For Whom the Bell Told: MA Bell's Blog About Librarianship and Technology

I Am Tired.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 20:21:00 +0000

I was sitting stopped for a train today and I got to thinking what an amazing thing it is that Americans built all those tracks that connect us to one another, and that the train tracks in a sense belong to all of us,. What an accomplishment it was to lay those tracks! Then for some reason it hit me that I am very tired. What happened to the days when we did big things in our country and most so many folks pitched in and from which everyone benefited? This made me sad.. I am also worried. I am sad, I am tired and I am worried. These things keep me from fully appreciating all the great things about our country.

I am tired of all the hatred. I am tired of so much violence. I am tired of the news cycle that serves up a constant stream of bad news. There is always bad news. If we don’t have big horrific events like the ones last week, we are still bombarded with bad news like some local story about a troubling event states away from us, or how some movie star talked trash about some other star. These days we are hooked together by media while we let our train tracks sink into disrepair. I am tired of bigotry currently in vogue so that people who once kept their dark sides to themselves now think it is OK and maybe even patriotic to speak and act with hatred. I know much of this comes from fear, and I am tired of the fear that is all to often whipped up by the media and shamefully by people who hold or seek positions of leadership. I am sick and tired of politicians putting their spin on terrible news before the bodies have even been identified. I am tired of all of it. I am tired of all of this and more. There is always more.

Also I am worried. I am worried about our country and the way people have been misled and encouraged to act out their anger and fear with words and all too often with deeds. I am worried about the safety of my daughter and all the family of GLBT folks . I worry that she will get yanked out of some public ladies room because she has short hair and does not wear dresses or bows . I worry about people who are black or brown or who wear ethnic clothing that sets them apart from stereotypes of how we “should” dress and act. Why are we fighting about who get so pee and where? Most of all I worry about this generation of children and young people. I worry about the violence. I worry about kids who are bullied and also about the bullies. I worry about kids who live in fear of their parents being deported. I am tired of kids who have to live in neighborhoods where hearing shots outside their homes is a common nightly experience. I am tired of all the guns and how they are used all too often for violent means. How can we expect kids to grow up to be kind and respectful and tolerant when they see the same news that adults see and also encounter violence and hatred in their own schools, families and neighborhoods?

I am sad because I don’t have any answers as to how to ratchet down all this discord. I am tired and worried and sad. Is this the new reality? I don’t want to ever get used to that notion. People need to get themselves under control and then help their neighbors, kinfolk, and even strangers. We all need more love and less hatred. But how? That is a question without an answer. But maybe Merle Haggard was on to something when he wrote this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb0k6vyvSbU

Maybe could try to do that.

Bad Case of Trip Proud

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 19:45:00 +0000

Whoa I have a bad case of "trip proud" right now. I am headed to Monterey CA! If you are not familiar with this old time country term, here are links to entries where I have talked about it before: http://drmabell.blogspot.com/search?q=trip+proud
I always get weird before a trip. I am not sure why today's feeling is heightened but it may be due to the fact that I did not do much advance preparation, plus we are in the middle of weather alerts. It's a sad fact that Central and Southeast Texans are jumpy about major rain after the Memorial Day 2015 floods, from which we are still recovering. There's every chance for travel delays as this storm rolls in
but we're headed out a day early so there's really no need for alarm. The rest of my mood comes from getting everything together. What shoes? Do I have all my tech toys? Cords??? Connectors? Sketching supplies? Books? I am presenting on sketchnoting so carrying along some materials to show. Despite the rain we are going to have to head out shortly for a quick trip to town for meds, cleaning, and a couple other things (cough, liquor store, cough). Probably when that's done I'll put the final touches on my packing and feel much better. That's my usual modus operandus.

But will I sleep well tonight? Probably not. I never do find it easy to sleep before a trip, especially when there is an early departure as will be the case for us this time. By this time tomorrow afternoon we will be in Sunny California though, and then my stress will schlep over into pre-preso nervousness. Thankfully I present early on the very first day, so after that I can sit back and relax to enjoy all the other sessions. And like always, I know I will find lots to learn and inspire at this conference. I always do...and this is my 11th straight year. See you there?

School Starting Rant

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 23:18:00 +0000

I got home from a day in my office, highlighted by a faculty meeting. Tomorrow is the first class day at SHSU. That means our online students will be able to access our classes for the first time, and we can start getting to know them. It's exciting and fun! I came home and admitted to myself that I had been building up to a rant for a couple of days. Fortunately, I do not rant all that often but this one refused to get out of my head so I am sharing:

I love the beginning of school. In my previous life as a classroom teacher I had some fun getting-to-know you activities for students and looked forward to the fresh faces. As a school librarian it was even more fun to stand out in the hall and greet students, both the returning kiddos and the fearful first-timers. I confess that I can still get a bit excited even though now my first day (and subsequent ones) is online. I love getting to know my amazing, motivated, graduate students. They are a special breed.

