E-portfolios

This week we looked at e-portfolios; this particular one is called Mahara.
My impressions? Very very easy to use - at least the part we did at the Polytechnic was. At home we have been asked to simply put our blogs, flickr photos and YouTube videos in the External links section. And guess what I am having trouble with???
Anyway Janine explained how to do our blogs and I asked Leonie about the rest as I could not for the life of me find a way to link the sites with the e-portfolio. Although I cannot make heads or tail of her answer this is what Leonie suggested:

It might be easier to use the portfolio option and attach the YouTube video and the Fickr photos as files. I can't see an option in Flickr to link directly to the site but there is a way on YouTube to embed the video - may be useful for your blog.

Good luck!

Rollyo

Probably the easiest thing I have done this year. I like how you can use other peoples searches and customise them to suit yourself - very handy and time saving.
My Rollyo username is: maria105
The name of my search roll is: Library Search
These are the URLS I have listed:
http://learninginhand.com
http://bshslibrary.edublogs.org
http://aliawaltg.bpworks.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesterpubliclibrary
http://technorati.com/blogs/theshiftedlibrarian
http://obiblio.sourceforce.net/index.php/main/openbiblio
http://www.nla.gov.au/ilrs
http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloguing/music/placeabb.htm
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/havard.html
http://mariaslibraryblog.blogspot.com

Why did I decide to create this specific search roll with these specific URLS? Because these are the sites I have referred to the most this year during this course. Some I really like - the first two are my definite favourites: the first because it is a useful site on technology in schools and the second because it is a blog by a librarian who faces issues at his school I can relate to. Both have useful up to date information on libraries and technology. I will, however, probably delete the last three: my blog, the site on the Harvard style of referencing and the AACR2 abbreviations (as these are useful now but I will probably not be referring to these as much after the course).

2D0

I came across this organiser app (2Do) and thought it would be great to replace all those sticky labels I have at work (sticky labels represent my "To Do" list and are forever becoming unstuck and blowing away every time someone opens the door. On top of everything else, they are messy!) What caught my eye was that one user commented that it almost exactly replicated what he would have in his diary.
Some of the features include: tabbed calendars; drag and drop to move a "To Do" from one calendar to the next; email alarms; image attachments so you can add an image to any task; project and check lists and snooze alarms. There are many more - too many to list! Click on this link to see for yourself:
http://www.2doapp.com/en/2Do/overview.html

My YouTube Video

This is the YouTube Video I filmed last week (with lots of help!) It shows how to check out a laptop at the Polytechnic Library.

Teachertube video on Cyber Bullying

Amann, E. 2008, Cyber Bullying PSA Video, Fairport High School, N.Y., viewed 15th April 2010, [http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id.=26038&title=Cyber_Bullying_PSA_video]

Elizabeth Amann, an International Baccalaureate student at Fairport High School, has created this video on Cyber Bullying. The opening scene explores how simple it is for modern day technologies to be used as a tool to victimise others. Viewers are then presented with some alarming statistics; the repercussions of cyber bullying (such as depression and suicide) are explored and solutions to this harassment are suggested. The video concludes with a couple of websites viewers can refer to if or when needed. Thoughtful (if not disturbing) and authoritative: sponsored by Fairport High School and added to Teachertube by Gianni Bussani, the Information and Technology teacher.
View the video here: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=26038&title=Cyber_Bullying_PSA_video

Youtube and Teachertube

This week, during our lesson, we looked at Youtube and Teachertube.
Youtube: A very popular web sharing site that lets anyone store short videos for private or public viewing.
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=youtube&i=57119,00.asp
Teachertube: A video sharing website ... designed to allow those in the educational industry ... to share educational resources such as video, audio, documents, photos, groups and blogs. The site contains a mixture of classroom teaching resources and others designed to aid teacher training.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeacherTube

