:From a Room with a View

This is not really the end! It’s really an opportunity for new beginnings and innovative ways of assisting others to use the internet differently. There have been some challenges along the way, with some of the activities taking more time than I had planned for, but persistence is almost always worthwhile. My perseverance might mean that I can guide others so that their learning is a little simpler. I hope so!

I’m looking forward to getting all my bookmarks into del.icio.us and to finding some titles from the eBook Fair to share with my step-Dad who has impaired vision. With eBooks in PDF format, the page can be enlarged so that, with a large computer monitor, he can read with less difficulty than with large-print books from the Library. I’m also looking forward to tidying some of my tags and widgets and to creating a school blog on which to share ideas and inspire other teachers in the use of technology in the classroom. I’m looking forward to LOTS of new things!!

A huge thank you to Lynette and Leslie and the Sybasigns team who have made The How 2 of Web 2.0 course available. I am sincerely grateful to Sharyn, a LIS student and mother of three beautiful sons, who guided me to the website and to my ultimate registration. It has been a fantastic journey. Thank you.

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I’m a librarian and just can’t imagine a world without “real” books but today I have discovered that there Are 1 Million Free Electronic Books On The Internet

On the World eBook Fair site, they say that - “In large part, this is the result of efforts by Project Gutenberg, and their 50,000+ volunteers, who have been creating just such collections of electronic library materials starting two decades before their word “Internet” ever appeared on the front page or cover story of any major modern media outlet. [The Wall St. Journal, 10/29/91]

The greatest satisfaction I have ever received from my decades of work to create this new medium are from the notes I receive that tell me of people who would never have read the great works if we had not made an electronic library available where they could get them in one second– then read them for the rest of their lives–all free of any charges.”

It’s an amazing site with audio books, books in PDF and HTML format as well as options to “read books on your mobile phone”. Imagine downloading Banjo Patterson to your mobile phone? You can choose from
An Outback Marriage (Banjo Paterson)
Rio Grande’s Last Race (Banjo Paterson)
Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses (Banjo Paterson)
The Man from Snowy River (Banjo Paterson)
The Old Bush Songs (Banjo Paterson)
Three Elephant Power (Banjo Paterson)

You can find Aesops Fables, Fairy stories and the Art of Caricaturing. There are hosts of links to the Web, Moving images, Texts, Audio, Software, Education, links to American Libraries, Canadian Libraries, Universal Libraries, Open Source books, Project Gutenburg, BioDiversity Heritage Library, Childrens Library … and the lists go on and on!

I found, and downloaded, a PDF version of Lady Belcher’s book entitled “The Mutineers of the Bounty and their Descendants in Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands” which is a 394 page document, digitised by Microsoft at the University of Toronto. It’s complete with all the illustrations and can be downloaded in DiVu, PDF, B/W PDF, TXT or Flip Book formats. I also had a peep at “Peter Pan in Kensington Garden” but was not at all taken with reading it in plain text format!

Maybe you’d like to subscribe to RSS feeds about houses, games, kids fiction, gardens, investing, language, history, antiques, true crime..? They’re all there - and lots more with these ones.

If you are looking for a musical score or the piano music for one of Chopin’s Etudes, then this is the place to find them. Many pieces of music are free.

I have enjoyed some of the archives of moving images. In particular, one entitled Primordial Dance which is a “short computer animation - an experimental progression of abstract textures and colors created using an interactive process of “artificial evolution.” The artist and computer collaborate to produce images and movements that neither could easily produce alone. The computer generates and displays a collection of experimental abstract images. The artist chooses the most aesthetically interesting images, and those survive and are “bred” to produce a new collection of images…

Visual arts students might be interested in checking out Primordial Dance or visit the SIGGRAPH archive.

Yes, I’m really impressed with what I’ve discovered but I’m not convinced that any of the things I’ve seen can beat snuggling into a comfy chair and reading a real paper-and-print book.

