The Daring Librarian

Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. Because this is the time of the year when I reflect on being thankful, I'd like to share a simple thing you can do that will help you get through the hard times in teaching. As with any profession, there are awesome days and there are difficult days. During those down days, it's good to have something to remind you why we do this thing called teaching, librarianship, & education.  It's Handy to Keep The Thanks Handy I still love a manila folder!  I keep the thank you notes from kiddos in a folder in my desk and it's labeled, Stuff from KIDS . But I also found it helpful to take a digital picture of the Thank you notes. too! Just in case of age, fire, zombies, you know....the usual. And to be able to look at them anytime I needed an emotional pick-me-up. That folder, on my Flickr gallery is called...Happy !  And Then BuzzFeed ...

Ever wonder where your Tweets are going? How many Favourites, Re-Tweets, & Replies? Well, Twitter analytics is here to help! View graphic in full size Do they really matter? Nope! Like the number of followers, it's really not about quantity as it is about quality. The quality of the conversations you're having on Twitter. How much are you are sharing, helping, listening, & asking? Are you participating in some Twitter Chats? Are you helping newbies?  Are you contributing to our EPIC PLN? If not, c'mon! We're waiting for you! But if you're really not ready that's OK, too! Keep lurking, listening, & RT-ing!  I try and never give out any social media guilt trips. We're here for you when you're ready to talk on Twitter :-) Hope this infographic helps! Your thoughts are always eagerly welcomed in the comments! Give me a break from the spammers, please! LOL Cheers! ~Gwyneth

  Creativity in all it's engaging guises but presented with a new technology and social media twist! I really can't remember how I stumbled across this idea of writing super short Tweet size stories.  I certainly didn't originate it - yet when I searched the hashtag I found an assortment of fits and starts with a challenge to write a short story in the form of a Tweet - and I was intrigued! I guess it's sorta related to the Tweet Me a Book Review idea I had and blogged about a few years ago with it's accompanying Wikispaces lesson page. The activity is below is copied from my Wikispaces page where, at the bottom of the page, I uploaded for you the doublesided paper PDF version for practice or when you want that social media engagement but you can't get to or have the machines. The Wikispaces version of the lesson features a java script character counter widget and a Google form to submit the story. A good portion of my kiddos are under 13 and I wou...

Twitter: Professional or Personal? When I speak to groups, I often talk about how I use Twitter as my main source of rich professional development and as a transformational PLN builder (Personal Learning Network). I don't use Facebook personally or professionally at all. If you've been reading my blog or follow me on Twitter you know that we broke up a few years ago.  Read Dear Facebook , We Need to Talk. I think every Twitter user has some kind of  formula for their Tweets. For me, (and this SO not scientific though I did have to get my calculator out!)  I Tweet 82% ed tech & library, lesson ideas, curation and content building, being a shameless sharer and giving back to my community. I want to give more than I take. I try not to Tweet in an echo chamber.    8% pop culture - Doctor Who, Real Housewives, Sherlock, etc, 4% personal - the random and oft times inarticulate sophomoric thoughts going through me heid, my travels, Oh and weird dreams. ...

Did ya know that you can easily embed your Tweets in blog posts or wikis? Sure can! It's sorta buried, but I'll show you in 4 easy steps! — The Daring Librarian (@GwynethJones) January 4, 2014 Super thanks to Sasha Reinhardt or @MiddleGrdReads for letting me use our Tweet convo as the embed examples and inspiration for the graphic! Cheers! @GwynethJones That's awesome! — Sasha Reinhardt (@MiddleGrdReads) January 4, 2014 My Year in Twitter as an animated movie by @Vizify https://t.co/KO6wbSwex1 Wish they would give the EMBED code for blogs, tho! — The Daring Librarian (@GwynethJones) January 4, 2014 Have you consolidated your many different flash drives, changed your passwords, cleared your cookies, & dumped your cache? Click below for 10 Super Geeky Tips for the New Year Here's that golden Tweet. My silly Twitter high point of 2013! This is what got the most RT's & most Favourites? LOL Oh sure, this & not any of my ed te...

Tweet and Blog for Ed Tech May 12! From ISTE: Funding for classroom technology is in jeopardy! We're calling on educators across the US to tweet and blog for education technology funding on Wednesday, May 12. (this is my blog...sadly, Twitter is blocked at my school) President Obama's budget for FY11 provides no direct funding for education technology programs. Instead, it zeros out the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, the only source of direct support for ed tech in many states and districts. Congress doesn't have to agree to the President's budget recommendations. Help your senator and representative understand what's at stake! On May 12 tweet, retweet, and blog your support for $500 million in FY11 ed tech funding. Mark the date on your social media calendar! Watch the ISTE Connects blog and Twitter stream for more information on how educators can work with innovative tools to make ...