Ok...maybe it's more like pea soup.

I created several sample podcasts and embedded the link in my blog, but only the most recent podcast shows up. I'd like to keep a running history. I'll have to play with it some more.

Podcasting...as easy as peas...get it? Peas...pods!

Ok...that was way too easy. I love it! I can see a million uses for this. Actually, one of the first uses is just for leaving sub notes for unexpected absences . You can't record a very long message on the sub line nor leave a very detailed written message in the sub notes section of AESOP. (You can attach docs, but the subs usually don't print it out.) I could just give them my podcast address! Oooooh...more ways to be lazy!

More academic uses:
* I want to put my chem class power point notes on my website. One concern has been explaining the more complicated parts...so attaching podcasts is a great solution.

More Things to Get me in Trouble

ImageChef.com Flower Text

Thing 19 - Just for Fun

OK...I'm just giving "them" tons of ammunition. But, hey, that's my assignment.

Thing 18 - More disappearing "Things"

Is there an 18?

Thing 17 - One New Thing

As far as technology goes, what I've used the most lately are the photo, video, music editors...burning CD's. And I like helping other people figure out how to use these.

Thing 16 - Faster than a Speeding Snail

• Have you used MnLINK in the past? What was your experience?
• I've used MN link to get books, articles, & other theses for my master's thesis. Some of the requests did not come back for over a month...only to find out that the item was lost and could not be found. That was 4 years ago. I hope it's faster now! So timing definitely is an issue.
• Either way, it is still a critical service.
  

Thing 15 - Doing it together better

We, at Harding, are quite blessed in this department as our librarian, the ever radiant Ms. Preller, has always been ready & willing to work with teachers & students to increase librarian literacy skills. I'm not sure if the teachers at Harding are even used to it yet or know what a great resource we have as the previous, though equally charming, librarian was a smidge less pro-active.

After reading the article on collaboration, I can see how hard it might be to get collaboration going. Maybe I find it easy to work with our librarian b/c my classroom is directly across from the library, so I am always passing through & saying hi. To facilitate collaboration between library media specialists and teachers, they could give mini-presentations at staff meetings or staff development days on specific collaborative projects they have completed to give other teachers a clear idea of what they could accomplish in partnership with their media specialist.

Thing 14 - To trust or not to trust?

• How could you introduce these resources to your students?
• These could be introduced as part of a dribbling exercise...have students search for the same info using google vs. an evaluated database.
  
• Have you dealt with the impatience of students waiting for that instant answer? How do you handle that?
• I think it is mainly practice. We are just used to google. If you get students in the habit of using other resources...that's the key. Our librarian, the lovely Ms. Preller, has posted large signs over each computer in the libes over each computer directing students to the SPPS on-line resources pages.
  
• What other reliable online resources do you rely on?
• Unfortunately, I still google...usually just to verify something I already know. Because I'm looking for info related to chem problems, google usually takes me right to university websites. Most of the databases I've looked at simply don't go into enough detail for the chemistry questions I have.
  

Thing 13 - Where is it?

Where's thing 13?

More on Thing 12 - Comparing search engines

I tried out the tools for comparing search engines side-by-side. I like the google/yahoo graphical comparison the best. Some of google's top returns (but yahoo's low returns) were the strictly informative sites on the history of bolero, which is what I would be the most interested in. Jux2.com seemed less helpful, as everything was only compared to msn.com.

Metasearch engines:
1 - Dogpile's hits were more commercial.
2 - Clusty was slow, but I liked the detailed description of each site.

Visual Search Engines
1 - Their mascot is a little creepy, but I liked the visual format of kartOOif one is brainstorming around a topic and trying to figure out where they want to go. It can, however, pick up a lot of irrelevant sub-search criterion. For example, I was looking at the results from "Bolero Dance" and ended up following this thread: Bolero Dance - Studies - Mathematics - Departments - Webmaster. I seems the webmaster for one dance site works in the math dept at a university. So that thread was obviously irrelevant.

2- I couldn't find Qunitura at first b/c it is actually spelled Quintura. It is a nice combo of visual and list format.

3 - OK - now musicplasma.com was way more cool than I expected. For a certified movie-junkie, its just heaven. It contains a visual map of movies by topic or director or actor. Ist is like 6 degrees of separation or 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon...whichever you prefer.

Thing 12 - Other Search Engines - What's Bolero?

In order to compare different search engines, I looked for information on one of my favorite dances, the Bolero. I entered "Bolero Dance" in the search bar.

Google - More informational sites came up in the top 10. The sponsored sites were off to the side so it is easy to ignore them.

Ask.com - More commercial sites popped up in the top 10. However, I like the sidebar with suggestions on narrowing or broadening one's search. I also just noticed that the main sites were sandwiched between the sponsored sites. There is so much to wade through as it is that I don't want anything unnecessary returned.

Yahoo - More informational sites came up and it gave suggestions for further searching.

MSN - I don't know if my server suddenly screeched to a halt, but MSN was extremely slow. It finally returned results similar to google.

I did another search on "celtic cross" images. Google and ask.com were fast and returned similar results. Yahoo was fast, returned color images at the top of the list, but also returned inappropriate images. MSN was fast this time (OK, so maybe it was my server), primarily color pics, but no inappropriate images.

The loveliness of technology

I was gone all last week for a workshop. A sub and student teacher covered my classes. I wrote my presentations on PowerPoint before I left and then left my laptop with my student teacher. He was able to pick up right where I left off in the class notes. I felt so much more confident that my students were not missing anything while I was gone.

More on Thing 11

I checked out google jobs and didn't realize how large google was. They have a branch called google.org which focuses on world-wide issues such as the environment and poverty. They even have openings for animal health experts and climate specialists.

Thing 11 - All About Google

With respect to google, I've used the following features:
* regular searches
* image searches
* phonebook
* Q&A
* converters (especially units)
* dictionary
* gmail
* Google Earth

I haven't used customized/saved searches. I will try this for the next atom history project.

Thing 10 -Plagiarism vs. Copyright

Reflections on the quiz:
* What! Happy Birthday isn't in the public domain?! I thought it was so old it had to be in the public domain.
* I didn't know showing something from PBS within 45 is considered fair use. I thought only a few minutes of anything as a "review" of the material.

Paris Hilton & Oprah battle it out over the Periodic Table

I've finally converted my bonding unit lecture notes to powerpoint so I can attach them to my website. In order to explain electronegativity, I compared atoms with high electronegativity (they want to take electrons from other atoms) to Paris Hilton and atoms with low electronegativity (they want to give away electrons) to Oprah. (I have another slide using Donald Trump and Mother Theresa, but fewer and fewer students know who Mother Theresa was.) I have found it so much easier to get my notes together and update them having this equipment.