I like Wikis.
In school, when my study groups were all in different states, wikis made it much easier to collaborate on papers and presentations. When used correctly, we didn't run into the problems that always occur when email a Word file back and forth. We were all able to edit the same document from where ever we were located and, for the most part, there was only one version.
Libraries can find many useful purposes for wikis. Policies, phone lists, etc. can all be updated in one file. No more sending out copy after copy of lists and/or list corrections. The file is always in the same place and can be updated quickly and efficiently.
I give wikis two thumbs up!
Michael
Friday, December 7, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Intermission #2 - My AZLA 2007 Adventure: Part 2
AZLA (Arizona Library Association) 2007 Annual conference
Theme - "Sharing Common Values"
Wednesday 11/15/07 (Day 2)
Day 2 was a mixed experience. There were good points and bad ones.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hip Hip Hooray! It's Family Literacy Day!
Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford
This didn't really seem to have much information on Family Literacy. It seemed to mostly be a plug for the author's books (kid looking non-fiction picture book of home remedies). There were some shared stories about audience member's experiences with home remedies and memories that can be invoked by different smells and sounds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KIDS Interest Group
Chris Gall
This was an author session where he regaled us with the tale of how he went from childhood writer (7th grade) to illustrator (covers for Atlantic Monthly, US News and Terry Pratchett book covers) to artist and then to the present where he is a writer/artist/illustrator.
****A bit of trivia: His grandmother wrote the song "America the Beautiful"*****
This was an interesting and fun speaker.
The steps Chris takes when creating his books:
1. Think of a title (some of his unpublished ones are pretty funny)
2. Create the cover
3. Write the story
4. Send the manuscript to the editor (and re-write when it comes back -- Trust your editor)
5. Create storyboards
6. Research what will be illustrated (What is it really like on Mars or at the bottom of the
ocean, etc.)
7. Sketch the illustrations
8. Create engravings from the illustrations
9. Scan the artwork into Adobe Illustrator
10. Add color in the software program (yup. no more had drawing/coloring)
His works can be found at www.chrisgall.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "Ruff" Guide to Storytime
Bill Landau
"Mr. Bill" presented his method for doing storytimes using movements and his guitar.
The key is to make children want to read and learn. Freshen up the sessions with new books, songs, etc. Be sure to say please, thank you and you're welcome. This teaches the children good habits. A librarian (at least a childrens' one) needs to many different hats; nurtuing, teacher, role model, psychologist, referee, discipline and loving.
There were some tips on grants (whereever to get them, remember to thank the people who give them to you).
Create your own characters for storytimes, celebrate special days (Dr Seuss bday, your bday, first day of spring, etc).
Sometimes you have to learn to say "no". Don't try to do too much and overwhelm yourself.
Many childrens songs only require the guitar chords C, F and G <--- this is important for people like me who are just now learning to play the guitar.
This was a fun session where we got up, sang a couple songs and learned about storytimes from another person's perspective and experience.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wild, The Wacky, The "Funderful" - Creative ways to make books matter to kids
Corey Green and Terri Fields
This one started out pretty good with the teacher/author (Corey) giving some good examples and tips on how to inspire young readers. I had some issues with part of the five finger rules:
* Thumb - Microphone (telling the story)
* Index finger - Points to the main characters
* Middle finger - this can only lead to conflict
* Ring finger - People remember the setting
* Pinky finger - Least important is the plot (I disagree with this one writing for old children)
She also gave a tip on forming book clubs. Kids read the same book. Set aside some space at a certain time for them to just sit and read together (to themselves or out loud).
The second speaker (Terri) was a bit out there. She likes to be very animated when we read stories to children we should do the same. I agree with this, although she seemed a bit extreme.
She gave us an example as she read from one of the books she wrote. This one was about a mother who has two small boys who like to fight and wrestle with each other. One day mom stops a the gas station and purposely leaves the keys in the ignition while she goes in to pay (it gets worse). The kids are wrestling around and stop when they realize it isn't mom who got back in the guy but some man they don't know. There is then a car jacking (keep in mind, she's fully animating the kids here to show us how to read to children). She ends her example when the carjacker points a gun at the face of one of the children.
In my opinon bad parenting and carjackings are not appropriate topics for childrens books. Also, even though I was in the fifth row with a buffer of four full rows of people between us, her characterizations were scaring the bajeezus out of me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Conference Impressions
All in all, I did learn some interesting things at AZLA 2007. Met with some vendors (always important when they come to town), saw some of the new books that we'll hopfully be getting soon (including "Mythology" the lastest in the "ology" series (Egyptology, Dragonology, Pirateology, Wizardology). I learned some new things I can add in to my storytimes and inspired me to even add some flannel board components to Shake Rattle and Roll.
