Originally uploaded by tania.sheko
Here’s a dilemma. I wanted to resize my Grumpy Blackboard but could only add it by blogging through Flickr which means I would have to delete my previous post and copy and paste the text into the new one. All good and fine, BUT I would lose my comments. Wouldn’t I?? What do you think?
Without warning a few minutes ago, I took one of those surprising memory trips that you’re not prepared for – the Proustian type – where something (smell, taste, tune) triggers a zooming back in time, recalling these experiences. But in this case it was a multiple zoom . Reflecting about Web 2.0, and the alarming acceleration of technology in teaching and learning, I was transported backwards through all the stages of writing tools.
Some highlights (lowlights in some cases):
using dinosaur computers whilst translating German engineering content for a pneumatic tool company (memory: losing a whole day’s work regularly);
thinking that whiteboards were fantastic – no dust! (and then accidentally writing on the smartboards with normal marker with the whole class screaming in horror)
getting excited when I purchased an electric typewriter with a corrector ribbon!
getting red and black hands replacing a typewriter ribbon;
the excitement of my first ball-point pen;
slurping up ink from a bottle with my new fountain pen (and needing much blotting paper; remember the blue stain on the inside of the middle finger?)
(here’s a dinosaur:) starting off the day in grade 1 by drawing (or trying to draw) a perfect circle with chalk on a little blackboard and never being picked for display of most perfect circle.
Why have I put this cluster map in you ask? A colleague was telling me she wanted to insert a cluster map (not travel) as a widget but that it wiped out the other things in the right hand column. I just wanted to know how to put one in so I made a new post.
I visited these places soooo many years (decades) ago. I haven’t actually stepped out of the country for so long. Really, it’s time to go again..
Originally uploaded by LuChOeDu
I thought I’d share with you some tips for a good blog which are posted on the Cool Cat Teacher blog: Ten habits of bloggers that win
Which of these do you think are most important?
By the way, I’d love to hear from all of you out there – do you find blogging addictive/frustrating/waste of time/superficial/informative/social/all of the above? I’m looking forward to hearing from you…
Feed
Originally uploaded by tania.sheko
I’ve looked at both Bloglines and Google Reader, and I have to say that I’m a little confused about differences between them. To get a real feel for each of them, I’ve registered with both. I’ll give myself a bit of time figuring out features and maybe then I’ll decide which one suits me.
Folders are a must otherwise there’s an overwhelming list of subscriptions which makes me feel like screaming. There’s a good chance I’ll cut down my subscriptions after the initial eagerness to grab everything in sight.
Not sure if I’m going to like the fact that Bloglines doesn’t save posts that have been read.
I thought I’d try another image generator – Image Chef. I have to say, I really dislike the ‘frames’. I definitely won’t be using any of those.
Decided to go with a cinema sign. Some of these could look good printed out and hung up around the library, eg. road signs with book information or directions.
I’ve tried to centre this image but so far it hasn’t worked. I’ll try one last time and won’t know if it has worked until I save this. We’ll see.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/smrrZpbvI20" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Watch this government career film from 1946. Yes, the librarian's world has become a different place, but some things never change. Do you recognise the young man with the wide-eyed, hopeful face, confident that the librarian will make his book magically appear.
Notice that all the librarians are women but the administrator is a man.
Have a look at 11 other library YouTube videos
Originally uploaded by Sonja & family
That reminded me of the old Moomintroll books I read as a child. Did anyone read those? Can you still buy them?
Originally uploaded by enricod
I found an interesting blog connected to a Library 2.0 Symposium in Finland based in the Abo Akademi. If you can trust my limited Swedish, it’s a Swedish university in Finland. I found the statements about Web 2.0 in libraries interesting so I’ve included a paragraph:
‘The main goal of this project is to deepen the understanding of the interactive information source called Web 2.0 focusing on knowledge, experience, collaboration, and creation of new contents. The role of the information professionals and the libraries (Library 2.0) in this new dimension of the information chain is crucial. We need to put libraries in a stronger position allowing them to respond more quickly and flexibly to user needs, and to new challenges and development. Through this project we aim to develop the skills needed to manage the new information platform and foresee the development of needed competencies in the information society. The new techniques demand computer, social, and network competencies and may result in new kind of digital divide as well as creating new forms of information overload. We need to shift our understanding of the information society. It is not only a question of shaping order in information chaos but understanding how individuals shape their own personalized information spheres’.
I think this sums it up!
Originally uploaded by kate e. did
I’ve been ‘cataloguing’ my books on Librarything for a while now. It appeals to my sense of order and love of storing data neatly. If I’m looking for book information for a talk, instead of looking through masses of separate word documents in folders saved all over the place, there it all is in one spot. Each book is instantly recognisable by the book cover – you can choose the exact cover you have in your library – and at a glance you can peruse for genre or keyword by looking at the tags. Bibliographic information is there. Two things I particularly like is that you can find out what others think about the book (social data – click on the icon of two peope under ‘shared’ on the right) and put in your own synopsis or review. Usually I choose one or more reviews from journals or blogs or whatever, and copy them in. Not sure if that’s a problem with copyright, but it’s just so that I’ve got everything at hand when I need to talk about a book. The comments by others is a good alternative to the more formal reviews of journals. Down to earth. It’s a place where you’re allowed to say you couldn’t stand the book.
