Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Show me what I have learned about Web 2.0

World wide web

Evolving applications

Bombarding me with so much new information

2 many choices

. (pointing) me into the "right" direction

0 (zer0) tolerance for narrow-mindedness because it's just going to keep on developing with or without me & you...



A not so long time ago,...

Before I started this course, I was mainly and Web 1.0/(read-only) user with the exception of Facebook. Soon enough I was knee deep no more accurately "hip deep" in Web 2.0/ (read-write ideology. What changed? "Internet users [can] publish information online almost as easily as they can read online, and they have tremendous potential for learning" (Rosen). Personally, I think to say that Web 2.0 allows users to "publish information online" is an understatement. What we CAN actually publish is A LOT such as " blogs (personal publishing), wikis (collaborative publishing), real simple syndication (RSS), content aggregators, streaming video (YouTube), file sharing, podcasting, and social networking (MySpace)"(Mills). So, you didn't make it on Canadian Idol or So You Think You Can Dance Canada, etc. It's not the end of the world! You can still do what you love to do and share with people all around the world with YouTube. The same can be done with writing. There are very few limitations. Also, the statement that Web 2.0 allows users to "have tremendous potential for learning" is absolutely correct. "With Web 2.0, the focus is not on software, but on practices such as sharing thoughts and information through self-publishing and harnessing the collective intelligence of all users to generate information and solve problems. These technologies are creating huge changes in how educators and students receive and respond to information" (Mills).

I think the key here is "receive and respond to information". We have been using textbooks, tests, essays, reports on paper far too long. Paper is quite limiting actually. There are only a few ways to express your ideas 1. write it down 2. draw it 3. use it as a prop... anything else I'm missing? But you get my drift don't you? With Web 2.0, students can make videos, make voice recordings, create collages, write, share, edit, get feedback from everywhere, etc. And there are more new applications being conjured up as we "speak". Wait that's not the best part yet... at least my students, enjoy using the computer to do their work. I get moans and groans when I ask them to write an in-class essay. However, when I transfer the essay format to the computer, I get less moans and groans. I also found my students writing performances improved not just because of spell check and grammar check. I haven't quite pin pointed the real cause for this. It could be as simple as font recognition. Most of what our students read is typed and so, sometimes if they come across a word that they question the spelling, perhaps it's clearer to see it in the form they first learned it in? Another reason could also be the legibility of the writing. I know many of my students can't read their own writing, so, how can I? ( Though I personally don't like this argument very much....) Or perhaps it's the fact that we gloss over errors as simple typos and not as misspelled words? (I know this is how online provincial exam markers are trained to do.) Even though I'm an English teacher, I would almost go as far as perhaps some rubrics focus too much on the conventions of the English language and not on the "bigger" picture. How useful is learning how to spell thousands of words correctly when in their future everything will be typed and spell checked will be automatically used? Shouldn't we spend more time on how to express what they are feeling, thinking, learning, etc. instead? Especially since there is no "idea check", "opinion check", etc. Anyhoo, this is just one aspect of expression through writing. The point is there are so many more options available with the Web 2.0 tools today and in the future.


I personally like working with technology. I think the funniest things would be how I was considered to be on the higher end of my old school's staff as being technologically able. But once this course started rolling, I was intimidated by how much there was out there that I didn't know! Living in China, is like living in a bubble. The "Great Firewall" of China can be very frustrating. How so? Well, China highly censors everything before allowing it in the country. Be it books, news, information, anything and everything. Occaisionally, there would be several days that we can't access our hotmail accounts. For the last few months before I left for summer vacation, we could not use YouTube because it was blocked. Many blog sites are blocked such as Blogger, Wordpress, etc. My husband is writing his last entry before we return in anticipation that it will still be blocked. The official Twitter update after several searches: "Sites currently blocked in China inc. YouTube, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, Flickr, Tumblr, technorati, Picasa web albums, Scribd" posted by tvnewswatch 1 day ago.... Wow, and that was only 140 characters, if this tweet was allowed more... ... This is my reality of using Web 2.0 in China. For a long time Wikipedia was blocked as well until an agreement was made that no information about Tibet or Tiananmen Square would be allowed in China. (http://www.techdigest.tv/2008/04/china_allows_ac.html) I really do hope when I get settled in the new place and get internet access again, that I will be able to find loopholes in the Firewall and be able to use many of the Web2.0 tools we have used in this course. I'm so thankful that I did this course in the summer term when I am in Canada! I'm not so sure what would have happened if I had to do this course in China! I do wonder though how much longer China will be able to keep all this information out of their citizens' reach. With the rapidfire-like information transfering all over the web, one day the Firewall maybe broken, or new programs that aren't blocked yet will get messages across. How will they deal with the aftermath? Will the citizens even believe the information? There is a new generation of youth that study abroad - many from our international schools. This generation is exposed to everything when they study in Canada, USA, Europe, Australia, etc. Perhaps the truths will come out when they return to China with their new knowledge from living in uncensored countries. And perhaps when the new reigns take over, the Great Firewall of China will also be torn down.


Security of Web 2.0

Back in 2007, the first Web 2.0 worm was created which forced MySpace.com to temporarily shut down because this worm allowed Kamkar (the creator) to control the the browser of any one who visited the site. This bug didn't threaten the users' computers but their data online was jeopardized (Albro). This was a big struggle of mine throughout the course. How our data would be used, passed on, stored, etc. As time went on, every new app we had to sign up for more or less asked for the same information. I felt like it was routine and it wasn't any new information that I was putting out there. I also became more comfortable with posting videos and podcasts that I made when I knew the purpose of making it was to be posted for an audience. I don't feel like I've sold my life information online. Though I am very careful not to post too much details about certain events on apps like Facebook. Unfortunately, not all my colleagues and friends have learned about the Facebook Etiquettes! A few days before the wedding, one colleague sent a wall message to another colleague about the date, time, locations of the wedding. So, the entire details of my wedding was posted on their Facebook walls and the newsfeed. My husband and I saw this on the newsfeed and were not impressed! I addressed them individually about the issues of privacy on Facebook etc. My husband and I do not have students on our Facebook, however, they might have students on theirs who can access that information. Luckily, we didn't experience any wedding crashers. I still feel that this is still an issue. Sure, we know what Facebook does with our information, but others don't and sometimes they give that information out unknowingly.

In the not so distant future...

I would like to keep up with the Web 2.0 apps that I am able to access while in China for the school year. I would like to create a new small goal for my personal ProD, which is every week I will try out one of the new apps that my RSS feed Free Technology for Teachers posts and blog about my experience using that tool. I think this will help me stumble upon new great discoveries for the library and the classroom. I will continue to follow some Twitter Tweets from Library 2.o, YALSA, Library Journal, ebooklibrary, etc on my iGoogle - hopefully there's a flaw in the firewall of China. Otherwise, I still have the RSS feeds from Google reader and I can access those that are not on official blog sites to stay current with what happening in the Web 2.o world. I will continue to use Facebook carefully, since all my colleagues from the old campus are avid users of Facebook, so we can keep in touch.

Resources:

Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education. By: Rosen, Dina; Nelson, Charles. Computers in the Schools, 2008, Vol. 25 Issue 3/4, p211-225


The Next Wave Now: Web 2.0. By: Mills, Lane B.. Education Digest, Dec2007, Vol. 73 Issue 4, p4-5


Is Web 2.0 Safe? PC World Edited by:Albro, Edward N. and Robert McMillan, Jul2007, Vol. 25 Issue 7, p18-20, 3p

Project Wiki

"One of the great challenges of the knowledge management field is sharing tacit knowledge in a way that passes it along to others or even converts it into something like explicit knowledge" (Sheehy)

A wiki what?
-wikis are a collaborative writing space that is created and edited by a community of users
-wikis are presented as an almost blank canvas where content is added online
-wiki users are responsible for the wiki’s creation, direction, and maintenance over time
-wikis have very simple formatting rules to eliminate the need for HTML or other technical know-how, allowing a variety of users to contribute
-wikis often use many internal links to allow the user to move from one wiki page to another
(Saxton)

Why do I need to learn about the wiki?
-teachers are generally isolated from colleagues, working in a separate classroom with separate students teaching separate lessons, often totally unaware of what any other teacher is doing translation: as teachers we do our own thing in our classrooms
-ironically, all the teachers—not just the pockets of collaborators— are working toward the same goal; but they work essentially separately from one another
translation: whether we like it or not, we strive for the same outcome even if we do our own thing in the classroom (Sheehy)

Why the wiki and not another techy thingy?
-the online aspect of the wikis allow teachers to work anytime they liked and even synchronously on the site (if they were working on separate pages)
translation: wikis are flexible, it's available when you are ready to use it
-wikis provide an informal and customizable environment, with discussion boards attached to each wiki page and the style and content of the wiki left up to the whim of the creators—characteristics that extended the possibilities of conversation and left open the possible uses teachers might develop for the site
translation: wikis will be whatever you want it be, you are in control (Sheehy)

Are you a wiki believer yet?
Many experts say we learn best in our youth. Why is that? We tend to get "stuck" in our own ways. That's how I learned it and I'm sticking to it. If it ain't broke "why fix it"? It's difficult to introduce new ideas to those with this mentality. Sure, it isn't broken, but it can be better, more efficient, more meaningful. Isn't that what we're supposed to do as educators? Not be a broken record, but to find the best possible method to convey this knowledge to our students for them to understand?