This week I’ve had fun seeing all the wonderful pictures posted by teachers, parents, and grandparents. There are so many cute ideas for ways to denote your special student’s grade and first-day excitement, which does wane humorously with some teens looking either pained or indulgent about the fuss made over them. On the first day of school everybody says such positive things. Teachers get high praise and lots of people offer prayers for both students and teachers. This is all great!

But…and if you know me you knew there was a “but” coming, could we have some love and praise throughout the year? Wouldn’t be great if ALL parents bent over backwards to encourage their students and back up the teachers? How about if all parents made sure their kids were prepared for school and on time every day? Of course I’m preaching to the choir because my online Facebook friends' postings that I see are by folks that will do these things, so thanks in advance.

And here’s what I really wish. Could we stop electing people who don’t support public schools and teachers? Could we not even let someone progress after saying he’d like to punch teachers in the face? Could we vote for people who GET IT RIGHT about education? Frankly that’s a tall order. Our present administration has, in my opinion, dropped the ball here—or rather passed it off to Arne Duncan. Could we at least refrain from voting for those who clearly want to do away with public schools, who heap scorn upon teachers, who are out to make a buck for themselves or their cronies through educational testing and review products, and who advocate cutting already cut-to-the-bone funding? Could we? That’s my school year wish, in this important year as we move toward nominating our next president. Have a great year everybody! I plan to!

DELIGHT!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 15:38:00 +0000

I find it interesting that both Monday and Tuesday’s keynotes focused on the same word…DELIGHT! It is a point well taken that libraries and librarians should seek to offer delightful experiences and opportunities to patrons, students, and the general public. FUN should be a priority along with other more traditional values. I think there are a number of ways to do this, including special events and programs, maker spaces, coffee bars, author visits, and collaboration with student/local/academic groups and organizations. I just finished a stay at a boutique hotel in DC, The Quincy. We were greeted at the cab and ushered in by a friendly greeter/concierge. This wonderful fellow accompanied us to our room, explaining on the elevator all the special services and spaces in the hotel. Every time we re-entered the lobby we got that same warm friendly welcome. There were comfortable chairs and shelves with books to read and games to play. It was a bit of a cross between a traditional hotel and a B&B. Then we moved to a very nice, expensive, conference hotel, which is also very traditional. You have to pay for Internet access. Folks there are nice but not in the warm personal manner of the Quincy staff. Guess where we will stay if we return?

Every term I try to focus on one goal with my students, in additional to the expected duties of a prof. This term I vowed to be more encouraging. I really bent over backwards to work with students who were plying me with questions, remembering especially with brand new students what a culture shock it is to become a student after years as a teacher. I now have my focus for next term: DELIGHT! I am going to try extra hard to provide DELIGHT to students. We need to have more fun!

Trip Prep Sketchnote

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:52:00 +0000

I am fortunate to be able to go to Washington DC with my BFF for sightseeing before the conference. We are leaving tomorrow! Since my presentation is about sketchnoting, I am going to be sharing notes throughout the conference. It's a great opportunity to get in some practice and also a great way to share what you are taking away from sessions. Here is my preliminary sketchnote about getting ready to go. Sketchnoting is combining taking notes with doodling! Do a web search and you will see how very popular this practice has become in recent years. It really grew out of the business world but I think it's a perfect fit for librarianship and education.

PS I wrote this a couple of days before leaving for DC. I just forgot to publish it, so I decided to go ahead with it after the fact.

CODE IN SCHOOLS

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 02:09:00 +0000

This session, via Internet@School Track, really resonated with me. I have played around with Hour of Code a couple of times, in a very disultory fashion. It has been something that never quite hooked me in as a topic to pursue in depth. I think part of the reason has been the face that I am NOT a logical person. My left brain must be pretty neglected. Also, I could not see how I personally would use it as a public school teacher or as a professor preparing school librarians. So I chalked it up as something cool that I might look into but....likely not. This presentation made me really think again. It provided a raft of resources online that I want to explore and share with students. It gave me ideas for using with students. One of my favorite ideas was to create an animated poem. Several of the apps shared are ones I want to at least sample. These include:
Arduino
Raspberry Pi
Scratch
Lightbot (seems easiest and thus my first planned foray)
Tynker

Hour of Code....I'm coming back to you!!

MONDAY at CIL

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 00:27:00 +0000

What a day! A keynote and five sessions. Anybody else feeling a bit of brain drain? I am heading down to the lobby for a nice beverage shortly. They have something called Modern Mule on the menu and I had one last night. Tasty. The great thing about today's sessions was that they were all very different with no real overlap. I am staying put in the Internet@School track because that is where I present and also it best meets my needs. And before that was the keynote, Steve Denning. His message, that we should strive to delight customers, can apply to patrons, students, colleagues, and superiors. It was a great kick-off for the day. Here is my sketchnote for that presentation:

ANTICIPATION...Looking Ahead to Computers in Libraries Washington DC 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 17:34:00 +0000

I just finished registering to blog during this conference and decided to start an entry looking forward to this event. I have an idiosycracy such that a great deal of the time there's a sound track running through my head, serving up songs, unbidden, that somehow relate to what's going on with me. I'm not musically talented but I do love music and have a musician daughter. Anyway, I just realized that, appropriately, Carly Simon's "Anticipation" was running playing inside my cranium. This is a heck of a lot better than when I drive by the Texas State Stadium and suddenly realize I'm listening internally to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Anyway, here's a link if you like the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NwP3wes4M8 --I think it's very appropriate for my mood at the moment.

