Book Egg

Its Book Fair TIme again!

2011-02-06T18:57:00.001-06:00

So busy, busy, busy. We just had a super successful Bluebonnet Breakfast-our best ever! Every student from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade met the requirements to attend. Way to go! I was so proud of the kids.

Tomorrow we kick off our spring Scholastic Book Fair and it is going to be fantastic. Mayor Joe Adame of Corpus Christi is going to be a guest reader at our first family event.

Our theme is Book Fair Carnival and I have organized some fun carnival theme games and have borrowed a huge Spin and Win game wheel. The kids will be so thrilled when they see the Spin and Win wheel. With the help of Scholastic, we have assembled a great selection to offer to our elementary students and also for our university teacher education students.

It all comes down to planning and I have planned for a long time. It is going to be the very best fair ever!

Texas Bluebonnet Award book activities

2010-07-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

Texas Bluebonnet Award book activities, book trailers and lesson plans
quick link to Kids Book Club. People are always asking "What is that website you use to teach about the Bluebonnet books?" I know the url is too long, but we don't mind because it says what it is-a kids book club.

Speaking of new Bluebonnet books-view this beautifully crafted book trailer for The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau authored and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. I will introduce this book to students by showing this book trailer and tie it in with a "book pair" lesson on biographies. The second biography will be Manfish: The Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne.

Both books are perfect for introducing students to the amazingly serene and beautiful world that exists below the oceans of the world. In a time when our oceans are being violated and assaulted by humans, we need to remember how important Jacques Cousteau's message is "People protect what they love."

Another great pairing with The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau is a second Bluebonnet Award nominated book called Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins. This impressive book explores the depths and layers of the ocean to places where exotic and monstrously beautiful creatures exist.

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominees-2010-2011

2010-06-22T21:31:00.005-05:00

I have been so wrapped up in organizing lesson plans for upcoming Texas Bluebonnet Award nominated books that I have neglected my poor ole Bookegg Blog. Each school year, Texas students in grades 3-6 read from a selection of twenty high quality children's books and vote on their favorite. Students must read a minimum of five of the nominated books to be eligible to participate in the Texas Bluebonnet Award voting process. Books are nominated by a panel of librarians, teachers, students, and parents. View the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list for 2010-2011 and learn more about the TBA program.

This upcoming school year's crop of Bluebonnet books are terrific! I was disappointed at first, classically judging a few of the books by their covers. Boy was I wrong! I have been so amazed by the beauty of 14 Cows for America and really kept hope alive in Home of the Brave. I am predicting both Mudshark and Calvin Coconut Trouble Magnet to be kid favorites. The sweet story of Sparrow Girl is one of my top contenders too. This crop is ripe for learning opportunities. Take a look at a wikispace web site that I designed to help me present Bluebonnet Books to my students. Kids Book Club Click on the 2010-2011 Bluebonnet Book Club link on the left side of the page. Lots of video clips and story connection activities. Share what you have with me and take what you need from me. Collaboration is a great tool. (bluebonnet photo: Julee Murphy/2010)

The Ocean is a Home

2010-02-26T11:51:00.012-06:00

What a fun time we had learning about Ocean families. Today we created a colorful jelly fish and sang the Mr. Jellyfish song. I read the book "I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" by Kevin Sherry.

This short, yet clever book tells the tale of a positive thinking giant squid who compares himself to other sea creatures to prove that he is bigger than they are, in fact, he believes himself to be the biggest thing in the ocean until.....well, you will need to read the rest yourself. Children smile all the way through this very sweet story which makes for a great read and take activity.

I have a growth chart poster that came with my book and I measure the children to see how tall they are and then let them compare themselves to other sea creatures that might be bigger or smaller than they are. Have each student lie down on a sheet of butcher paper and draw their outline. Cut out the outline and let them compare themselves to real size outlines of a shrimp, a crab, a jellyfish, a shark, etc.

Here is another "The Ocean is a Home" activity

Read a book about jellyfish and allow children to share what they know about jellyfish.
Sing the Mr. Jellyfish song to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.

Mr. Jellyfish Song
Mr. Jellyfish lives in the Ocean
Mr. Jellyfish lives in the Sea
Mr. Jellyfish lives in the Ocean
Please, Mr. Jellyfish don't sting me!