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Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. It opened in 2003 and is now used by millions around the world. It involves interacting with others, buying land, building houses and businesses and participating in other commercial enterprises. It really is another world and although I am not able to think of an application for it anywhere in my world right now, maybe I will discover a way as I explore more. It is definitely a site for older students. Perhaps it could be applied to distance learning but I can see no need for young students to explore virtual worlds when there is so much still to explore in this world!!

As with other aspects of Web 2.0, it’s been really valuable to discover something that I was not aware of before and to see what others are doing in their classrooms to engage and inspire their students.

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The ABCs “Science Show” is a radio programme that inspires me and fills me with wonder. Robin Williams’ ability to paint word pictures and set my imagination on the most exciting journeys is something I have missed. Often, the times at which this programme is broadcast have not been convenient for me, so the advent of podcasts has meant that I can listen to the programmes at times that suit my lifestyle. The same applies to the Radio National “Education Matters” broadcasts and Margaret Throsby’s interviews on ABC Classic FM.

I’ve added links to my blog so that I can enjoy them - and share them - whenever it suits. Over and over again if I wish.

The Education Podcast Network with really worthwhile checking. There are podcasts for professional philosophy, for student and class activities as well as subject specific links.

The ability to share videos is marvellous because I’ve discovered some inspirational short videos that I can share with other members of staff to show them ways to use technology in the classroom. It’s sometimes simpler to let staff look at the video in their own time than to find the opportunity to “show and tell”.

At our school recently, videos have been used in conjunction with PowerPoint presentations, to teach children the Haka and to watch some brilliant footage of the lifecyle of the butterfly and the underwater world of turtles.

Another interesting site is one that claims to have ideas worth sharing: inspired talks from the world’s greatest thinkers and doers. It’s ted.com and worth exploring. You can download podcasts and vodcasts or simply browse for inspiration. ” If you follow the link to How We Learn, you’ll find pages of links: Teachers of all kinds can find fresh resources — and inspiration — in this batch of TEDTalks. Some talks may shake your worldview: Sir Ken Robinson questions the very basis of our education system, while Erin McKean does the same for our most sacred of reference books, the dictionary. Others (like Dave Eggers) celebrate the extraordinary power of teachers and schools — and share ways you can help them.

Look here for pointers to amazing classroom tools and techniques. Alan Kay shares some software tools that help kids “get” math and science instead of just memorizing facts, while Richard Baraniuk points to his online repository of open-source and free textbooks.”

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Wikipedia is used by many, many students and it often appears as the lead entry in a web search. It is easy to read, provides opportunties for students to translate into their native language when English is their second language and it’s easy to navigate. I think that librarians have a responsilibilty to educate students - and, indeed, any user of the internet - to question what they read on the internet and how they use the information they gather, particularly from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the free encyclopedia that ANYONE can edit..

It’s really worthwhile taking the time to explore Wikipedia and to follow the numerous links. It’s time-consuming, but then, it’s an excellent way to discover something new too!

WikiNorthia is an excellent example of a quality wiki promoting a local community.

Rollyo claims to be “the fast, easy way to create personal search engines using only the sources you trust”. Imagine being able to “roll your own search engine”! Well this is where it can happen and I can see lots of reasons for using this one! Class projects, librarians personalising searches for students, teachers gathering sources in one place …. it’s another option to gathering long lists of Favourites or Bookmarks in countless folders …. Well worth exploring.

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The most difficult part of the del.icio.us site was trying to sign in. I have not had a problem like this with any other site. However, once in, I can see great value in having online access to my most-used sites with the additional facility for sharing with others. I’m looking forward to adding sites to del.ici.ous, especially the ones I’ve discovered over the past eight weeks.

CommonCraft is a site that promotes their product as explanation. They claim to make complex ideas easy to understand using short and simple videos which are excellent “how-to” guides. If you would like to discover someone else’s view of del.icio.us, please click on this spot

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iGoogle is a great idea! Personalize your Google Home Page, make it look very attractive and, at the same time, have ready-access to your gmail account and RSS feeds. There are links to news, YouTube and Wikipedia as well as a wealth of search options. However …

iGoogle has limitations for those of us who live on Norfolk Island. I can change the colour of my “date & time” link and can choose the day of the week that I would like to start my week, but I have not been able to work out how to localise the options to Norfolk Island time. It’s actually a problem we have with all computers because there is not an option for GMT +11.30.