Even though I am caught up in the excitement of one conference at the time of this writing, the Texas Library Association Conference, I am already excited about the upcoming Computers in Libraries gathering. TLA is for seeing former students, colleagues, and friends from the last 30 years as a librarian. CIL is where I learn so much at sessions that are consistently top notch, and also hear stellar keynote speakers. I do get to see friends as well, having presented at CIL in Monterey for the past 12 years. Internet@Schools Conferences are my opportunities to get excited about what I do, and I never fail to garner new ideas. This is my first time to present in Washington DC, but I know it will be a wonderful time of learning and inspiration. Attendees to the larger conference can also attend Internet@Schools sessions, and you can count on some great opportunities it you choose to come to one. My topic is sketchnoting, and I am very excited to be sharing because this is an activity that has been very rewarding for use with my students in the past months. Hope to see you in DC!

What Makes a Great Teacher?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 18:48:00 +0000

What does it take to be a good teacher? A colleague of mine, Dr. Teri Lesesne, shared a link yesterday that has a great message. You can read it at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/19/are-you-a-truly-bad-teacher-heres-how-to-tell/

I went to it thinking it would be one of those fun quizzes where you pick choices and get a quick answer. It is far more thoughtful than that, and I agree with everything included. When I finished reading, though, I was left to the feeling that there is more to being a great teacher that these important qualities. Looking back from the vantage of 40 years in education, I tried to remember how many REALLY BAD teachers I have known. I have known some that were less effective than others, or less talented, or even less caring. But as far as REALLY BAD, only one person came to mind. The odd thing is that she possessed, at least in some measure, all the qualities listed in this piece. For starters, she was/is a nice person, a bit eccentric but someone I liked. As for the points in the article:

1. I believe she liked, or wanted to like, her students. She enjoyed conversing with them one on one.

2. She did NOT find her subject matter dull. She was in fact passionate about it.

3. She absolutely knew what she was talking about in her subject area. She was brilliant with a stellar college background and a master’s degree. I found this out because she left her resume in my workroom one time, and because this was clear from talking with her.

4. Did she ignore a large subset of her students? Well this one is a maybe. The problem was that her students ignored her. There was no real connection.

5. Was she totally disengaged? No, I don’t think so. She told me that she wanted to and was trying to improve and I took that at face value, though she continued to flounder.

How do I know so much about this one person? I was asked by my principal to videotape her in her classroom as she delivered instruction. He said the reason was for us to then talk with her about how to improve, but we all knew he was documenting her with in order to eliminate her from our faculty. What I saw during several visits was distressing and sad. Her students were leveled and at the lower end of the spectrum at that school. They were relatively well behaved while I was there, but there were stories of how out of hand things got at other times. She came in and talked very rapidly, often with her back to the students as she wrote on the chalkboard in barely legible writing. One lesson was about how to write a “compare and contrast paragraph” for the state testing prompt at that time. The example she gave as Athens and Sparta. These students had no idea what she was talking about and could not answer even the simplest of her questions about Greece and history. Still she pressed on. At one point a boy near me began whispering to me urgently. “Please…get me out of this class. My parents complained but (the principal) says no, too many people have gotten out of the class already. I want to learn! I can’t learn in this class!” I felt so bad for this kid, and did appeal to the principal but don’t remember if it helped. Things culminated much later in the year when a boy shoved her and she stepped backward, ending up half sitting in the trashcan. She couldn’t get out and a kid went for help. She was sent home for the day and when she returned she pretty much drew into herself. She resigned at the end of that year and moved to another state right after that. I felt sorry for her and sorrier for the students, who lost that year’s instruction because their parents were not influential enough to get them out of the class.

Based on this experience, here are some things I would add

1. Are you able to communicate with youngsters at the ages of your students? She was spectacularly lacking in this area.

2. Are you able to maintain order in your classroom? This CAN be learned! I have seen people make great strides. In her case this just didn’t happen which leads to the next question.

3. Are you a “Yes But” person? I was asked to pass on some tips about classroom management to her. At every suggestion she would say, “Yes but that would not work for me because…”

4. Can you collaborate with others? There were avenues for help she could have sought. She made ironic jokes about her situation rather than seek ways to improve. She did not have friends among faculty, even though we had an unusually tight knit and supportive group. She was very much a loner. I was probably the closest thing she had to a friend in that school and I was documenting her shortcomings.