Change, change, change; change is good...

Times are a'changing and so should we. As teachers, it's not necessarily true anymore for us to "know the right answer". We are facilitators of knowledge. There is so much knowledge out there in the World Wide Web and the world is constantly changing and developing that it is fully possible that we don't know everything! So, we need to teach our students how to find the information they need. And to make sure it is the "accurate" information. How to critically think and analyze what they read. What better way to do this than to have them create wiki pages in groups? Let them demonstrate their learning of the materials and have hands on experience in the online collaboration phenomenon.

Fine, you've got my attention, but make it quick, I'm a busy person.

Fair enough, but I just want to emphasize that wikis are super user-friendly. If you know how to use MS Word. You can use a wiki.

Preface

Sheryl will continue her development in the wiki she started earlier.

Part One

First, watch this video about wikis from common craft.

Then, I would encourage the staff to "play" with the wiki that I created for my English class . Their homework would be to think about how we could integrate wikis in our school community. (All of this would take about 10-20 mins and this could be done from their own computer anywhere!)

Part Two

Discuss the possible integrations of wikis in the school community and discuss the benefits of using it as a new tool.

Possible ideas:

ProD: Our school has long term goals, such as how to integrate more writing across the curriculum or our most recent initiative is how to incorporate oral skills for all disciplines. Now the new school I am going to is a great starting ground since we are starting from ground zero. There will be one teacher for each subject and we only have 2 grades. One ESL program and BC Grade 10 program. Wiki pages will be great for each "department" to share what they want to do, what they are doing, what isn't working, etc regarding the oral development. Other teachers from other disciplines can browse and look through the other pages to see what they are doing in common or give suggestions on how to modify what they are doing for the other subjects, etc. The discussion option will facilitate in this as well as the pages. This great because everything will be on one page and there will not be "lost" reflections, notes, etc. Everyone can see everything and it is not for evaluative purposes. It is purely to help develop the oral language initiative.

Science and Social Studies 10. After teachers are comfortable with using a wiki. They can use it as a summary tool. SC 10 and SS 10 are cumulative courses. Students can be placed in groups and collaborate to review each chapter or concept and be responsible to create a wiki page for it.

Follow-up, expectations

Teachers would be expected to contribute to the wiki for the school's long term goals. But it is optional for whether or not they wish to use it in their classroom as well. Every school year each department needs to make goals about how they will achieve the long term goal and report what was or wasn't successful by the end of the year. By putting all this information in a wiki allows all the information to be available in one place.

Obstacles

It will definitely be hard to convince teachers to use wikis at first, but like I had mentioned before, it is a brand new school and no standards have been set yet. So, it's an excellent time to bring in uses such as the wiki. I think the key is to keep it simple. Don't make it seem like it's something huge and different that will change their life. Keeping a positive, upbeat, encouraging, and supportive attitude will have people more willing to open up. A tool, that will make life easier is what everyone wants, not a tool that adds more work ontop of their already busy lives and transitions in a new country!

I think the biggest obstacle isn't the resistance from the staff, but whether or not we can access wikis in China. (I will be going in depth about this in my final reflection blog.) However for now, many sites are blocked by the firewall that China has put up to filter out a lot of information from their citizens. It is quite frustrating for us. There are ways around it like proxy servers, however, these are not always the safest because your computer becomes vulnerable for other people to hack into. There isn't a whole lot we can do around this unless we create a similar concept like the wiki but put it on our school local server.

If we can use wikis in China, I would recommend wikispaces to my colleagues because they support using it in the K-12 classroom and make it safe for educators to use. Plus they are giving it away for free. Read more about it here.

Resources:
The Wiki as Knowledge Repository: Using a Wiki in a Community of Practice to Strengthen K-12 Education. By: Sheehy, Geoffrey. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, Nov2008, Vol. 52 Issue 6, p55-60

Information Tools: Using Blogs, RSS, and Wikis As Professional Resources. By: Saxton, Beth. Young Adult Library Services, Winter2008, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p27-29

Collaborative Learning the Wiki Way. By: Engstrom, Mary E.; Jewett, Dusty. TechTrends:
Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, v49 n6 p12-16 Nov-Dec 2005

RSS

15 minutes left to my lunch break... what should I do? Ah... I'll check out some movie reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
10 minutes left to my lunch break... come on... why is the internet connection so slow?
5 minutes left... finally! What?!? All that for nothing? There's no new reviews since I last checked! What a waste of time!
0 minutes left... back to the grind...

(Fact: Network internet connections can lag and be this slow... no joke!)

Tired of downloading a website that hasn't been updated?

Well, RSS will solve your problems! RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary". There are different RSS reader applications out there to help organize which sites have been updated for you to read, such as Google Reader and Bloglines. Many web browser like Internet Explorer 8 and Mozilla Firefox have RSS feed features as well. Here is a great video by Common Craft about how to use Google Reader - RSS in Plain English.

Here are a few more:
• Amphetadesk (www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/)
• NewsGator (www.newsgator.com/)
• NewsisFree (www.newsisfree.com/)
• NetNewsWire (http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/)

RSS Feed Friendly Sites Search Engines
2RSS (http://www.2rss.com/)
Feedroll (http://www.feedroll.com/)
Moreover (http://www.moreover.com/)

To be honest, learning to use Google Reader wasn't the hard part. It was trying to decide which sites were worth putting on the Google Reader. Which blogs were still be updated regularly by the blogger, which sites were useful and I would want that information brought to me at my fingertips? I soon learned that it is possible to have over 50 feeds, but it gets to be a bit much since I couldn't just browse through all of them in one sitting. I also felt that when I did log into my Google reader, I should read through all the feeds to get back at zero unread feeds kinda like checking my email. Learning it the hard way, I realized that the beauty of the reader is that you can come back to it any time and it keeps a record of all those you didn't get to, so, I didn't have to go back to zero unread feeds. It was too time consuming to read them all or if I wasn't in the mood to check that site out, I would skim it, but nothing was absorbed from viewing the page. The lesson learned here is your unread feeds won't go anywhere, but they will keep piling up until you read it!


Feeds for Professional Development
Here are the top 3 blogs that I follow via RSS:
1. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ - this is a great blog. As teachers we like free educational applications and this website collects many different kinds of online tools we can use. This site is updated frequently with a brief summary of the new tool being introduced. There's a wide variety of applications found from Forvo "audio wiki" for pronunciation to math and science websites to college planning sites.

2. http://heyjude.wordpress.com/ - this blog posts some interesting topics that really make you think and question about educational practices such as this video link below about Teaching Naked- Without Powerpoint or a presentation by JoAnne Witt (Australia) - Scaffolding students to an academic standard of information literacy



3. http://itsnotallflowersandsausages.blogspot.com/ - this blog is much lighter than the two above. I like the voice of the blogger. She reminds of Becky from the Shopaholic series, but Mimi is a teacher who loves to organize. I read this blog for entertainment and to relate to some of her thoughts and experiences since I'm a teacher too. Sometimes it's just nice to read about other people's thoughts, routines, practices, quirks, etc.