Easy Jellyfish make and take:

Materials:

Cheap paper plates without coating which makes it easier to color

crepe paper (I use pink and white)

glue scissors crayons yarn if you wish to hang jellyfish

1. Take a regular size paper plate and cut it in half.

2. Have children color both sides of the half plate. I let them scribble scrabble with many blended colors.

3. Next, student puts one glue dot on straight edge of paper plate and then stick on a strip of crepe paper. (one-to-one correspondence) Repeat process.

4. Continue alternating colors to make a pattern.

5. If desired, a piece of yarn or string can be attached to hang jellyfish from classroom.

6. Sing the Mr. Jellyfish song.

Celebrate!

La Befana fingerplay and teaching book

2009-12-17T11:46:00.017-06:00

La Befana

La Befana rides her broom
*(sweep, sweep, sweep)

flying through the starry sky
(sweep, sweep, sweep)

looking for the Baby King
(sweep, sweep, sweep)

leaving presents for the children
(sweep, sweep, sweep)

created by Julee Murphy/2009

*La Befana Fingerplay: children act out sweeping motion while saying sweep, sweep, sweep) I act out the motions using my hands to show movement across the sky, placing my hands above my eyes to simulate looking for the Baby King, and act out setting presents out for the children.

Wonderful book for teaching Holiday Traditions Around the World

The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie DePaola.

Old Befana is a cranky, old woman who sweeps her home and walkway all day. She is not not welcoming to guests, and children do not like her. One night as Old Befana tries to sleep, a bright light floods into her bedroom. The light is a bright star that has suddenly appeared in the night sky. The next morning, a glorious procession of camels, horses, elephants, and three kings stop at her door to inquire if she know the way to Bethleham. The three kings are guided by the bright star as they search for a Baby King. Cranky Old Befana is too busy sweeping and is of no help to the kings, so they travel on their way. A little boy encourages the old woman to come with the procession in search of the Baby King who has come to change the world. Old Befana decides to follow but first bakes cookies, cakes, and candies to bring as her gift to the Baby. Upon leaving, she decides to first sweep her house clean. Old Befana has to run to try to catch up to the procession and soon tires out. The night sky is suddenly filled with angels singing about a night of miracles. Old Befana rises to her feet and begins to run, crying out to the angels to help her find her way to Bethleham. Suddenly, Old Befana begins to feel lighter as she rises up and miraculously begins runing through the night sky. Old Befana never found the Baby King but every year on the Feast of the Three Kings, January the sixth, Old Befana runs through the night sky. She brings gifts to children and then sweeps their rooms clean. She does this in hopes that one of the children might be the Baby King of Bethleham.

A perfect book for Thanksgiving

2009-11-18T10:54:00.009-06:00

One is a Feast for a Mouse

A Thanksgiving Tale by Judy Cox and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

Little mouse discovers that you should never let your eyes grow bigger than your stomach when you are hungry.
Read this charming book to find out how mouse learns a lesson about the difference between being greedy and
being thankful.

Book Trailer-Piper Reed, Navy Brat

2009-11-11T22:45:00.010-06:00

I have decided to let my library classes (grades 3-5) decide which Piper Reed book trailer will be uploaded to Teacher Tube. Two songs both seemed to fit "Piper". One is upbeat and perky like Piper and the other has a homey and family feel about it. Hmmmm, I wonder which one will be chosen. I think I have decided on my choice.

Kids will receive a score sheet that allows them to rate the music chosen for the video.

Using a scale score from 1-3 (three being a best music-video match).

Is the music a good match for the book trailer?

Does the music fit Piper's personality?

Does the music fit the tone of the story?

Choice A-Piper Reed, Navy Brat

Choice B-Piper Reed, Navy Brat

Welcome Home

2009-10-24T18:59:00.001-05:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Welcome Home

View more presentations from Andrew B. Watt.

Adapting to Change

2009-10-20T20:33:00.002-05:00

The last two days, I have been attending technology training sessions. The first was for a new library circulation software program called Insignia. My main adjustment has been becoming accustom to the teeny tiny font size. The are many positives to the software already. Cataloging will certainly be much easier and I won't waste as many barcode labels as I had to with the old Athena program. I had a few minutes this morning to explore the new system and practice checking out materials.

This afternoon, I attended a Teradon system training. This is the set up our school uses to broadcast video and images to our classrooms. We can download media for future use and encode data from one medium to another. I will explore this system a little more in depth when I return to my office tomorrow.

The Book Fair is here!

2009-09-29T21:48:00.005-05:00

Joy! Joy! for every girl and boy.

Destination Book Fair:Read Around the World is here.

Ms. Murphy is frantically running both the book fair and the library.

