I'll be the first to admit that I am a gadget fiend. I love new technology, and I love having it first. There is just something so satisfying about sharing cool new things with your friends, family, colleagues, and students. It is as if, somehow, because they are hearing it from you, you get to take responsibility for its awesomeness. It's totally ridiculous, but I digress...
When it comes to pricey toys that can be bought in stores, read: iPad, iPod, i[insertanythinghere], I am rarely, if ever, a first/early adopter. I don't have the mojo to keep up that style. But that is what is so great about Web 2.0...there's a lot of cool and nerdy stuff out there for (wait for it) ... FREE!
Having been out of the school setting (both K-12 and college) for a few years now, I've grown distant from the environment where new web tools are shared because they are useful, rather than just because they are cool. LIS 629 is all about integrating technology into the school library media program...and so it goes without saying that web tools are a main component. For a recent course task, I was charged with creating accounts on several new "Web 2.0" website accounts. This of course came with the excitement of browsing new tools and wanting to play with them right away. Since I love to share, those around me have been receiving my Web gems (virtual comic strips, glogs, animoto movies, virtual bookshelves, livebinders, etc) via e-mail as I tool around and discover how awesome they are.
But, what's even coolER (to reference the title of this entry) is that these tools can enhance education in ways that no textbooks could ever dream of. They are fun, easy to use, and adept at building 21st century skills. Kids learn how to collect information, analyze that information, and then use that information to create, produce, and discover something new. Then it's as easy as 1 2 3 to share it with their teachers, classmates, and parents.
When I show these tools to friends and colleagues, many of them are seeing them for the first time. Their reaction is always the same..."COOL!" I have always been that girl who likes to write a paper for school and then share it with her friends. If something interests me, I like to show it to others to get their feedback and open discussion. For years, my friends have been humoring me while reading my papers or looking at my projects. But now when I share my work, I get the feeling that my friends actually enjoy looking at my websites, wikis, blogs, glogs, prezis, wallwishers, etc - rather than resenting me for sharing.
The enlightening part of all of this is that my friends and colleagues are very successful people. They know how to use the web and do it every day for their jobs. These tools are new to them as adults, but kids in school are already mastering them. If we as school librarians keep up our end of the bargain, they'll continue to learn how to use new web tools as they hone their skills and ideals as 21st century learners, setting them up to be extremely prepared for their college and post-college careers.
So, having said all of that--below are some things that make this LBrarian cool(er). If this is the first time you are seeing them, then please enjoy :).
1. Netvibes - Coined as a "Personal Learning Network" (PLN), this will change your life. If you like to be organized while having everything that you use and visit in one place, this is for you. I think this is more a tool for teachers and librarians rather than students, though I have seen examples of school library websites created on Netvibes, and could definitely envision students using it to organize or display group work.
2. Animoto - Super easy way to make a video slideshow with music and titles. The 30 second versions are the only free ones - but if you haven't made one yet, go check it out now. I've seen examples of student creations, as well as informational animoto videos on school websites. The uses are really unlimited, here.
3. Diigo - I really wish Diigo was around when I was in high school/college...that is all I'll say.
4. Storybird - Create a virtual storybook! They look very professional - and can be used with all ages.
5. Glogster - Glogs seem to be all the rage right now. They are virtual posters with clickable links. Again, another tool that has about as many uses as you can imagine.
6. Prezi - Prezi kicks PowerPoints butt! A super engaging, focused, Web 2.0 way of presenting information. These are stories, not just lectures.
7. Bubbl.us - This is a brainstorming tool to make hierarchial chains, kind of like Webspiration and Wisemapping...only with bubbles. I don't know why, but I like it the best.
8. LiveBinders - Another fun, easy, virtual way to organize your virtual information! There really is no need to print and whole punch with live binders. You don't even need to right-click save to your desktop. Your binder is on the web, so you can get it anywhere.
9. Weebly - Want to make a website? This is one option. At first I felt it was kind of restrictive in the design/layout - but there are tricks to get around it.
10. Wallwisher - I won't lie to you...I'm still experimenting with this one. I see great potential for it - however, I've yet to see it in action. Anyone can create a wall, sort of like a bulletin board or online forum. Then, others can post sticky notes/messages/media to the wall, and comment on other posts. I think it could be a good way to collect comments and feedback from coworkers and parents...with potential use for student projects.
11. Make Beliefs Comix - I had students who hated to read and write, but loved to draw. They also loved graphic novels and comics. I could see this being used as a tool to encourage those same students to improve their writing/verbal skills. It is, point blank, fun.
12. Spell With Flickr - I'm having issues with it right now, which almost makes me want to not recomment it, but it's still awesome. I'll post an example if I can get it to work tonight (oh, technology, you have to bring me out of my blissful mood and remind me that in reality, you are finicky!). But, the short is that if you type in a word or phrase, it will search Flickr for images of the letters, which you can then customize to create a funky "word" picture.