Advantages of RSS feeds

1. There are neither advertisements nor spam in RSS feeds.
2. RSS saves time. (For example, I have been able to cut down my reading time from 4 hours to 30 minutes per day, while reading three times as much content.)
3. RSS can be used to deliver content to your patrons and customers.
4. If you provide an RSS feed for your Web site, it is likely to boost the number of people reading your content, enabling a higher return on investment.
5. Aggregators are inexpensive, and setup should require less than 10 minutes.
(RSS. By: Cohen, Steven M.. Computers in Libraries, Feb2004, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p28-28)

Disadvantages of RSS feeds
1. Not every site has an RSS feed.
2. With ease of use comes the potential for information overload. Aggregators can become unruly, quickly.
3. If you download one aggregator at work and one at home, it is difficult to synchronize content between the two. (This is why I believe that Web-based aggregators will be more popular in the future.)
4. RSS content is not being used to its potential. While some feeds can be customized now, more need to be available in the future.) RSS. By: Cohen, Steven M.. Computers in Libraries, Feb2004, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p28-28)

Implications for me and my students?
I personally will continue to use Google reader because I like how a summary of all the new posts are summarized or glimpsed at in the summary page. I like the idea of having something of interest to me readily available for me to read when I have the time. I feel like this is an easy way to keep up-to-date with what is availabe on the WWW as well as updates as to how I can see the the newest, baddest online applications. It's a great way for librarians, and teachers to keep track of trends, Web 2.0 tools, updates, etc. Many of us who are not connected tend to "fall behind" with the current trends. With RSS, it finds and summarizes for you! Otherwise, how else would I find out about great apps like Wordle or sites like SmartBean for parents to stay updated about education. It's also very cool when some of the sites you follow are mentioned in other blogger's links. It's a big world out there, but with Web 2.0, the world doesn't seem so big afterall.

I find it a little harder to use RSS readers with elementary students. I think this is better for highschool students. This could be useful for long term research projects based on current news and subjects online. I would even encourage my senior students to practice using RSS readers to keep track of the sites with their interests since in reality our students will probably do more online reading than actually taking out a book from the library. So, it would be advantageous to introduce the idea of RSS to my students.


Resources:
Information Tools: Using Blogs, RSS, and Wikis As Professional Resources. By: Saxton, Beth. Young Adult Library Services, Winter2008, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p27-29

RSS. By: Cohen, Steven M.. Computers in Libraries, Feb2004, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p28-28,

Using RSS to Create New Services. By: Fichter, Darlene. Online, Jul/Aug2004, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p52-55

MicroBlogging

"...xo xo gossip girl"
If you're a fan of the tv show "gossip girl", you'll know that the plot and conflicts in this show keeps developing by having the latest rumours posted by gossip girl which within seconds reaches every student's cellphone via SMS text messaging.

Twitter is one app that provides microblogging. "To clarify, microblogging is the posting of short messages (usually 140 characters or less) similar to text or instant messaging, except that you are publishing to the Web. In fact, microblog updates are often sent via text message, the idea being that you can broadcast your thoughts or activities from anywhere so your friends can know exactly what you're doing at all times" (Microblogging: It's Not Just Twitter. By: Hargadon, Steve. School Library Journal, Feb2009, Vol. 55 Issue 2, p15-15).

I, unfortunately, was not able to get the full experience of Twitter since I am only visiting in Canada for 6 weeks and do not have a plan nor a phone that enables me to get Twitter messages directly on my phone. Sure, I feel left in the dark. However, one weekend I was hanging out with my ol' girlfriends and one of them had an apple iphone. She was addicted to Twitter. She was so ecstactic to learn that I was on Twitter. Whenever she a had a free moment, her eyes were glued onto her phone or the login page of Twitter.

The experience isn't as exciting when it's just 10 tweets every 3 minutes on my igoogle homepage. I also see Mack's point when he suggested that you add local people to follow because the information becomes more relevant to your daily life. I personally find it a little irritating how quickly information passes on Twitter. Yes, sure you can do a search, but how can you search for what you didn't know you missed? I guess this is when it's handy for someone to retweet the information you've missed. However, even Mack mentioned how Twitter isn't the best application to look for archived information.

I personally don't like the vibe of Twitter. It almost feels like a mass of disorganized information or it portrays the impatience of people who post over 50 tweets a day. How many of us actually have 50 original and interesting ideas to post throughout an average day? I would much rather read the information on a blog instead of random finds being tweeted at all hours. If some people spend hours each day responding to email, how will they find the time to check all of these tweets that get sent to their phones or reply to them? Sure they are short, but it still takes time to read and reply. And some things just can't be said in 140 characters and some things you just don't need to know about the other person...

The bigger picture...
"[O]rganizations have now begun to use Twitter as a communications medium" (Twitter FOR Libraries (and Librarians). By: Milstein, Sarah. Computers in Libraries, May2009, Vol. 29 Issue 5, p17-18). Sure, there's a time and place for everything. If you have followers as in patrons, customers, future customers, why wouldn't take advantage of this audience to promote new features of products and merchandise? I also see the advantage of instant news updates for something that is happening especially if you are an eyewitness (Male, Aug 5, 2009).

Implications of this tool in the school
The school that I am at does not allow students to have a cellphone in their possession at anytime. I personally feel that using Twitter will tempt the students to use the cellphone function since it's pretty cool and up-to-date! I also worry and see the potential of public humiliation or peer pressure or even bullying with the ease and wide broadcasting of Twitter. I think this is limited so far because you can not just send a message to a certain group, but when this function is available, there maybe social issues that will arise amongst teenagers.

Another issue I am concerned about is the language used on Twitter. I have been using chat programs for over 10 years. I understand that lingos will develop to accommodate the program you use. And with the limit of 140 characters, even more code words will need to be developed. For example, "Tweets contain abbreviations, such as "intl" for "international," "ppl" for "people," "&" for "and," and "b4" for "before." This is borrowed from text messaging, so it's quite normal for those who communicate by texting" (The Art of Twittering. By: Ojala, Marydee. Information Today, Apr2008, Vol. 25 Issue 4, p26-26). This is fine in the Twitter world, however, what if we start finding this in our students formal writing? Or due to the short/informal forms that they see so often, they are unsure of the formal spelling or use of the words? I know this is very possible with my ESL & EFL learners. This also brings up a new nettiquette we need to teach our students. We need to make it clear when it is appropriate to use the abbreviated lingo and when it is not. From my personal experience, some of my friends throughout university didn't differentiate her language in an email between friends and between professors, which was an issue for her.

Now, I don't want to seem all negative here! As Milstein mentions there are some positive uses of Twitter in the library as well. "For example, a library could share all kinds of news that patrons want. Short messages can tell people about events such as readings, lectures, and book sales; newly available resources; or changes in the building hours. One message a day or one a week could share a tip on finding or accessing information online or in the building. Twitter posts can link to interesting news stories about literacy or about libraries. When appropriate, the posts can link to a library's own website and blog for more in-depth information" (Twitter FOR Libraries (and Librarians). By: Milstein, Sarah. Computers in Libraries, May2009, Vol. 29 Issue 5, p17-18).

As you can see, I have mixed feelings about Twitter. So, in the end, I think I wouldn't use Twitter in the classroom, but I would probably use it for library updates, and announcements. I would probably add a Twitter link onto the virtual library page as well.

Social Networking

"Look at me, me! I want everyone to see, see!"
There has been much news lately about how some social networks like Facebook don't respect the privacy of their users. But what about the positive aspects of Facebook, Myspace, Ning, etc?

When I first signed up on Facebook about 3 years ago, I spent hours on it. I was very reluctant at first to sign up, but all my colleagues signed up and learned about what was happening in their old friends, new friends, and families' lives. I remember clearly that I was warned that the initial set up would take a few hours. In fact, it took a few days. There was so much detail you could put on there. What profile picture should I use? What status? What's my personal motto? Favourite movie? etc. I was so excited, and I felt that I should be as detailed as possible to inform those that I lost contact with make up for all that has been missed in the past few years.

I'll admit I was suckered into the idea of finding as many friends as possible. But only people I knew from school, work, etc - not random strangers. I would spend lots of time reading over my long lost friends' profiles and writing on their wall to see what they were up to now, etc. All I have to say is that I was glad to have signed up during my 1 week holiday, so, I had this much time available to indulge in this online experience. I also loved the movie trivia that came out, which kept track of your points and knowledge about movies. I was also addicted to the "Where I've been applications" or "Scrabulous", which are considered to be some of the most popular applictions on Facebook (Facebook Apps: Deeper Social Networking. By: Baumann, Michael. Information Today, May2008, Vol. 25 Issue 5). I really had no complaints, except for how many minutes or hours in some cases that disappeared when on Facebook.