Why am I taking the trouble to put all this down? I am not sure but I think it is because I want to point out that teaching is not something that just anyone can do. It requires more than expertise in a subject area. A good teacher cannot be defined by some list of qualifiers composed by people who think they are experts in education because…Hey! They went to school! Teaching is a helping profession, one of the highest of callings. It pains me to see it denigrated as it is today, at all levels from the earliest childhood to post graduate. Teachers and professors bring so more to the profession than most people seem to realize. One of my Christmas wishes is for people not in the field to return to the general attitude of respect for teachers that was present when I was growing up, and when I started out in education.

Carolyn Foote's IL2014 eBooks...Wow or Meh???

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Official Presentation Title: Ebooks: What can we learn from student data?

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Carolyn Foote is a library hero. If anybody can launch a successful program with ebooks, she is a prime candidate. She is librarian at Westlake High School in the Eanes ISD, Austin TX. This school has plentiful technology, and teachers and students are techno savvy. It is a one to one iPad school, having first issued them to teachers and some teachers back in 2010. That the library would roll out eBooks was a given. The likelihood that students will eagerly adopt eBooks as a favorite way to enjoy their iPads seems a no brainer. In actuality though, their enthusiasm is less than one might predict. Last year she took a look at numbers and discovered that out of a student body of 2300, only 93 students were repeat users of eBooks. So maybe they should try promoting them or at least letting people know about them? Done and done. Carolyn rattled off a list of ways they had been spreading the word: announcements, posters, QR codes, online postings, reminders in bathrooms (!) and other means. Still, student enthusiasm was, well, meh. Recently she polled students using a variety of means in an effort to understand their lackluster interest. She used rolling boards made for her by the shop teacher, stickynotes on windows next to question options, as well as PollDaddy. The first group she polled was this year’s senior class. Next she will poll freshmen, and is interested to see if their opinions are different since they have had iPads since junior high. Carolyn compared her library to a petri dish in which she is trying to learn from her students. One thing she learned through polling is that the ability to enlarge text with an eBook means very little to students. Also, if a student really likes a book and feels a personal connection with it, he or she is going to want the print copy. Additionally, students are more likely to use eBooks for reference when doing research than to use for reading fiction.

One thing that impressed me about this presentation was that Carolyn was willing to stand up and present about the fact that implementation of eBooks at her school, seemingly a likely candidate for student adoption, turned out to be disappointing. Now she wants to figure out what is next. She does not want to spend a lot more money on a resource that is less popular than expected. In case you don’t already follow Caroline, she blogs as Technolibrary.

PS She introduced her presentation with a great video that you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlp_K0ww2FQ

I’m looking forward to watching more of this young lady’s videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/polandbananasBOOKS

You’re welcome.

Dr. Ken Haycock on Advocacy BEYOND the School Library Studies

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 17:35:00 +0000

One of the highlights of my conference experience at Internet@Schools West was hearing Ken Haycock. He has been a library hero of mine since the 1990’s, and his wisdom about the need for us to be our own advocates has been a major contribution for longer than that. I looked forward to his presentation with high hopes, and of course he did not disappoint.

He stated that he’s been researching why cuts are made to school libraries and what to do about it. We should think about how we advocate, with full knowledge that past efforts have been less than successful. In addition to being a librarian, Ken has public school experience as a teacher, a librarian, an administrator, and a school board member. He knows about public schools. One striking thing he said was that when principals hear the words “librarian” and “advocate” in the same sentence, they run in the opposite direction. Yes, we have all those studies that show that strong library programs result in improved standardized test scores. And more such studies are underway, and likely to strengthen this claim. The problem is, other programs that are in danger of being cut, such as PE, music, art, etc. ALSO have studies. Their passion to show worth through studies is just as strong as that of librarians. He also noted that even armed with these studies librarians continue to find their programs threatened. He shared the adage that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is folly.

With this in mind, Haycock has been researching different ways to advocate. If we are going to use the studies, we need to stress that the important component is not the library facility or collection. We need to impress that a certified and committed LIBRARIAN is what is invaluable. He went on to share some other ways to approach advocacy. First, he suggested that you make a chart with four columns. In the first you should list all the staff in your institution that has contact with your program. In the second column you should rate them by influence, using words such as low, medium, high. In the third column you should list strong supporters of your program. Then start building strong ties with those who are at or near the top of your chart as far as influence and support. Do not worry about the naysayers. We librarians aren’t in position of great power but DO have enormous influence. To illustrate this he reminded us that some librarians get followed by money wherever they go. Such a librarian can build a great program with plenty of funding, but then leave and go to another school. Within 2-3 years he or she will again be heading up a library with ample funding and success.

What are these librarians doing? For one thing they are building strong ties with their principals. He said “every principal has money in bottom drawer or stashed away somewhere.” That may be a cliché but it’s also true. That money is always for what they think important. Another way to make progress with an administrator is something I have learned for myself through experience. That is to go into any meeting with a solution in hand. If you are going to your administrator with a request, you should also have ready some way that the request can be expeditiously granted.

