Glogster examples

Some one on Twitter was asking for some good examples of using Glogster.  Here are a few I had bookmarked:

Shakespeare Parodies
Place Value
A Book Review
Canadian History
War propaganda
Poetry project
Novel - I heard the owl  call my name

Status Quo or Living Your Dream?

Image used under a creative commons licence from vanhookc 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/librariesrock/4064275305/sizes/o/
Click image for a clearer view.

Spending some time following twitter links on Saturday morning allowed me to look in on the AASL 2009 conference virtually.  Seeing what those impassioned, creative and forward thinking librarians were up to got me thinking.  What is holding us back from creating the libraries of our dreams, libraries that are work spaces for students libraries where the librarian acts as guide and mentor and students gather to research and create collaboratively or on their own?  Are we constrained by the systems we work within or are those restrictions self-imposed?

There are so many free ways to create libraries that are innovative.  I wish I had been able to attend Buffy Hamilton’s session.  I got so many great ideas from viewing her slide deck I can only imagine how rich her session was.  The presentation was entitled Not Just Another Brick in the Wall? Engaging 21^st Century Learning Through Participatory School Librarianship.  I took a page of notes as I viewed the slides.  Tomorrow I will begin to investigate great people for teens to follow on Twitter, holding a lunch hour session to advertise the many mobile reading opportunities, and establishing a teen advisory committee to find out what the students would like to see in their library.

To learn more about participatory librarianship check out Buffy's Delicious bookmarks.  I found the bookmarked article We Live in Shakespearean Times  particularly inspiring.  Also her wiki

AASL2009 Participatory Librarianship.  I think you'll be impressed.

As I watched the tweets go by I began to collect some memorable quotes.  I can't cite the speaker as often attributions weren't given.  It's 140 characters after all.  To see them for yourself do a Twitter Search for #aasl2009 or go to TwapperKeeper.

We've upped our standards, so up yours.
Loertscher wants librarians to be the elephant in the room that cannot be ignored.
Being an advocate isn't enough.  Be an activist.
I say you have TIME, you're just not using it well. (Aim that one at the next person who doesn't have time for collaborative planning with you!)
Make the library a learning centre not a stuff centre.
School librarian: resource specialist, information literacy teacher, collaboration gatekeeper
Mash content, literacy and 21st century skills together or you will go nowhere.

You can't be burnt out if you have never been fired up.

So that's it, my report from a conference I wasn't able to attend.  Thanks Twitter!

Twitter Lists

It had to happen.  Hasn’t everyone blogged about Twitter lists in the past week?

The jury is still out for me as to how useful I will find them.  I made one list of my own and selected 4 others to follow.  So far I haven’t ever clicked on the feeds to see what’s happening on them. 

I worried as I made the list that I might inadvertently leave someone off and offend them.  Compiling the list was onerous but now that it’s done I find it easy to add new people in as I come across them.

I have used lists created by others to find new and interesting people to follow. 

I’m thinking it might be useful to be able to send a message to ONLY the people on your list.  That way you could ask questions or share information with people on specific lists while not boring or irritating the other folks who follow you.

Somehow I have managed to end up on 40 other people’s lists.  Highly flattering in a way.  See the list below.  Just for the record, I might be considered bookish although it’s not a term I consider in an attractive light.  I have passed on a few useful links.  I’m definitely not an ESL teacher or translator but as a teacher librarian can recognize a useful ESL related site when I see on.  I’m not a publisher, unless you count publishing a blog post.  The same can be said for being a writer.

Twitter lists I’m tickled, amused or perplexed to find myself listed on:

-       bookish people

-       quality linkers

-       esl stars

-       publishing

-       rockstar librarians

-       translator –esl teacher

-       writing writers

So what’s your take on twitter lists.  Useful? Waste of time?  Undecided?

Am I missing something blindingly obvious that’s worth a mention?

Please comment!

Look at that, a post with not one hyperlink!  Tsk. Tsk.

Comment Moderation

When I started the WebFooted Booklady blog over two and a half years ago I wanted to be as open as possible.  Consequently I did not enable comment moderation nor did I require those who wished to comment to jump through the screen captcha hoop.

