Summary of Betty Blogger

What was the most important thing you learned in the Betty Blogger summer school? Why?

*I think the big picture was how to get all of these technologies to work together in one cohesive whole.

What was most challenging part of Betty Blogger? Why?

*My biggest challenge was finding the time to complete the assignments. I know that they really didn't take a lot of time, but I am a mom of 2 young kids.

How successful was the “self-directed” learning model?

*I liked your learning model. It gave me freedom to work on my schedule. I think that flexibility is important for a program like this. I especially liked your friendly emails reminding us of deadlines!

Looking back at your reasons for participating in the Betty Blogger summer school (see your blog entry for Task #1), did the program fulfill your expectations?

*Yes, the program fulfilled my expectations. It gave me a chance to learn a little more about these technologies.

If we ran this program again, would you recommend us to a friend?

*Yes, I would recommend this program to a friend. I have some friends with young children who live a distance away from their families.

LibraryThing

Here's a link to my newly created catalogue on LibraryThing:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/McSherry

LibraryThing looks like a neat resource for the avid reader to keep themselves organized. It's like the journals that wine lovers use to track their favourites. It would be a good resource to recommend to teachers or students who enjoying reading. I have one student who will have 4-5 books on the go at one time! I think some students would enjoy being part of this community and have the ability to share their opinions about books -- without the stigma of being part of the school book club! :-)

RSS Feeds

• What RSS feeds have you subscribed to?

I have subscribed to People.com, the OLA site, and CNN.com. I like to mix business with trivial stuff! Who knew that Céline Dion is pregnant again?? :-)

• Did you find Google Reader easy to use?

I found Google Reader fairly easy to use. I like that you can preview sites prior to subscribing when more than one result in your search is given.

• Will you continue to use the aggregator, Google Reader?

I think that I will use GR in the future. It seems a good way to stay current. Thanks, Library Lady!

My PBWorks experience

As requested, here are my answers to this week's questions ...

For the family picnic, I said that I would bring a vegan chocolate cake.

My experience with PBWorks has been short and sweet. Perhaps if my children will give a few minutes then I will play around with it more. PBWorks seems to be easy to use.

A wiki in my work could help. I am a solo librarian but work within a framework of 8 other librarians. Throughout the school year we collaborate on various projects. A wiki could get rid of the need to email various edits of documents. It would also reduce the chance of someone working on an older version of a document which could lead to confusion. I could use a wiki to help teachers develop assignments and projects.

A new recipe for an egg-free cake. I...

A new recipe for an egg-free cake.  It is called "Crazy cake" on many web sites ... I think because it is one of those no fail recipes.  I have made it three times, and so far it hasn't failed me yet.

 

Here are the ingredients ...

 

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 2 cups white sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups cold water

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork.
   
2. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Frost with your favorite icing.

 

Originally published at:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crazy-Cake/Detail.aspx

Picasa

After a little searching of Picasa, I uncovered a treasure trove of photos of the Acropolis. Initially, I searched Picasa hoping to find photos that would inspire our future house addition. Unfortunately, I was unsatisfied with those results. There seemed to be too many advertisements. The use of tags seems to be at the whim of the poster.

I may use Picasa in the future for my personal use. I would have to read the fine print with the ability to re-use photos. I work in a school and students are always looking for pictures for their projects. I would be concerned about copyright issues.

Have you seen this?? too funny

JK wedding entrance dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Being part of Facebook

I have been a member of Facebook for a while. It has been a great and easy way for me to keep in contact with friends and family. I can conveniently share photos and news with my contacts. I have family in B.C., AB., UK, Australia, and parts of the U.S.

I know that there are concerns over privacy and who owns your information. This is the way that I look at Facebook. I like that you have control over who becomes a friend. I like that you have control over what gets posted. You only have to share what you are comfortable with. For instance, if you don't want people to know what you look like then don't post any photos. I think you need to remember that it is a free resource and an online resource -- so you can't control everything. But that is the same thing about emailing photos -- you don't know with whom else your recipients will share the material.

Naps are good

Can you tell that both children took a nap this afternoon??? I've been able to sit down and concentrate on something for me!

Corpus Christi Librarian in Delicious

To find my Delicious bookmarks, please click on this link:

http://delicious.com/amcsherry

Old videos of Tom + Rachel

Here are some videos of Tom + Rachel.

Bath time at Hurd (taped about a year ago)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnT0bEnKsL8


Here's footage from Tom's graduation from Burlington Montessori Preschool

Yellowknife

We trekked up to Yellowknife this month to see a good friend and her family. There is so much beauty in the Canadian Shield. Tom and Rachel had a lot of fun playing with their new friend Ryan and checking out the parks and playgrounds. Besides doing a lot of walking, we took tours in a float plane and helicopter. The children loved both. Rachel only became nervous if the pilot looked at her.

Ottawa June 2009

The early part of our summer was spent in Ottawa at a friend's wedding. Despite doing a wonderful job organizing the wedding, the couple did leave out one thing that Tom wanted -- a jumpy castle! Rachel (1.5 yo) was flower girl and Tom (4 yo) was ring boy.

Betty Blogger 2.0

I am taking a course called Betty Blogger. It's being offered by the BPL. While juggling life with 2 small children, I thought it would be fun to take this online course to learn about new technologies and to play with them.