Thursday, December 17, 2009

Final Post

As per Dr. Farmer's request, I am posting about some of the readings I enjoyed the most. Though I found the reading within the texts interesting, I must admit that I enjoyed the interactive readings (i.e. 23 Things) far more useful.
The first text that I enjoyed related to Creative Commons. Since a librarian is responsible for spreading the word regarding copyright. I found it quite appropriate to discuss copyright and the internet. I loved the idea that people, mostly teachers, are openly posting ideas so that people like me can use their great ideas and tweak them to suit my needs. The goal of a library is not to make money, it is to share information. Creative Commons follows that philosophy. The point is to share information not to make money, but to enrich others' learning experience.
The other reading that I found most was the thing that I chose to do my presentation on...delicious.com. I use this website ALL the time. I wish I had known about it so much longer ago. I thought the 23 Things did a great job of introducing me to the ease of the site. From there, it provided me with a list of other websites that provided me with more research. I chose to read those additional readings and feel that I am now a Delicious.com expert. In fact, I am giving an extended inservice presentation to my colleagues next month to introduce them to the website. So all in all, it was a success. The point was to learn, and whether I wanted to or not...I did :0)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Module #5


  • What one thing did you learn, and what will you do differently as a result?

  • I don't think I could narrow it to just one thing that I learned. I felt that the knowledge that I acquired over these past weeks researching assistive technology has given me a new found energy when working with students with disabilities. I think the most valuable aspect of this training was the exposure to the devices that are available and where to find them. Prior to this training, I was relying solely upon the recommendations of my administrators. I no longer feel helpless in the sea of information. I have already begun my budgeting for the 2010/2011 school year. On that budget I will be adding some assistive technology such as a microphone and possibly some more software to utilize with my SMARTBoard.

  • Do you plan to recommend this tutorial? If so, please elaborate.

  • I have already recommended this tutorial. About halfway through the 23 things, my administrator began an informal technology session on blogging. I shared the 23 Things as a means for her to be exposed to more options. After further meeting, I introduced her to the assistive technology modules. She was quite enthused, as she was chair of learning support prior to her move to administration. Her and I are hoping to work together to present an after school inservice raising teacher's awareness.

  • Do you plan to read or recommend some of the Recommended Reading books or add them to your collection? Will you link our LibraryThing list to your blog? If you have a book recommendation or have read one of the books that does not include a review, please send us your own review so we can share it.

  • I have already read a number of books from the list including, Flowers for Algernon, A Child Called "It," and The Giver, all of which were memorable books from the past. I would like to read more books on the list, as I thoroughly enjoyed the books I have already read. In addition, I feel that this list would be quite useful to the library staff in my school district, and I plan on sharing it with all of the librarians.
    The link to the LibraryThing blog is:
    http://www.librarything.com/catalog/CSLA2Team