The downside was an obvious lack of programming. There were one and two hour periods between sessions and some time periods has empty rooms with no programming at all. This was a first for me based on any other conference/convention I've been to int he last several years. The exhibit hall was unusually small. Maybe 2/3 the number of vendors that usually are there. At any given time it seemed that the poster session hallway was half empty. Also, the food vendor/kitchen apparently decided not to be open for the conference forcing people to either grab vending machine food or go outside to grab some grub.
The negatives It won't stop me from going next year though as it is still a useful tool for local librarians.
Theme - "Sharing Common Values"
Wednesday 11/15/07 (Day 2)
Day 2 was a mixed experience. There were good points and bad ones.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hip Hip Hooray! It's Family Literacy Day!
Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford
This didn't really seem to have much information on Family Literacy. It seemed to mostly be a plug for the author's books (kid looking non-fiction picture book of home remedies). There were some shared stories about audience member's experiences with home remedies and memories that can be invoked by different smells and sounds.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KIDS Interest Group
Chris Gall
This was an author session where he regaled us with the tale of how he went from childhood writer (7th grade) to illustrator (covers for Atlantic Monthly, US News and Terry Pratchett book covers) to artist and then to the present where he is a writer/artist/illustrator.
****A bit of trivia: His grandmother wrote the song "America the Beautiful"*****
This was an interesting and fun speaker.
The steps Chris takes when creating his books:
1. Think of a title (some of his unpublished ones are pretty funny)
2. Create the cover
3. Write the story
4. Send the manuscript to the editor (and re-write when it comes back -- Trust your editor)
5. Create storyboards
6. Research what will be illustrated (What is it really like on Mars or at the bottom of the
ocean, etc.)
7. Sketch the illustrations
8. Create engravings from the illustrations
9. Scan the artwork into Adobe Illustrator
10. Add color in the software program (yup. no more had drawing/coloring)
His works can be found at www.chrisgall.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "Ruff" Guide to Storytime
Bill Landau
"Mr. Bill" presented his method for doing storytimes using movements and his guitar.
The key is to make children want to read and learn. Freshen up the sessions with new books, songs, etc. Be sure to say please, thank you and you're welcome. This teaches the children good habits. A librarian (at least a childrens' one) needs to many different hats; nurtuing, teacher, role model, psychologist, referee, discipline and loving.
There were some tips on grants (whereever to get them, remember to thank the people who give them to you).
Create your own characters for storytimes, celebrate special days (Dr Seuss bday, your bday, first day of spring, etc).
Sometimes you have to learn to say "no". Don't try to do too much and overwhelm yourself.
Many childrens songs only require the guitar chords C, F and G <--- this is important for people like me who are just now learning to play the guitar.
This was a fun session where we got up, sang a couple songs and learned about storytimes from another person's perspective and experience.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wild, The Wacky, The "Funderful" - Creative ways to make books matter to kids
Corey Green and Terri Fields
This one started out pretty good with the teacher/author (Corey) giving some good examples and tips on how to inspire young readers. I had some issues with part of the five finger rules:
* Thumb - Microphone (telling the story)
* Index finger - Points to the main characters
* Middle finger - this can only lead to conflict
* Ring finger - People remember the setting
* Pinky finger - Least important is the plot (I disagree with this one writing for old children)
She also gave a tip on forming book clubs. Kids read the same book. Set aside some space at a certain time for them to just sit and read together (to themselves or out loud).
The second speaker (Terri) was a bit out there. She likes to be very animated when we read stories to children we should do the same. I agree with this, although she seemed a bit extreme.
She gave us an example as she read from one of the books she wrote. This one was about a mother who has two small boys who like to fight and wrestle with each other. One day mom stops a the gas station and purposely leaves the keys in the ignition while she goes in to pay (it gets worse). The kids are wrestling around and stop when they realize it isn't mom who got back in the guy but some man they don't know. There is then a car jacking (keep in mind, she's fully animating the kids here to show us how to read to children). She ends her example when the carjacker points a gun at the face of one of the children.
In my opinon bad parenting and carjackings are not appropriate topics for childrens books. Also, even though I was in the fifth row with a buffer of four full rows of people between us, her characterizations were scaring the bajeezus out of me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall Conference Impressions
All in all, I did learn some interesting things at AZLA 2007. Met with some vendors (always important when they come to town), saw some of the new books that we'll hopfully be getting soon (including "Mythology" the lastest in the "ology" series (Egyptology, Dragonology, Pirateology, Wizardology). I learned some new things I can add in to my storytimes and inspired me to even add some flannel board components to Shake Rattle and Roll.
