RSS Feeds

How did we survive without Tivo? Okay, I watched less TV which was probably a good thing, but I can now watch TV on my schedule. I can catch shows that I was unable to before (much easier than setting the VCR), I can skip the commercials, I can go back and and rewatch something if I get distracted. Well, RSS feeds are like Tivo for your computer. If there are blogs, news sites, etc. that you enjoy and follow, you can set them up as RSS feeds and they come to you instead of you having to go to the sites each time you want to catch up. Then you can read them when you have time, yet you don't miss anything. (If you feel overwhelmed because you got behind, just click the box "mark all read" and you start fresh.)

This is the RSS symbol:

Check http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/2007/08/8-week-4-learn-about-rss-feeds.html for more information and directions on how to get started. I use Google Reader (I also use gmail, Google docs and Google calendar for both school and home so everything is in one place). This is a great organizational tool.

Recharging

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. Gary and I are just back from an amazing trip to Canada and Alaska where we celebrated our 20th anniversary. We took our Mini HP (I fully intended to post while on our trip) with us but only checked email once the entire time we were gone. Someone posted about achieving balance with technology and it really is important.

I am beginning my 33rd year in education. One of the best things about being an educator is that no 2 years are the same. As a career educator, education truly is a lifestyle, not just a job. As such, it doesn't leave us even while on vacation - I'm always looking for something that will enrich my lessons. This year, I bought some things that I will use in a display and took photos that I can also use (for instance, while the movie Twilight was mostly filmed in Oregon, some filming was done in Vancouver and our guide pointed this out - these pictures will also go into a display that I will be putting up as soon as Talk Like a Pirate Day is over).

Here is a picture of the Vancouver Public Library. They had a contest to determine the design.




Please share some of your photos on your blog if you have not yet done so.

New Post

If you haven't posted in a while, remember, you get to write about anything that is interesting to you - this is your blog. Have you had a chance to play with Flickr yet? What did you discover? Do you have any vacation photos? How are you planning to spend the rest of the summer? What are your thoughts about technology (tonight on the news there will be a spot on "cell phone elbow")? Remember to check out http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/2007/08/23-things.html.

Hint

As you begin working on different Web2.0 sites, you will discover that you need to register for most of the sites. You may find it helpful to have a small notebook to help you keep track of the different usernames and passwords that you use. Even if you basically use the same password for these sites, there are enough differences that it can become confusing. There are websites that will track your passwords for you (I haven't tried this option; if you have, please share) but a notebook is a low tech solution that works.

More Info on Photo Sites

As I was looking at the April edition of School Library Jounal (and yes, I'm definitely behind in my reading), I found an article by Steve Hargadon that suggests other photo sites. David Jakes has put together more information on using Flickr http://www.jakesonline.org/flickrsites.htm and has additional links, information, and presentations on Flickr. Another photo site that describes itself as "fast, easy, and fun" is Picnik http://www.picnik.com/. This looks like a good site to start with if you want to do some editing or add special effects. Then, if you just want something really cool, check out Cooliris http://www.cooliris.com/. I first saw this site at the CUE conference a year ago and it is truly amazing. The site states, "Meet Cooliris, the 3D Wall that speeds up search on Google Images, YouTube, Flickr, and more. Enjoy the richest way to view photos from Facebook, Picasa, and even your computer." I agree with Steve Hargadon's statement that this plugin "transforms searaching for photgraphs into an amazing visual experience." Have fun!

Flickr and Other Photo Sharing Sites

If you haven't yet organized your digital pictures online, this is a wonderful opportunity to explore what is available. There are lots of free sites as well as some that have a fee for more options. Most of these sites allow you to organize your photos in folders or albums and edit your photos as well as share them. Five years ago, Gary and I renewed our wedding vows at the Colorado Renaissance Faire, then headed to a family reunion in Pennsylvania. We were looking for some way to share our photographs with friends and family and discovered SmugMug http://smugmug.com/. Google's Picasa http://picasa.google.com/ is another site that you'll want to check out.

By far the largest and most famous photo sharing site is Flickr http://www.flickr.com/. There are tons of options on this site and you really just have to take some time to explore. The Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons is a great place to find copyright free photos. Be sure to take time to play around with Flickr Toys http://bighugelabs.com/. Tons of fun!

Enjoy!

More on Avatars

An avatar is an icon or virtual representation of yourself that you will use on your blog. When you are dealing with an online community, you may meet people that you will never see in person. An avatar just gives a sense of who you are or at least some aspect of yourself. For instance, if you like to hike, you might choose a mountain or a park for your background. If you play guitar, you might include one as an accessory for your avatar. When I did Voice Thread with my students, instead of an avatar, I had them select an icon to represent themselves. They selected clipart that became their "identity." I had a boy who selected a hot dog because it was something he liked. I had a girl select a purple rose and one who selected an angel.

CTAP2.0 suggests using Yahoo: "4. Create an avatar -- a representation of yourself. Go to http://avatars.yahoo.com/ , design an avatar [representing you or a younger version of yourself] with a school, library, or classroom background. (You will have to set up an account if you don't use Yahoo!) Save your avatar and export to your blog." They give you directions on how to export. The Yahoo site is nice because there are tons of options. However, you cannot create an avator from this site at school. You can do a Google search and find lots of programs. The following 3 are quick and fun and best of all, you save them in your picture folder.

On the last post, I suggested using Portrait Illustrator Maker. This site is easy to use and has lots of options (you can even include wrinkles if you wish!). http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml

Another really easy site to use is DoppleMe http://doppelme.com/. You have to registar, but it is free. This one was very quick.

The students suggested using The Stacks from Scholastic (designed for students, but fun to use). https://my.scholastic.com/sps_my_account/accmgmt/FlashLogin.jsp?finalSuccessURL=http://kids.scholastic.com/community/my_profile.htm

I still like http://www.voki.com/. It's a great attention getter. This is the Voki that I created that made an announcement for my students.