God bless Mrs. Torres, a parent volunteer, who is donning the super hot and sweaty "Clifford, the big red dog" costume. Clifford is so loved by kids of all ages. Even the college kids that I work with were asking "where is Clifford, is he here?" I will have to see if Clifford can make a special "college visit". You simply never outgrow the book fair. It brings out the kid in everyone.

Scholastic also provides some amazing resources for librarians, teachers, parents and kids on their web site. I have been projecting a giant Captain Underpants with his cape flying behind him on one wall of the library. Alternately, I have also projected some video clips of author interviews from books that I have been promoting as good reads. My book fair is very customized and I promote both the Texas Bluebonnet nominees and the Texas Lone Star Reading list. I design my fair to appeal to the tastes of pre-schoolers up through middle school students, and I also bring in many teacher resources to help pre-service teachers start building their collection of teaching materials. It is an exhausting experience and although I have been considering canceling my spring 2010 book fair, I know in my heart that I will somehow pump myself up again and prepare to run 'Book Fair Diner" with just as much excitement as I am doing now.

The Girl Who Could Fly

2009-09-22T20:24:00.009-05:00

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
Awards: Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year; Booklist Editors' Choice; Utah Beehive Book Award Master List

Piper McCloud was born into a no-nonsense Lowland County family. Actually, while most children were born into the world, Piper "floated" into the world. Piper is not your average girl. She has an itch-an itch to fly. She closes her eyes, thinks of blue sky, and tells herself she is lighter than air and then she flies! Things are fairly smooth until the town picnic when Piper's secret comes out and she is quickly whisked away to a special high tech security learning center to join her new classmates who are just as talented as Piper in their own ways.

This is a sweet tale of a warm hearted girl who is happiest when she is among the clouds (as in Piper McCLOUD) The characters' names tend to reflect their personalities. There is Dr. HELLion who lives up to her name and a shrinking girl named Violet. The learning facility just happens to be named I.N.S.A.N.E. but that's all I can say.

This book was my "lunch break" read and I looked forward to it each day. I highly recommend The Girl Who Could Fly. It will have you wishing for the itch to fly.

Catching Fire!

2009-09-07T20:01:00.001-05:00

Weeks of anticipation have finally ended, today I purchased a copy of "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins and read the first two chapters while leaning up against a wall at Barnes and Noble. I tried to be frugal, waiting patiently for my local library to make a copy available, but they were taking forever! I really just went in to B and N to get a sneak peek, but the book got really interesting, and the next thing I knew cha-ching! Another book for my over-crowded shelves. It will be displayed next to my Twilight series. I love the comparison between Bella and Edward and Katniss and Peeta, or maybe I should say Gale.

While I was waiting for the novel to come out, I did some background research and found the following resources. I can hardly wait for bedtime to crack open my book and see how life is in District 12, after the Hunger Games, is turning out for Katniss and Peeta.

Official web site of Suzanne Collins

Link to the Suzanne Collins interview on Scholastic's web site.

The Hunger Games games Play Tribute Trials or Trail by Fire

Summer's Over. School has begun!

2009-09-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

"

Summer's over. School has begun!" This is the rallying cry our school district adopted for this year. We are getting our students back into the swing of things and are not accepting any excuses for a slow start back into learning.

I arrived very early on the first day of school in order to greet students with a welcoming smile as they trudged through the door decked out in new back to school clothes and backpacks. One cutie- pie must have a parent who is a teacher, because she cheerfully shouted out, "Summer's over!" I laughingly answered her with, "and school has begun!"

Our school has been trying to sort out complicated schedules making adjustments for fine arts, library, drama, motor development, etc. A principal's job is not to be envied. I have nick named our principal "Santa Claus" this year because she has a knack for getting the necessary funds to purchase the tools and resources that allow us the freedom and creativity to design a solid curriculum for our students. I had hoped for one microphone headset for the library so students would be able to create digital book talks and pod casts. Santa Claus purchased four microphone headsets and a plasma TV for library presentations. The cool tech guys are my new heroes since they scrounged up a scanner for the library. I am no longer teaching in the dark ages.

Success!

