Monday, March 31, 2008

Thing#11: Library Thing

I think as a librarian this is one of the most interesting sites I have been exposed to so far! I love keeping up with current young adult fiction, so I think this will be a great resource. Plus it will help me answer the question "What should I read next?" since it's reccomendations will be based on what I have read in the past. How fun is that?!

Melody's Musings

Visual Poetry - ImageChef.com

Thing #10: Image Creators


How cute! I love ComicstripGenerator because it is so fun and easy. I like that you can search the images and find one that is just right! Students would have fun making up quirky things for their favorite characters to say. What a great way to get creative juices flowing! Plus, they even have superheroes - who doesn't like that?!
I also made an ImageChef picture in honor of Earth Day. That was fun! I think LA teachers could use this to help students make an easy shape poem. Use it for Poetry Month! :)
Kids love the images that surround them, and would love the chance to create their own to show their creativity as well as demonstrating the skills their teachers want them to practice. This would help spice things up in the classroom as the springtime doldrums set in.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Thing #9: Finding your wise circle

The trouble with blogs is that everyone thinks they are an expert and that everyone should listen to them! The great thing about blogs is that your thoughts might matter to someone, and through this great tool your voice is heard! So, how do I choose who to listen to and who to pass up? If I don't find the right bloggers, I may end up missing out on something that could really impact me.

So how does one navigate through what people put out there? If I'm looking for a blog, I think Google Blog Search is the easiest tool out there. It finds blogs that relate to any topic you can think of. I found so many great blogs about being a mom that I'm going to have to go back later and pick my favorites! Check out Vanessa Van Petten's Best mom blogs posting!

For professional blogs, I turned to the EduBlog award winners to start. I found: Tipline and
TechLearning to add to my RSS feed. Each of these blogs adds a new tip each day which I thought would be wonderful resources that I could read at my leisure as compared to a listserv which would inundate my "in box". I also found that SBISD's very own Vaughn had won "Best librarian/library" award! She IS fun to read and always has something valuable to say. Way to go Vaughn!

It seems as though it will be an ongoing search. As I read more blogs, I figure I will find more people - and blogs - I like and trust.