I found this to be a great online tool to catch up with old friends and distant family members. However, I felt that this was just that... a social thing. So, I was a bit reluctant in see how social networking could be used educationally. Once I signed up for the Teacher Librarian Network on Ning, I realized how powerful social networking can be, if you sign up to the professionally oriented sites. So, many professionals with different ranges of experience all on one site. How quickly comments would be posed on the forums whenever you had a question. Cool ideas to help with reading that I have not heard of before like the Battle of the Books. Many teacher librarians contributing book lists of what they had used or modifications they have done with their schools. The butterflies in my stomache about being alone in the library this fall starting to fade a bit. I'm not actually alone because of social networks like the Teacher Librarian Network. So many professionals willing to share and help each other.

How does social networking shape us?
All of these social networks appeared so quickly in the last few years that there still isn't enough research about "how we use them, for what purposes, and in what settings, and investigate how they may be shaping the ways we think, work, and communicate" (Tapping the Wealth of Social Networks for Professional Development. By: Greenhow, Christine. Learning & Leading with Technology, v36 n8 p10-11 Jun-Jul 2009). I think this is very important to learn about because our students will be affected the most and that will predict how things may change in the future. For example, I think we need to becareful here because I have seen a lot of "Facebook stalking" in the positive light. When a user adds enough information about themselves, you can read about them through their wall discussions with others or even through the newsfeed, and the communication can become very single sided. I'm not sure about others, but I found myself using the internet as a preferred form of communication, whether it be chat, email, etc. because I am afraid to speak out in case I make a mistake. If I can see what I am typing well, I am able to edit until what I want communicated comes out in the best possible way. I found posting things online to be lower risk and I felt the freedom to express my opinions. However, what does this mean for those in the future who are just as shy as I am? What if online communication becomes the norm? What does this mean for those who are also introverted? What form of communication will they use then?

Benefits of social networks
in general...
There's no doubt that "such technologies [social networks] available over the Internet enable extensive forms of collaboration that may have transformative consequences for the economy and for society( Greenhow)." Yochai Benkler, a Harvard Law professor, "argues that through emerging forms of online participation, we can not only publicize our opinions, and so have a hand in shaping our democratic culture, but also become more critical, self-reflective, and collectively intelligent" (Greenhow).

in the school setting...
"Social networking tools, such as Facebook, Classroom 2.0, Ning, and Twitter, can be used to garner collective emotional support and recognition for one’s creative practices" as well as "function as social learning resources and spaces for new literacy practices" (Greenhow). Most importantly, "[m]any students felt ... peer validation and appreciation encouraged them to be
even more creative, clever, and articulate in their online self-presentation" when they received feedback in the form of comments, tags, inviting friends to view, etc (Greenhow). I can see the validity in this statement or else why would so many teens continue posting their work online?
In fact, the same article states how this works for teachers as well. "Broadcasting the anecdotal evidence you are gathering from classroom teaching to a private or semi-private
network can not only help teachers reflect on their practice to trouble shoot and improve it, but also can help teachers garner recognition for their good work. And, of course, with recognition may come more opportunities for professional development." Many great teachers go on unnoticed and this is a great forum to encourage each other and help our profession to stay healthy and stay current.

In "Facebook Training Wheels" by Jennifer Demski (T H E Journal, Apr2009, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p24-28), she suggests that we need to start educating our students about online etiquettes starting as young as grade 3 - perhaps start by educating them how important passwords words are to protect your privacy. The reason is to prepare them for what is to come when they enter highschool and about how they can preserve their online reputations. She makes a really good point that if college students and professions are having a hard time with the boundaries of their public and personla lives on the internet how is a middle school student going to grasp this idea and make good judgements about their online presence? Demski also states how many students learn by the example of peers and so, when they watch other peers produce something and posts, they are more likely in return to try the same thing.

Implictions of social networks for my classroom
As I have mentioned before, I personally found Facebook easy to use. I think social networks would be very power form of literacy for my EFL students. It's a great way to get them chatting with past graduates who are now studying abroad. Graduates of mine can share their past and current experiences with my new students. The goal of almost every student of mine is to study abroad. And to get a taste of what it is actually like from someone who has a similar background as you, well, those conversations can be invaluable. Or for students to make friends with native English speaking peers would be beneficial to their literacy development and it would be more enjoyable than writing on a predetermined journal topic or 2-3 sentences of a daily reading log. The hope is of course, the students will want to log onto their English social network and chat, post, comment, etc. with their friends in English and perhaps spend hours like I did on there at their own will, while improving their English of course!

Social Multimedia

I'm a producer?!?
Check out my first Animoto video!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIBLiMt-Hkc

What's with the cheese?
Sorry! It was very cheesy, wasn't it! It's because I'm getting married this Saturday, August 1st... so, I'm in that daydreamy mode right now. Most cheeses are pretty easy to slice. So was Animoto. I just got these engagement pics a few days ago from the photographer, so, I had to reduce the size of the pictures to ensure faster upload. I don't own any photo software so, I used Gimp, which is a free open source photo editor. I found this Animoto to be easier than Flickr when it came to reordering the pictures and adding text. I thought it was great that Animoto offerred a selection of music to choose from. I love the different edits they make for you each time with the same pictures even! I found the product to be better than what my skills would allow me in Moviemaker. However, because I was only using the free option I was limited to 30 seconds and I couldn't edit parts of the songs I wanted. But I'm not complaining. I am sending the link of this video to everyone. It was so fun to see what I "produced".

VoiceThread
Unlike Animoto which is an entertainment tool my mind, I think VoiceThread is more of an academic tool. I like the flexibility of adding a video, pictures, or documents onto VoiceThread anyone or those you invite can doodle on it or add comments in various ways (voice, phone, text, webcam). I think of this tool as a whiteboard plus skype. This is great for explaining concepts. Sometimes you just want to point something out because the other party is just not understanding or not seeing what you want them to see. I also like how this is not done via realtime and so, it can be opened up later and participation is still possible despite time zones or busy schdules, etc. There are so many 1 minute clips that VoiceThread offers, that it is easy to use this tool.

One teacher created a novel study project using VoiceThread and noticed that it was important to practice using Web 2.0 tools formally in the classroom. "Although the students were comfortable creating online content, they struggled to create content with an academic focus and tone appropriate for an academic task. The informality was particularly a problem when they recorded the narrative. The same studnts who regularly engaged in formal class presentations in other media struggled to record scholary presentations in VoiceThread." (A PRE-READING VOICETHREAD: Death Comes for the Archbishop. By: Bomar, Shannon. Knowledge Quest, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p26-27) This goes back to our group 1 discussion question#3 about whether or not it is important for students to use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. As this teacher pointed out, it is necessary because these students need to practice this transition as they reach the career world and they have to write emails, memos, make presentations - they can't just use the informal tone they are used to from leisure participation of online applications.

So what does Social Multimedia mean for students and Teachers?
-"Animoto will create a wave of excitement among most middle and high school students who enjoy incorporating digital photography into a high-tech video production."

-"For teachers and librarians who are looking to introduce instructional units, showcase ideas, or frame concepts with a musical element, Animoto will easily allow even the "technologically-challenged" to create high-tech productions that will amaze."
(ANIMOTO. By: Brisco, Shonda. School Library Journal, Jul2008, Vol. 54 Issue 7, p64-64)

-VoiceThread adds a new twist to visual presentations like Powerpoint as well as allowing students to work asynchronously on projects and at home

I think applications like Animoto and VoiceThread are the future. It doesn't have just one purpose like posting and watching videos or only producing podcasts. It's a mixture of many things. Social multimedia tools make "the work" more fun. For example, when working on a poster for a presentation and colouring or cutting pasting paper is not as fun as listening to music and selecting which one fits your slideshow.

As McPherson states, "[o]ne of the many challenges faced by teacher-librarians wanting to develop their student's new and multiple information literacies, is the process of locating engaging, cost effective, intuitive learning technologies." (Mashing Literacy. By: McPherson, Keith. Teacher Librarian, Jun2008, Vol. 35 Issue 5, p73-75) By golly, our choices are endless now!

