The Fabulous Mashup (Thing 5)

After learning about what a "Mashup" was, I had a fabulous idea of how I could use Flickr and with my school website. Like so many other Web 2.o features that can be imbedded into a blog or other web presence, I can see the Flickr/Mashup combination adding to the "living" web presence. A website that doesn't change or invite interaction runs the risk of becoming stagnant.

So my idea - What about advertising reading and book titles with a Mashup? I found a small collection of READ posters from the American Library Association Staff's Flickr site to illustrate what I might do with my own Read posters or book advertisements.



This slideshow was created with the Flickr Slideshow Generator.

A "Flickr" of Knowledge (Thing 4, part 2)

Photosharing and Tagging in the Classroom

Where to begin? That is the big question. Sometimes there is a lightning strike of clarity that seems to come with new technology and where and how it can fit into the classroom, but it didn't hit me immediately with Flickr and photosharing. It seemed like the sort of tool with classroom application, but I the vision was blurry. This is when the networking capabilities of Web 2.0 spark into existence.

What I found? Exciting ideas!


Writing Prompts

"Flicktion" (term to describe writing stories about photos)

Geo-tagging

Discussion of Intellectual Property Rights

Virtual Field Trips

Slideshows

Photo Mapping (Using "Notes" to label parts of a photograph)

Documenting School Events

Caution? Is it any safer than going to Google images? As I explore and share possible uses of Flickr, like anything else on the Internet, there are questions the notes of caution. Protecting students and creating a safe online environment is a top priority and from this there are problems with posting any images that identify or name students, monitoring for appropriate comments, and controlling privacy settings. The social and interactive aspects of Web 2.0 make the Flickr more responsive to keeping current, but it also makes it unpredictable.

Here are some of articles I am coming back to for more "Flickr" ing ...

http://www.jakesonline.org/Flickr_handout_ILTCE.pdf
http://www.edutopia.org/my-friend-flickr
http://k12online.wm.edu/usingflickr/usingflickr.html
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=172302903

"Flickr" -ing and Fluttering (Thing 4, part 1)

Using Flickr, Creates the Story

Photo available from Flickr under Creative Commons licensing by Sarey.

So, first I loved the word "Avatar," now the cleverness of "Flickr" provides a little extra charm. I imagine the flitter of the flash on a camera, or the quick wink of each picture in a slide show.

On a very basic level, "Flickr" is an organizational tool for our lives in the new Web 2.0 world. For years, I have taken digital pictures and they have been filed away into the boondocks of my personal computer's hard drive. In only a few moments with Flickr, I can not only back them up, share them, and catalog them, I can also build a community from them.

The possibilities for Web 2.0 evolving in my personal life are quickly apparent through "Flickr." For a recent family member's wedding, I can create an album and invite family to share in the captured moments. They can also add their pictures to the events, share stories (comments) related to the images, and help organize the images with tags. In the end, creating a place for these family pictures and inviting others to share in them, makes the pictures more powerful and more meaningful.

Pictures that once disappeared into the darkness of my computer's hard drive become a community of stories.

Make a Meal of RSS Feeds (Thing 3)

Yum!

Bloglines keeps the cupboards full of delicious updates and it was easy to get started. I'll be trying to use it as my new "home page" on the Internet.

With many personal, professional, and community interests to track, it is quickly overwhelming. Bloglines (or other RSS readers) do the hunting and gathering for updated information that I would once have had to do on my own.

Some RSS feeds that I am tracking in my Bloglines reader include:

Newspaper Headlines (Local and National)

Blogs (Library Trends, Technology Trends, Book Reviews, Grants, etc.)

Podcasts (Book Talks - A favorite, Nancy Keane's "Book Talks Quick and Simple")

Auctions (Tracking the listings for an artist that I like.)

And I'm looking forward to discovering more.

Frequent updates are essential to keeping today's web presences relevant to today's Internet users. For this reason, I love that Blogger makes it so easy to add RSS feeds to my blog.They keep a blog or website changing, even if I am on a break, with updates from other individuals who share an interest and focus that can contribute to the focus of my blog or website.

Web 2.0: Why do I care? (Thing 2)

When thinking of my role as a School Library Media Specialist and why Web 2.o is important to me, I have been reading up on Web 2.0 and some key words and ideas really stuck with me. Formost among them were the words of Dr. Wendy Schultz when she says that "Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities" (http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/6.htm). We are immersed in a paradigm shift of how community is structured for our daily activities and we must adapt and adopt elements of these communities to remain a relevant. The boundaries of these communities have become dynamic and the people we serve even more so.

In an educational perspective, it is tapping into the communication tools and resources that make up the Web 2.0 world to extend learning opportunities beyond the school day. In the library, it is about extending access, resources, and connections in the language of our patrons.

I have also learned along the way that it is much more than just adding a blog to my Media Center website, it is also about leading people to using that online resource and interacting with that resource. I hope that as I continue on my own Web 2.0 journey, that I am discovering new tools as well as new connections into the online community as it continues to evolve and become more imbedded in our daily activities.

Be Yourself with an Avatar! (Thing 1, Part 2)

I love the idea of being an online Avatar (A graphical representation of a person in the virtual world). It is a word that just sounds full of purpose and meaning. In such a visual world it is an exciting idea to create a visual representation of who we are with reflective consideration on what parts of ourself (inside and out) we want to present to the world.

Ready to Explore! (Thing 1, Part 1)

Welcome to my blog. I have used blogger before, but I am really looking forward to trying new features and exploring other Web 2.0 tools. I hope that you will leave comments or suggestions on this blog on what you find here.