Inquiry Project Proposal

As I sit here at my computer and contemplate the magnitude of the task in front of me I become quiet overwhelmed with the notion that I am about to embark on a journey into the unknown territory of the World Wide Web. Prior to EDES 501 I had considered myself quite adept at using technology; however I now realize my knowledge and use of the tools available on the Web are very limited.
As a teacher I have increasingly incorporated changing technologies into my daily routine over the past 16 years. From searching online lesson plans to creating PowerPoint slideshows my students have slowly but surely started to see the use of technology benefit their learning. I now use an online attendance and grading system and have begun to promote creating and exploring of online resources by students.
Personally I have experimented with the bare bones of social networking sites, emails and web searches. I am quiet good at keeping my friends and family up to date on Facebook, I frequently send emails, find recipes on line and most recently fell in love with Shoedazzle.com, however, I do not follow blogs nor have I learned to Tweet!
My new role as teacher librarian has propelled my technology learning to a new level. With my acceptance to the TLDL program I am now beginning to explore the Web with meaning and purpose. Online learning has pushed me out of my novice technology comfort zone into a world where thoughtful and purposeful creations with digital tools abound. So, although the notion of a Web 2.0 inquiry project is daunting to say the least, I must admit I am a little excited to embark on this adventure. So grab a coffee, pull up a chair and join me on my journey from Summerside PEI into the world of Web 2.0 tools.

Animoto in Action

As any traveler knows the best laid travel plans do not always come to fruition.  Case in point, this past weeks Web 2.0 destination was “blogging” and although I did make a pit stop there most of the week was spent playing at the “Animoto” website. 

Animoto is a free digital storytelling website that allows the creator to combine digital content with narration.  It is a fun and easy way to create and share your professional quality videos. 

Setting up an Animoto account is easy, just go to Animoto and register for a free account.  This free account will allow you to make as many 30 second videos as you would like.  The free account allows for approximately 12 – 15 photos. This is not a lot but it gives the consumer the opportunity to test drive the product before selecting a more advanced option.  Once uploaded photos can be manipulated in the slide sorter and even “spotlighted” if so desired. (Brisco, 2008) After three short videos I was hooked and paid the $30 annual free for unlimited 10 minute videos.

As a personal Web 2.0 tool, Animoto has many attractive features.  It enables the creator to incorporated text with still photos and video clips; creating a personalized high quality video.  Animoto is easy to manipulate and all processing, including editing, is done behind the scenes by the Animoto programmers.  My nine year old created a short video using a collection of photos from a recent trip to Bermuda.  She was able to upload the still pictures and select her own music from the library within a matter of minutes.

Bermuda 2011






Animoto is a Web 2.0 tool that can also be utilized by educators.  Educators can sign up for Animoto for Education to provide student access to this resource.  To set up an Animoto for Education account, go to http://animoto.com/education/apply.  Make sure to register your free account with Animoto first.  Animoto will email a confirmation and student code once you have been approved. Your students are then able to access free picture and video sites for uploading into their video creations.  This feature prevents any copy right infringements.  Music added by students may be either their own or selected from a variety of genres provided by Animoto or sites that allow Creative Commons use of music. Students can customize their playback in the final step of creation and then sit back and wait (approximately five minutes) while Animoto renders their video masterpiece.  When completed the video may be viewed, downloaded or uploaded to the Web.

   Many librarians are choosing 21^st Century technologies to share resources with students and teachers, and after trying Animoto I can understand why.  Rather than the traditional PowerPoint presentation an Animoto creation presents itself like an MTV video, which is much more appealing to middle and high school students.  Librarians can use Animoto to introduce concepts, create excitement for new ideas, or even promote books all with a musical element.  “As one of the more eye-catching and easy-to-use programs available in this remixed 2.0 world, this is a definite must-have, must-share tool for every school librarian’s toolkit. (Brisco, 2009). The following is a “book talk” created using Animoto to promote, Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which can be found in our school library.

Hunger Games

Animoto is a powerful tool which I will continue to “play with”. Stay tuned for more on my Animoto adventures.