The downside was an obvious lack of programming. There were one and two hour periods between sessions and some time periods has empty rooms with no programming at all. This was a first for me based on any other conference/convention I've been to int he last several years. The exhibit hall was unusually small. Maybe 2/3 the number of vendors that usually are there. At any given time it seemed that the poster session hallway was half empty. Also, the food vendor/kitchen apparently decided not to be open for the conference forcing people to either grab vending machine food or go outside to grab some grub.
The negatives It won't stop me from going next year though as it is still a useful tool for local librarians.
Learning 2.0 - Thing #15
I thought there were a lot of good ideas presented in the five perspectives. It's a little scary to think that people are now exploring Library 4.0 and we've just begun Library 2.0. We definitely have some catching up to do if we're going to stay up on the trends that will help our customers do what they need to do or retrieve the information they need quickly and efficiently.
Learning 2.0 - Thing #14
Technorati is a pretty good way to search for blogs of interest. I found that many of the "top searches" had zero results and the "featured bloggers" seemed mostly political in nature. I'm not sure how one becomes a "featured" blogger.
I was able to search for things like "Library 2.0" (remember to put the phrase in quotes or you'll get way more results than you want/need).
I was able to search for things like "Library 2.0" (remember to put the phrase in quotes or you'll get way more results than you want/need).
Learning 2.0 - Thing #13
This "thing" was absolutely delicious :)
I can see where it could be useful. Many people have books marks on their computer for sites of interest but what happens if you're out of town at a conference and you need some information from one of the sites. Chances are you didn't book mark it on both your desk PC and your laptop. So you must re-research the topic to once again find the information. Depending on what you're looking for you could come up with hundreds of thousands or millions of hits. If you bookmark through Del.icio.us then your bookmarks travel with you.
Plus you can see what others have bookmarked which could save time on future knowledge quests.
I can see where it could be useful. Many people have books marks on their computer for sites of interest but what happens if you're out of town at a conference and you need some information from one of the sites. Chances are you didn't book mark it on both your desk PC and your laptop. So you must re-research the topic to once again find the information. Depending on what you're looking for you could come up with hundreds of thousands or millions of hits. If you bookmark through Del.icio.us then your bookmarks travel with you.
Plus you can see what others have bookmarked which could save time on future knowledge quests.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Intermission #1 - My AZLA 2007 Adventure: Part 1
AZLA (Arizona Library Association) 2007 Annual conference
Theme - "Sharing Common Values"
Wednesday 11/14/07 (Day 1)
I kicked off the conference with a Snickers bar and a coke. Breakfast of champions. After beating myself up over this I went to the Keynote address.
** Note: Our very own Kathy Coster and Yvonne Murphy won the AZLA President's Program Award for their presentation "Design for Change and Change by Design" (read further for a program description). The award is given to a program that best embodies the theme of the conference. Congrats to Kathy and Yvonne!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keynote Topic - "Understanding Culture and Building Community"
Keynote Speaker - Dr. Matthew Whitaker
Dr. Whitaker was an energetic and entertaining speaker. He spoke eloquently about the how truly important it is to recognize and understand the diverse groups of people out there not just when making policy but also when just going about our daily lives. It's especially important to acknowledge all races, genders, classes, etc. when looking towards the common goals in the institution.
Some things you can do to fight sterotypes --
* Have an open mind
* Expand your comfort zones
* Value both official and unofficial education
* Share your experienced; both good and bad
* Be humble
* Take action through organization
* Commitment
I hope I will have the opportunity to hear Dr. Whitaker speak again in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Division meeting - Grand Canyon Reader Award, National Board Certification, and Advocacy Updates
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Non-Fiction Book: "Georgia Fleas" by Joan Holub
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Intermediate Book: (tie) "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke and "Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism" by Georgia Byng
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book: "Son of the Mob" by Gordon Korman
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Picture Book: "Pinduli" by Janelle Cannon
Also discussed and encouraged was calling our government representatives to stop just voicing their support for H.R. 2864 "Skills Act" and actually sign on it. So far the only AZ rep to do so is Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]who introduced it back in June 2007.
Information on the bill can be found here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2864
On a Learning 2.0 note, there is an RSS feed to track the progress of the bill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beyond the Basics: Making the Most of your Library Website
Marylaine BLock
This was an interesting session. The speaker gave quite a few good tips on making the library more useful to the customers. It seems many people are having trouble with IS departments and getting permission to access some of the Library 2.0/Web 2.0 tools that are needed by staff.
