#22, #23 Audiobooks and downloadable media

In my school library we have quite a number of audio books which are especially useful for ESL students and students who have reading difficulties. We plan to keep augmenting our audiobook collection and recognise that audiobooks can also be useful for improving students' listening skills.
We also have  a number of different types of e-book readers which are proving popular with staff and students. The principal of our school is keen to expand on the use of e-books and I can see sometime in the future that our senior students will be using iPads which have electronic versions of their textbooks as well as the novels they are reading. There are obvious benefits - no heavy books to cart around, no bookrooms in schools and loan schemes, reduced need to handle books and process loans, students able to search textbooks and quickly find what they are looking for, portabilty of resources, and so on.
However, I prefer to still read a book rather than use a Kindle. There is something about having a book in your hand and flipping the pages. The downfall of paper and books has been predicted for sometime but they are still flourishing (but for how long?).

#21 YouTube, TeacherTube

I use YouTube regularly and save videos that I might be able to use in my teaching. Whilst there is a lot of rubbish on YouTube there is also lots of good things. Students at my school love using it and I use videos with them that explain a topic better than I could explain it. I also use TeacherTube but much less than YouTube. 

I like this clever little video for Ireland Library Week from YouTube which I shared with students and teachers. Just a reminder that libraries can be fun places but also asked the students to not get any ideas for our library!

#20 Podcasts

I've been listening to podcasts through iTunes for a while now and enjoy searching for different ones. I use the Teachers' Podcast and ABC Radio National often but don't restrict myself to these two. Also listen to audiobooks from time to time.

We are trying to encourage the use of podcasts at my school but most students prefer to use visual materials. There is a need for good listening skills and concentration with podcasts and this does not suit many of today's students!

The media teacher at our school is doing some work with vodcasts and iTunesU. There seems to be lots of resources available and we will be inserviced shortly in this area.

#19 Rollyo

Rollyo is new to me and I like the concept. I experimented with creating my own search tool and became familiar with how to use it without too much trouble.

This is something that students could get into and use in a variety of subjects. Focus could be on using reliable websites and the search process. I may have missed something but think there is a need for including some sort of advanced search.

#18 Wikis

Many teachers are quick to jump on students who go to Wikipedia straightaway to find information but I must admit that I find it a valuable tool in education and use it frequently myself. I like to expore wikis which have been specifically created for people like me with specific interests eg the teacher librarian wiki. You can get lots of information and ideas which you can use. Setting up resource pages in wikispaces for students by teachers is becoming increasingly popular and it has the great advantage that students can access the wiki at home without having to connect to a school network.

#17 Social bookmarking

I think Delicious is a very useful tool. Once you have bookmarked a site using Delicious you can see who else has also bookmarked the site. You can then access their sites and see if they have found any other good information on the same topic. This would be particularly useful in an education setting where teachers can network with one another. One concern is the privacy aspect.

#15 #16 RSS feeds / Subscribing

RSS feeds are a useful way to gather information succinctly that you are interested in. I think that the use of them to subscribe to different blogs has educational uses and allows users to group feeds to a wide range of resources. Good for students when they are doing specific research as they won't have to keep loading lots of websites. 

#13 #14 Social Networks

My son tells me "no-one uses MySpace anymore" and he has set up a FaceBook account for me. However, even though I have had a play around I can't see myself becoming addicted to it. I prefer to phone friends or meet them for a chat (I'm showing my age now!). Educationally, I can't see any enormous advantage. I teach in a high school which has an open space layout where many students use laptops and we are constantly telling students to get off FaceBook.

#12 Flickr

Venerie a photo by Phil du Valois on Flickr.

A scene from France in the last 7 days category. Took me a while to work how to blog the photo but I got there. Interestingly, Flickr is one of the few websites that have been blocked in the school I teach in. So no hope to use it with my students.