Implications for the classroom and library
I feel like every week we learn a new tool and many of the class activities can be modified for each tool. I think I've been looking at this question incorrectly. It's not so much what kind of activities could you come up with for this tool, but it's more like which online skill do I want my students to focus on next with this next activity or project. I've come to this idea because VoiceThread and Animoto is a complex tool yet so easy to use! In some ways easier than others! I mean you can post videos on Youtube, but you can't make one on there. With Animoto, I would use it for activities about visuals, tone and mood. The music function is quite powerful in explaining what the pictures are portraying. With VoiceThread, I would use it to emphasize on how powerful communication is since there are so many forms to communicate your opinion with VoiceThread including the doodling tool.

Wikis

What I know is What You know
Working together to share knowledge has never been easier. Wikis allow anyone or only members or certain people you allow to edit and add to your pages. You can also set the viewer settings on your pages to be public, private, etc.

Please forgive my wickiedness...
The most common wiki would be Wikipedia. It's a wonderful wealth of knowledge. So many experts maintain the pages as well as contribute to it. I'd have I was wrong with what I was teaching my students about Wikipedia this past year. As you already know, I was only training to be a teacher-librarian this year. I was teaching my English 12 class about which online resources are reliable sources. A veteran English 12 teacher of 15 years advised me to make sure that I tell my students that Wikipedia is not a legitimate resource because in the past she has edited the pages with wrong information to prove a point to her students about how it is not reliable because anyone can edit the information. She said it took about 2-3 weeks before someone found that information. With her experience so much greater than mine and it was only my first year of teaching English 12, I passed on this information to my students.

Now that I have learned more about Wikipedia, I would have to change my mind about it. I think it is a reliable source. I think the key is... the information was corrected in the end. Plus there are so many wiki entries that not every page will have an error. Even then, our students should be using more than one source to confirm the information they are retrieving. So, I think it's a great place to start for students to gain background knowledge of their research topics. I also like the language level used on the sites and I think my students enjoy it as well because it's user friendly and my ESL/EFL students can understand it.

My Wiki: http://mapleleaflibraryskills.wikispaces.com/

Picking which wiki to use was quite simple with the help of wikimatrix which compares many different wikis' services. I picked the one that offered the most for K-12 Educators. I like the idea of being able to create 100 new wiki users for my students.

A Wiki? So what? I've seen it all before!
When I was going through my wiki tutorials, I had my doubts... How is this different from a blog? I am adding information on this page, adding links, etc... I guess the key was other could edit this page. Then I asked myself how is this different from Google Docs? Google Docs allows you to share pages with users as well. Perhaps it's the idea that it can be public? As I worked more with the pages, I realized that the navigation and how every page is connected to the main page is what makes wikis great. The layout is simple and similar to a blog. So, it was easy to navigate through the options, select my settings etc. I did have troubles with the navigation bar. I created a page for "Common Online Research Skills" at first. Then I created a second page called "What's a Research Paper?" I wanted the second page I created to be first in the navigation bar but it didn't give me a lot of options to move it around, so, I deleted the first page so that the second page could be first.

I do have one issue with online text editors and typing... I don't like how the formatting and editing online often is wrong or it lags. So, I found it easier to create my page from MS Word first and then paste it into the wiki page. Perhaps this is cheating and obvious not possible when you are editing a page that already exists, but presentation is important. I think a clear and simple look invites a reader to continue reading and they are not having troubles with following with the information because it's clustered or unaligned, etc.

Wiki Uses
Many teachers have used wikis in different forms:

Example#1: creating wiki pages about grammar conventions, so students are responsible for their own learning. (The Grammatically Correct Wiki. By: Bomar, Shannon. Knowledge Quest, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p51-51)

Example#2: "Wiki forums can be used for group work, writing, fact-checking, and proofreading" "[A]nd the use of wikis to teach critical faculties, such as how different views on issues can arrive on a consensus." (Wiki man. By: Norrington, Alison; Manning, Stephen. Times Educational Supplement, 3/30/2007 Issue 4730, special section p58-59)

Example#3: Use wikis to collaborate ideas and experience learning in a community for news writing as well as revisions.
(News writing using wiki: impacts on learning experience of student journalists. By: Ma, Will W. K.; Yuen, Allan H. K.. Educational Media International, Dec2008, Vol. 45 Issue 4, p295-309)

What's the GCD (greatest common denomenator)?
"[T]hat the core principle of wikis is collaboration. Once you start, you will wonder how you ever lived without one. (A Wiki for Classroom Writing. By: Morgan, Brian; Smith, Richard D.. Reading Teacher, Sep2008, Vol. 62 Issue 1, p80-82)

I would have to agree that collaboration is the key. This past year I have been very keen on peer editing with my grade 12s. It's quite the puzzle that my student get 90 - 100% correct on grammar skills exercises; however, when it comes to their writing it is littered with grammar errors that they were able to correct on a worksheet. So, I recreated my peer editing checklists to look like a grammar worksheet and my student work through each step when they are peer editing and I found this very successful. However, now that our provincial exams are e-exams, we often write on the computer for practice and students trade laptops to edit work and often students have different version of Word programs etc. which then half the time students are learning how to use the different function keys. Plus, there is a lot of email to me so, I can review the edits. This is a wonderful solution becuase everything is already here!

I also think wikis are a great place for students to collect the information and record their links on here. When students peer edit their work, then can click on the links and know exactly what and where the student author got their source from. Student editors can also comment on whether or not they agree that it is a reliable source to use in their paper or perhaps even suggest other ones to use.

I chose my wiki to be about Library skills because I think this is a great way to collaborate about these skills. My students have zero prior training about libraries and research skills. I don't think it's effective for only me to post information about these skills. I think it would be more effective for students who actually understand what their peers have most difficulties with abou these skills to put it in terms of student understanding. Other teachers may also notice or discover some helpful writing tips or techniques that can be added to the pages for sharing ideas and nothing will be lost because it's all collected on one page. Instead of random email messages or post-its everywhere.

Warning
"It is recommended that instructors provide highly supportive learning experiences to teach students how to use wikis and how to work collaboratively when implementing wikis to maximize the benefits of this emerging tool. " (Building a Networked Environment in Wikis: The Evolving Phases of Collaborative Learning in a Wikibook Project. By: Lin, Hong; Kelsey, Kathleen D.. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2009, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p145-169).

Like everything else, we would have to scaffold our students about what collaboration is, waht does it look like, how to do it, etc. before they try it. And even then, additional lessons about working together may need to be strengthened. We might even have to teach them to respect different perspectives and only edit what is necessary not because you disagree or don't like something. Any other tips about how to teach online collaboration?

Virtual Libraries

AH!!! Midnight already? How am I going to do my research now?!?!

Have no fear, Virtual Libraries are here!

I guess it only makes sense for virtual libraries to become more popular, especially since

"[e]lectronic access to information has become a major partof our culture. (Library Media Specialists and Assisted Technology. (cover story) By: Edwards-Johnson, Adriana. School Library Media Activities Monthly, Jun2009, Vol. 25 Issue 10, p22)

Most of already use the internet to look for information. So, it's a natural progression to have library websites that categorize useful links for various subjects. From the few that I have viewed, many of the virtual school libraries integrate the physical with the virtual. What I mean by this is... ebooks, podcasts, useful websites, links to online databases, tutorials, etc. are all easily accessible. However, there are some information that you still need to go the library for. For example, the school library catalogue can be accessed online, but all the books you would find would be from the physical library. I think this is a great transition, especially since the library already has those books, and its definitely a resource - so of course it should be accessible on the website.

The Second Life Virtual Library is amazing! It's a definitely a virtual experience. Though, I am far from achieving a website like that! But I am interested in learning more about it and perhaps contribute when I have the skills!

So, I would like to look at some virtual school libraries that are easy and simple to use.

Phase 1: Virtual Middle School Library
This is a very clean and simple virtual library. It has resources for students, teachers, and parents. Each link is easy to access and select what you are looking for. It has links that encourage students to read by suggesting possible novels. It offers information for students to learn how to create a webpage, etc. This website is lacking in the reference/online database section, but I think this is a very good start to a virtual school library. Hence, PHASE ONE.