2009-08-21T15:53:00.000-05:00

This morning I joined a few hundred educators and community members to hear Ron Clark share his adventures about being a teacher. I have seen many of his videos showing him interacting with students and the Matthew Perry, as Ron Clark, TV movie. I was surprised to discover that he was actually quite a soft spoken, quiet man in person. I found it a bit amusing that he was hanging around the juice and coffee area standing alone. I suppose most people did not recognize him or were too shy to say hello. Not me! I went up, introduced myself, and shook his hand the way my daddy taught me to years ago. He was pleasantly conversational and asked about my job at the university. I was impressed by his thoughtful questioning that showed he was interested in hearing what I had to say. This is one very clear reason that Ron Clark is such a successful teacher-he demonstrates through his every day actions that he "walks the talk." It was a good thing I shook his hand because later on, he spoke on this very topic-the importance of teaching children a proper handshake. Learning something as simple as the proper way to shake a person's hand can make all the difference in the way other people perceive you. Too soft a hand shake might indicate a weak personality. Too firm might make others think you are trying too hard to impress. But, in Goldilocks fashion, a "just right" handshake, somewhat firm, but not painful, with fingers clasped over the other person's hand, and deliberate eye contact, sends the message that you are a person to be respected and that you respect the person you are greeting. These are life skills that are so often missing in young adults today. If someone does not teach them, how are they to learn them?

It's late for a Friday, and I am the only one left in the building again, so even though I would like to ramble on about these topics, I won't. One last thing, If you have never read any of Ron Clark's books, then I encourage you to check them out from your local library, or invest in a copy. The stories are hilarious and heart warming. You are sure to find a story that will remind you of a teacher from your past. More importantly, as he describes the qualities of a great teacher, you will see a bit of yourself. Best wishes on a new and successful school year to all educators. Let's make this the best year ever!

Trying to score a ticket to the Ron Clark Communities in Schools Event

2009-08-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

Bad luck for me. My school as just enough tickets for the regular classroom teachers to attend the 2nd Annual Champions of Children-Communities in Schools event in Corpus Christi. I suppose I am just a lowly certified teacher/librarian with a freaking masters degree in education. I actually own a Ron Clark book. Sounds like bitter grapes, I know, I know. Well, best wishes to those who get to go. I am pretty motivated about the upcoming school year already. I will be collaborating with some fellow elementary librarians who really know their stuff and are just as excited about being the best librarians any school district ever had.

Professional Development days.

2009-08-13T22:45:00.001-05:00

Professional development season is here! Two days of dual language instruction under my belt and several more days to go. I look forward to the library refresher. I have been told my teacher tube Texas Bluebonnet Nominees video will be used at the Librarian development day. This will be our school's first year participating in the Bluebonnet voting. I want to make it fun, as well as, memorable for the kids. All suggestions for the best way to run the program are welcome.

2009-08-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

TIME OUT: I want to experiment with Apture

2009-08-05T23:17:00.000-05:00

This

Share Create Apture™

Thing 23: The end of the Yellow Brick Road

2009-08-05T14:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the memories. I hate for it to end.

Please give specific answers for each question.

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? The ease of RSS feeds really enlightened me, and I fell in love with the way I could take a quick glance at all the sites I follow. I can see who has updated their blogs, who hasn't, which new books have just hit the shelves, and so many more things I wanted to know, but never had time for before.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? This program was like oxygen to me. I completed my masters degree six months ago which left me in education withdrawal. I love taking classes and learning new and exciting or useful things. I would say that I will miss this discovery learning journey, but in truth, I have no plans to stop exploring the boundaries of technology. I will also work to bring fellow teachers into the fold, so they can see how incredibly easy technology is to incorporate into the learning environment. We have to speak through the varied sources of medium that students today are using and communicating through, lest we lose them.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Not sure what you mean by take-a-ways. I am taking a way all the knowledge with me, and will definitely be incorporating about 80% of it. I will probably disable my avatar. It just wasn't me. Many of the tools will help to simplify my technology life and will make accessing the technology I need from any computer much easier than before.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? Hmmm. You have done a very nice job. There were many times that I had to come back to blog posts to remember how to work a particular tool. The podcast upload was a struggle, until I actually went back and slowly read through the instructions. The reminder tip from VWB was what did the trick for me. I would save my Photostory but then not proceed to finalize the video. Patience, patience, patience makes perfect. Or in my case...a completed project that is passable. (I hope).

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? YES! Please put me on your "she will definitely do it" list.

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? Discovery

Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs? OK! I will go forth and blogment.

Thing 22: Explore Nings

2009-08-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Nings are great, yet evil time suckers. I actually lost track of time as I explored the librarian nings.
I found the narrowed down and very specific categories were useful for aiding me in finding exactly what I needed to search for among the many posts. I really like the networking opportunities, to be able to connect specifically with people in your field, to compare ideas and suggestions. I, of course, immediately signed up for the librarian nings, and even posted my city pin in the map of Texas School librarians ning.

