volunteering around the teen’s schedules. Teenagers want to help and would love to help, but can’t always because of school or other things that are going on. It also advises on setting the times for when you need volunteers and wait to see who either signs up or who shows up. I thought that was a great idea as well.

More of the article refers to various activities the youth might enjoy. One of the activities I might have enjoyed (and probably still would) was on how to make a cat blanket, which could also double as a dog blanket. Another sessions gave really great directions on making bookmarks. The youth can use these to make items for donation. From what I can remember when I was a teenager I was always making key chains and necklaces using plastic string or leather string with beads. The author, Erminia M. Gallo, really sounds like she knows what she’s doing in getting the teens to participate with library activities.

"A Year in Volunteering at the Library" by Erminia M. Gallo, http://web.ebscohost.com.prozy.palomar.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&hid=112&sid=bdb94e6a-6651-4647-adf4-18e44fda6a44%40sessionmgr111

Library Blogs for Teens

While searching for my next post I cam across this website. I thought it reminded me a bit of CNN, but with blogs and built for children and teens. The great thing is that it lets children interact with other children and has relevant information to the young people. One example of an article was about the environment. This is a topic that gets played and played during school. Its very important to a lot of kids. It lists different books that can help kids from certain age groups understand things about the environment.

The site also gives highly recommended books from teens to teens and also has book reviews of popular books read by teens. I really liked reading the blogs and seeing them. It keeps the teens and other children active in the libraries.

Alice in Wonderland

Many of your may have recently seen Time Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and who could resist? But, how many of you have actually read the book? To coincide with our pole, here are some interesting tidbits on the original book and its origins:


• The original title was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

• The novel was written in 1865 by an English author by the name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudo name: Lewis Carroll.

• The story was based on a 10 year old girl, born in 1852, by the name of Alice Pleasance Liddell. Alice Liddell had dark hair and a short fringe. It is unknown who John Tenniel, the illustrator, used as a model for the Alice portrayal we are familiar with today.

• Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, is caricatured as the Dodo in the story, because Dodgson stuttered when he spoke. Thus, when he spoke, he annunciated his last name as Do-Do-Dodgson.

• "All in the golden afternoon..." —the prefatory verse, an original poem by Carroll that recalls the rowing expedition on which he first told the story of Alice's adventures underground.

• Among the first avid readers were Queen Victoria and Oscar Wilde.

• This book has never been out of print and has been translated into125 languages.

• The title is commonly referred to Alice in Wonderland by the countless adaptations in of theater, film, opera, ballets and other media.

• The title of the sequel is Through the Looking-Glass, and, What Alice Found There.

• Lewis Caroll’s own copy of Alice, one of only six surviving copies of the 1865 first edition, sold at an auction for $1.54 million dollars to an anonymous American buyer. It became the most expensive children’s book ever traded of the 19th century!

In the book, the Mad Hatter gives his famous riddle without an answer:

“Why is a RAVEN like a writing desk?”

Lewis Carol was big on riddles, but he never intended this riddle to have a solution. However, in a preface to the 1896 edition of Alice, he proposes several answers:

“Because it can produce a few notes,
though…they are very flat;
and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!”

Notice the spelling of “never” as “nevar.” This turns NEVAR into RAVEN when it is inverted. Unfortunately, the spelling nevar was “corrected” into never in later editions and Carroll’s pun was lost.



Speaking of the Mad Hatter, this character was inspired by the phase “as mad as a hatter.”

In those days, mercury was used in the process of making hats. It was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the fumes from the mercury while making the hats. The mercury vapor caused neurological damage resulting in confused speech and distorted vision. Many hatters died young as a result of mercury poisoning.

Undoubtedly, there are a lot more tidbits out there. We just hope these will entice you to go to your nearest library and, if you don’t already own it, pick up this old classic and read on.

Oh yeah, and just for fun, click on the title above to watch the original 1951trailer to Alice in Wonderland.

LOL @ your library

I came across this notice from the ALA. I found it on EBSCO. Annually they host a Teen Read Week (last year it was in October) to try of course get teens to read. This past years topic was all things funny or "LOL @ Your Library." I personally think they should have went with ur instead of your to keep with teen language. They promoted teens to organize various funny books and even to create a poster of different books they thought were funny. Creating a book swap would be fun for kids as they can recommend books to other teens. I think teens are twice as likely to read a book a friend recommended than one someone else did.

New Port Richey Library offers budding teen rock musicians a place to jam

This article is the starting point for Discussion Board #10. I located the article, and found it very interesting. I wish our local library had a program like this. The kids usually come in before the start, and use the time beforehand to explore the library.

Father and daughter book bond.