Phase 2: Bibliothèque Reynolds Library
This virtual library is a bit more advanced. It's has a little more character by being less plain with the wordle and the clipart. The links that are offerred include catalogues, database, book blogs, lists of web 2.0 applications, teaches students about copyright, and reference list formats. This library seems a bit more complete and uses more web 2.0 applications in the webpage itself. So, I think this is an example of Phase Two since it includes more online resources.

Phase 3: The Konawaena High School Virtual Library

This virtual library is information filled. It offers different links for Teacher, Parents, and Students. There are several online databases that are available for the students. There are a lot of links available in the reference section. There are some fun links for anyone to take a look at ie) joke of the day, etc. -students are still reading, even though it's the joke of the day. I do like how this library has integrated school updates onto the website. It's almost like a school bulletin board for everyone as well. It's a great space to constantly visit and hopefully more users will visit and use this page. So, this would be Phase 3.

Wait a second... How many Phases are there? (only referring to the readings)

Good question. Let's say Joyce Valenza's virtual library is a Phase 4 and Second Life is Phase 5. So, there are 5 phases. I like how Joyce's virtual library is designed and easily accessible since it looks like a real library! This way students can relate to the real experience and still know their way around a physical library.

Summary: What do I think a virtual library needs? Well, I think this website needs to be "student friendly". It needs to appear simple and easy to navigate around the site. It also needs to have resources of different genres ie) reference section for encyclopedias, different subjects, online databases, section for promoting reading where students can contribute, resources for teachers and parents. An added bonus would be to build a sense of community as well, whether its in the form of school and community bulletin boards, community contributions on to the site or even forums for expression.

Interesting Find

"Far more people are familiar with their local public or college library facility than their library's website and online resources. In fact, according to a recent survey, 96% of Americans said they had visited a library in person, but less than one-third have visited their online library. Yet people agree online library resources are valuable! Why this disconnect?" (Marketing the VIRTUAL LIBRARY. By: Fagan, Jody Condit. Computers in Libraries, Jul/Aug2009, Vol. 29 Issue 7, p25)

I'll be honest. I haven't used virtual libraries much. My school has access to EbscoHost Database and I encourage my students to use this resources as much as possible. I also feel disconnected from being in China. Each year I return to my public library, I see changes. Physical changes as well as virtual changes. It's amazing how quickly trends move. I don't doubt that more people will learn more about virtual libraries and they will use it when they do know that it's available. Like the quote from the introduction, finding information on the internet has been embedded into our lives.

Virtual Library in my School?
Since the school I'm going to this fall has just been built, we lack resources! I have ordered books from publishers, but it usually takes about 2-3 months to dispatch it from original publisher, go through hoops, land in the 3rd party warehouse, then it is sent to my school. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for me to create a Virtual Library for my school. My students have almost no traning of how to use a library. Their culture trains them that only textbooks have relevant information and are worth reading. What better time than to teach them about copyright and how to use the online resources that are at the click of a mouse? It can also be a group effort. I can teach the students the skills to search for reliable websites and we can build the resources for the different subjects pertaining to their projects/assignments in their courses. (Of course I will also be reviewing the sites.) So, together we can build a virtual school community library. I hope to work on Phase 1 for our new school library this fall.

Food for thought
As we are reaching this technological age, there are less tactile things for students. For example, this virtual library - everything is found by clicking a mouse and reading on the computer screen. However, what if this doesn't suit the learning needs of our students? How can we modify this new model to include and support all the needs of our students?

For example: Modifications can be made in video and podcasts for the hearing impaired simply by adding closed captions so students can read what is being voiced. "Remember, it is not just students with physical disabilities who need assistance. There are many more students who have cognitive disabilities, diagnosed or not, that need assistance as well. The process of logging on to a library database from home may be difficult or unintuitive because it sits behind several different links or requires a fourteen plus library card number to authenticate." (Library Media Specialists and Assisted Technology. (cover story) By: Edwards-Johnson, Adriana. School Library Media Activities Monthly, Jun2009, Vol. 25 Issue 10, p24)

We do have a responsibility to make sure that whichever direction school libraries are heading, it needs to be friendly to all users.

Podcasting

1, 2, 3 ... You're on the AIR!





That was my first podcast. You might need this code to listen to it: http://www.upload-mp3.com/browse/sheryllee/26193

At first I had some issues downloading AVS Audio Editor. Because I have never done this before I figured I should download the completely documented version, so, if needed help, I would find it easily. However, after a few recordings, I realized that my first take was always the best cut. So, when I wanted to save it, it said it was a non-activated version. This stumped me since many websites and our textbook told us that this was a free open source! Finally, I realized that the unfinished beta version was the one that was free. I found the beta version easier to use than the completed version for purchase.

Little did I know that that was the easy part! I tried to find a good site that would upload my newly created mp3. I went to http://www.ourmedia.org/ but for some reason, this page would not load. I tried several times (it works now though). So, then I searched and went to http://www.mp3upload.ca/ and I signed up, however, their uploader is faulty and doesn't work! Then I found http://www.upload-mp3.com/ and was able to find the correct url - this site gave me several formats for possible embedding urls to use. I finally found the address that was compitable with the embedded odeo player I found during my online searches. Only then did it finally work. I did wish that I had a blog site that enabled embedding mp3s directly. Nonetheless now that I have the right tools, it is done and it would be much easier the next time.

Since I had so much trouble with posting my video on youtube, I was surprised how comfortable I was in creating a podcast, listening to the podcast, and sharing the podcast. I'm not so sure why... perhaps there's still some anonymity in who is speaking since you can not see me? Podcasting reminds me of the old PA systems we used to have in schools, except podcasts are very accessible, portable and can have a wide range of followers.


Does audio podcasting enhance the learning of students?
(Use of audio podcast in K-12 and higher education: a review of research topics and methodologies. By: Hew, Khe. Educational Technology Research & Development, Jun2009, Vol. 57 Issue 3, p333-357, 25p)

Some interesting statements I found in this article that I would like to comment on:

1. ‘‘listening is instinctual, [but] reading and writing are
not’’ (Clark and Walsh, p. 5)—that linguistic psychologists have found that unlike reading and writing, children do not learn how to understand the spoken word, but are hard-wired with the skill (p334)

I agree with this. It is very hard to speak a language without hearing it first. Otherwise pronunciations would be wrong, accents, tones, etc. Sometimes speaking a new language you need to mimic another person's way of speaking this language first.

2. "the spoken word can influence a learner’s cognition (adding clarity and meaning)
and motivation (by conveying directly a sense of the person creating those words) (p334)

I agree with this. For example, there are words that I understanding from listening to it. However, when I see this same word in a text, I will treat this word as a new vocabulary I haven't learned. Yet when I hear it, I can recall when I heard it last and recall the context it was used and remember the meaning of the word.

3. "auditory learning is convenient, portable, flexible, etc. (p334)"

Who can agrue with this statement? However, professors and teachers are afraid that podcasts will encourage absneteeism in their classes because they can retrieve the lecture later (p335). However there is no live interaction with podcasts. The students would have to listen passively and if they had a question or needed feedback from the teacher, they wouldn't have the opportunity to ask the professor.

4. "Japanese students regarding their experience in using supplementary
podcast in an English as a foreign language course. The study found that most students
felt that utilizing podcasts could enhance their learning of English (p348)"

Like I mentioned in my podcast, when learning a new language, listening and speaking the language yourself will increase your language development since there are so many aspects to learning a new language. For example, my French reading and writing skills are stronger than my speaking and listening skills, however, when I was in Morocco, I couldn't communicate as well as I would have like in French because no one understood my wrong accents and tones of the words. If I could remember how someone else pronounced it, I could mimic it and there would be a higher possibility of someone understanding my spoken French.

5. "Students in these studies typically pointed out that the use of podcast
enabled them to listen to specific information or material they had missed or did not
understand multiple times (p.348)"

When sitting in a lecture, sometimes you may miss information, either due to distractions, lack of vocabulary, or just unable to grasp the concept. However, if you could replay it several times, this might help one to take the time they needed to fully absorb the concept.


Podcasting in the classroom and library?
This is a very affordable tool. And if your school has their own server, well, then we can worry less about privacy issues. My students generally need to improve their verbal language aquisition. Often when we choral read or read in pairs, it is hard for me to individual pick out which student mispronouned the word. I think if everyone choral read into a microphone, I could check for participation, and I would be able to listen carefully as to which words and sounds the students need more help with. This would also be a great tool for students to practice their presentations. They could record their words, and playback to themselves or have peers listen to it to give feedback. This way they can really focus on their clarity, volume, etc.