Thing 21: Find, create, and use Podcasts and Videocasts

2009-08-05T12:59:00.000-05:00

I went and got myself in trouble. I became very distracted by all the new and exciting tech tools I have been experimenting with and ended up sidetracked by playing with Apture, creating a new wiki, and adding another blog called Texas Library Club.

On working on my Podcast, I was torn between two book topics for creating my podcast. I finally decided to set up a blog page about Someone Called Eva by Joan M. Wolf and build my podcast around The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Podcasts, videocasts, or booktrailers generate so much excitement for young readers, as well as, grown ups. I like to know why other people think particular books are good and this method really brings it to life.

The Graveyard Book Podcast-by Bookegg

Thing 20 3/7

2009-08-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

Happiness is sipping chocolate milk through a straw.

Thing 20: Explore YouTube and TeacherTube

2009-08-04T14:46:00.001-05:00

YouTube

I GET FIRED UP!

I like motivational messages. They really get me fired up. Here is a short, yet sweet one.

I like to learn new things!

This is how I learned, and had fun, making a Diaper Cake.

TeacherTube

I created this one!

Please forgive me if I am not humble here. This is my first Teacher Tube video that I have submitted and I am feeling really good about having created it.
I will be using this to introduce the Texas Bluebonnet Nominees for 2009-2010 in conjunction with my kids-book-club wiki.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Click the above link to hear Suzanne reading an excerpt from chapter 11.

I pulled this clip from Scholastic's web site. I really liked this YA novel and am looking forward to the sequel which will be out September 1st. If you liked the Twilight Saga, you will find The Hunger Games fascinating.

And here is a YouTube video book report someone else created. This is one of the type of projects-video book talks-that I have planned for the upcoming school year.

Thing 19: Exploring Web 2.0 Awards list

2009-08-04T13:06:00.001-05:00

In undertaking the "thing 19" discovery experience, I was prepared to depart on a new, and unfamiliar-to-me, technological journey to explore the award winning Web 2.0 sights feeling I would be seeing many futuristic type programs. What a pleasant surprise! I did not feel lost at all. I had seen, or experienced many of these programs.

First, I decided to look at the widgets, where I found this little gem: Online libraries Of course, I next went straight for the wikis. It is no secret that I am a wiki freak, because of the simple fact that they are technologically painless to use. They are practically dummy-proof. After exploring the wiki sites, I decided that my heart still belongs to wikispaces. After all, they take good care of me. If I have a question, they are quick to answer. If I want to learn how to stretch the boundaries of wikis, they are already prepared to show me how through their webinars. I have used my wikis in the past for conference presentations, but this year I will use one for my kids-book-club.

I see wikis as being one of the most useful tools in our educational arsenal for engaging students in a real collaborative learning experience. I have not been this positive about a technology tool since I heard about The Jason Project years ago. We have to learn to speak to our students in a language they relate to and understand. This is exactly why Web 2.0 tools are so important, because they are the language of the generation at hand.

Thing 18: Online Productivity Tools

2009-08-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

Downloaded and explored Open Office. A lot of the same templates are available on Microsoft's template pages. My first question was "is it available for Macs?" It is, but now I wonder if I create documents on Open Office and send them to a PC user, will they be accessible to non-Open Office users? I have encountered such minor snags with Office 2007. I will have to give it a test run. Luckily, I have two separate computers on two separate networks within feet of each other. I simply have to glide across from my school district computer to my university computer.

I have been utilizing Google docs this past year on a project called Early Bird Readers. Each librarian in my school district has editorial rights to an EBR spreadsheet. We update our information when it becomes pertinent. This was at first awkward and we resented having to use a new method, but now I am accustom to it. I do like seeing how the other libraries' numbers change.

I would prefer, and would think a wiki page would work better. A wiki devoted to EBR with one page link set up for a spread sheet to update numbers. Numbers, alone, do not tell the whole story. We need a place to hold discussions and to share ideas. (To find out more about Early Bird Readers, click the pic)

In summary, I might use Open Office on my Mac at home, but will probably stick with what I am using at work. Google Docs has proven useful on many occasions, particularly with university groups and clubs.