If librarians are going to keep their jobs, they need to demonstrate and publicize their importance. Being credentialed is great but you need to be more than “a warm body with a diploma. “ It is of utmost importance that we are front and center proving our worth. Interestingly he said that one thing that resonates with administrators is how librarians HELP TEACHERS. That gets their attention even more than how they are helping kids! Thus, he said, every teacher librarian should have two essentials:

1. He or she should be trained for collaboration with colleagues

2. He or she should be trained and eager to offer informal staff development. Principals really like to see informal staff development via brown bag lunches, before/after school short sessions, etc. They want to see the librarian as a leader in technology and collaboration

While the first half of his presentation was about advocacy and kinds of advocacy, the second half was his tossing out gems of wisdom one after another about how to improve our situation in the future. I found myself trying to write down every single thing he said! A lot of the things he mentioned are psychology served up with a dollop of common sense, but are often things we forget to do. They are about gaining people’s good will and trust. This is key, says Haycock. I am going to try to get these gems down in a bulleted list.

· When people trust us to do what we promise, we get more support.

· Most principals are evaluating you by your work with colleagues even more than with students.

· BURY THE WORD ADVOCACY

· Use persuasion and influence!

o Learn how to connect agenda to that of others…you want to connect with administrators’ agendas. If your principal wants to stress inquiry in instruction, show how you can help with that. Ask a leader… what do you want in two years and how can I help?

o People do things for THEIR reasons, not ours…understand your target.

o Advocacy is about RESPECT. The person you are petitioning holds all the cards.

o Advocacy is like banking. You cannot withdraw if you never make deposit. You can’t ask for support for program about what they don’t know, have never seen. As school board member he never once saw librarians come to a meeting and tell the board thanks for what they do or ask for support. He shared an anecdote about a meeting he attended where home economics teachers were asking for support for a project. They said, “We don’t just make muffins anymore. We prepare young people for the future with financial planning, child raising, etc.” They got thumbs up from the board.

o He went on to say that during his years as a school board member and then president, he got lots of letters with complaints, causes, suggestions, etc. In all that time he only got THREE letters expressing thanks. He REMEMBERS WELL those three letters and who sent them.

· ADVOCACY IS MEANS NOT END

o Attitude and behavior are not the same. Person can appear to support but then cut. You want attitude to move toward behavior

o So you need to seek who has influence and focus on those people.

o Also who are barriers and what do with them? LEAD with best option, don’t save it for last. Ask for much but tell them can make work for 1/3

· 6 UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES TO ADOPT

o How initiate, build or repair a relationship. THE RELATIONSHIP is the message

o People will listen to people they like and listen more closely

o Reciprocity…we give back to people who we have given to.

o Get people to move in your direction

o Social proof…example principals talk to each other and do wthat others do..

o Authority…administrators tend to listen to people who have authority. Teachers perform to perception of what principal wants.

o Consistency and commitment…philosophy of administrator and prevailing view within school or district. If principal values inquiry, this affects all teaching. Much easier than principal who thinks everything is in the text.

o Scarcity is a non starter…people think information system is rich and free. Stress your value in this environment. Again show the need the expertise of school librarian.

· Liking…we tend to like people like us. We like people who praise us. Praise is most powerful when giving someone else so object is 2^nd hand. In our building position, think if you ran someone down and it got back.

· It works well when doing collaboration if we say “WE and OUR” other than me/mine.

· It’s not whether I like you but if you THINK I like you.

· Reciprocity—Giving gifts is important. He is not talking about traditional gifts only. Gifts can be actions, such as volunteering to chair a committee your principal is organizing. Gifts should be meaningful, unexpected. In sales it is all about the relationship.

· Introduce people. Send cards.

· Say thank you differently. When someone thanks you, don’t say “It’s nothing. Say I’m sure you would do the same for me…sometime…” NOTE FROM ME…I love this tip!

· SOCIAL PROOF…we have our challenges…get opinion leaders to transmit information. Testimonials—get them. Show up at principal conferences.

· AUTHORITY…Trappings count. If you dress professionally it makes a difference. Hang your credentials on your office wall. Give business cards.

· TRUSTWORTHINESS…Be secure enough to address weakness. Don’t pretend to know everything.

· SOPPADA… This acronym stands for Subject, Objectives, Present situation, Proposal, and Action. This is a template for making proposals that he recommends.

· CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE…if we know so much may have trouble stating succinctly. When answering questions, don’t tell them more than they ever want to know.

· CORE VALUES

o Liking/reciprocity

o Consistency/commitment…people’s values…try to find connections…people don’t like to portray their values.

o Social proof

· Sometimes we’re so desperate to work with someone that we end up doing all the work. When working collaboratively, work should be shared.

· We need to focus on learning rather than access to information. Dwindling resource is authority, influence, of school librarian. Implication of cutting should be stated.

· Opportunity is everywhere--Never leave home without it

· The 4 Es of interacting with someone you want to impress:

o Establish eye contact

· Extend hand

· Exchange cards

· Engage conversation

· Follow up with your contacts using social media

· N.E.T.W.O.R.K.