This is a story about a father who decides he wants to read to his daughter. To entice her, they make an agreement they call it the “The Streak”. He is a librarian for an elementary school; and his daughter, she was in 4th grade when they started this tradition. They read first 100 straight bedtime stories, later they went to 1,000 and then they could not stop. This routine helped them to make their bond stronger. They stop when she went to college.
Thru his experience, he knows students who read will go to college; they will get a better job, has a higher income and live longer….
This is just another warm story about how important is to read to your kids.

(Follow the link and you can read the whole article.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/fashion/21GenB.html?pagewanted=1&hpw

Social Networking is Problematic

I found an article by Molly Wood. Molly Wood is a section editor at CNET.com, a technology-centered media Web site. I found it by using EBSCO Opposing viewpoints,.
Ms. Wood has a few things to say about social networking problems she perceives. the main thrust of her article focuses on her "Five Horsemen" or the five main problems she has with social networking sites.

1. There's nothing to do there

As Business 2.0 points out, a simple destination site won't cut it. My big beef with Friendster was always, "Well, what would I do there?" Visiting most social networking sites is akin to getting invited to a party where all the cool kids are going, then showing up and finding out there's no food, no drinks, no band, no games, no pool, nothing. Just a bunch of painful small talk and leering grins. The people-watching can hold your interest for only so long.

2. It takes too much time

Yes, I know I can choose where to devote my time, but Orkut, Friendster, and even LinkedIn (which I do find more useful than the purely social sites) are interesting but less information rich than news sites, blogs, Google news, or any of the other sites I could visit on the Web. It's interesting, for example, to blog about the experiences I had on a given day, but its tedious to make sure my personal stats, favorite books, and current reading list are up-to-date. One of the reasons I think personal blogs win out over social networking is that they're inherently more personal, more inwardly focused, and a better chance to show more than a snapshot of yourself.

3. Traffic alone isn't enough

The reality of the new Web is that traffic alone just doesn't cut it. You can get all the visitors you want to your site, but you can't just blanket the thing with ads and hope to survive. Advertisers today are a more sophisticated bunch, and they're looking to send targeted, rich-content messages. That means that reliance on a generalized supply of banner ads is not a sustainable model, because no matter how much data you collect about your audience, if the audience isn't specific, the ads can't be, either. Witness MySpace's projected $20 million in ad sales. According to Business 2.0, it's working because MySpace attracts primarily what it refers to as "16- to 34-year-old hipsters." The Web is becoming an elitist sort of space. If social networking sites are a way to bring the masses together, advertisers are begging for a way to prune those masses into smaller, easier targets.

4. Strangers kind of suck (or, put nicely, the social hierarchy is really not that attractive)

Speaking of elitism, getting to know people is, frankly, a less attractive proposal than it first seems. Sure, business networking is valuable, and it's great to have a lot of resources who might know someone who can help you with ... something. But that argument gets a little thin when you're suddenly bombarded with date offers or all-too-frequent postings about the unsavory or just plain uninteresting habits of the strangers you suddenly know. Moreover, social networking sites pretty quickly and inevitably degenerate into cliques. That's normal, it happens on the blogosphere, and it's not really even that deplorable. It's just kind of tiresome on a daily basis. If you restrict your friends list to only the people you already know, well, then the boredom sets in. Why would you read their profiles over and over when you can just IM [instant message] them, e-mail them, or meet at the baseball game?

5. We already have the Internet

The only lasting argument about social networking that's ever made sense is that these networks are a valuable resource if you're adrift in the sea of online information. You can, in just a few hops, get to someone who knows someone or knows something that you need to know. That may be a valuable proposal in the business world, which gives a site like LinkedIn a better chance of survival than Friendster. But the argument's a little thin in a world where search is the king of the hill. If I need information online, I can find it. And I can probably find it faster using Google than I can by e-mailing one friend who'll e-mail another who'll e-mail another while my deadline slips away. Sure, it's helpful—once in a while. But once I have all these folks in my address book, I won't be much help in terms of ad impressions.

While this class extols all of the social networking tools, I thought it would be healthy to remember that many things on the wonderful web can be dangerous or just downright useless.

Read, Read, Read

Why Read to Your Kids? Here are 12 Important Reasons
"The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children," a Commission on Reading report found.
In fact, reading is so important that a non-profit group called Read Aloud America is traveling to different schools to promote literacy, encourage a love of reading in adults and children, and increase children's prospects for success in school and life.