Here are some of the tips and insights:
* The middle third of the webpage is "prime real estate". The most important items should
go here.
* Offer a virtual tour of the library
* Offer tutorials on how to use library services
* Offer links for voter and community issues
* Post stategic plans and annual reports
* Have a recorded video or sound byte greeting from the Library director
* Offering a blog gives the library a more "human" face. It allows for interaction between
the library and its customer (the ones who do come to the library as well as those who
don't or can't).
* Offer a sick kids kit. Downloadable stories, coloring pages, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design for Change, Change by Design
Kathy Coster and Yvonne Murphy
This presentation (AZLA President's Award) gave details on the new Customer model concept being tested at the newly built Arabian library.
Thinking outside the box starting with a building hat is not shaped like a box.
Much of the space is adaptable and many of the shelves are mobile.
Many of the concepts are taken from the "bookstore" model.
There were many good questions from the audience and I think this new concept will be watched closely.
Theme - "Sharing Common Values"
Wednesday 11/14/07 (Day 1)
I kicked off the conference with a Snickers bar and a coke. Breakfast of champions. After beating myself up over this I went to the Keynote address.
** Note: Our very own Kathy Coster and Yvonne Murphy won the AZLA President's Program Award for their presentation "Design for Change and Change by Design" (read further for a program description). The award is given to a program that best embodies the theme of the conference. Congrats to Kathy and Yvonne!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keynote Topic - "Understanding Culture and Building Community"
Keynote Speaker - Dr. Matthew Whitaker
Dr. Whitaker was an energetic and entertaining speaker. He spoke eloquently about the how truly important it is to recognize and understand the diverse groups of people out there not just when making policy but also when just going about our daily lives. It's especially important to acknowledge all races, genders, classes, etc. when looking towards the common goals in the institution.
Some things you can do to fight sterotypes --
* Have an open mind
* Expand your comfort zones
* Value both official and unofficial education
* Share your experienced; both good and bad
* Be humble
* Take action through organization
* Commitment
I hope I will have the opportunity to hear Dr. Whitaker speak again in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Division meeting - Grand Canyon Reader Award, National Board Certification, and Advocacy Updates
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Non-Fiction Book: "Georgia Fleas" by Joan Holub
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Intermediate Book: (tie) "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke and "Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism" by Georgia Byng
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book: "Son of the Mob" by Gordon Korman
2007 Grand Canyon Reader Award for Picture Book: "Pinduli" by Janelle Cannon
Also discussed and encouraged was calling our government representatives to stop just voicing their support for H.R. 2864 "Skills Act" and actually sign on it. So far the only AZ rep to do so is Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]who introduced it back in June 2007.
Information on the bill can be found here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2864
On a Learning 2.0 note, there is an RSS feed to track the progress of the bill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beyond the Basics: Making the Most of your Library Website
Marylaine BLock
This was an interesting session. The speaker gave quite a few good tips on making the library more useful to the customers. It seems many people are having trouble with IS departments and getting permission to access some of the Library 2.0/Web 2.0 tools that are needed by staff.
Here are some of the tips and insights:
* The middle third of the webpage is "prime real estate". The most important items should
go here.
* Offer a virtual tour of the library
* Offer tutorials on how to use library services
* Offer links for voter and community issues
* Post stategic plans and annual reports
* Have a recorded video or sound byte greeting from the Library director
* Offering a blog gives the library a more "human" face. It allows for interaction between
the library and its customer (the ones who do come to the library as well as those who
don't or can't).
* Offer a sick kids kit. Downloadable stories, coloring pages, etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design for Change, Change by Design
Kathy Coster and Yvonne Murphy
This presentation (AZLA President's Award) gave details on the new Customer model concept being tested at the newly built Arabian library.
Thinking outside the box starting with a building hat is not shaped like a box.
Much of the space is adaptable and many of the shelves are mobile.
Many of the concepts are taken from the "bookstore" model.
There were many good questions from the audience and I think this new concept will be watched closely.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Learning 2.0 - Thing # 12
I really like both MySpace and Facebook. MySpace seems more customizable and fun. It appears authors, performers, musical groups, organizations and younger people are the prime users. Facebook seems more for older/grown-up and serious crowd.
My relatives are on Facebook and use it for genealogy and brief life event updates.
Here is link to my MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/corwyndriscol)
My relatives are on Facebook and use it for genealogy and brief life event updates.
Here is link to my MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/corwyndriscol)
Monday, November 5, 2007
Learning 2.0 - Thing #11
LibraryThing seems to be a great resource not just for organizing my own books but, also to see what others are reading.
