Potpourri of Links--Again Learning from Students

Again I am grading...grading...and will be for the coming two weeks as the fall term (already???) comes to an end. Yesterday I started a posting with a GREAT link that I found while going over student work. I could have sworn I saved the entry but now cannot find it. Wonder where it went? I now cannot remember a thing about the link except that I wanted to be sure and share it. Anyway, I will STILL share things I glean from students' work starting with one so far today and then building from there.

• Alan Lew--I somehow missed this leader in Web 2.0 instruction, but just added him to my Twitter list. His page for that venue is: http://twitter.com/alew and from there you can find his other pages.

• TwitterLit! Wow I love this site and, while I had heard of it, had not visited until it was mentioned today by a student. Twice a day you get literary teasers, first lines from books plus links to Amazon if you are intrigued by the lines. There is also a site for kids! You can subscribe via RSS or have the teasers sent to your twitter. Fun site! http://www.twitterlit.com/

• And guess what? While I was typing, I remembered the site I wanted to share from yesterday. It is a site for teaching kids about phishing, and I think will be helpful for users of any age who need to learn about this somewhat confusing term. The site is Anti-Phishing Phil, where Phil the fish teaches the term in a game format: http://cups.cs.cmu.edu/antiphishing_phil/

• I had not visited this blog before, and it is a great resource for YA books and librarians who work with teens: http://www.teenlibrarian.com/blog.html

• Excellent educational use of a wiki is demonstrated at this site, which has received a good deal of attention for its presence. It is maintained by a computer science teacher at Westwood Schools, GA: http://westwood.wikispaces.com/#tochome5
  

I'M NO QUITTER...JUST JOINED TWITTER

Actually I joined a couple of hours ago, looked around a bit, and took the dog for a walk. I am liking this tool more than I thought I might! Here are some observations...they are in no particular order other than the order in which they occur to me:

• This is a great way to advertise your blog. You could post an inviting Twitter that would lure people there.

• Another really good way to use would be, as a librarian, to send out very short book reviews.
• A lot of Twitter sites, both librarian and teacher, are open only to subscribers.
  
• On the down side, many sites, including some that at first glance seem to offer promise, have not been updated in a long time. To really use Twitter, it seems to me you would need to post frequently.
  

After a quick look-see, here are some sites I like

• This teacher's Twitter looks interesting, and his blog more so: http://twitter.com/steerwasher
• Alli_librarian--gives short takes on books read, which I do see as a viable use for Twitter. In fact this is one of the best examples I saw of constructive use: http://twitter.com/alli_librarian
• Teacher 2.0--this one mostly points you to a blog, but in that sense could lead you to some interesting information: http://twitter.com/teachers2

Conclusion:

• If you had a very specific plan, it could be that Twitter would be your solution
• There is a lot of chaff and not so much wheat if you go searching and looking for Twitters with substance.
  
• For someone who wants to use it with a phone and to keep up with friends, it could be lots of fun.
  
• For me, it does not resonate enough that I think I will be a regular user. It looks like fun, but I know myself well enough to know that I will likely just end up being one of the many people out there who have not updated in months.
  

Bird Bath!

Well, my brain is pretty close to fried right now, due to working all day online. Mostly I have been working on communications with people who are applying for the grant received by our department. It is a wonderful opportunity offered though the Institute of Museum and Library Science. The title of the grant is Laura Bush 21st Century Library Grant, and the name of our particular program is South Texas Educational Program (STEP) Grant. I made up the acronym and admit to being a bit proud of that. I am also proud to be the grant administrator. Anyway, the work I was doing today was tedious and a bit frustrating, but I finally brought it to a close and thought...GREAT! Here is the perfect time to try TWITTER before taking the dog for a walk, since my attention span is definitely on the short side at the moment. Alas, TWITTER is down at the moment, and the notice says it is out "for a brief shower." Hopefully I will be able to do more than just mention it before the day is done! Twitter is a social networking site where people can post very brief messages, no more than 140 characters, called TWITS. They can then share these with others. Some educators are finding exciting uses for Twitter and I am curious if a bit dubious at the moment. But time will tell...maybe the little twitter birdie will be back up for business soon!