Not only will reading to your child help him develop language and listening skills, and a sense of curiosity, but it will help to strengthen the bond you share as well.
Their Read Aloud Program (RAP) brings together kids and families at host schools to stimulate their interest in reading, decrease television viewing, increase family time spent in reading activities, and connect the values of good books to everyday life. Although the program is currently only offered in Hawaii, you can gain the same benefits from reading to your kids at home.
Here are 12 of the key reasons to start (or continue) reading aloud to your kids today.
1. Build a lifelong interest in reading. "Getting kids actively involved in the process of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in reading," said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in Indiana.
2. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
3. Reading to kids helps them with language and speech development.
4. It expands kids' vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.
5. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said to them (similar to what they do while being read to).
6. Reading to older kids helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.
7. Kids and parents can use reading time as bonding time. It's an excellent opportunity for one-on-one communication, and it gives kids the attention they crave.
8. Being read to builds children's attention spans and helps them hone their listening skills.
9. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.
10. Being read to helps kids learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.
11. Kids learn appropriate behavior when they're read to, and are exposed to new situations, making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.
12. When read to, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of language even before they can understand the spoken or printed word.

I found this article and confirms the importance of reading to your kids, grandkids, students, etc. I love it! I am enclosing the link also. Have fun reading!

Textbooks

Teresa here is the picture.

Textbooks

This cartoon was in Saturday's paper. B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart . I found it to be a very interesting thought about the high cost of textbooks. If anybody can tell me how to actually put the cartoon itself in, I would appreciate it.
http://www.gocomics.com/features/11/feature_items/497895

Facebook and Twitter as Social Media Tools

Social media tools can be very helpful to students. Although Wikipedia is not to be taken as a full encyclopedia, its format can be used to help students share their ideas (1). In the first article, a second grade class used a wiki to share information they collected about U.S. national parks. This enables these second graders to learn to share information, correct each other's pages, and for the teacher to make corrections as well. Another way to share information more quickly is through a type of website like Twitter.
Twitter enables users to send updates in real time to whoever is following them or to whoever goes online to that page. Although Twitter and "tweets" are largely used to share updated information about what a person is doing, it can also be used for to let students know about a new article they can read and it encourages them to keep in touch with updated information. What is also nice about a website like Twitter is that a student can be anywhere, on a train, at home, in a library, or eating out, and receive updates about homework, new information for an upcoming project, or even the cancellation of an assignment.
With the sharing of information comes a new light in educating the youth of today. The more information they share, the more they learn and grow, they become more productive members of society. Using websites like wiki and twitter, students and even librarians can share and build on that shared information. One idea can spark another.

1. EBSCO HOST. Summers, Laura L. The Value of Social Software in School Library: Instruction, Communication, and Collaboration. March/April 2009.

Social media and the library

Social media such as youtube may become more and more prevalent in the future for library use. The library can set up a group you.tube account that will let patrons of all ages make comments about service, ask questions, and connect with other libraries in a more informal way. The library site can be used to post timely information about library events and will lend it self as a "cool" way to contact librarians by younger patrons.

Blogs, which are becoming very popular may be used for age groups and special interest groups to get questions answered, communicate with patrons of common interests, and generally encourage patron involvement in library activities. The blogs would lso come in handy to survey different groups about issues and plans involving the library itself. What if the blog had a question about the acquisition of different media for the collection? ask the bloggers which ones they think should be purchased and make some decisions based on the feedback.

Social Networks and their usefulness in a library

Social Networks and their usefulness in a library

Social networks allow users to browse, search, interact, collaborate with others users, and share comments and entries. To some people, this can be a fun and easy way to keep up with friends, track old friends, or to keep up with current events. For others, it can be viewed as a waste of time, very distracting, too new, or simply too overwhelming. Consequently, there has been some debate whether social networks can be beneficial in an educational setting and more specifically with library services.

I think two of the most popular social networks being used today are MySpace and You Tube. In doing my research, I found a lot of wonderful, useful, information being posted on MySpace regarding library services. MySpace even has a section dedicated to library teen services that feature profiles oriented specifically to teen patrons.

Within most of these profiles, there were several links to blogs that featured subjects such as favorite teen books, Aime meetings, Twilight reading parties, and links to libraries that were offering SAT practice tests for teenagers.

http://blog.myspace.com/lbplteens

I think this is a great resource for teens that may not know how to drive, have access to a car, or transportation, they can simply log on and get sorts of information from their local libraries. This would also be beneficial for students that are planning to attend out of state colleges. They can log on and research colleges via MySpace and get information as to how to apply for financial aid and get answers in real-time.

One of my favorite sites is You Tube. You can find just about anything in You Tube in just about any subject imaginable. I found several great tutorials from "How to use the library," to "How to use Ebsco."

How to use the library:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE6GMOFQ0u

Find articles in a library:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8elk

Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6

I think these are valuable tools for people who may be shy about asking questions on how to do a research paper, how to use the card catalog, or what the difference is between Google and ProQuest.

