I had a lot of fun exploring Flickr. I found myself exploring in a rather scattered manner. I jumped all over the place - one thing just led to another. This is a site that I will definitely go back to. I took some pictures of my library at the end of school. We were in the middle of collecting textbooks so I added a picture of the unique way that we stack our books to keep the tables clear so that we can function until the last moment. (I tagged this and 3 other photos "School Library learning2.0" and made them public.)
I appreciate the curriculum connections. This is a great starting point to incorporate these new ideas into lessons. I've been out of town and am heading to a conference in Washington D.C. tomorrow so I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like working on this. When I get back, I plan to start a file of ideas using this technology to liven things up next school year.
I already have a Smugmug account http://coble.smugmug.com/ that we have used to share photos with family. Unfortunately, I am really behind on posting photos so I think that may be another good summer project.
As I am working on this project, it just reinforces for me that technology is often not a time saver at all. To really become comfortable with new technologies, a person must spend time "playing" and experimenting. This I believe is the problem with schools - there is never enough time. With the testing pressures, pacing guides, and reactive (verses proactive) stance that schools take, it is difficult to move beyond the worksheet mentality. I have teachers who tell me that they want to do a research project, but allocate 2 days. This is frustrating for all. Somewhere in recent years, it has also become the norm to take all the fun out of learning. Yet, if we truly believe that our goal is "lifelong learning" we must acknowledge that that we must derive pleasure in the learning process. I am thankful for this opportunity this summer to explore these Web 2.0 technologies so that I can become proficient and then share my new found knowledge with others.
6 comments:
I agree that it takes time to learn technology. The teachers and the lmts both need the time. I love the way you stack your books. I am going to try that next year.
Love the textbook towers! Wonder if parents ever see things like that?
Best wishes.
- JackieS
I just wanted to comment on your name. Are you a big fan of dragons? I do lots of stories times at my library on the theme of dragons. I've also had the kids create some awesome dragon crafts.
Dragons forever!
You could not possibly be in a middle school. My students would LOVE to stack the books like this. I would have "accidents" all the time. They wouldn't last 5 minutes, AND my students are great kids.
I love them though.
I love your idea of stacking the textbooks. This is the first year I have requested that all textbooks come to the library at the end of the year. That's because we will be barcoding them. Before school starts up again!?! I hope. We are a middle school in California and are losing books like crazy. Hoping barcoding will help. I didn't even try working on these "things" while at school. Our filter system won't let me go very far. But kids know how to work it!! I need to ask them how they do it. In fact, things I get over LMNet I have to forward home so I can see it. This online course is a blast!
Your comment regarding the time it takes to learn technology is bang on. I think that's why many teachers don't bother. With curriculum and program expectations changing every year they rarely have time to get their heads around those, let alone try to become more proficient in using technology!
Post a Comment