Thing 17: Rollyo: My Librarian's Toolkit

2009-08-04T09:23:00.000-05:00

Rollyo was a nice surprise. No longer will I have to continually create customized print outs of trusted research sites for elementary students, I can direct them to the site, or simply print out my Rollyo search engine list. My Rollyo is called: Librarian's Toolkit. I could not believe the name was available. I inserted several useful websites that I could remember, and within five minutes, I had my very own customized, julee murphy approved, search engine. The only snafu I ran into was trying to set it up on my Foxfire. I believe the answer can be found in the teacher tube video, but my Rollyo account also froze up when I tried to save some edits, so I will have to return to it later.

Did I ever say how much I am learning from the 23 things? So cool.

Thing 16: I am a Wiki Freak

2009-08-03T14:29:00.001-05:00

I am all into Wiki and subscribe to the free and ad-free educational wikis from wikispaces. They are incredibly easy to set up and manipulate. Wikispaces often offers free webinars in real time so you can ask and receive answers from its moderators. They have video tutorials that show step by step methods of creating wikis. The most recent webinar was a cultural education exchange webinar in which an American school collaborated with a school in Hati on a wiki. It was amazing-the learning and sharing that was taking place.

I first used wikispaces a year ago as a way to present at the ME(2) by the SEa Mathematics and Science Conference. I introduced useful mathematics web sites and online games that could serve to help strengthen students math skills by engaging them in fun, but helpful practice. My new wiki is now under construction-a Kids Book Club that I will be using to promoting book discussions, book clubs, book trailers, and book voting.

Wikis are so easy and the possibilities for their uses are practically endless. I am a such a wikifan.

Thing 15: Perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

2009-08-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

A Vision of Students Today. It really hit the mark in a big way. This message was so much more powerful by its visual use of students presenting the message versus reading a long drawn out research journal article. This is what Library 2.0 is about-utilizing the most powerful methods of presenting data in a "receiver friendly" language and meeting the needs of the user.

My bedroom has a corner dedicated to housing stacks of textbooks that I decided to hold onto for reference rather than sell back for a tiny fraction of the cost, yet I rarely open them. I might just glue them together to make a nice nightstand. The very fact that so many of these students in the video are tuning out professors and tuning into facebook, myspace, or their Ipods is that they prefer to receive their information in a manner befitting their generation. It is up to us, the senders of information, to convey important and necessary data in a way that our learners can relate to the information. This is the essence of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0-meeting the needs of the learners. We, as well as our students, are the learners. We grow together in a collaborative way, sharing information, and adjusting our mindset. If we can't change, we can't grow, if we don't grow, we become stagnant, and worthless to our students.

I was particularly drawn to the section Expose, expand, extend matadata using Web 2.0. I often find myself in need of bibliographic data and have to seek out cataloging archives to baby step my way through troublesome cataloging. My school purchases large amounts of professional data without Marc records and I am left to bar code and shelf it. I am a careful cataloger and seek out sites to aid me through the process. I am highly in favor of systems of sharing bibliographic data.

2009-08-03T11:35:00.000-05:00

Thing 14 Explore Technorati

I did some perusing around the web site and found an Eric Carle video The Very Hungry Caterpillar that I had seen before on Scholastic's web site. I even submitted a suggestion to Technorati for setting up a blog directory category for education. I had to search under Lifestyle>literature to find what I needed.

I claimed my blog and even uploaded my Bookegg profile photo. I will come back to Technorati and explore more in depth at another time. It seems to follow with the flow of social network tagging and readers. The hardest part right now is keeping up with all the new websites I have registered on and all the passwords.

Thing 13: Tagging

2009-07-30T14:57:00.000-05:00

Foiled again! This is terrible for me-I always appeared so smart because I knew of such great and useful educational web sites which I kept in my secret special folder, within a folder, on my computer, just in case someone decided to try to unlock my secret. I never could work my bookmark folder anyway because it was too long. I shall give social book marking a try.

Oh my gosh! I love it. I input a book I recently read "The Hunger Games" and found a really cool game on Scholastic's web site. Man, this could turn out to be another one of those evil internet tricks to keep me from working.

Thing 12: Creating Community through Commenting

2009-07-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

Point # 1:
"You become part of the life of the blogger you are reading." (from coolcatteacher)

Wow, I never thought about that, but it is true. What we say, can in turn, shape the direction of the current blog conversation. This in turn can lead to a new and more in depth topic. Cool.

I got myself into a time snafu just reading CoolCatTeacher's blog. I would link to other bloggers that she referred to in her blog, and before I knew it-WHAM! the summer reading camp group had arrived and the student teachers were needing me to lend them my expertise.:0 ha ha!