A similar problem exists with options for the weather: Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway …. Oman. NO Norfolk Island! Even when I try to add a location using Australia, we have Melbourne, Mildura, Newcastle … Perth. NO Norfolk Island! I wonder if the creators of iGoogle know where Norfolk Island fits in the world?

I can see great value in, say, the Geography teacher, setting up iGoogle pages for her students, with links and gadgets for regularly-used options like world weather patterns, phases of the moon and tides, Google maps and Google Earth. In fact, if HSC students can be guided to iGoogle, they can personalize their homepage to suit their HSC preparation with links to HSC Online, Sydney Morning Herald study guides and to websites that are specific to their own study schedule. For a brief overview of iGoogle, have a look at this video clip.

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I really love being part of the “How 2 of Web 2.0″ program. It has provided some great learning experiences and I feel part of a team and not so distanced from the rest of the world as we sometimes do living on an island. Searching the internet alone does not necessarily expose us to new resources and capabilities unless we are guided to them. My Guide has been the “How 2 of Web 2.0″ and it has been a marvellous.

Google tools are fun … and they’re FREE … and perfect for project collaboration, although the speed of internet access will be an issue here. I’m impressed with the clear instructions and video tutorial, which make them easy to use. There are amazing templates that offer inspiration as well as guidance. Creating cards, calendars and books for personalised gifts is special. In fact, I can see Google docs being great for people who are new computer users (those who are not “technology natives”), but there are also options for academic and other professional users. You can watch a bit about Google Docs in this video clip fromYouTube.

There’s Picasa, which is free photo software from Google that helps you manage all the photos on your computer. They claim that Picasa is also the easiest way to put your pictures online. Just download the latest version and you’ll be sharing in seconds. I prefer the idea of sharing pictures with Picasa rather than with Facebook or MySpace because there’s an expectation that photographs are the focus and quality will be a criteria, not simply snapshots of personal events.

Google Calendar is a great way for teams who are collaborating on a Project - or for families who have lots of social, sporting and other commitments, to keep track of appointments and schedules and to be able to access them on a computer, mobile phone or your iPod Touch.

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Hours just vanish whilst I explore, get social, play and set off on tangents, discovering amazing new resources and inspirational activities that I can’t wait to share with students and colleagues.

Wordle offers some wonderful ways of playing with words and text and colours:

Edutopia provides some great inspiration for integrating technology across Key Learning Areas and, in some instances, across Stages. I loved seeing a Kindergarten child in one video clip giving the weather forecast, as part of the television news, with his “Windy” prompt card, whilst Year 6 and Year 7 children operated the video cameras!

MySpace and Facebook are social networking sites used for communicating with friends, sharing photographs, videas and film reviews and they are really popular with young people. At our school, students have been banned from accessing these sites, but the situation needs to change and we should encourage responsible use and demonstrate to students how valuable such facilities can be when used properly.

I’m in the process of exploring Drupal and the ways in which it can be used in libraries. It looks exciting!

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Another interesting adventure that I have never made time for until now. Initially I could not think of a single way to use this function personally or in the Library, but it’s now got me thinking …

The ABC has some wonderful programmes that are broadcast during school time and if I subscribe to some of them, I can listen to them whenever I like. There’s a wealth of information and entertainment just waiting for us to tap into and now I know how to do it, it’s (R)eally (S)imple and (S)atisfying. Sudoku is very relaxing and I could have a new puzzle appear on my blog each day …. and there are online journals and millions of other sites to subscribe to. Watching the short movie RSS in Plain English will give you a really good idea of what RSS is all about.

The fun part of this exercise is that I am currently on holidays in a very remote part of Tasmania and I’ve had to come into Hobart - to a MacDonald’s outlet - to get internet access on my laptop. Did you know that you can subscribe to Hotspots using a PhoneAway card? It’s really handy when you’re on the move because other places that offer Hotspots with PhoneAway cards include airports, Borders bookshops and Starbucks. I’m learning all the time!

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