Here is a link to my library (first 5 books):
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Mikeschor
Here is a link to my library (first 5 books):
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Mikeschor
Learning 2.0 - Thing #10
So this is what I would look like as a character on the Simpsons?
I uploaded a pic (headshot) to http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/dvd/anime-character-generator.htm
And Viola! An animated version of myself.
Enjoy!
Michael
I uploaded a pic (headshot) to http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/dvd/anime-character-generator.htm
And Viola! An animated version of myself.
Enjoy!
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #9
I think what I found to be the easiest way of finding feeds is to simply go to the sites I visit on a regular basis. Many of them have the RSS icon and allowed me to add the feed.
Now, with bloglines, instead of going back to each individual site I can see the news all in one place.
Michael
Now, with bloglines, instead of going back to each individual site I can see the news all in one place.
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #8
I love bloglines and RSS feeds because most of the info and news I receive now are things that I feel are important to me.
Using the RSS feeds I can stay on top of new technologies and trends that affect my work and life. Using a site like Bloglines brings all my different feeds together.
Here is the link to my feeds:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/MikeSchor
Until next time,
Michael
Using the RSS feeds I can stay on top of new technologies and trends that affect my work and life. Using a site like Bloglines brings all my different feeds together.
Here is the link to my feeds:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/MikeSchor
Until next time,
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #7
Blog about anything technology related? Wow, that covers a lot.
How about the Internet in general? I can remember a day when there was no such thing (at least not available to the public). Think back to how life was before the Internet. No online searches, databases, or electronic information accessibility of any kind. No email either. I remember the days of $50 phone bills.
Now with email, I save about $20 per month. Doesn't sound like much? Look at it this way:
$20 x 12 = $240 per year.
$240 x approx 15 yrs = $3600.
That a pretty good chunk of change. Now add in all the stamp money, saving on late charges for those times when you couldn't get your bills to their destination on time (now that online payments are available), those heavy packages of family photos which can now be sent electronically, etc.
Wowzers!
It boggles the mind (or is that bloggles?)
Michael
How about the Internet in general? I can remember a day when there was no such thing (at least not available to the public). Think back to how life was before the Internet. No online searches, databases, or electronic information accessibility of any kind. No email either. I remember the days of $50 phone bills.
Now with email, I save about $20 per month. Doesn't sound like much? Look at it this way:
$20 x 12 = $240 per year.
$240 x approx 15 yrs = $3600.
That a pretty good chunk of change. Now add in all the stamp money, saving on late charges for those times when you couldn't get your bills to their destination on time (now that online payments are available), those heavy packages of family photos which can now be sent electronically, etc.
Wowzers!
It boggles the mind (or is that bloggles?)
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #6
This was really cool! I used the trading card making program (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php) to make a trading card with one of my photos. I also created a set of cards for my brother and his wife of their dog's last four Halloween costumes ("http://flickr.com/photos/mikeschor/sets/72157602917092176/).
Enjoy!
Michael
Enjoy!
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #5
This is an overhead shot of the castle in Civic Center childrens' room. If you look really close, you can see a cow on top of the tower. Maybe they're waiting for Arthur, King of the Britains, to attack (remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail?).
Flickr is very easy to use and seems very popular. You can also have a lot of fun with the pictures.
Michael
Learning 2.0 - Thing #3
Of the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learning I find the easiest to be #2; "Accept responsibility for your own learning." In other words, whether or not I learn any new skills is completely in my hands. If I follow this course I will progress and have a better understanding of what I am exploring. If I decide to just sit on the sidelines and let the world pass me by, that is my choice also.
As a personal preference I like to continue learning. It doesn't matter what I study; technology, science, history, etc. If I'm not learning something, I'm not living up to my potential.
The habit that is hardest is #7 1/2; "Play". This comes from far too many years as a work-a-holic in a high pressure atmosphere. People can change, however. That is what I am striving to do. I plan to stop every now and then and "smell the roses". I will make time for play.
Michael
As a personal preference I like to continue learning. It doesn't matter what I study; technology, science, history, etc. If I'm not learning something, I'm not living up to my potential.
The habit that is hardest is #7 1/2; "Play". This comes from far too many years as a work-a-holic in a high pressure atmosphere. People can change, however. That is what I am striving to do. I plan to stop every now and then and "smell the roses". I will make time for play.
Michael
Hello world!
I know it's cheesy but, whenever I begin to learn a new programming language, the first lesson always seems to start with writing code that displays the message "Hello World".
So, now that I've begun the Learning 2.0 program I decided to start my posts with that very clear introduction.
Hello World!
Michael
So, now that I've begun the Learning 2.0 program I decided to start my posts with that very clear introduction.
Hello World!
Michael
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