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Showing posts from February, 2010

What's Your Web Presence?

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Can't see the movie above? Try the YouTube Version below! -- Because Joyce writes better than me in her sleep and i should be asleep right now.... i'm re-posting what she wrote from her AWEsome #1 Edublog Award Winning Never Ending Search Blog ! (ok, so i'm lazy! :P) "Tomorrow is the second of our first-Monday TL Virtual Cafés! Please plan to attend and take away some brilliant ideas to incorporate into your own virtual practice. Join colleagues across the U.S. (and beyond!) for a free webinar on school library Web presence, Monday evening, March 1, at 8:00 p.m. EST. (That's 5 PM Pacific!) Our esteemed practitioner guests for this session include: Buffy Hamilton , Carolyn Foote , Barb Jansen , Christina Bentheim . Gwyneth Jones and I will be hosting. Find out how to support your students and faculty in a virtual environment. Join the conversation with presenters from Georgia, Texas, and Nevada, facilitators from Pennsylvania and Maryland, and participants from

Don't Be a Rotary Phone: Librarians Step Up

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OR, What kind of phone are you? The game has changed. Libraries have changed....and librarians must change with them. Telephony has changed, too! But has it, really?..... Ok , just go with me on this. From candlestick phones, crank powered wall phones, rotary phones....the touch tone innovation to blue tooth smart phones and iPhones ....telephones have moved forward, evolved, improved, and sometimes gotten more difficult to use as new features were added. But do people still talk on the phone? Do you foresee a time when people won't be communicating with each other in SOME way? Maybe through Voip or Skype but we'll ALWAYS talk to each other. It might not be the same WAY but we will communicate. Same thing with libraries and books....the technology has changed from etchings on cave wall, parchment scroll, wax tablet to Kindle but we're still reading. I LOVES me my Kindle! But I really believe that the Kindle is more of an addition than a replacement to books. I could be

MSET: the Maryland ISTE Affiliate

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MSET, (formerly MICCA), is an ISTE affiliate and organization for everyone interested in Technology and Education. Breaking NEWS! We just started our own Ning ! If you're a Maryland technology educator please join us ! It's a wonderful community of learners and the yearly conferences held at the convention center in Baltimore have set the standard for cutting edge professional development in the state of Maryland. We've had the shakers and movers of technology education as keynote speakers and concurrent session leaders (like Will Richardson below [swoon]) . ..and it just keeps getting better! New at the MSET10 conference this year! Digital Sandbox This year at MSET we are planning on holding a Digital Sandbox at the conference. A Digital Sandbox is a gathering place to relax, recharge your laptops, and hang out with your friends. It's part Bloggers' Cafe and part stand up for geeks. Have something to share, but for whatever reason you are not scheduled for

Why We Need to Teach Google Search

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and Computer Literacy. 10 or so days ago...during the Snowpocalypse 2010 ...something amazing happened on the interwebs. a meme was born! the awesome technology blog Read Write Web wrote a posting about Facebook and AOL getting together to be the one true login. and then the problems started. Internet un-aware people who don't know how to type in a URL, make a toolbar button or a bookmark and just Google to get everywhere were upset and distraught because when they typed in Facebook Login they got the RWW blog......and they started whining. then screaming. incoherently and sometimes with bad language! (be careful if you show these to teens) and with MANY typographical & grammar errors.... 1800+ comments later of "where's my facebook i want it back!" of pure Internet comedy gold MEME happened and the people at RWW couldn't understand why their traffic was going HAYwire! apparently the GOOGLE search result of Facebook and Login was the 2nd from the top resul

Letters for Libraries: Advocacy & Action!

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Letters for Libraries: It's Not Just About Books. Funding for school libraries and funding for other student literacy programs (like the National Writing Project) is being threatened both federally and in states across the country. In the 21st century information environment, our students deserve and need your help in keeping their library/information literacy programs strong. Join us for a National time of Letter Writing ...NOW! Please, If you're reading this...the time is now....Here is a helpful SAMPLE LETTER from Carolyn Foote ...just copy & paste and do your part to save our profession! Commit to writing 3 emails or letters to Congress, the Department of Education, or your state legislature regarding library and other literacy funding. There are links and information below to help you. Issues: Background information (Joyce Valenza) Write your congressman: Write your Representative Write your Senator Write your State legislator Write the Dept. of Education **AskArne@

Literate 4 Life: Librarian Branding Project

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corset pic by L. Marie do you want mad librarian cred when hanging out in the stacks with your homies? are you Literate4Life and proud of it? are you ready, willing, and able to show your love - your devotion - your RESPECT! to our gang of book loving library militants? Check out kick@$$ Librarian X aka jazzmodeus aka Jason Puckett - he's the Librarian for Communication and Educational Technologies at GSU in Atlanta and he's inked & proud! (photo from jazzmodeus flickr creative commons tattoo by Ron Hendon of Midnight Iguana Tattooing, Athens GA.) join the Published, Branded & Proud by participating in the Project Brand Yourself a Librarian Week this summer at ALA DC. Brainchild of Uber cool 8bitlibrary blog founders Justin The Librarian and Librarian JP . So, whether you're going to ALA in DC this summer...you can meet-up and get inked there then go to the appreciation & participation party... or if you're going to ISTE SIGMS & going to I

Sqworl is More Tasty than Delicious

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Sqworl is More Tasty than Delicious Dear Sqworl...I Love You! my new obsession is Sqworl ! or for my Tweeps.... #Sqworl ! i mean, i seriously have a super geek crush on this site! backstory: ever since Backflip has died (RIP) i've tried to find an easy alternative to bookmarking to use for myself and with my kids. i've never really warmed up to delicious... and i'm a visual kinda gal....so when i stumbled across this it was love at first click! My first group was called Addictive Tech Crisps for Education: Web 2.0 Tools : Mmmm tasty techie crisps so good you can't just nibble one! I also created one called: Animation Sites & Education Resources : Animation sites & resources for school use. Some for media/classroom/unit marketing and some to use with kids! each Sqworl group page is a yummy screenshot thumbnail lightbox of the sites AND with a short url! - SO easy for sharing or adding to a wikipage for students...WITH the added benefit tha

Computer Engineer Barbie: Girl Geeks RULE!

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"The geek revolution is complete. The next Barbie doll will be a computer engineer . What's most interesting about this decision by Mattel is that the career move was decided by popular vote of Barbie fans -half a milion of them - who voted to make her a computer geek. Barbie - the doll with the impossible figure - will be outfitted with a pink laptop, matching pink glasses, and a binary-code patterned dress. She was designed with help from the Society of Women Engineers. Maybe that accounts for the sensible shoes." YAY! Girl Geeks RULE!!! Photo: Mattel Source: from Science Friday geek writer Ira Flatow I So heart IRA~!!!

Blizzard Blues - Beach Thoughts

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This is the memory......the following is the reality. my deck...the snow is still up to my waist when i slide (carefully) open the door i've since shoveled it off....fearing collapse and the predicted wet snow coming tuesday night. my front door...snow blocking me in....Eep! trying to push my way out....thank goodness for good neighbors! like Steve, Michelle & little Owen! my neighborhood..... today, the aftermath.....i've yet to try and drive yet....maybe today i need more cream for my coffee!