Even for those people who were once experts in library usage that have to return to school, they may not be familiar with the new technical aspects being used today. There may be that one person who has three college degrees from 1989, but now has no idea what Ebsco is and may be too embarrassed to ask for help. They can look up these tutorials in the privacy of their homes.

Librarians can also use these sites to create pages and inform patrons of coming events, services, post videos of popular events, or post how to tutorials. MySpace and You Tube can not only help promote library services, but patrons can also provide instant feedback to librarians. Since people are no longer communicating through traditional methods, social networks are a great platform for librarians to utilize and reach a larger market.

Unfortunately, not all libraries use social networks to promote their services. Many view social networking as too new or too trendy. Some libraries have even banned social networks such as MySpace and Face book (It is unknown if it's due to funds or library management).

As we have seen, social networks can be very beneficial and highly useful to promote education and in library services. There are several social networks currently being used today, and no doubt, there will be more emerging in the future. It will be up to each individual library to decide how to best implement the use of these tools. Social networks are here to stay and best of all, they are still FREE!

Social Networking FTW (for the win)...AKA Why Social Networking is Useful in Libraries!

It seems like everyone today is talking about social media. It seems like you can’t go 2 seconds listening to the radio without hearing about some new Tweet a star has made, someone’s Facebook page, or a blog that has great information on it. Social media, apparently, is here to stay! As a librarian, it’s necessary for me to keep up with the latest technological advances, since it will happen with or without me. If your library’s patron base has anything to do with young people, it is especially important to keep up, since the younger audience is more “plugged in” than any generation before!

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) recently updated their Social Networking Toolkit, and it contains a lot of good information for libraries. Among other things, the Toolkit helps familiarize readers with the Web 2.0 terms, social media outlets, and provides tools to help libraries in getting started using social networking. According to the Toolkit, social networking technologies “…are an ideal environment for teens to share what they are learning or to build something together online.”

It seems to me that the most useful social networking tool would probably be the blog. Blogs can be used in a number of different ways, and the benefit is huge! For example, a school library could use a blog to keep students, faculty, and administration up-to-date on library events, new materials, and much more. It’s so easy to update a blog that it would take a very small amount of time for the librarian to dedicate, and could even save him/her some time by providing answers to questions that are frequently asked. However, I have to say that there is nothing sadder than a neglected blog. I’ve visited the El Cajon library web site for information while working on the flyers, and found their Teen Scene was woefully out of date, with the last update on February 2! Another slacker, the teen blog for the Columbus Metropolitan Library hadn’t been updated since last September. Even the teen area of the New York Public Library is not immune, with the header at the top still referring to 2009. You’ve got to dedicate the time to this people, or you just look lame!

The other useful social networking tool is probably Facebook or MySpace. My teenage daughter’s friends are all on Facebook, and they are “fans” of a lot of odd things. It seems like I get an update every few minutes on something new one of them has decided to follow (yes, I’m “friended” by my daughter’s friends!). So if they can be fans of “Join if you have a name that is always spelt wrong!” why not the library? All it would take is a post or 2 a day about something evenly mildly interesting to a teen, and they’d be hooked! Then you just have to maintain it and you’ve got a whole new inroad into teen patrons. Instant gratification for everyone! 

For more information on this fascinating topic, here are a couple of links to great resources for librarians looking to jump on the social networking bandwagon:

• Four Reasons Libraries Should be on Social Media

• 25 Useful Social Networking Tools for Librarians

Social Networks

I belong to both MySpace (http://myspace.com) and Facebook (http://facebook.com). My father is actually the one who invited me to Facebook. I don't remember who invited me to MySpace. I like them both, but I'm a little tired of being invited to do things on FarmVille! I don't play games on either site. I just like to see the pictures from people I care about, and keep updated on what's going on in their life.
When my son had his motorcycle accident last July, I was able to inform (almost) everyone at the same time, including pictures and video. My cousin has a running countdown of when her son will be returning from his Mormon mission.
The only person in my family who isn't linked is my mother. I was reminded of that when one of my sisters sent me a yelling (all caps) email, telling me to call Mom. I have been reconnected with people who found me on one or the other of the sites.
You can also join the pages of people or groups who share your interests. I am linked to various libraries and library groups, and the Escondido Humane Society. I also belong to various musicians and authors on MySpace.
I think social networks are a terrific innovation. Although, I haven't yet looked at Twitter.

Technology and Libraries

Technology is here to stay and it is a great tool to help libraries. In the past, people would go to the library and use the card catalog to find books and do research. With technology today, people can do research faster and get the most current information on the web. Libraries also use websites to get in touch with the public and let them know what the library has to offer.
From the comfort of your house, you can go to the San Diego County Library and look for a book, put it on hold, or request it to be sending to the library of your choice. All you need to have is a library card and an internet connection.
To see how easy it is I look up San Diego County Library and the Oceanside Library web page.
San Diego County Library has a colorful home page. A person can choose to go to the children’s page or the teen page.