I also found an incredibly motivating Youtube video on Mr. P's blog called the The Power of One. It has so much potential for writing prompts and conversations that engage students in critical thinking. I plan to utilize it.
Second point: Don't be afraid to comment. Now I know coolcatteacher was referring to me. I love to lurk in the shadows and stay concealed. It is my objective in life to go unnoticed just like Nobody Owens in The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Choose at least five different Library2Play blogs and make at least one comment to each. I found some very interesting blogs that I commented right away. Library Larks and Mr. D's Flying Circus. What a cool name, it makes me think of Monty Python's Flying Circus. I learned that you could approve someone's comments before they are posted. stretchylibrarian was another I chose for the name because I have a reference book with the same name. Nice work! Next, I explored schoollibrarythings and found a charming sunflower video.On TechbrarianTalk's blog, I commented on my satisfaction with wikispaces wikis.

Find two blogs about a subject of personal interest: I like many, but I posted my first comment on Tarie's blog Into the Wardrobe. She had posted a review of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It's a pretty violent book-really great for a psychology class. As for myself, I prefer The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It has a similar theme. Tarie's blog is very interesting consisting of author interviews, and reviews of childrens and YA literature. I had previously communicated through email with her to compare notes. I think I did a pretty good job commenting. I even asked open ended questions-thanks coolcatteacher for the commenting advice.

Another useful blog I stumbled across and proceeded to email the blog author was Naomi Bates at YA books and more
I was researching book trailers and found many great tips and tricks on her blog. Now, I will just start leaving comments as I know emails can really drag a blog author down time wise if they have to answer people. Naomi was very kind to respond to my emails.

Whew! this was a Looooonnnnnnnggggggg assignment. I am halfway through and have caught up to a lot of people who started before me.

Thing 11: Library Thing

2009-07-28T15:14:00.000-05:00

I am registered with Library Thing and I did add my five books, but I already have a virtual Shelfari bookshelf on my blog, school website, and wiki page. I visited some new discussion groups, but kept coming back to children's and YA lit groups which are my favorites. When I have more time, I will look for a library idea exchange group. Check out my book shelf...I still need to add MORE books to keep up with my voracious reading habits. I read a Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee everyday during my lunch breaks.

Thing 10: Online Image Generators

2009-07-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

Well, this was like recess-what fun! These sites could get me in a LOT of touble
and I would probably never get any work done.

Image Chef was definitely my favorite. I can hardly wait to show our teachers the Word Mosaic. Kids will absolutely love it. Practice spelling words or create a poem-make it fun!

Trading Card Maker is another program that I see being very useful and fun for the library to introduce authors, illustrators, or new book titles. I am so excited to use this one. I will, of course, take a bit more time on the ones I use for the kids. ooooh! Bookmarks!

Thing 9: Useful Library-Related blogs and News Feeds

2009-07-28T11:01:00.000-05:00

Which Search tool was the easiest for you?

Rather than rely heavily on Search tools, I preferred to see what others were reading. CoolCatTeacher had many useful links to other quality blogs. The Edublog Awards seemed like a no brainer for finding educational relevant blogs-this was very easy.

Which was more confusing?
Syndic8 was not appealing and appeared confusing, so I did not want to waste time maneuvering through it.

What kind of useful feeds did you find in your travels? Or what kind of unusual ones did you find?

The oddest one I came across was a "recommended" blog: bookslut. I am still mystified why people would recommend this as a good blog. It was whiny and inappropriate, but maybe I am just a square. The nicest thing I can say is "the name of the blog says it all."

Thing 8: RSS Feeds and Readers

2009-07-28T10:47:00.000-05:00

What do you like about RSS and readers?

RSS Feeds and Readers are time savers-instead of having to manually input web addresses, I now simply click> click> click> and I am caught up for the day. Time is a premium commodity.

How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?

I am now using RSS feeds to to stay in touch with fellow readers-librarians, teachers, editors, authors, etc.- to share ideas and hear the latest news in the literary world. RSS feeds and use of Google Reader simplifies this.

How can libraries/teachers/administrators use readers or take advantage of this new technology?

Simply by using it. They will immediately realize how much time they will save. A quick reader check before class will allow teachers/librarians to stay current and incorporate current events or new ideas into classroom learning experiences.

Thing 7 Cool Google Tools

2009-07-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

I wish I had thought of Google, but I am glad someone did. I have always been a fan of Google images-so helpful for librarians. I clicked on igoogle and my dentist appointment reminder popped up. I rearranged my page and added "literary quotes of the day,"a little turtle that moves around, and added some items to get to work on with a "to do" list.