As I like to work in by the number 12, I will stop here for now. There is much, much more out there, and I can't wait to find it and figure out how to use it in the library and in life.
If you have other cool tools that you'd like to share, please comment!
-LB
When it comes to pricey toys that can be bought in stores, read: iPad, iPod, i[insertanythinghere], I am rarely, if ever, a first/early adopter. I don't have the mojo to keep up that style. But that is what is so great about Web 2.0...there's a lot of cool and nerdy stuff out there for (wait for it) ... FREE!
Having been out of the school setting (both K-12 and college) for a few years now, I've grown distant from the environment where new web tools are shared because they are useful, rather than just because they are cool. LIS 629 is all about integrating technology into the school library media program...and so it goes without saying that web tools are a main component. For a recent course task, I was charged with creating accounts on several new "Web 2.0" website accounts. This of course came with the excitement of browsing new tools and wanting to play with them right away. Since I love to share, those around me have been receiving my Web gems (virtual comic strips, glogs, animoto movies, virtual bookshelves, livebinders, etc) via e-mail as I tool around and discover how awesome they are.
But, what's even coolER (to reference the title of this entry) is that these tools can enhance education in ways that no textbooks could ever dream of. They are fun, easy to use, and adept at building 21st century skills. Kids learn how to collect information, analyze that information, and then use that information to create, produce, and discover something new. Then it's as easy as 1 2 3 to share it with their teachers, classmates, and parents.
When I show these tools to friends and colleagues, many of them are seeing them for the first time. Their reaction is always the same..."COOL!" I have always been that girl who likes to write a paper for school and then share it with her friends. If something interests me, I like to show it to others to get their feedback and open discussion. For years, my friends have been humoring me while reading my papers or looking at my projects. But now when I share my work, I get the feeling that my friends actually enjoy looking at my websites, wikis, blogs, glogs, prezis, wallwishers, etc - rather than resenting me for sharing.
The enlightening part of all of this is that my friends and colleagues are very successful people. They know how to use the web and do it every day for their jobs. These tools are new to them as adults, but kids in school are already mastering them. If we as school librarians keep up our end of the bargain, they'll continue to learn how to use new web tools as they hone their skills and ideals as 21st century learners, setting them up to be extremely prepared for their college and post-college careers.
So, having said all of that--below are some things that make this LBrarian cool(er). If this is the first time you are seeing them, then please enjoy :).
1. Netvibes - Coined as a "Personal Learning Network" (PLN), this will change your life. If you like to be organized while having everything that you use and visit in one place, this is for you. I think this is more a tool for teachers and librarians rather than students, though I have seen examples of school library websites created on Netvibes, and could definitely envision students using it to organize or display group work.
2. Animoto - Super easy way to make a video slideshow with music and titles. The 30 second versions are the only free ones - but if you haven't made one yet, go check it out now. I've seen examples of student creations, as well as informational animoto videos on school websites. The uses are really unlimited, here.
3. Diigo - I really wish Diigo was around when I was in high school/college...that is all I'll say.
4. Storybird - Create a virtual storybook! They look very professional - and can be used with all ages.
5. Glogster - Glogs seem to be all the rage right now. They are virtual posters with clickable links. Again, another tool that has about as many uses as you can imagine.
6. Prezi - Prezi kicks PowerPoints butt! A super engaging, focused, Web 2.0 way of presenting information. These are stories, not just lectures.
7. Bubbl.us - This is a brainstorming tool to make hierarchial chains, kind of like Webspiration and Wisemapping...only with bubbles. I don't know why, but I like it the best.
8. LiveBinders - Another fun, easy, virtual way to organize your virtual information! There really is no need to print and whole punch with live binders. You don't even need to right-click save to your desktop. Your binder is on the web, so you can get it anywhere.
9. Weebly - Want to make a website? This is one option. At first I felt it was kind of restrictive in the design/layout - but there are tricks to get around it.
10. Wallwisher - I won't lie to you...I'm still experimenting with this one. I see great potential for it - however, I've yet to see it in action. Anyone can create a wall, sort of like a bulletin board or online forum. Then, others can post sticky notes/messages/media to the wall, and comment on other posts. I think it could be a good way to collect comments and feedback from coworkers and parents...with potential use for student projects.
11. Make Beliefs Comix - I had students who hated to read and write, but loved to draw. They also loved graphic novels and comics. I could see this being used as a tool to encourage those same students to improve their writing/verbal skills. It is, point blank, fun.
12. Spell With Flickr - I'm having issues with it right now, which almost makes me want to not recomment it, but it's still awesome. I'll post an example if I can get it to work tonight (oh, technology, you have to bring me out of my blissful mood and remind me that in reality, you are finicky!). But, the short is that if you type in a word or phrase, it will search Flickr for images of the letters, which you can then customize to create a funky "word" picture.
As I like to work in by the number 12, I will stop here for now. There is much, much more out there, and I can't wait to find it and figure out how to use it in the library and in life.
If you have other cool tools that you'd like to share, please comment!
-LB
No comments:
Post a Comment