In the kids page you will find events for children’s and story times, books, homework help, blogs and podcast for kids! For the young ones they have the tumble books and the world book for kids. The page is bright and colorful, perfect for kids.
Tumble books are easy to load and you can listen to the books and watch the movie. It is very well done, however it will never replace spending time on mama’s lap. On the children’s page, I click on The World Book Online. It has incredible colors for kids.

For the Teens, the Oceanside library offers all kinds of research resources, for example: biographies, Grolier on line, testing and education resources and online test and tutorials. All this services are great and the students can use them from home.

However, the San Diego Public Library also has an awesome page for the teens. It is just too impressive! It has the latest teen books; events for teens in all the branches, the homework database, the homework help in different subject. It also has the ask the librarian icon.

This is a wonderful tool to ask questions when you need answers and you are at home, helping your teenager with their report. It has the book reviews by teens and by the librarian, college and career things, and the fun part is you can click on homework help then you can click on art, and it takes you to different websites like the Getty museum.
The librarians at the SDCL are doing a great job on the website and I hope teens will get inspired about going to the library and check out books, and participate in the teen events.

presentation comments

I viewed Jennifer's and Teresa's presentations. I could not figure out how to make comments on the presentation so here are mine. Jennifer: you clearly know your way around JING! The presentation was okay by me. Teresa: Did you really need 19 slides? Other than that, no comments

Presentations

I sent everyone and Mrs. Morrow my presentation. I viewed Teresa's presentation, but could not edit for comments. If I am doing something wrong please advise! I set my presentation to
EDIT.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman

I found this article, on amazon reviews. I like her advise on money. She is always right on the dot.
M K

How many people graduate from high school and even college within knowing the basics of financial literacy - deciphering credit ratings, maintaining and balancing a bank account, getting through college with a minimum of student debt, making the most of that first job and, eventually, buying a home and planning for retirement?
Orman strives to close this "financial illiteracy" gap by providing invaluable info for those just starting out. She includes
The info is not only cutting edge but many of the websites have NOT appeared in other books. One example of how new the info is: Orman notes the recent changes in credit rules noting that EVERYONE has access to a FREE credit report once a year.
Because she knows younger adults may be intimidated by a ton of financial info, Orman (wisely) delivers her advice in innovative, user-friendly ways. Each page is short, easy to read and yet chock full of info. In short, she doesn't waste words.
Each section is launched with a Lowdown on what will be covered in the chapter and there is a quick summary at the end with checklists to make sure readers know what they shouldn't have missed. A Glossary at the back of the book explains some of the more complex terms. Important website resources and key terms are boldfaced in green, a great asset when looking for important info.
Reading this book could help young people avoid many pitfalls, since Orman covers the basics such as:
* Understanding that all important credit rating and deciphering your FICO score

*Making a small paycheck stretch as far as possible while maximizing opportunites for career advancement.

* A special area on her website where buyers of the book can get UPDATES on info in the book and CONNECT with others on message boards, a great way to get info and share viewpoints (and Suze stops in regularly to answer a few select questions, giving readers an opportunity to have her answer YOUR questions)

* Current websites to get information quickly and fill in gaps. She even notes that readers can now get their FICO score FREE once a year, valuable information that is on the cutting edge of new legislation. This info alone could well be worth the price of the book.

* The rignt and wrong way to handle student debt

* How to start investing and the best funds for ROth IRAs and 401(k) accoutns.

* Buying a car, auto insurance and a home.

I consider this MUST reading for anyoone just starting an independent life and this will definitely be at the top of my gift list for any high school or college graduate. What better gift than to give someone the tools for an independent and financially secure future?
written by K Corn (amazon reviews)

Show me the money...

I changed some of the side bar colors. I had a hard time reading them. I hope it's ok. I also added the first book of the Money Books For Teens. I think we need to add something more fun that will attract and focus on teens. Any ideas on how to add graphics to our blog?

In the middle of a concrete jungle

Hello everyone,
I found this picture of the Cardiff Library in Kansas City. Locals were commenting on how surreal it felt to walk and drive by it in the middle of concrete buildings.
I think it's beautiful.

Link To Teen Services

Hello everyone,
I have added the link to the San Diego County Library Teen Lounge. It gives information for all kinds of fun stuff.

