#23:Summarize Your Thoughts about This Program

I can't believe I'm through all 23 things. Now the work and play has really begun in keeping up with the different sites I have discovered and also showing teachers at school some of the "Things" I've learned.

What was my favorite discoveries on this learning journey?
My favorite discoveries were the many different sites in thing #10 dealing with the online image generators. I had fun making different cartoons and captions and getting some ideas for this coming school year. I also made a trading card of my dear Mariah (piebald dachshund) for my vet after she died this summer. He loved it and it made me cry. I can't wait to finish my version of the The Library Show I picked up in del.icio.us.

How has this program assisted or affected my lifelong learning goals?
This process has shown me that there is so much more to learn in the field of technology. I found out how little I really knew before I started these series of lessons. I hope I can successfully share some of my new-found knowledge to my colleagues at work.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised me?
I was so excited when I successfully made and transferred my podcast to my blog. I called my roommate in to see my masterpiece. I think just the vast information and knowledge I gained form this program was a surprise in itself. I feel much more computer and Internet literate than I did 2 months ago.

What could be done differently to improve this program's format or concept?
The whole Library2Play was very well put together. I did hate to see so many teachers and librarians give up before they finished. I don't know how we could encourage these bloggers along since we don't know who they are or what school they are at.

If Spring Branch ISD offered another discovery program like Library2Play in the future would I choose to participate?
In a heartbeat, I would participate. It beat sitting around all summer being lazy. At first I felt rushed for time but by the time I really got into the process it became more interesting and fun. This is an excellent way to become more techno-savvy and not feel as much pressure. Thank you SBISD of contacting Houston ISD and allowing us to participate!

How would I describe my learning experience in ONE WORD or ONE SENTENCE, so SBISD can use my words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
It is had to choose just one word. The first word that came to mind comes from the Master
Card commercials and that would be PRICELESS. The things I learned this summer have really opened my eyes to what is available on the Internet. I am so glad I had the chance to learn new technology that I can learn from and also have some fun.

#22; Nings

Nings is definitely an interesting website. I could not believe all the different nings that have been created. I have never even heard of nings before and there are thousands of them out in cyberspace. I wish the Nings website had a search bar. I went through the first 100 pages one by one which becomes tedious and time-consuming.

I am interested in Teacher Librarian Ning and Texas School Librarians Ning. I plan to spend more time in each site after I complete 23 Things. I also tagged a couple more nings into del.icio.us.

I talked to one of my fellow North Region librarians and setting up a ning for our area sounds like a good challenge for us. We only get to meet together two times a year and this would be a great outlet to share and keep in touch.

#21: Podcasts and Audiobooks

I made my first podcast! Boy am I proud of myself. I don't know how much I really like Photostory because I wanted to add some text to some of the pictures and could not figure out how or if it was possible.

#20: YouTube, TeacherTube and Zamzar

I have spent entirely too much time on YouTube and TeacherTube. Watching silly videos can keep one at the computer late into the night. I see uses for teachers, but we all must be very careful as to what we download. Watch the complete selection before letting students see it. I found a library video on another 23Things blog and towards the beginning profanity is used. We elementary librarians and teachers cannot forget to preview.

I chose a video from Y0uTube about Marc Brown's Arthur getting his library card. This will be good to show students at the beginning of September for National Library Card Month.

From TeacherTube I found a variety od videos for the library and for the first grace teachers that have asked for a video on American symbols. Since there are 5 of them I will just list and link them for you.

1. Elementary Library Orientation
2. Genre by Hannah and Damian and Alan
3. How to find a book in the library
4. How to Enter a Classroom and Avoid Having your Teacher Turn into a Mutant Freak
5. American Symbols Photo Story

I haven't figured out Zamzar yet, but I'm sure in due time this too will come with ease.

#19: Web 2.0 Awards List

I have been looking around and playing on Web 2.0 Awards List for almost 24 hours. There is so much to look through. The biggest problem I came across is that a major majority of the sites are not kid friendly. It's sad that so much has to have sex, violence, and profanity in it. Society has sunk awfully low to think that these topics are of such importance. I was also impressed to see that many sites we have been learningabout are on the awards list.

Lulu sounds interesting for home and school use. Classes could make field trip picture books with photos taken with a digital camera. I already found a book by a local person that sounds interesting.

Mango was fun to play with in learning simple phrases in a variety of languages. I didn't make it very far in Russian. The tutor spoke fast and the words were long and strange looking.

Wetpaint looks like a good choice for developing wikis. There is a wonderful video that explains how the website works. It is presented in very simple terms.

Google Maps seems like fun for setting up trips that I can at dream of taking. I've done a lot of this over 10 years ago and really could have used a site like this. I believe students and teachers will really enjoy Live Maps. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at bird's-eye views of historical places and structures. I hope to use it in the library from time to time. My favorite was the picture of the Eiffel Tower and the shadow it cast over the Seine River.

Pandora is a great music site. While copying and pasting the URL I was serenaded by Michael Crawford, one of the artists I put on my list.

I'm sure I will find more to enjoy and share with staff members at my school. Most sites can't be used by elementary students without adult supervision but putting some like MyHeritage can be tagged or placed on the favorites list.

#18: Online Productivity Tools

I spent quit a bit of time on thing 18. I spent time on Open Office and even downloaded it to my desktop. I started a Power Point that comes from a site I found on the Internet. I'll have to search for it and then upload it to my blog at a later time. I'll put mine up also when I finish.

I like Open Office because it is free and is available to match up with a variety of versions of Microsoft. I'm not sure about Apple because I never work on one, but that would be great if it did. This will allow students to work at home, classroom, library, etc. and be able to find their work.

I also played around with Google Doc. I tried to put the Power Point presentation on library rules, regulations, and skills, but could not get shapes or color on the slides. I was also not able to get different lines to come in separately. I got all or nothing.

I'm looking forward to sharing this with my teachers and students.

#17: Rollyo

This is a very interesting site. I made a Rollyo for "History Fair" since I am in charge of it for my school. I can see this as being great in keeping the students focused on what they need to be doing instead of relying on millions of Google hits. Here is my Rollyo site under Lefty is my Rollyo. I also got help from Bruce's video he made about Rollyo.