Today I see that a spammer has been seeding the blog with advertising comments.  I have removed those comments and turned on the moderation feature.  This is unfortunate as I feel it stifles the flow of conversation.

To those of you who have asked questions and added value or support through your comments, thank you.  I appreciate your interaction and the conversations you engage in here.

Last links for October 2009

Image: Japanese Persimmons used under a creative commons licence from Big Grey Mare
http://www.flickr.com/photos/biggreymare/3128606422/sizes/m/
Chosen in honor of the black squirrel who is distracting me as I watch him trying to help himself to the persimmons in the backyard.

It's been a great week and I have loads to share.   In the interests of brevity I have posted a few here today but you can check out the rest on delicious.  Over there.  On the sidebar where it says My Bookmarks.

Once in a while I come across a slide set that I really wish I had come up with myself.  Such is the case with Donna Saxby's classy Prezi on Delicious.  (@librarydonna)

It's that time of the school year when we welcome student teachers into our classrooms.  Cybraryman1 has compiled a useful page of links for student teachers.

The Twitterverse has been all agog over the release of Lists to everyone this week.  I've made some useful connections by checking out education or school librarian related lists and created one of my own:   teacher librarians.  My name has been added to a few and a couple have left me scratching my head.  How did I end up on a list of publishers?   Really, this blog doesn't count.

Here are a couple of useful list-related sites:
How-To: Use Twitter Lists by Demo Girl
Listorious: The Directory of Awesome Lists on Twitter

The Unquiet Librarian has written an interesting post on Advocating with more Dimension to your Monthly Reports.

I am User Generated blog has an interesting comment on plagiarism.

My favourite podcast/slideshare of the week from Dean Shareski When You're Not the Smartest Person in the Room.  Pass it on to someone who doesn't understand the value of educational networking.  Click on his name above to see his really cool/creepy twitter avatar.  (This may be time-limited so if it's gone when you get there don't blame me, please!)

I started a Google Doc after asking this question on Twitter:  What one book do you think every teacher should read.  I'm looking for titles that make you think or make you change your practice or open your eyes to a whole new way of seeing the world.  If you have a suggestion please add it to the list, it's open to everyone.  Take a look, there are some cool titles there.

And finally a great student lesson plan from David Truss:  Halloween Scavenger Hunt on Ning he created it for a class doing a philanthropy project.  Great model!

Drop Everything and Read

Please join me and thousands of teachers, students, government and members of the public across Canada as we celebrate National School Library Day and Drop Everything and Read for 20 minutes this morning.

Collaborative Conferencing

Image used under a Creative Commons License from ChrisL_AK on flickr.

I am more and more loving the idea of the collaborative conference. On Saturday I attended a day-long session with Steve Hargadon on Social Educational Networking. (Steve has officially renamed it). His session model was inspiring. Here’s why:

- He posted an agenda on a wiki page and then proceeded to rewrite it based on the interests and needs of the group that came out during the introduction to the day.
- During introductions he mined the group for talents or knowledge that individuals were willing to share.
- He reassessed throughout the day to determine that individual needs and expectations were being met.
- The feeling of spontaneity and serendipity was exciting. He connected our session with another in California by Skype during the lunch break and the two groups shared what they had learned that day. He brought in three other educators using Skype to talk briefly about their experiences with networking.
- He ensured that the interests of both beginners and more seasoned practitioners were met through the use of breakout sessions.
- He ended the day with an energized speed-geeking session where participants shared useful tools or ideas.
- He developed a real sense of community amongst participants who left with a desire to reconnect with each other and extend conversations beyond the session.
- We didn’t ‘sit and git’ but rather shared our strengths, asked questions and had deep conversations.

I came away with a clear sense of how I might restructure the training sessions I do.  I also wonder how this might be effectively used in the classroom.

Do we have the courage to step away from the front of the class and allow students to create learning clusters that better meet their needs?  Clusters that change as the students' needs change.  Would this help to build a sense of trust and a culture of learning in the classroom?  I think it's worth a try.