How the Public Library Can Save You Money

This is an article from the current Woman's Day magazine. I especially found the textbook suggestion interesting.
Family Fun / Money Saving Tips / How the Public Library Can Save You Money
How the Public Library Can Save You Money
Read essays by four women who saved a bundle thanks to their local branchesBy Woman's Day Staff Posted February 01, 2010 from Woman's Day; March 1, 2010

The library has always been a place to save money. Where else can you get books, CDs and DVDs without buying them? And these days libraries offer even more—a host of activities and services that cost you nothing. As part of our annual Woman’s Day/ American Library Association essay contest, we introduce you to four winners who found big savings— and even changed their lives—at their local library.

A World of Learning by Karen Schmidt, Camano Island, WA
By the time I began homeschooling our 8-year-old son, Jonathan, our community library was already a place of discoveries and spontaneous conversations with acquaintances. Both Jonathan and I had swarmed to the library (yes, two word lovers can swarm when it comes to books!) when we moved from South America back to the U.S. when he was 4. Our habits didn’t change much when he was reading on his own at age 6—we were already confirmed library-ophiles. But homeschooling turned our local library—first the Marysville Library, then when we moved a half-hour away, the Camano Island Library— into a resource center that has been a focal point for my son’s education.

The library was the place where Jonathan crawled into an inflatable planetarium to “stargaze,” thanks to a Friends of the Library program and the regional science center. He molded sculptures from recyclables, laughed at puppet shows, and not long after we studied insects, he ogled—but refused to engage with—a “Bug Chef,” who fried, sautéed and baked bugs for a gawking group of elementary school–age kids. Never was a science unit so memorable!

When Jonathan got older, I based history study on literature, not a textbook. So each weekend I logged on to the library’s website and requested the books, videos, music and other materials we would need for the coming week. After reading a Shakespeare play, at age 13, for example, and looking at visual renderings of English theaters during the Elizabethan period, Jonathan would watch a video of the play to make history come alive.

If essays required observational writing or a stack of reference books, we would stuff our school materials into backpacks at home and spend a couple of hours at the library. Homeschooling has been completely doable on a single wage-earner’s income largely because we have received so much for free from our library. We would never have been able to peruse the oversize art books of long-gone artists’ works, listen to Gypsy music and ancient Hebrew chants, or read the vast breadth of books that have been the pedestal of Jonathan’s learning.

Today, as a teenager, Jonathan seems to most desperately appreciate the library’s high-speed Internet service, which we can’t acquire on our rural property. And we both still breathe in the refreshing change of scenery. On gloomy days or when school feels grittily tedious, we both perk up like potted plants being watered when one of us suggests, “How about going to the library?”



School’s In by Tammy Thomas, Stuarts Draft, VA
My public library literally helped put me through college! I was 34, and I had chosen to forgo school years before in order to work part-time and raise my children. But now that my sons would be entering high school, I started thinking that I wanted to be an English teacher. I had always enjoyed reading and writing, and loved volunteering at my sons’ school. Still, money was tight and becoming a teacher seemed like an impossibility. Yet I couldn’t let go of the dream. I went to an open house at a nearby community college, just to get more information. I ended up taking a leap of faith and enrolling. I applied for financial aid and student loans for the tuition costs, and then collected the syllabi for my classes. That’s when I realized that I had made a serious miscalculation: I hadn’t counted on the cost of textbooks. They could cost anywhere from $50 to $250 each per semester, and I always needed at least three. For a family on an extremely tight budget, this expense was a real problem.

I looked around for used books, but even those were more than I could comfortably afford. So I decided to go to the Augusta County Library on a mission to keep my college dream alive. I got mixed results. While the library did have many of the books on the recommended reading list, they didn’t have the textbooks.

I decided to talk to the reference librarians to see if they had any suggestions. They explained that they might be able to get some of the books from college libraries in the state by means of an interlibrary loan. The suggestion was a lifesaver! From the time I started college until the time I graduated, I relied on interlibrary loans to help me get almost all of my textbooks. This saved me thousands of dollars.

In August 2000, I began my career as an eighth-grade language arts teacher, and I now also chair our school’s English department. I’ve also just completed my master’s degree in education administration, using interlibrary loans for my books, of course! My relationship with the public library has continued to grow. As a teacher, I view the library as a great community partner. Every year I arrange for the librarians to come to my school and tell my students about the wonderful books and programs available to them. In the summer, I have my summer-school students participate in the library’s summer reading program. The children enjoy hearing about exciting new books, and they love winning prizes for the hours they invest in reading. The library has been a wonderful resource for enriching my students’ learning experience, and a great tool for a teacher with limited means. Last summer I volunteered at the library, which is suffering from funding cuts, to help repay the librarians for all they have done for me, my family and my students. It is my hope that my students, like me, will develop a lifelong love for their library.