Readings:

Brisco, S. (2009). School Library Journal's 10 Best Digital Resources for 2009. School Library Journal, 55(6), 36-37. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Brisco, S. (2008). ANIMOTO. School Library Journal, 54(7), 64. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Brisco, S. (2009). A 2.0 TOOLKIT. School Library Journal, 55(8), 61-62. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Bryne, R. (2010). Tools for Young Auteurs. School Library Journal, 56(11), 16. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Animoto in the Classroom

This past week I was fortunate to be able to share the Web 2.0 tool Animoto with a staff member. Together, we collaborated and created an Animoto presentation that was used to introduce the novel Forbidden City by William Bell.  The teacher and I worked together to select images and text that we felt would display the information necessary to not only provide the students with a general sense of time and place of this particular novel but also as a hook to capture student’s interest. 

The Animoto allowed for professional discussion and collaboration prior to the commencement of the novel study.  One aspect of the tool that we found challenging was the limited space for text on each slide and although at times we struggled with word choice, we were pleased with the final result.

Students were impressed by the presentation and excited to learn that they would also have the opportunity to use this tool during the novel study.  

Welcome to the Library - Animoto Style

What's on Your Bookshelf?

What are the benefits to using LibraryThing?  As a beginner to the LibraryThing site I wondered just that, how would this Web 2.0 tool be of any benefit to me as an individual and as a teacher-librarian?

LibraryThing, created by Tim Spalding, made its debut in 2005 as an online Web 2.0 tool that offered book enthusiasts a place to house their collections.  Now it boost over 1,400,000 subscribers and 66 million books cataloged.  LibraryThing is making its mark on the Web.  Used by individuals, authors, libraries and publishers LibraryThing offers its users a virtual environment to browse in a bookshop. This book-centered site allows users up to 200 free books on their book shelf, after which a minimal lifetime fee of $25 or an annual $10 fee may be paid to upgrade an account. 

My first visit to this site was brief and basically just a "drive through" to get a taste of what LibraryThing was all about as I had no prior knowledge of what this site had to offer its patrons. After reading A Very Short Introduction to LibraryThing I realized this site had potential as both a personal and professional Web tool.

My subsequent visits were very productive.  I was able to sign up with a member name (SISLibrary) and password.  It was quick and painless. I selected a Personal account thinking this would be the best type for what I was looking for, however, later this had to be changed to an Organizational one when I tried to add a LibraryThing widget to my blog. Filling in the profile page was not complicated and I was able to start adding books to my shelf within a matter of minutes.  Adding books was also easy and although I was just going by memory LibraryThing offered other titles either by the same author or of similar theme which helped aid in my memory retrieval. I added approximately 20 books at this time and then set about perusing the rest of the site.  While looking around the site I located the More tab which directed me to a page that contained a host of options for additional features. One such feature was instructions on how to add a LibraryThing widget to a blog. I followed the instruction and viola, I had a widget on my blog! I have to admit I was pretty pumped when I saw the LibraryThing widget in action. Check it out...top right hand side of my blog.



Surfers have the option to enter titles' ISBN or likely key search terms such as title, author or even a series name.  Although it is a bit time consuming to add books to your shelf it is still very easy to do. LibraryThing’s search engine will return likely matches to your search and you can then select the one you were looking for, complete with card catalog information and thumbnail cover art.

LibraryThing offers its subscribers many features to enhance their experience while visiting this site.  There are direct links to online retailers (Amazon has a 40% share in the company), a site blog, LibraryThing Blog, to keep members up to date and a Zeitgeist page that reveals the most popular collectors and reviews – did you know that Harry Potter- is the most popular read on LibraryThing!   This Web 2.0 tool provides a place for its members to catalog what they are reading. The comments section is a useful tool. It can be used to keep track of books that have been lent to friends or as a reminder that you will never read a particular book again.  Its privacy setting allows member to be as public or private as they would like. The “Connections” feature offers those with common likes to be connected and share with each other.  Clicking on a book in another user’s catalog will reveal links with the ability to instantly add a title to your collection or have access to Recommendations.  Tagging, also offered by LibraryThing, provides a means for members to ascribe catagories to their books.  Tags help to define genres in more precise and refined catagories.