It was definitely a fun lesson. Firstly we needed to produce, direct and act in a film - this in itself was a life lesson (the lesson being, I was not created a movie star). I loved the cameras the Polytechnic allowed us to use (and have since been told St Therese's is looking into purchasing some!) I cannot remember their name though - does anyone know?
Anyway, my film was on checking out a laptop and the library staff were kind enough to allow me behind the circulation desk (and even showed me their library system and where everything is kept).
After this, the fun part ... uploading to Youtube. In theory, this should have been very easy. Just signing on to Youtube, naming the film, tagging it, adding a few details and then uploading it. But, of course, rarely does life work the way we expect it to and so was the case here. Technical problems at the Polythechnic interfered with our (almost) perfect day and, alas, our films are still on our memory sticks while the whole world awaits their release on the world wide web! Needless to say, we were all devastated ...
Teachertube: I did not have a chance to view this enough to give an educated opinion on it. What I did see, however, was all from America and all, well, very American. I will definitely explore this more this week.

cyber bullying

The You-Tube Video I will critically evaluate is on cyber bullying. This is the link:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=26038&title=Cyber_Bullying_PSA_video

Learning in Hand

While looking at the Bundy High School Blog, under the "Talking Tech" link, I came across this site, Learning in Hand:
http://learninginhand.com/

The site focuses on today's technology in a school setting or how we can use what is out there to enhance learning (however, while it is mainly aimed at teachers, it is not exclusive to educators). Discussed are the iPod Touch, the i Pod, podcasting, PDAs and the i Pad ... to name a few.
The site caught my eye because it is exactly what we need at work where we have wonderful ideas but no clue how to implement them!

Bundy High School

I first saw this blog ages ago (well, maybe a month or so ago) and absolutely LOVED it - maybe because I can relate with many of the library "issues" this librarian has to face or maybe because I love reading (and so really enjoy the book reviews which give me ideas for myself and my children).
Whatever the reason, I have decided to do an annotated citation of the blog and hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I do.

Symonds 2010, Bundy High Library, Bundaberg High School, Qld., viewed 7th April 2010, [http://bshslibrary.edublogs.org]

Mr Symonds, teacher-librarian at Bundaberg High School and avid reader of books, gives us a glimpse of life at Bundy High. Easy to navigate and fun, this blog is designed mainly for students and staff at Bundy High but is not limited to these members - anyone with even the slightest interest in books or technology will delight in this blog. There is an extensive section on book reviews covering most genres; a link to the newest technology and its application in the library; speculations on the degeneration of the reading culture amongst teens and the gradual "phasing out" of the teacher-librarian.
Authoritative, with no apparant biases, this blog has a little of something for everyone.
Here is the link;
http://bshslibrary.edublogs.org/

Apple I-Pad

Last week our technician was raving on and on about the launch of the Apple I-Pad which, he said, was on the brink of happening. This morning, judging by all the news broadcasts, the Apple I-Pad was launched. Every channel deemed to have nothing else to report.
"What's the big deal?" I asked myself. So, I looked it up.
The Apple I-Pad is basically a hand held device through which you can view movies, surf the net, read e-books and play games.
I found some sites I thought were interesting and informative including one which states the new device has obvious "teething problems".
Here are the links:
http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/03/apple-ipad-review/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7558319/Apple-iPad-launch-marred-by-technical-problems.html

The University of Adelaide Library Podcast

University of Adelaide Library 2010, University of Adelaide Library / Library Podcasts, University of Adelaide, S.A., viewed 3rd April 2010, [www.adelaide.edu.au/library/help/podcast.html.]

A set of three podcasts useful for keeping students updated with information on using the library effectively.
Podcast #1 gives a general outline of the library including study areas, databases and the Research Librarian. Podcast #2 focuses on the "non-google-googles" or library databases with academically approved information (no unreliable material). Podcast #3 discusses (in detail) the Research Librarian - available in each study area for 1st years through to Honour students.
Aimed at new students or "old hands" still finding their way, the podcasts are also available in print format.
Authoritative: Podcasts sponsored by the Adelaide University and delivered by two Research Librarians at the Barr Smith Library.
Here is the link:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/help/podcast.html