Thing #20 - Adding Videos

Well, I'm giving up on this one. I've just spent two hours on a Saturday morning trying to upload videos from You Tube and Teacher Tube to my blog with no success, and they were two really good ones. I've copied down then names and if anyone can help me do this, I'll edit this post and add them. I need to move on to other things - I can't sit here all day on a Saturday - the rest of my life calls. This could be such a great resource for teachers and students, but at this point it's not working. I hope others are more successful. I'll try again at another point. Neither video would load. I've printed out the directions, copied, pasted, with no results. Frustrated hardly describes this!

Thing #19 - Web Awards

I had scanned ahead on the 23 Things list a little bit, so I have been using one of the award sites on a personal level to help plan our vacation to Spain. I used the "travel" entry on the list, then found "gusto" - a great site for reviews of places by people who have recently been there. I even found a picture and a review of the hotel where we'll be staying in Seville; it was a bit older, but still gave us a good idea of the hotel. There are no comments on Cadiz, where we pick up our daughter and begin our trip, but who knows, we may the first to add a review for that city! The comments on Gibraltar and Marbella have been quite helpful in planning what we want to see/do and how to manage it. We plan to explore this site in the future.

Thing #18 - Productivity Tools

Open Office was very interesting and might be a good option. I liked it better than Google Docs. The advantage I see to these tools is that they might be a little easier than Microsoft, and they don't expire. The disadvantage is that it's almost assumed that everyone uses Microsoft, so you have to change over to another suite from what's installed on your computer. This one bears consideration; I think I need to play with Open Office more before I decide.

Thing #17 - Rollyo

This was not as easy as I first thought. I tried using it to organize information about our upcoming vacation, but I supposed I didn't understand all of the details -- I'll go back and try again. It did, however, give me lots of sites in a hurry. I think with practice, it could save time and be used by others in a group to quickly access information. On this one, I think the frustration is me, not the site. I'm not giving up. Here's my very short Rollyo creation; my next try will be to expand it.
http://rollyo.com/kathymc/travel_in_spain/

Thing #16 - Wikis

Loved this! Wikis could be very useful in a classroom. Group projects could take on a whole new look, and class discussions/research could be lots of fun with this. I still need to work with it, but see lots of potential. The tutorials were very helpful; now it's up to me to have fun. I enjoyed adding a comment to the 23 Things sandbox.

Thing #15

Fascinating insights on the library of the future. Will it even be called a library? Will there even be a building called a library? Our revamped Houston Public Library is certainly moving toward the new idea of a library, but I think there will be amazing changes in the physical aspect of them in the very near future.
The thought that creating large collections of books will be almost unnecessary is certainly an idea that will require some thought for one who loves libraries with all of that wonderful reading material that can be held in my hand - I do love the actual page turning. However, if we want students to have the best and most current information, a book published in 1995 that sits on a library shelf is hardly the best material available. What does Library 2.0 mean for all of us? A huge new world of infomation and as one of the essays said, "conversations". Then thinking ahead to the Library 3.0 --- endless opporutnities!

Thing #14 Technorati

Very interesting and overwhelming! I'm amazed at the number of people who must stay glued to their screens on a regular basis! I must have done something wrong - I did claim my blog and tried to paste into this one, but I can't see it; oh well, back to the drawing board (electronic, of course). Technorati is fascinating - what a way to find out what people think/know about almost any subject; it seems like a great way to find out what "real people" think/know, but I also see how it could really occupy loads of time. I do think it could be a great tool for kids and teachers.