CPD 23 :Week 10 - Zotero/Mendeley/CiteULike

I picked Mendeley as my choice to try out. I love this idea! I would agree with Sherm Sez when he stated how easy it is to install and use. I also like his idea to download the PDF manuals for devices we have at school…so much easier to organize and find instead of digging through my file cabinets. I have a several friends who are working on their masters and I will be sending Mendeley’s link for them to try out.

As for teaching it to my students....I think it is too advanced for my students, but I will be using it personally. I especially like the “papers” tab and the number of readers who have added it to the specific topics. I also like the “trending” feature—good source for topics or additional ideas.

CPD23: Week 9 - Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox

I have been using Google Docs and Wikis for several years and I think they are great tools. A good example of using a Wiki successfully is when I attended a workshop and the presenters gave each participant a business card with the Wiki site printed on it for future use. I have gone back to that particular Wiki several times for ideas on implementing their topic into my lessons and reading the feedback/ideas from other participants.

Dropbox was new to me and I already love it. I have been using Evernote for ideas, photos, lists…just your general things I don’t want to have all over my desk. I often take a picture of something I don’t want to forget and email it to Evernote. I like the idea of Dropbox and the folders-subfolders. I only have the free version so far, will have to wait and see if I want to pay for more storage. Since I have had a number of computer problems lately, the idea of having all my files on any computer sounds much easier than what I have been doing lately to ensure the loss of files. This is also a good idea for students who constantly misplace their flashdrives, so this will be a great tool to present to our students.

CPD23: Week 8 - Reflections

When I first starting hearing the phrase “social media” I really only looked at it as a source for my teenagers to keep in contact with their friends. Little did I know of how the many forms of social media would expand and actually be put to good use. At the school where I teach, we use Facebook to connect to the many alumni who feel a strong bond to our school, which dates to opening around 80 years ago. This on-line community is made up of alumni from the 1950’s to more recent alumni with a common goal of keeping our school strong and vital. I am sure this could not have been accomplished without using social media as a way to link this group of people who otherwise would not have met!

CPD 23: Week 7 - Librarianship Training Options

After 18 years in the cooperate world I was a bit burned out from the heavy travel and decided that I would do some part-time projects for my employer. I loved the company I worked for, but I really wanted to be able to spend more time with my family instead of my co-workers! During that time I made the decision to return to school and crossed paths with Dr. Pasco from UNO. Little did I know at that time, my career choice was about to change and I am now starting my third year as a part-time Teacher Librarian in an Omaha school. I love my new career and feel very privileged to work with such a dedicated group of teachers at my school. I am the only staff in our library, so that does present some challenges of doing daily classroom lessons and managing all the details of the library on a part-time basis. I still feel like a “newbie” as there is always so much more to learn!

As for mentoring, I feel like my first mentor was Dr. Pasco who has such enthusiasm for librarianship that I once heard an English major student say he was thinking of changing his major after just one class with her! My other mentors have been my student teacher advisor, Dr. Hazelwood and my wonderful cooperating library teachers. My principal is a wonderful mentor with many years of experience and I value all that I can learn from her. Even though my roll as a mentor as been to another new teacher and not in librarianship, I feel we should all mentor to give back for what we have learned—in the mentor/mentee role….we all grow!

CPD 23: Week 6 - Organizing Yourself

Thing 8

Google Calendar- I have just played around with Google Calendar and would love to be able to use this school-wide instead of the system we currently use. I love the features that Google offers and especially the ability to use it on my phone so I would not have to have a separate work and personal calendar.

Thing 9

Evernote- I have been using Evernote for over a year and absolutely love it. I only wish I had know about it when I went back to school a couple of years ago! I love the ability to access my documents, lists, ideas, pictures in one place, regardless of where I am working. Because I tend to forget more “stuff” these days, I love to just snap a picture of something I need to remember with my phone and send it to Evernote. I know that when I get home I have a reminder of everything I need to follow-up on. My friends made fun of me until I pointed out to them that in most cases you always have your phone with you so it is easy to keep your ideas organized......no more little sticky notes all over your desk!  I have two college age children and made sure they knew how to use it before they left for college as it is a wonderful time saver for students. This year I will be adding it to my lesson plans for my 8^th graders, as it can be another valuable tool in their high school toolbox.

Week 5-Thing 7: Real Life Networks

This is where I need to put in more effort. As one of the other participants pointed out – we get out of our organizations in equal to what effort we put into them. Well, I have not received much, as I have not given much! I belong to only a couple of organizations and know I should attend at least one conference a year. I teach at a school that cannot afford to pay for memberships so I am hesitant to pay for many out of my own salary. I know this is an opportunity for training and networking and will make it a priority this year to get more involved.

CPD23: Week 5: Thing #6-Online Networks

Interesting read on social networks as there are several I have not heard of before.  My main reason for using social networks is to stay connected and to be better equipped at what I do. I have been using Facebook for about a year and half and use it primarily for friends and family, but also use it to stay connected to the teachers at my school. Sometimes we start a message thread and it works well when we are planning a school event. At this point I have not used it to connect with other school librarians—that is where I see Google+ fitting in for me. I like how you can decide on a group of people to share with instead of everyone on your friend list who is really not interested in your library talk.

I have been invited to use Linkedln, but have not used it at this point. I don’t see it as a way for teachers to network, but I would have loved using it when I was in sales years ago. There were several network names that were new to me and I thought I would follow the LAT network for teachers on Twitter to see what they are all about. It looked to me that it was more UK things that may not apply, but it can’t hurt to take a peek!