· ITS HARDER TO CUT SOMEONE YOU KNOW

· THANK YOU NOTES! What if you wrote one every day?

· LIKE the people you work with…OR MOVE ON

Two books to read:

· Work the Pond

· Yes! 50 scientifically way

Finally STORIES are what we need to share. He once asked Mary Matalan and Steve Carville what they thought was importance of libraries. THEY AGREED FOR ONCE! Mary stated that she wished more people recognized the worth of libraries. That is what we can and must do with stories. This is more likely than studies or statistics to gain the support we want and need. Get out and about and tell your stories every way you can!

LOOKING BACK AT IL2014: ANOTHER GREAT CONFERENCE!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:52:00 +0000

As has been the case for 10 years, now, I conclude this gathering with a mixture of awe and gratitude, and also maybe a little regret. I am most definitely a victim of sensory overload but at the same time wish it went on a little longer. I want to write an overview and then go back and write in more detail about specific ideas and/or sessions. First I am going to sit and think, and then I am going to briefly list a few highlights that rise to the top of my mind upon reflection. I will limit myself to no more than five of these.

I did pause for a few minutes and asked myself what surfaced I my mind without looking at my program or my notes, and I came up with four things. Here they are:

·      I try to never miss a keynote, and came into the last of the three mornings without even bothering to see who was speaking on what topic. This allowed me to be happily surprised to realize I would be hearing Josh Hanagarne, aka The World’s Strongest Librarian. He also spoke last year and thus I knew I was in for a treat. His topic today was…are computers changing the way we think? Of course they are! I will write more about his speech. It is causing me to engage in self-examination as well as to reflect on the larger meaning for all of us and our brains, separately and collectively.

·      Next to pop into my brain is Tuesday’s keynote by Nina Simon, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History Author, The Participatory Museum, & Blogger, Museum 2.0. The title was Radical Transformation & Co-Created Magic! She gave a fascinating and inspiring account of her institution’s turnaround from bankruptcy to enjoying community support and financial success. This was done largely by conducting a series of public events that cost little or nothing but brought in citizens from all walks of life, from traditional museum supporters to people from the local homeless shelter. Most of her ideas could be springboards for ways to engage patrons at any library, and I am also thinking about how to adapt for use with my students.

·      The third standout from all sessions was Tuesday afternoon’s opportunity to hear Ken Haycock. I have followed him since my days as a doctoral student, and have heard him speak before. This time the relatively small room allowed for a much more personal feeling of connection with him and fellow members of the audience. His topic was…ADVOCACY. He has been a leader in this arena for longer than I have been involved in librarianship and his advice has influenced my career both as a school librarian and as a MLS professor. I need to write more about his common sense ideas that are quite simple, but hardly easy for many of us.

·      The final thing to come to mind as a highlight is not a speaker but rather a large part of the conference experience, and that is collegiality. I had so many great conversations with old and new friends, some of which bear repeating later. In particular I enjoyed spending time with Dave Hoffman, Carolyn Foote, and Diane Cordell.

Every year I approach this conference with great anticipation. It is an annual gift that provides me with ideas and information that I call upon all year and in some cases for longer spans. Often I hear about devices or trends for the first time, weeks or months before they reach me in Texas. This year did not disappoint. I gained more than I can tell, and once again leave knowing I will hope that I get to return in 2015.

Anticipatory Delight...I love the anticipation of a great conference! This time Internet Librarian West 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 22:30:00 +0000

It feels good to be in the air and headed west to California and the Internet Librarian Conference again. This is my 10th year to present, and one of the highlights of any year. For much of my academic career,, this conference has been my goto event for new learning and inspiration. It has sparked ideas that have led to a large portion of my writing and presenting over the years. Through this conference I found myself writing a regular column for Internet@Schools Magazine, and also used ideas and new knowledge for three books, numerous articles in other publications, and presentations in conferences throughout the US. Its not an exaggeration to say that this event helped me move up through the ranks to full professor before taking retirement to my present half-time position. I am looking forward to seeing familiar faces, including the inimitable Dave Hoffman, whom I can thank for my continuing presence and also my column. I am also looking forward to two special colleagues, Diane Cordell with whom I am presenting, and Carolyn Foote, fellow Texan and librarian extraordinaire. Let the learning begin!

