Thing #11.5 - Evaluation (11.5 More Things)

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I liked the image generators (especially Wordle), learning how to post to You Tube, learning about other video resources, iTouch apps (I needed to learn this), Screencasting (Jing), Second Life (although I had no desire to do it at first, and claimed I wouldn't be doing it in my free time), and I think learning about Digital Citizenship is important.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? These are just new things to have in my repertoire of experiences that I will be able to incorporate into my personal and professional life. And I think it's important as an information specialist to have a basic knowledge and understanding of what's available out there technologically (Skype, etc.), even if I don't utilize them all myself.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I had a negative attitude about Second Life and didn't feel like doing it at all. I claimed I would not be caught doing it in my free time, but I find myself talking about it to people, and I logged in the other day to see if I could find a Starbucks. It's just kind of cool. I think some people really must live vicariously through these virtual worlds, and I'm not into that (nor do I have the time), but it is pretty interesting and I want to interact with more people on there. It would be fun to get a group of friends together for a vacay somewhere. Also, I did research and really struggled between the Blackberry and iPhone for a long time before I made a purchase. I ended up going with (and loving) my Blackberry (claiming I wasn't a "gadgety" person and didn't need all those i-things). But I am so glad I got to play with my friend's iPhone and iTouch. I don't think I'm going to do away with my Blackberry, but I am now looking forward to my husband getting an iPhone and playing with his. It's the best of both worlds!

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I enjoyed this one so much more than the 23 Things because it was shorter and I was more interested in the "things." However, I have some experiences under my belt that I did not have before doing 23 Things and that probably has something to do with it. I can't really think of a way to improve it.

Thing #11 - Digital Citizenship (11.5 More Things)

I don't know how much I would touch on digital citizenship during a library orientation other than mentioning it, but I think a whole lesson dedicated to this topic is imperative. And who better to impart this information to our students than an information specialist? I don't think I would talk about all nine elements of digital citizenship in my lesson, but would focus on Etiquette, Literacy, Law, Health & Wellness, and Security. I am not sure if I would try to squeeze them all into one lesson, or make each one it's own. I remember the instructional technology person at my last school giving a really great presentation on Internet safety, and the kids were all ears. I would want to incorporate in my lesson some of the videos, lesson plan ideas, interactive resources (such as ID the creep or Get Your Web License), and other resources provided to us in this "thing" because kids respond well to short videos and computer generated things. It's funny that "Access" is one of the elements of digital citizenship, yet we as educators have limited access to certain technologies in our district with which to teach digital citizenship (You Tube, etc.). Not only is digital citizenship important to teach our students, but this is a topic our fellow educators should be aware of as well (this is a good topic for a training or inservice). In fact, just yesterday I was talking to one of the teachers at my school who is very into technology and doing Web 2.0 projects with her students, and she was saying she would like to have all the legalities regarding what can and can't be done with technology (copyright, etc.) spelled out to her on paper. I myself don't even know all the answers and think this would be a great topic to discuss at one of our future library meetings.

Thing #10 - Virtual Worlds (11.5 More Things)

Hello. My name is Bree Collazo... Wow, this was certainly interesting, but it's definitely not going to be something you'll catch me doing in my free time. I played with it for a while and learned a lot, but I could REALLY benefit from someone showing me the basics and guiding me around, as opposed to trying to figure it out by myself. I watched a little video on how to change my avatar, and I also learned how to change it's clothes, but it was not as user friendly as one might hope. I never did figure out the hair. I went to Galveston, New York City, a flight museum, a school, and a store. One of the things that stood out to me was how lonely I was, although I did see an occasional person here and there. I wonder if there are places where a lot of people hang around? Apparently you can go shopping and get some new clothes for free, but I couldn't figure it out. I saw a man in a store and asked him to help me (chatted with him), and he actually led me to the women's department, but then I got stuck. My daughter saw me doing it and wanted in on the fun, so we messed around with it together (she helped me with the colors of my clothes, and we played around with the various gestures you can make your avatar say and do). She loved "wash" and just kept giggling about it. She was more into this than me, I might add, and it kind of helped me because I was at a bit of at a loss and she lead the way. As far as education goes I it looks like the sky is the limit. You can build and create things, buy things, go visit places, even attend seminars, etc., etc. The guy I chatted with owned that store, so I guess he built it himself -- which is beyond my imagination. And I read about the guy creating the Frank Lloyd Wright museum. I tried to go to a school to see what I could learn and I didn't figure it out. Neat stuff, but not my cup of tea. However, just like my daughter, I think some of the students would take this and run with it. I did notice some inappropriate things and clothing, so I hope the teen version is cleaner.