Instant Entertainment by Stefanie Schmidt, Las Vegas
Being single and on a pretty tight budget, most of my expenses go toward necessities like rent, groceries and utilities. I don’t have much left over at the end of the month for fun stuff. When I moved three years ago from Long Beach, California, to Las Vegas to work as an educator at a dolphin habitat, I didn’t know anyone in Vegas. The Clark County Library became my sanctuary. As a child, I loved the library—I could get a new book every week and have a quiet place to do my homework with all the references at my fingertips. Every book I read was like a new adventure, and I couldn’t wait to finish one book and check out another. What I didn’t realize until I moved to Las Vegas was how much free stuff there is at the library. I researched my new city, searched for a new place to live and even joined the library’s book club. Through the book club I began to meet people, and it didn’t cost me a dime because I just checked out the monthly book selection. I no longer felt alone—the book club and the library helped me find friends in a town full of strangers.

Now, three years later, I still go to book club meetings, and since going out to the movies is expensive, some Saturday nights I go to the library f or its free movie screening. I can relax with a great show and socialize, too. I’ve also discovered the computer room. When the cable lines at my apartment went down for a few weeks, I thought I was going to be lost without the Internet, but the library came to my rescue. I just flashed my library card and I had instant access to my email. The library helps me so much by offering all these things. Not only has it saved me lots of money, but it enriches my life through my reading, meeting new people and having a lot of fun with the great programs. This has proven priceless.



Fix it for Free by Cassandra Robbers, Almond, NY
Not long after we decided to give up the hustle-bustle of suburban life in Buffalo, New York, and move to the tiny town of Almond, I found myself heading to the local library for an unlikely reason: Becoming a homeowner turned out to be much more expensive than my husband and I had imagined, especially since our “new” home was built in 1880. Luckily, the Almond 20th Century Club Library was stocked with books on how to do just about anything and everything— plumbing projects, tile projects, painting techniques, landscaping. I even installed a new shower in my bathroom including the piping, and built a coffee table from scratch with a tiled mosaic top. You see, when it comes to being frugal, I’m at the head of the class! My husband is a truck driver and the sole breadwinner for our family of six, so I find ways to squeeze an extra few dollars out of everything. I was very excited to take advantage of my new squeezable resource—the library, which is small but has proven to be fantastic. It’s even within walking distance of our home, so I don’t have to spend gas money!

My love of the library doesn’t stop at the fix-it section. I’ve learned so much from books on sewing, cooking and gardening. Last year we had our first family garden, and the tips I read helped me turn my thumb a little greener and get my first garden off to a good start. I have also learned how to make wine, create extracts for baking and build wood trellises! This year, I’ll be checking out a field guide to edible wild plants, since the children and I are going to teach ourselves how to forage. Perhaps what I love best is the library’s director, Tammy Kokot, and her aide, Valerie Ewald, who always go the extra mile. I once asked Val for a book on shoemaking. There wasn’t one, but then on my way home, Val called and said she had found something. It was a chapter in a larger book and she just happened to remember it was about shoemaking—amazing. Tammy has sent me many links on ways to grow my custom-designed handbag business ( CaseyWasHere.com). She has put me in touch with local resources for financial help and business assistance. Because of the people who’ve helped me and the things I’ve learned at the library, I’ve been able to get my business up and running without spending a lot. I’ve also saved nearly $400 in home repairs in the past year. I’ve lived in many towns and cities, but Almond, New York, is where my family and I will stay. The library and the members of this community have made us feel so welcome, and through that, we have finally found home.

changes to template

I changed the template and some fonts and colors. I changed it to red, with some dark yellow. Its still a work in progress, I'd like to add some other colors. If anyone wants to change anything go ahead, but I think the way the blog is read is better.
Also, What exactly is the title of our blog going to be?

I need to discuss some issues with you the group in class tonight!

Serving underserved youth.

I found an interesting article about linking gaming to underserved youth. Levine, Jenny, Library Technology Reports; Sep/Oct2006, Vol. 42 Issue 5, p10-17, 8p: the article "discusses reasons why libraries should consider offering gaming resources to patrons despite their perceived lack of educational value and the fact that most people participate in gaming from their homes. The author argues that the traditional notion of libraries as purveyors of books is not accurate today, and that modern libraries offer far more in the way of educational and informational media; games are another extension of this trend. The most fundamental of library services--the promotion of information literacy--can benefit from the incorporation of gaming by facilitating outreach to members of the community who would otherwise not enter the library." I could not copy/paste into the post, as it is pdf. The article is in EBSCOhost.

profile

I added a picture of myself to my profile. How do I make the picture show as a follower of the blog? I used my "spam filter" picture. I call it my spam filter, because anyone who sends me a message wanting to meet me after seeing this picture is either spam or a pervert. :-)

Today I finally figured out how to add a graphic and I added a cartoon. I thought I already did a profile, but I redid it. I added a blogger logo to the top of our page.