Getty Images--GET Them!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 00:06:00 +0000

Recently I heard great news about royalty free images that people can use in blogs, websites, and presentations. I really do love photography and infographics, and digital literacy is a special interest of mine. I went to the Getty collection (http://www.gettyimages.com/) and registered to be a user. This is also free. I took a look at the collection, doing several searches, and became even more excited. I found lots of images that I could have used in past projects. There was one small problem. I was not sure how to get an image for free. If you click on a particular picture, a window pops up that offers pricing information on the right. The picture is watermarked so you cannot just copy paste from that preview. That was where I hit a wall. I knew I was overlooking something but could not figure out what. Then yesterday I saw this helpful blog entry via Facebook, thanks to Georgia Wells: http://blogs.wsj.com/personal-technology/2014/03/05/gettys-images-are-now-free-for-twitter-tumblr-and-personal-blogs/?mod=ST1
I knew I was missing something that was probably easy, and sure enough what I was not noticing was that BELOW the picture there was this symbol: < >
That of course should have clued me in to the fact that I could click on it and get the html code needed to insert the picture. That was my missing piece of the puzzle. Now I have a super resource for images for presentations, etc. I will still use Creative Commons and morguefile, but it's great to have this option both because of the ease and also because of the rich collection of images. Here is one I may use in an upcoming presentation:

And here's another great plus...Getty nicely puts attribution right below the image for you! If you want to have students add a formal citation you can, but I would say for many uses this is fine and much better than lack of any sort of citation which is too often the case. Give it a try!

IL2013: Summing Up Is Hard To Do...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 22:54:00 +0000

BEFORE I EVEN WRITE ONE SENTENCE, HERE IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Conference Presentations are at this link: http://www.infotoday.com/IL2013/Presentations.asp

Name and Password are both the same: il2013

Take a look around and see what sounds interesting to you!

Every year after attending Internet Librarian/Internet@School I say the same thing: This was the best conference ever! I depend on this gathering to give me food for thought, ideas for instruction, and topics for articles and presentations. These tend to carry me through the next year. There are many things that I have heard first at Internet Librarian that then become common knowledge as trends to follow. I took a look at my vita and was reminded that I have presented at IL since 2004, making this my 9th year. After every conference I have returned invigorated and inspired, and this year is no exception. Here are some things that stood out:

During the first session, Peter Morville exhorted us to be inspiration agents in our jobs. This struck a nerve with me because I am quite concerned about the negativity and poor morale stemming from the current trend toward denigrating teachers and schools coupled with the inflated emphasis on mandated tests. He reminded us of the book Nudge and our need to promote a climate of encouragement and even humor in our classrooms and libraries.
The sessions I attended were relevant and energizing. On the first day I was particularly taken with these ideas:

Zoe Midler has the wonderful title of "Google Czar" at her school, Flagstaff Academy, Longmont CO. She works with both students and teachers to promote the use of technology in lessons and projects. My biggest takeaway was her emphasis on assessment at the end of endeavors. She employs not one but three follow-ups as described in a previous post to this blog. Together these tools, shared via Google Forms, help her know how to improve and also recount what she does so that there is clear documentation of her value in order to meet any questions that arise about her position.
Tasha Bergson-Michelson from Castelleja School in Palo Alto reminded us that there cannot be one prescribed model that will work in all classrooms. Rather school librarians must build on existing tacit knowledge held by patrons and craft activities that build and expand upon that.
In the 3rd Monday session, Mobile and Digital--Flipping the Library for 21st Century Learners, I picked up a list of great apps to try in the library: PicStich, InstaCollage, Flash Cards, Brainscape, Schoology.
The 4th session, Making it Real: Institutionalizing a 21st Century Mindset, shared great things happening at Delmar Burke School in San Francisco. I picked up on a couple of catchwords that I need to explore: makerspaces and backward design. I hope to discuss these in future blog entries.
The afternoon session called STEM to STEAM put me right at the edge of information overload and was a great end-of-day workshop. We learned about the STEM lab at ....school and how bringing in Arts and Design means that all areas of curriculum should now be valued. This was my first time to meet and hear Melissa Techman though I have followed her for years on Twitter. One advocacy idea she shared is something for all school librarians to consider. Do you often hear from parents that they appreciate what you do or that they are grateful for what you bring to their children? Whenever she gets such a compliment, she asks if she might have that person's email address. She is building a email list of library supporters in this way. If at some point her job's value is questioned, she will be able to send out a message to people that can vouch for her importance.

I went into Tuesday's keynote with high expectations because the presenter, Lee Rainie from PEW Internet and American Life Project never disappoints. He shared significant trends from the previous year relating to librarianship. He reminded us that today's library patrons have different needs and interests from past users. Data from surveys shows encouraging news that Americans still value public and school libraries and respect and appreciate librarians. Still there is the ongoing need for better PR to get the word out about what libraries have to offer and how librarians can help users of all ages. One phrase he used seemed to really get traction in tweets from the session: "Quizes are like catnip to Internet users." My frequent use of Survey Monkey bears this out and validates future use for me. You can and should visit the PEW site and take advantage of the wonderful resources but getting to hear Mr. Rainie's commentary was, as always, a great treat.

Tuesday's sessions were no less edifying than those from the day before:

Jean Hellwege's inspiring account of a school project that is turning into a national movement to inspire kids to make a difference in the world was compelling. Your best bet is to go to her preso and see how a relatively limited classroom/library project grew into a life-changing movement for all concerned.