In the library, we could have virtual literature circles, where the groups can record their ideas and share with other group members anywhere. Podcasting students reading passages out loud would also be an interesting way to promote reading and have "real" student reviews. Students who don't like to read are less likely going to read a written book review. Perhaps this is also a medium for students to read their own written work to share with other students. We could create student audio story collection podcasts, etc. There are so many possiblities!

The Disadvantages Of Social Bookmarking

• The Disadvantages Of Social Bookmarking - Annotated

  lack of structure in social bookmarking

  tags: inaccurate, tagging, lack, of, standards

  • One draw back with this tag-based system is that there are no standards set for the keywords, controlled terms and vocabulary used. This can create a problem, especially since the tag-based system relies on people, and not on any program created in the Internet. This means that this type of system is not flawless in terms of organizing its different bookmarks since the people are the once organizing the tags, thereby creating an inconsistent standard and management system for tags. People who create the tags just create them according to their own accord, creating confusion with the other users who rely on the tags to find what they are looking for in these social bookmarking websites.

  • The lack of standards for tag structures, such as capitalization, singular vs. plural, as well as other similar issues, in social bookmarking makes it susceptible to mistagging. This can be caused by misspelling certain words, by tagging certain subjects using keywords that have two or more meanings, by tagging websites and/or Web pages with unclear tags caused by synonym-antonym confusion, or by using unorthodox and too “personalized” tags that other users will not be able to understand or decipher what the tag is about. Aside from these problems, social bookmarking is also susceptible to corruption and collusion due to its popularity. This type of system can be used by users to help make their Web page or website more visible in the Web by optimizing their search engine results.

    • the unstructured system of tagging is an issue that could cause some searches to not be accurate as it could be and possibly make searches off-topic depending on each person's interpretation or reference to tagged words - post by sherylslee

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Social Bookmarking

Share the wealth with social bookmarking!

Yet another new web 2.0 tool. I've never used any webbased bookmarking tool other than "My Favourites" on Internet Explorer. I have to admit, that it's not easy to find anything I've bookmarked in "My Favourites" because there are so many folders, subfolers, etc. Whatever mood I'm in I might add it to that folder, yet when I look for it, I can't find it or when I finally do, I'd question myself as to why I placed it there in the first place.

Well, tools like Diigo, Del.icio.us, Citeulike, etc. allow someone like me with millions of bookmarks to tag each site, so I can search with keywords and it'll will find the ones that match the tags I have set. I picked Diigo to experiment with because Diigo offers highlighting the pages, adding sticky notes, creating groups, etc. What attracted me the most was the premium account option for educators to create student Diigo accounts, have all the same features as a regular account but there are privacy settings pre-set in the student Diigo accounts for just the teacher and classmates to communicate with each other, as well as limited "education-related" ads.

Signing up for an account was quick and easy. Importing my brower's bookmarks is another story. First I had to download the Diigo toolbar, (which is a bit redundant because the diioglet already offers the key functions), then I had to refind the page with instructions to export my bookmarks. Like I said, I have A LOT of bookmarks that I have collected over the last 5 years with this laptop. It's been four hours and I am still waiting for the email from Diigo to notify me that all my bookmarks have been loaded to Diigo. Diigo didn't suggest an approximate time as to when it would be done. They just said it depends on how many bookmarks I had and how many other users are also importing their bookmarks.

Nonetheless, I was not discouraged and started to play with the tools for random sites. The highlighting didn't seem to work with the URLs with pdfs. During my surfing, I immediately noticed the sticky notes posted by other people - though it can be annoying at times, much like the blue RSS feeds icon that pops up when I highlight certain things as well. I do like the ease of pressing "send" and all my annotations of a particular website would be sent directly to my blog.

Where's the wealth?

Ah yes, the wealth... that would be enriching others with your bookmarks and vice versa. So, you can share this with friends, students, colleagues, or strangers with similar interests and tags. More specifically, "social bookmarking sites, such as Delicious, Diigo, and CiteULike, can provide the resources to facilitate a scholarly approach to teaching where teachers concerned with developing research-based best practices can collectively assemble, annotate, recommend, and share scholarly resources, such as books, journal articles, websites, and contacts. Social
scholarly practices leverage and archive our collective intelligence. According to library media scholar Laura Cohen, social scholarship operates on principles such as 'openness, conversation, collaboration, access, sharing, and transparent revision.' As educators reflect on what it means
to take a scholarly approach to their teaching, their use of these social bibliography tools may, in turn, provide greater insight into their own attitudes and teaching practices (e.g., what it means to teach “the research paper” in the presence of social scholarship tools)."
(http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/JuneJulyNo8/36810g.pdf)

I absolutely agree with Laura Cohen's statement about how social scholarship works best when everyone works together and shares openly. At my previous school for the next school year, we will have designated blocks for teachers to participate in Professional Learning Community (PLC). These groups will be created by the teachers of all disciplines and what they will research is also up to the group. Many teachers commented on how it might be difficult to organize, share, discuss their individual research for their own group. Well, I think that social bookmarking is the solution to that concern and this also allows me to participate even though I'll be a few thousand miles away at another campus.

How reliable is social bookmarking?

1. Server

"In January, the popular social bookmarking site Ma.gnolia (ma.gnolia.com) suffered a major server failure that led to data corruption and loss. Suddenly, its users had no access to the content they'd bookmarked and no definitive answer from Ma.gnolia about when (or if) they'd get their data back. This event led many to consider the security Of their hosted web content. Sites hosting our web content have become so ubiquitous that most of us take their continued existence for granted. As we saw in the case of Ma.gnolia, this complacency can be a huge mistake." (Your Stuff, Their Rules. By: Farkas, Meredith. American Libraries, Jun/Jul2009, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p42-42, 1p)

Lesson learned? We should backup our important files in more than one place ie) one on your computer and one on the web - though this shouldn't prevent us from using these tools because what we gain is so much richer than what we lose and what we lose, we can probably find again and maybe more!

For more information about Ma.gnolia's sever failure:

Citizen Garden Episode 11: Whither Ma.gnolia? from Larry Halff on Vimeo.

2. Inaccurate tagging system (see annotated Diigo post on Disadvantages of Social Bookmarking)

Social Bookmarking in the Classroom and Library

This is definitely a great tool for teaching, practicing and evaluating the steps of good research in the classroom and the library. I also see it as a great way for students to share other sites they have found that might help other students in understanding concepts, since I can not read or write Chinese - I am not able to find relevants sites to aid at risk students' progress when a concept is too difficult to understand in a foreign language, yet it would be a stepping stone to know what the concept is first in their first language and then linking those ideas with the new English vocabulary.

Here's a sample of my Diigo Tags... 8 hours later... still waiting for my bookmarks to be fully imported...

My Diigo Tags

To Videoshare or Not to Videoshare, that is the Question

Youtube or just Metube?

For the first time, I posted a video of myself on Youtube. I struggled for a long time because I was very reluctant to post anything about myself on Youtube. I'm not sure where this insecurity comes from, but it could be the fact that I'm not sure who might view my video or for what purpose they might use this video. I guess I am very protective of footage about me. This could stem from when a colleague created a yodelling video on Youtube for fun. She had a blast making this video and told all her friends to check it out. However, at the yearend staff meeting, we had a slideshow of all that happened that school year and... her yodelling video appeared in front of the whole staff. She was so embarrassed. Her fiance was the one who suggested that the video be played in the slideshow, and he immediately leaped out of his seat in fear of her strangling him. This raises the question about audience. Sure, she was comfortable in posting her segment for individual audience and perhaps when she's not in the same room, but what if your video was used for an audience that you did not intend for? How can you control this?

Like I said, I was very hesitant to post my video on Youtube for all of the world to see. But has I searched for tips on how to add a video onto Blogger, I stumbled upon an option that you can select... you can make it PRIVATE and only share with whom you wish. This eased my apprehensiveness about posting a video clip about myself onto Youtube. I was able to get my embedded url and post it onto my blog. If I had so many issues about posting something about myself, what does this mean for my students?

Why am I a control freak?

