Gotta Keep Reading (Summertime version)

Well, here I am trying to avoid painting the kitchen by creating a new blog post. I have been busy this summer with traveling to Boston (Go MIT!), knitting during the Summer Olympics for the Ravelry Ravellenic Games, and reading the books on my school district's Gotta Keep Reading list.

This year's reading list is exciting with a mix of fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, graphic novels, and more. I have read 10 of the 25 books on the list so far. My favorite one so far is Wonkenstein by Obert Skye. I love Obert Skye. He is a great author and a great guy in person too! I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know him last year at the Tweens Read Book Festival my district hosted for middle and intermediate school readers and writers. He was funny and charismatic. His newest book series for middle grade readers is delightful, funny, and a fast read. I can't wait to get the next installment in my hands, Potterwookie.

I'm looking forward to attending a virtual conference on young adult books on August 9th hosted by School Library Journal. I hope to blog some about it here...so look for it in August.

More coming later on my summer pursuits,
Debra

23 Things Project: Thing 20 Online Image Generators

Blocked at work. That is what happened on every site I tried to access in regards to this 23 Things Project item. Now I am trying to rush to get this project done by the deadline -- which is today, of course. At home, I tried the Image Chef website. Here is the picture I created:

This image reminds of some bookmarks I saw for sale a couple of years ago. All the images included food related photos with bookmark slogans. Here is another image I created:

I could see using Image Chef to create graphics for bookmarks and posters for the library to promote the library program or to promote books and reading.

Enjoy and remember, books are the cat's meow,

Debra

23 Things Project: Thing 16 Podcasts and Vidcasts

Learning to create my own podcasts and vidcasts have been kicking around in the back of my mind for a while now. I listen to podcasts on a regular basis on my IPod. I keep up with my favorite knitters and what going on in the fiber world through podcasts. I learn about new books and new authors through podcasts. Podcasts are a fun way to pass time while I am pretending to exercise or while I am knitting on the couch. Podcasts are a great way to ignore the rest of the world for a while too, especially while sitting in waiting rooms.

For this 23 thing project item, I decided to create a vidcast showcasing the books on the middle school Gotta Keep Reading list of the next school year. I wrote some narration introducing the different books and added some music from my daughter's playlist.

I enjoyed creating the vidcast, but it was frustrating too because I had to learn the computer software first. Then I had to buy a microphone since I didn't have one at home. Next, after adding the narration, the software wouldn't play the background music, then it played the background music too loudly and you couldn't hear the narration. After a very frustrating couple of hours, I finished it. So where is the vidcast? It is lying dormant in the My Documents folder of my work computer and I'm finishing this post at home. Problem, no? Problem, yes!

I will post the vidcast tomorrow when I get to work. I hope you enjoy it.

Debra

Here is the vidcast:

23 Things Project: Thing 22 Recess

Time to play...time to play, who has time to play? I didn't really want to go back and re-visit other things because I had already spent too much time on them, so I decided to check out the LiveBinder instead. I found this cool site listed there called UsefulCharts. Now this I can get into. The charts are easy-to-read at a glance and has lots of neat stuff for the trivia geek in us all.

Useful Charts

I also checked out Lesson Index for reader's guides to novels. It had lots of titles and resources. Check it out here: Lesson Index

That's it for now,
Debra

23 Things Project: Thing 21 Shelfari

Like Goodreads, Shelfari is a book geek's paradise. Now, if I could only find the time to add all the books in my personal library. Maybe then I would stop buying the same book twice. Don't ask how many times that has happened to me. No, really, don't ask. It's embarassing.

What I want to know is...does Shelfari have an app for my Droid phone or my IPad, so I could have it handy when I am book shopping? Then it would be perfect. I liked how you could search for related books and authors. And lo and behold, the all-important tagging is alive and well in Shelfari. Now, that I understand tagging, let's play.

I'm afraid though, that Shelfari will be my enabler...I have a terrible weakness for books. A terrible, terrible weakness for books. Someone needs to do an intervention and fast.

Oh well, there are worst things to be addicted too!

Happy reading,
Debra

23 Things Project: Thing 19 Nings

Today's post: cloudy with a chance of nings. Okay, so that's not what it means, but I had no clue what a ning was before this project started. I didn't know what half of these things were -- I'm learning. I've learned that a ning is like a virtual meet-up. It's a way to share thoughts, feelings, ideas, and best practices with others who are in your same profession. I signed up for the teacher librarian ning. It looked like it would have a lot of good information to explore.

I could see how a ning would be good for collaborating with other librarians, getting ideas for programming, touting your successes and asking for advice with less than perfect programs. It is a way to connect and build relationships with other people in your field. It's good to interact with people other than the ones you work with on a regular basis.

So, come on everybody, let's NING!
Debra

23 Things Project: Thing 18 Mashups

So, I was playing around with the various mash-ups mentioned in the Thing 18 original post and discovered a great way to wile away even more time. Mash-ups are like the RSS feeds, easy to get lost in the discovery. I really liked the Catchy Colors Colr Pickr mash-up. I could see using this mash-up app to create color focused collages and displays for the library. You could take this app and add the chosen photos to the mosaic app and viola, create something wild and crazy to use to highlight books and curriculum topics. I also like the Bookr app. What a great way to allow students freedom to create their own books in the style of their favorite authors! You could have the students create their own photographs and drawing and then create their books based on a character or a plot line or even an author's style.

I explored the trading card app and created my own librarian trading card too! What fun! Check my card out!

Hope you enjoy this,

Debra