I am already using Google docs with my school district but after exploring a little more, I found a program that lets me create a multiple choice questions. I have been wanting to find this type of programs. SO cool! I added "make a quiz" to my "to do" list.

I rented a moon jump/slide this past weekend and the owner told me he uses Google docs for his business.

OK, I am going to try to embed a multiple choice question that I created.

Loading...

Thing 6-Discovery Exercise

2009-07-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

Trading cards- I created one for "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman. I use "advertising" all the time in my library to entice kids to check out books. I will pass out "Graveyard Book" trading cards after the kids view my book trailer for Graveyard book. This will be also be a fun way to introduce kids to authors and illustrators.

Thing 5 Explore Flickr continued

2009-07-27T10:58:00.000-05:00

Here is a children's library posted on Flickr by annethelibrarian. Thanks Anne. It does not look like my library, so I will have to add a photo of mine to Flickr soon. I appreciate having this resource to use knowing that I have permission to display unique, as well as, typical images to my lessons.

Thing 2 again-7 1/2 habits

2009-07-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

My first post referred to Thing 1 and Thing 2, but, I tend to "hide" the message within a message, so it appeared that I had not created a post about Thing 2. I would be a super great secret message encoder because of my ability to camouflage messages. Here it is again with the superfluous verbiage edited out.

A strong habit I possess is that I am a life long learner and I happily accept responsibility for my own learning. I can't wait to learn new things every day!

My weakest habit (of the 71/2 habits) is "view problems as challenges". I like to whine a little when faced with a problem, but at the same time I find myself invigorated by the problem that needs to be solved if it interests me.

Thing 5 Flicker

2009-07-24T13:40:00.000-05:00

Creative Commons is an extremely useful site. I registered for an account and even went through a tutorial process. I will keep this in mind when showing teachers how to search for images that are permissible to use without violating copyrights.

Thing 3 Blog blog blog

2009-07-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

Here is my blog
it is sad, but true
just how much time
it takes to do.

Thing 3 is complete. The avatar is not so great, but I probably did not do it correctly. It is a temporary avatar and I plan to rid of it soon. I added my Shefari bookshelf also, but it seems to be missing many titles. I like Shelfari, although it seems to have a lot of technological snags which prevents editing at times.

A busy librarian has so much to do in a day and when I sit down to create a new post BOOM! I go into a time warp full speed ahead. In addition to this blog, I have a school web site, a Shelfari, a few educational wikis, and I am creating book trailers to introduce students to new titles we will be receiving very soon.

My schedule is screaming at me now. Must sign off.

Life in the Future

2009-07-23T08:50:00.001-05:00

Living life in the future is better than I ever expected! The Jetsons really had it right! A machine for our every need. As a kid having to endure long car trips, I had always wished for a hamburger machine that with the push of a button would produce a hot, delicious hamburger. Boy, that would have made having to play the "don't cross this line" game with my sisters more bearable.

Technology and the ease of internet use have added so much to the field of education. My lessons have more punch as I am able to integrate sound, images, and live action to support the lessons.

Lately, I have created some book trailers as teasers to introduce students to new titles. Introducing students to authors and illustrators via their websites or sites such as Scholastic that also provide games, trivia, and trailers make a teacher/librarian's job much easier and fun!
Life in the future is great!

Book Trailers for Bluebonnets

2009-07-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

Today I am creating a book trailer to introduce my students to the 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Nominees. When searching for book jacket images I came across a Blog devoted to the Bluebonnet awards. I hope we can compare notes. This is our first year for Bluebonnet voting. I hope our kids will be as excited about it as I am. If I finish the trailer soon, I will post it to my Book Egg Blog.

Playing in the library

2009-07-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

Thing 1 and Thing 2 (how very Suessical!) are almost finished. Avatar problem. No need to shed tears over a cracked egg-just move on.

I am a life long learner and I happily accept responsibility for my own learning. I can't wait to learn new things every day!

Today, I expanded my knowledge base on computer security. I attended a "how to create a spam rule" session after my name was harvested from the Internet and was used to send naughty spam to all the users at my university. I was comforted by the fact that it happens to other users frequently, particularly if your name is readily available on the net. Wow-I am glad I implement my own security measures after hearing so many tales of woe from neglectful computer users.

My weakest habit (of the 71/2 habits) is "view problems as challenges". I like to whine a little when faced with a problem, but at the same time I find myself invigorated by the problem that needs to be solved if it interests me.