Changed the background

I changed the background to light green, about as light as they have. I also changed the font to Trebuchet and I think made it a little larger.

New Template

I changed the template.
I also changed a few fonts...
What do you think????
Maria K

Hi everyone,

On the directions for our Blog, it says each one of us must change something about the template. I changed the color of the template of the Blog Header to blue. I think it makes it look more futuristic. I hope this is what was meant.

By the way Shawndy, thank you so much for finishing up the slide show up.

Accomplishments!

My contribution for today were:

1) Got Carmen's slide show up and running;
2) Added the capability of putting links in posts;
3) Reconfigured the picture on the main page;

I'm not sure if we decided on a topic or not, and I'd like to get that cleared up. I would be OK with either the tech direction or teen services - somebody pick one! :)

I'd also like to propose a separate message board or group page through BlackBoard so we can post questions/answers for each other. There are several independent message boards we can use, so let me know if you're interested and I'll follow up on it. I don't know how the group pages work in BlackBoard, but I'm game for that too. I just think it would be easier to have a "behind-the-scenes" method of communication. I know there's also groups in google, so that might be an option too. Lots of options! :)

Have a great night!
Shawndy

Hi Jerry,
I read you were having some issues with posting your profile. This is all new to me too, but this is what worked for me.

When you first log into Blogger, it usually opens up on Dashboard. Look on the top, left-hand side, it should read VIEW PROFILE, EDIT PROFILE, EDIT PHOTO, and EDIT NOTIFICATION. Click on EDIT PROFILE. There, you will find a series of blocks with choices to check off and several questions relating to PRIVACY, IDENTITY, Interests, About Me, all the way down to Favorite Movies. You can answer each question by entering text in each box. Once you are done, click SAVE PROFILE.

After you are done, I would also recommend you click on VIEW PROFILE so you can see what you just entered looks like. If it's too much, or not enough, you can go back to change it by clicking back on EDIT PROFILE and changing what part you want.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I have reviewed the BLOG instructions. We are each supposed to provide a profile of ourselves on the BLOG. I cannot find anywhere on the blog site to start this. HELP!

Group: It appears that the posts are by the week. I am doing a powerpoint for LT130 relating to the ILS or Integrated Library System. Since it appears that "tech" is our theme, I was stunned when I came across alibrary software website that has seven pages of condensed product information for libraries. If anyone is interested,I will try to get the site address for you.,

A Library in the Philippines

I posted a new picture. I found it through google images at Library in the Philippines. I thought it looked really cool. I was first looking for one from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but could not find one.

Jennifer

Hi Guys,
I sent you all an email via Blackboard regarding our blog. I am having trouble importing the mini Clip Art presentation I created. I hope you guys like it and moreso, that at least one of you can shed some light as to how to import it onto our Dashboard.

Thanks

Hi everyone. I was trying to post the "Shift Happpens" You Tube Video clip as a gadget. When I preview it on dashboard, it comes up. However, when I sing-in to view it, it's some other guitar video. I read on the help page that sometimes it takes a bit to upload the video. I'm gonna check back in a couple of hours and see if it has gone through.

Oh yeah, I aslo think we should focus on Banned Books as our topic.

ALA LINK

I added a link to the ALA website. It always has interesting articles!
MK

Book Trailers

Hi all:

Maria post a link to some book trailers...
http://www.smusd.org/167520512111715490/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=62423

Feel free to explore or change it if you wish

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I added a picture to the assignments page and rearranged the layout so that the pages are in a line across the top.

Is everyone ok with the image at the top (book with the wires coming out of it), or should I look elsewhere for an image. The current one is generic to blogging about books, but I'd be happy to replace it with one that is more suitable to our blog topic when we pick one.

Blogs/Wikis set up DUE

While in class last Thursday, I noticed that some people in our group had information about what it due with the blog work this week, but I haven't found it online. Is it a paper Linda gave out or did I miss something?

And does anyone have any idea how to make this post appear under the assignments page? I thought I was posting it there, but it showed up on the home page.

New Hyperlink

I added another hyperlink. It will take you directly to a library technical services URL that contains alot of information on cataloging

My post for this week

In addition to suggesting a theme for our blog, I have added a page designated LT130 wherein we can post assignments or progress statements.

NEW LINK

Hi All:
I added a new link to Palomar Library!

Hi. On You Tube, I couldn't find the Shift Happen 2.0 version we saw in class, but I did find one that happens to be it in both English and Spanish.

topic

Suggestions for our main topic?

Shawndy added an image and slogan to the top.

links

I have added "Interesting Links". Post your favorites!