#NECC09 Conference - Washington, DC


(click for full size image)

WARNING: rambling post with many parenthetical interjections - also, this post originally was on my Second Life blog......and i brought it over here! don't worry, it'll make sense eventually.

so the NECC conference in DC was just brilliant this year! the Twittering back channel conversation was so stimulating and i made so many new Twitterfollowingfriends! 100+....lovely, smart, & cool colleagues who can continue the discussion about Educational Technology - expanded my Personal Learning Network!.....so..... i've decided to become transparent...my worlds are colliding anyway... my interweb & SL life and my RL life...this blog will still mostly be about my SL adventures and library/technology & education work in Second Life (what little i do between changing clothes and being a Victorian Steampunk chick) but i'll maybe add more RL or at least not be so cicumspect about who i am and what i do...(as a library media/technology specialist and a graduate instructor at Johns Hopkins Uni)....but because of my early years on the web (and don't we all have these stories? and try and one up each other about how hip and cool we were with appletalk, mudds, WBS, TTRconferencing, compuserve, gopher, and a 14/4k modem with a 100 foot phone cord?) i learned to stay mum about who i really was...doing my thing and being internet aware...lots of pseudonyms! i won't list ALL of them here..(sheah, right...like duh!) anyway...mostly i didn't want my students to see what a snarky smartarse i am and to be able to let off steam with my opinions...i still worry...teachers have been fired over what they've blogged about...i like my private life well, private. i do historic re-enactment where i play a pirate wench for gosh sakes! otherwise i'm pretty tame [blinks and smiles sweetly]....so anyway...how much of your RL do you let out there? i mean...really. so, hmmm not going to over think this but i may make some past posts private. and or start a technology blog that keeps the saucier side of me out of it...(omg, not ANOTHER BLOG!) or i guess i can just blog my technology thoughts on my library blog but that has always been just for my kids & community and as a program pomotional piece...hmm WWJVD (what would Joyce Valenza do?) maybe i'll be semi-transparent then. so, ok educators....fellow technology teachers...if you found this and are looking for me i'm sure you can find the real me by what i do or you can leave a comment here and i'll hit you back. k?

so one of the highlights of the conference (for the heavier and more techy stuff check out my wiki) i got to meet the lovely, gracious, funny and adorable Miss Eleanor Anderton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eleanor is one of my oldest friends in Second Life....along with Miss Serafina Puchkina and June Wozniak...anyway....it was Miss Anderton's Shopping alerts that got me in the inventory laden addicted clothes buying stocking wearing mess that i am today in SL....and i love her for it. we were trying to connect for a couple days...and with so many sessions to attend and 19,000 people there..it wasn't easy. finally in a session on creating PLN's in SL and i was hoping with this crazy red hair of mine i'd stand out...and finally as i was leaving i heard the sweet dulcet voice yelling "RED!" and Squeee!!!! huggies galore! YAY! i very nearly jumped up and down and well....YAY! we giggled over things and made our way to the second life playground where we picked up our special SL badges and our Second Lifer (snarf) ribbons because apparently having as MANY little ribbons on your badge is like crack to my geek tribe and well....we started gossiping about shoes and stuff and the people around us were looking at us a little oddly....see? Second Life is that thing that sucks you in and swallows you up! seee?!!!! LOL anyway....it was just lovely...but i'm happy i'm home and can sleep in my own bed...Mmmmm

so ok...semi-transparent. i'm out and proud...as Capt_Red, a Second Lifer and a Librarian....and a redhead! \\FTW//! oh and now i'm plurking....oh the madness! thanks Sera & Ele! gah! more stuff to keep up with....what WILL i do?! LOL

postscript: ok....so i'm not only semi-transparent but fully transparent ....cause here's that blog with my RL name on it...Oh the humanity! keeping up with yet ANOTHER web platform!! Blurg! LOL

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to be a Teacher Librarian Rock Star

Image
 How to be a Teacher Librarian Rock Star - Branding Tips & Tricks
First thing I gotta say, I don’t know that I really love the term Library Rockstars because I think ALL Teachers, Librarians, Teacher-Librarians, Educators....we're all rock stars or each of us has an inner rock star just waiting to come out.  I also think it sounds a wee bit elitist. OK, a whole heck of a lot of elitist.  But who doesn’t want to rock it at their job?

(BTW, I was asked to write this "Rock Star" article for another publication and using the Rock Star theme was their choice - So, I'm answering their questions - I did the best I could! They highly edited my responses, and I think I ended up sounding like a total prat, but here they are in their entirety.) 

To what do you attribute your success?

I try to......

Work hard
Be Reliable
Be Reflective
Be Positive

Hard work, a sense of humor, tenacity, and a stubbornly fought for positive mental and professional attitude.
Yes, work hard - but …
Keep reading

Makerspace Starter Kit

Image
The hot new Makerspace Movement is NOT new to Murray Hill Middle School. Eighteen years ago we designed and opened the school with the idea that we would have creation labs in the Media Center, GT room, and the TV studio. We started with video production, iMovie, Specular LogoMotion, Hyperstudio, and animation with Hollyood High kids. Here's an example of an EARLY (2003) video production called Bookfellas, featuring some Guy Ritchie-esque film direction techniques. These kids are now all grown up and we've kept evolving, too!

--------We interrupt this blog post for an important announcement-------- --------------------As of August 2018 the--------------------

Makerspace Starter Kit Has Been Updated

We return you back now to our first and original Makerspace post ......Thank you!
It's OK to Start Small!
We recently expanded upon our Makerspace offerings thanks to being inspired by several of my librarian friends in our amazing #TLChat PLN! (Pls see resources below!) Kids can …
Keep reading

Musical Bookcases

Image
Here's a fun and easy to set up, book selection activity that you can basically do at the drop of a hat...or beat! (see what I did there?)  I am always looking for ways to beef up our circulation numbers, aka, getting more books into the hands of kids.

I was wanting an activity I could ru before the holidays that was fast and fun with a very little preparation. I'm kind of lazy like that - especially right before the holidays.

I've loved doing Speed Dating with Books. I've blogged about it here in 2017, the year before in 2016,  and first in 2013.

But that activity takes hours to handpick hundreds of books, arrange on tables by genre or subjects, decorate with props and signage, and then afterwards re-shelve all those not chosen.

This is a LOT easier! You only need 2-3 things:

1. Music (I used a boombox circa 1995)
2. Kids
3. Optional: Scratch & Sniff Bookmarks


The scratch & sniff bookmarks are for the first 5-8 kids checking out books. If I have to see two …
Keep reading