Pamela's Blog

If you don't know by now, I a huge fan of infographics.  They give you the opportunity to take a whole lot of information and put it in one place that is easy to read.  Sort of like a poster session.  I like poster sessions.  Many times this information can tell a story that graphically that is more profound than the verbal or print telling. OER is also something that has had my interest for the past few years.  Working in higher ed, I have seen the struggles of students and if there is something that we can do about it, then we should.  The problem with OER is that it takes "out of the box" thinkers and some educators don't want to leave the confines of their box.  It is safe and warm and allows me to collect a paycheck.   But, I understand their dilemma and their need for support.  I was a kindergarten teacher.  If anyone remembers their kindergarten teacher or knows a kindergarten teacher, you know that they are the MacGyvers of the education world. 

This class has reminded me of the great teacher I used to be (sarcasm).  I was an early adopter.  I jumped on Edmodo when it launched.  I created online tests for my students with the four big greyish off-white computers we had in the classroom.  I had a Mimio when they were first introduced.  I like to think of myself as a "game-changer".  Keeping up with tech, though can be overwhelming. I found myself wanting to try everything that was out there, kinda reminds me of the first time I walked into the public library as a school librarian.  Overwhelmingly, Awesome!  You have to step back though and evaluate.  You have to think about what your objectives are for the tools and most of all, how the students will respond to whatever you are using.  Here is an article that may help you get started by Dr. Jason Rhode.  Steps for Choosing the Best Technology Tools for Your Teaching

After reading Dr. Dennen's chapter   Networked knowledge activities, for the upcoming book I classified my family.  It's funny how a person's journey through social media can create a classification. I am glad to have read this chapter because it made me think of a few things about how we interact with one another, not just my family but also my social network. Collect & Curate-  I am a collector and a s a librarian, I am a curator.Regardless of how organized I like to see myself, I collect web pages and pins like a boss.  I like to think of myself as a minimalist, however my interest are so all over the place that I actually created folders for my bookmarks and was trying to figure out if I could put folders in my folders.  The problem with justifying those folders, categorizing them and remembering what it is in them.  (In walks Pinterest... stage left).  Pinterest is the collection life raft that helps me not only know what I am cooking for dinner, but categorizes

The social media experiment in this class has kind of taken my life for a loop.  If you read my initial post you will know that I have limited my social media use for personal reasons.  I don't like the pressure of following and posting.  I am the chair of a social media committee, believe it or not and I see my job as purely organizational.  My little team and I have created a social media calendar schedule posts using Buffer.  I am down the rabbit hole.  I knew this would happen as soon as I opened myself up and it did.  I have wasted countless hours this week on social media and can't put that on my participation log.  Now that my husband sees me on Instagram he feels the need to "send" me memes and posts.  People like a post or pic and I get the notification for that so I have to view it.  Those of you who are in control out there can say, "turn your notifications off" but think about how many times you posted something and wanted to see how many peopl

I was brought from my slumber by a trip to the bathroom and my Bella letting me know she wanted out of her crate (to get in our bed) at 3:12 am.  As she nestled in next to my husband, I couldn't think of anything but this blog post that I needed to write.  Yes, Dr. Dennen your class invaded my sleep once again. Lying in bed trying to close my eyes tight and regulating my breathing (in hopes to return to a VERY good night's sleep) I ended  up thinking.  So instead of tossing an turning for the next few hours, I ended up here. My mind was on a conversation that I had yesterday and the list of educational apps that I had looked at earlier for this week.  Two different instances but on point. They both boil down to access.  Access that is voluntarily and access that is involuntarily. My youngest son will be traveling to London next week for soccer.  Unfortunately, I don't get to travel with him (because someone has to pay for his budding soccer career).  The coach to

I was first introduced to developing your own Google Maps when trying to convince my son not to move to Los Angeles.  I sent him a link to Los Angeles Gangs   (which is quite informative) as a joke, but was fascinated by the ability to create my own personal or family map.   Fast forward two years. In 2015,I joined the Transitions to College Committee, a part of  ALA, a national organization, to work on a project. The focus was to connect public, school and academic librarians locally. Our intention is to help all students connect to the library or a librarian, regardless of  where they are located.  We created a Google Form to collect information, and members of the committee would take turns placing "pins" on the map related to the type of library represented.  This map has been active for quite a few years and I have made quite a few library friends across the country because of it.   Very easy to use and embed, Google Maps has created a tool that can not only keep