Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Week 3, Thing 5, Round 3
I found wordle.net not too long ago, and got a little obsessed with wordles. In addition to using them as subject endcaps for my book carts, I also made up some wordles for books we have in the library and have them posted around. Some of our other teachers saw them and are using them for vocabulary lessons in Spanish and math.
Week 3, Thing 5, Round 2
My first attempt at posting pictures from Flickr to my blog. This is a picture of what happens when your school is undergoing renovation and you have to move to temporary quarters for a year or two. Had to pack 2/3 of our books and put them in storage. The rest are now what we're calling books a la cart - they are all on mobile carts. It's kind of like having my own litle bookmobile, minus the really cool Winnebago. It makes for a really flexible library space!
Week 3, Things 5 & 6
Had my first go with Flickr this weekend, and played with a bunch of the apps that are available. I can't wait to create a mock motivational poster (mainly because they remind me of the ones available online for The Office). The Experimental Colr Pickr reminds me of the hue search in AP Images, but it's so much easier to use. Beyond basic colors, I struggle to define the hue that I want in the AP database, but when I can see it on the color field, I know it immediately and using the color field gives you so many options in terms of shades. And the photos it finds are beautiful. Wish I had that kind of talent with a camera. I'm also going to give the Jigsaw Puzzle maker a try - it would be cool to do that with cover art from a book for displays in the library (note to self - must check copyright rules first...). I'm curious about why there's no PA School Libraries group on Flickr, especially since there are plenty of school librarians in this course.
I'm going to attempt a photo posting and the rest of the stuff for my assignments this week at home tonight (unless the rest of the Phillies game goes on as scheduled tonight). Too bad all of the fun stuff we get to try for this class is blocked from school. I should have called the blog 'Behind the Firewall'.
I'm going to attempt a photo posting and the rest of the stuff for my assignments this week at home tonight (unless the rest of the Phillies game goes on as scheduled tonight). Too bad all of the fun stuff we get to try for this class is blocked from school. I should have called the blog 'Behind the Firewall'.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Week 2, Thing 3
Lifelong Learning
I think that by being a teacher, you are by nature a lifelong learner. I learn things from my students constantly, even when it's inadvertent. Especially when it comes to technology - I probably wouldn't even know about half of the new stuff out there if I hadn't heard about it or been shown it by a student. Sure, it makes me feel really old sometimes when a 12 year old looks at me like I'm an idiot for not knowing something, but then when you show it to someone else you get to look like a tech wizard (which, while being about the furthest thing from the truth, isn't necessarily a bad thing for others to think...)
Anyway, totally off topic there. The habit I have the biggest problem with is definitely to view problems as challenges. When something challenging comes up, I want to deal with it and get it fixed RIGHT NOW. Savoring the learning experience it provides isn't something that fits nicely into my hectic little world, or with my personality, for that matter. I can ususally work stuff out for myself if I give it enough time and energy, but I tend to focus totally on the problem at hand to the exclusion of everything else. And stress myself out in the process. If my mom and my elementary school report cards are to be believed, I've been that way my whole life.
The rest of the habits come pretty naturally. Just looking at the massive list of bookmarks I've created indicates that I've got the whole "create a learning toolbox" thing down.
I think that by being a teacher, you are by nature a lifelong learner. I learn things from my students constantly, even when it's inadvertent. Especially when it comes to technology - I probably wouldn't even know about half of the new stuff out there if I hadn't heard about it or been shown it by a student. Sure, it makes me feel really old sometimes when a 12 year old looks at me like I'm an idiot for not knowing something, but then when you show it to someone else you get to look like a tech wizard (which, while being about the furthest thing from the truth, isn't necessarily a bad thing for others to think...)
Anyway, totally off topic there. The habit I have the biggest problem with is definitely to view problems as challenges. When something challenging comes up, I want to deal with it and get it fixed RIGHT NOW. Savoring the learning experience it provides isn't something that fits nicely into my hectic little world, or with my personality, for that matter. I can ususally work stuff out for myself if I give it enough time and energy, but I tend to focus totally on the problem at hand to the exclusion of everything else. And stress myself out in the process. If my mom and my elementary school report cards are to be believed, I've been that way my whole life.
The rest of the habits come pretty naturally. Just looking at the massive list of bookmarks I've created indicates that I've got the whole "create a learning toolbox" thing down.
Test Post
Just trying out this posting thing for the first time. I've never been a journal keeper or much for sharing my private thoughts and feelings, so keeping a blog is going to be a little bit painful for a while. Somehow I don't see my thoughts and sarcastic sense of humor translating well to the written word. We'll see!
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