So how do I see this site benefitting my personal and professional life?

Personally I am excited to set up an account with books that I have read and enjoyed over the years.  It will be nice to be able to keep track of the books I have read.  I often find I remember enjoying a particular novel but other details, such as title and author, are a little fuzzy.  LibraryThing will help keep these books alive for me and those I would like to recommend them too. I also plan on using the Recommendation application to peruse titles and authors that maybe of interest for future reading.   

Professionally I see many applications for LibraryThing in the school /library environment:

*Online chat with an author
*Read and write book reviews
*Student teacher conferencing through “Groups”
*Parental involvement
*Cataloging of novels students have read over a period of time
*LibraryThing widget on Library blog
*reviews on Library blog
*book clubs

One thing to be aware of before moving forward with educational applications is that LibraryThing, due to The Children’s Online Privacy Act, does not permit children under 13 to become members of this site.

Readings:

Sibley, R. (2008). The Librarian Who Loves “LibraryThing”. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(8), 20-21

Regan, Jim (2005-11-09). "Do your own LibraryThing". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1109/p25s01-stct.html. Retrieved 2007-03-13.

Rutkoff, Aaron (2006-06-27). "Social Networking for Bookworms". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115109622468789252-i8U6LIHU7ChfgbxG1oZ_iunOIWE_20060727.html. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
Woodroof, M (2008-03-20). "Web Sites Let Bibliophiles Share Books Virtually". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88514715. Retrieved 2009-05-14.

What about Weblogs?

According to Webster’s Online Dictionary a blog is defined as: a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also: the contents of such a site.

So with this information in hand I ventured into the land of blogging...wait, stop, I have to make a confession first.  I have been here before. In 2008 I setup a Blog, with the help of a staff member, to use as a tool to notify parents of homework assignments ( Mrs. Boyd's Blog) but, looking back at this blog, I now realize it was not used in the true sense of blogging.  Sure, parents could find the homework assignments but I could have given them access to so much more.  A prime opportunity was missed to make connections with parents and students.


So what would I do differently now that I know better?

Well, prompted by Richardson’s statement that “the best way to fully understand the potential of Weblogs as a teaching and learning tool is to become a blogger” (Richardson, p.43) I dove into the realm of blogging.  During this inquiry I have learned how to do many tasks that make a blog more appealing to the audience.  Although I feel I have just scratched the surface here are a few things I have learned:

How to add a video from Youtube:

1. go here: http://www.youtube.com/
2. below the selected video there is a "share" button - click it
3. one of the options will say "embed" - click it
4. copy the code and paste it into a new blog post
5. you must be on Edit HTML

Why add video to a blog? Videos connect with the audience.  They are a quick and easy way to engage the consumer and get your message across. 


How to add a Gadget:

       1.      log into your blog
       2.      on the Dashboard select Design
       3.      select Add a Gadget
       4.      select the gadget from the bank that suits
                your needs - click the plus sign beside the gadget you desire.

Gadgets can be used to increase the profile of a blog, track interests of the blogger, or even provide weather updates.

How to add a picture to my profile:

       1. log into your blog
       2. on the dashboard locate settings – click it
       3. locate edit Photo – click it
       4. upload the URL with your picture

In addition to these "how tos" I have learned to add meaningful names to links so the URL is hidden, to add links to the blogs that I follow, and new pages for additional post, such as my Current Events page.

Blogs are a place to read and consume information, a place to reflect and connect. They should be engaging and informative; the reader should want to come back for more.

I plan to continue to investigate blogging as I continue my travels. Keep an eye out for new additions to this blog!

Readings:

Richardson, W., (2010) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms,
(3rd edition.).Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin

Learning 2.0

The more I search, the more I find,

The more I find, the more I read,

The more I read, the more I think,

The more I think, the more I learn,

The more I learn, the more I do,

The more I do, the more I create,

The more I create, the more I share,

The more I share, the more I collaborate,

The more I collaborate, the more I communicate,

The more I communicate, the more I connect,

The more I connect, the more I learn, the more I KNOW,

And the more Intelligent

I GROW!

Cheryl Capozzoli