I'll admit when it comes to our student's safety, I have every right to be a control freak. I've never posted on Youtube before until now, but I have been a user of Youtube. Teaching in China, there are limited resources for teachers and the internet is a very important tool. Many of my colleagues and I use Youtube for video clips in our classes for interviews, transitions, advertisements, etc. When using Youtube in this way, it is totally safe because I am controlling what my students see. (Tip: You can use sites that will save a Youtube clip onto your computer and you can play it on a larger scale with a FLV player.)

However, I am learning that videosharing is also a great learning tool for our students and most of our students are already using similar sites - maybe not to post but definitely for viewing. So, how can educators control sites like Youtube? Like in Dawn's blog, she suggests Schooltube to be a useful videosharing site and Will Richardson says Teachertube is another safe medium to use. In the article "Youtube comes to the classroom" (School Library Journal, Jan2007, Vol. 53 Issue 1, p22-22), it suggests that Youtube's K12 education group (www.youtube.com/group/K12) is a good place to start as well because it is a channel for teacher and student subitted work or to even embed the Youtube videos you want your students to access onto a blog or a webpage. However, there are issues with the latter because once students click on the video link, it will bring them "straight to YouTube's inviting and unsafe arms."

Perhaps there is no way around this. Perhaps we just have to educate our students about what is appropriate footage and what isn't? (I think our students already know what isn't appropriate.) Perhaps, the most we can do is to make sure they stay on task when doing their searches for materials relevant to the assignment. Sure, teachers can watch vigilantly in our classrooms, but we can't control what our students will see on Youtube at home or what they may even post. For example, in PBS Frontline Segment Growing Up Online, some underaged teenagers were drinking openly on public transit on their way to a concert. Footage was filmed with their cell phones and placed on Youtube. These teens then faced consequences when parents and schools saw this video clip. Whoever posted this incident online thought it would be fun and that only peers would have access to this. Little did they know that it would backfire. Just a prime example of how you never know who your audience might be when placed publicly on Youtube.

Bottomline?

I agree with Rebecca Mullen and Linda Wedwick's article "Avoiding the Digital Abyss" Getting Started in the Classroom with Youtube, Digital Stories, and Blogs" (Clearing House:a journal of educational strategies, issues, and ideas; Nov2008, Vol. 82 Issue 2, p66-69) that "an educational revolution is changing the face of learning and giving a voice to every student and teacher." I was and still am a shy type of participator. I'm not one to raise my hand in confidence and voice my questions, thoughts or ideas comfortably in front of a live audience. However, the web tools we are learning about have opened my eyes to how we can redefine participation in the classroom. We can hide behind the computer screens and be able to share our voice in a safe zone.

Isn't that ironic, don't you think?

Yes, it is. Many educators as well as I are concerned about the worldwide web and how there can be predators out there to harm our students, which makes it an unsafe place. However, when the worldwide web is used appropriately, it can offer a safe environment for our students to express themselves freely within their comfort zones.

So, what does this mean for my classroom and school library?

I think I would scaffold the idea of videosharing with a few group assignments first to warm up the camera shy type of students before assigning individual oriented assignments. I would also educate my students about using the privacy setting when uploading onto Youtube and I would probably collect all their videos by having students embed their videos into the Class Blog. I believe that videosharing would be a great peer and self-evaluation tool to be able to view their presentations, performances, speeches and reflect about it accurately. If students go by memory, their personal bias or emotions during the presentation, performance, speech, etc. may distort the actual experience. Students could also use movie maker to highlight what they did well and what they need to improve. I also see the use of "videopals". This school year, I am being relocated to a new campus, but my students can share their videos with students of other campuses or other parts of the world even. For example, if we are doing the same novel study and the students needed to create a video clip for an assignment, we could share what the students have produced easily. As for the library, I really enjoyed the movie trailer idea to promote books to peers like in Jennifer Wooten's "Flipped!: Want to get teens excited about summer reading? Just add video"(School Library Journal, 5/1/2009).

So? What's all the fuss about?

Here's the video I didn't really want to post. It's a clip that I found from my first day of my Teacher Education Program. I thought it would be fun to make it into a clip to but on my blog since it's an introduction as to who I am and why I wanted to be an elementary school teacher and because now I'm in a new stage in my role as a teacher transitioning from the classroom into the library.

Friend or Foe?

I'm still undecided... so let's say Friendoe? I still believe we need to be very careful of the sensitivites of individuals and their comforts with posting themselves online and to think about how we can guarantee the right audience.

1, 2, 3... (say) CHEESE! *snap*

You have just bought a new digital camera. You snap 100s of pictures with ease, but what do you do with those pictures after that?

Using Flickr with your Clickr
There are many photosharing sites out there besides Flickr, such as Snapfish, Picasa, etc. Basically, now that we don't have to use film, digital photos have the freedom to be placed anywhere and be viewed by anyone you allow to look at your photography. Photosharing has been made so easy that with the click of your mouse, you can add pictures, modify pictures, organize pictures into albums, tag your pictures, add write descriptions of your pictures, even give each picture a title. It's no longer a photo album you are creating, you are basically creating a pictoral story album.

I have to admit, this isn't the first time I've used photosharing. I started to use it when my friends moved to countries shortly after university and I used it a lot to share with my family my life overseas. Even my colleagues, we all share our photos on Facebook even though we see each other everyday and/or were present at the time of when the photo was taken. There's just something so attractive about the ease of photosharing. You no longer have to carry heavy albums, or to make a special trip to drop off your film and pick up the prints - you can even order your prints online for those you want to frame! I think the best part is the ease of finding the picture, knowing exactly where it is or just searching the keywords.

It is easy, but time consuming at the same time! Hours pass by as you add narrations to your photos, or geotag them to where they were taken. Is it all worth it? I think so. Your photos stay stored on the photosharing host site so, you can login to any computer and share your pictures, you can email your friends and family about your latest photos. Yes, initially it takes time to set up your photos and albums, but once you're done, the sharing is endless and effortless. Don't believe me? Here, check out my lastest album called Travel Memories.

Flickr in the Classroom
Photosharing is not a new phenomenon for most of our students. They've already got the basic skills to take digital pictures using cellphones and cameras, to set pictures for their online profiles, to search for images, etc. and even if they don't, it's not difficult to give a tutorial on how to attain these skills.

How are teachers using Flickr in the classroom?
As Jakesonline.org points out in his Education and Technology Conference paper, the purpose of using a web tool like Flickr is to "promote and build visual literacy skills in students." Pamela Aucoin believes that Flickr "invites student collaboration and participation." Here's just a taste of how appications of Flickr have been used in classrooms:

1. Anywhere visual images are required, such as presentation, etc.
2. Multiple image digital storytelling projects
3. Virtual Field Trips
4. Using Flickr with Google Earth to teach Geography
5. Creating slides shows within Flickr
6. Creation of visual arguments
e.g. biology classroom-The Case for Genetic Engineering
7. Visual documentation of school events, student work, etc.

...and more. Also available are Flickr resources and sites.

Why is Flickr the teacher's choice?
Flickr has partnered with Creative Commons licensing to provide a way for its community members to legally share content and use photographs for non-commercial use. (LearnHub-Teaching Flickr in the K-12 Classroom) As well as allowing Teachers to set privacy modes for who can view the pictures.

Creative Commons who?
Watch this video http://revver.com/video/89072/wanna-work-together/ (LearnHub)

What does this mean for my classroom?
I definitely agree with choosing Flickr because of their partnership with Creative Commons. Because my English classroom is an EFL learning environment, I believe that using Flickr for a slideshow to introduce new visual concepts would be helpful for my students to access background knowledge they may lack due to their different cultural experiences or lack of (unbiased) worldly knowledge. This may even be an opportunity for them to search for visuals that represent the descriptions of the setting of a novel per se or visuals that will help them remember meanings of vocabulary words. Many of my male students dislike drawing and this is a great solution, while they can practice reading English online. There are many equivalent sites but all in Chinese. Having students using a Flickr account would ensure that they are using an English host site that would enable them to practice reading and writing in English.

What does this mean for the school library?
Teaching students about why we need something like the Creative Commons is a great way to introduce how plagiarism is not acceptable. I also see Flickr as a great addition to research reports and assignments for visual learners to express what they have learned and not be limited to expressing with words. Students can also spice up their "reading blogs", book reviews, etc. by adding photos they have found or taken.

Flickr ... Friend or Foe?
Definitely, Friend. Need I say more?