#11 Library Thing

I didn't know this website existed. Very easy to use and you can get full cataloguing for your own personal collection! Great for home use or boutique libraries. Don't think I would be inclined to use it in the classroom but could be used for creating databases and how to search them. I entered Keith Richards' biography "Life" in my collection and there were 500+ members(?), 16 conversations (discussions?) and reviews of the book. Another book I entered had only 1 member. Something I think I will come back to later on. 

#10 Online image generators

The image above was created at www.imagechef.com using the Rock Concert background and inserting an image and text. I found it very easy using this website and copied and pasted the html code. I also tried the JellyMuffin Image Generator but when I copied the html I got an error message about a tag. I couldn't find any way to save the image at this website. I also had a quick look at the other websites - lots of fun to be had! I think such websites have a part to play in secondary school classes as they offer students a chance to be imaginative.

#9 Virtual Worlds

Not my thing I'm afraid to say! I can see that computer gamers would probably love this sort of thing but as a teacher I can see that it would take up a lot of time and resources. I think for a lot of people (and me) there would be a steep learning curve. I would be interested to know in more detail how some of those American universities are using virtual worlds but believe the secondary school environment is a totally different situation. Anyhow, I have learnt a little bit more about what is available on the Internet!

#8 iGoogle

I didn't know what to expect when I read the intro - was I creating my own personal web page from scratch? In a way I am but I didn't like the look of my iGoogle page - maybe because I ticked most of the boxes in the intro for what I liked and ended up with oodles of gadgets. The screen looked so cluttered! I know I can delete gadgets, move the gadgets around and that with time I will get to know where each one is. I will need to explore it more before I am convinced it is the way to go .

With the latest version of Windows I am able to put gadgets on my desktop which are different shapes with vibrant colours eg one for a Google search, one for the weather, finance etc and I think I prefer this rather than having to load my browser. But I can appreciate the idea of iGoogle with having all your information needs in one place rather than navigating from one web page to another. It needs to be more appealing though.

Yes, Google seems too good to believe to work for. As their shares are about $600 the company is obviously making buckets of money and can afford. to hire the best people and provide them with lots of perks. I think I could handle working there though!

#7 Google Books

I haven't used Google Books before but as a librarian it is another weapon in the armoury that I can use. I tried it out on a book on an exhibition (An Edwardian Summer) that I viewed in Sydney in the new year and I half expected that it would not be there (but it was with a picture of the cover!). I suppose I expected Google Books to be mostly American books - I will explore it a bit further in the weeks to come. Yes, I would certainly use it at home and at work.

#6 Google Maps

I love this sort of thing. Google Earth,Google street view, satellite views of where you live etc. Good that you can create your own maps and share them. Great teaching tool in a range of subjects.

#5 Google Docs

I had never heard of Google Docs before but found it quite good. I liked the fact that you could save your document in different formats e.g. Word, pdf. The interface was quite easy to use and satisfied most of my requirements without the technical detail of Microsoft Word. The old-style pull down menus are still my preference to the new style ribbon in Word. Google Docs also others advanced facilities such as entering scientific/mathematical equations/formulae. The word processor would be adequate for most users and incorporates a wide range of formatting and cut/copy/paste facilities. I'm now going to have a go using the spreadsheet and presentation facilities!

#4 Web 2.0

I found the articles quite interesting with their varying opinion. The use of wikis, blogs, social networking sites and other new technologies is ever increasing in society and this is nowhere more obvious than in the senior secondary environment where I work. Libraries are well-suited to use the ever increasing number of these new Web 2.0 Internet technologies as they facilitate the sharing of information which is a key aim of libraries. I look forward to the introduction of new library services which incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into the education sector. Secondary students are generally not afraid to investigate new ideas and like to interact with interesting online technologies.

#1 #2 #3 Started the course

7.3.2011
Started the How 2 of Web 2.0 course
Visited Helen Blower's website and had a look around
Viewed the video "Students Today" on TeacherTube
Created a Google account and am creating my first Blog