The inimitable Carolyn Foote and her colleagues shared insights about eBooks. They offered a combination valuable information about the increasing and ongoing trend toward eBooks, along with some great practical tips. One thing Carolyn mentioned almost in passing was that she has a Bathroom Newsletter which she posts in the loo with enticing information about new and exciting materials and goings-on in the library. She also has a Teacher's Lounge Newsletter that she posts and updates. These are easy and fun ideas for getting the news out about your library or program. As with all sessions you will do well to go to her session at the conference site and pick up on all the great tips there.

The last session I attended was a fitting finale to a great conference. I have heard Gary Price present at this venue a number of times over the year. Like Lee Rainie, he never disappoints. Gary used to be known for his site called Resource Shelf but now has a new site, Infodocket. Once again I was writing down ideas at a furious pace. Just go to his site for a treat. This year he exhorts us to use authentic real-life resources rather than just those specifically for teachers, students and librarians. Then we should work these sites into authentic lessons with lasting carryover for students. Here are a few of the resources he mentioned and which I want to explore:

eBookshelf from DPLA (Digital Public Library of America)
Stacklife
MondoWindow
FlightTracker--both this and previous are for following airline flights.
Amtrack equivalent of plane tracker
CSPAN Video Library
Internet Archive--many of us know this site of course but he informed us that they have started TV News Archive
Tunein and Uberstations for streaming audio from around the world
Topomapper--worldwide topographic maps
Docracy lets you track privacy statements
camelcamelcamel tracks all products in Amazon!
LA Public library database
Journal TOCs lets you see tables of contents from many journals
CoursePacker
Word Lens...this is an app. Point your camera at text and it will translate it into another language!
Use Google Street View to with students to have them make tours.
Archive-It--directories of web pages by topic
OpenDoar--OpenDOAR is an authoritative directory of academic open access repositories

I thought I would round out my account with another list...these are catchwords and phrases that I want to remember and explore. Some are completely new to me and others are things about which I have some familiarity but need to learn more about.

Backward design
Makerspaces, makey makey, MakerFaires
mindcraft
Ira Sokol
Museum collaborations and Nina Simon's blog, Museum 2.0
Chad Sanseng, Nerd Camp, and Classroots
Writing is Making! NWP...National Writing Project
Meme posters
Scratch plug and play programming
scichat
mozfest
Duxbury Free Library little bits
Learn to SEARCH Pinterest
Book: Invent to Learn
librarymakers website
thiskindylife blog--Kindergarten teacher blog
MOOCs in library world
Mozilla Thimble

I am so grateful and fortunate to be a part of this conference. To me it is invaluable and has been a major influence on my thinking, writing, teaching, and presenting over the years. Thanks again to David Hoffman and Carolyn Foote for pulling off a huge success again this year!
APOLOGIA: I did not give websites for each tidbit I mentioned. It would simply take too long and I want to get this posted today. I DID, however, look up each one and got to a site using terms as listed. So Google on!

IL 2013 First Day First Session Reflection...Internet@School Zoe Midler and Embedded Librarian in School

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 04:40:00 +0000

After keynote and just morning sessions at IL2013 my mind is already boiling over with ideas. One thing has bubbled to the top and it is about library research. The presenter stressed doing follow-ups after research activities. Presenter Zoe Midler is Google Czar at her school. She gave lots of ideas on her topic, being an embedded librarian in her school's environment. She uses many online tools for this. Lots of wiki ideas are included. What stood out the most for me was special activities that she does after a research activity:
1. First she has a followup form for collaboratiing teachers where they describe their project and tell what standards were achieved in the project. She said she learned that teachers are competitive! They really want to outdo one another as to standards met. These are shared on the school server. Idea of followup form is great!
2. Then there is a CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY for teacher where they share reactions to how things went, how to improve, etc.
3. Finally she does what she calls a POSTMORTEM in which she herself sums things up. This is how she documents what she did, and also teachers use this information in their portfolios.

That's a lot of follow-up! By doing these follow-ups she is able to learn from constituents and also document her work. This is so important for her to continually justify her position. Further she can critique her work and come up with ideas about how to improve in the future.

Thinking back to my school librarian days I can instantly see how I could have benefitted by doing all three follow-up activities. Further I am going to pass this on to my stucents and also think how I can consider more following up in my present role as a professor in a MLS program.

LEADING UP TO IL 2013: How much do you practice for a preso?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 21:19:00 +0000

I hope I am learning from past experience. Too often I have spent inordinate time putting together a presentation for a conference, class, or any venue. I have tweaked, added, deleted, re-added, yadda yadda. But then I have failed to practice in order to be ready to deliver the preso smoothly and with confidence. I am trying to do better today. In fact I just finished going through my presentation standing in front of a mirror. THAT is humbling but also a good idea. I am practicing today, and will do so at other times before my Tuesday time, which is as follows: E201 – Online Badges and Other Incentives-Get Motivational! 10:30-11:45 via Internet@School. I feel so lucky to be attending again this year. I do wonder how much rehearsing other speakers do. Sometimes it's evident one way or the other. How about you?

LEADING UP TO IL 2013: Superstars at Internet Librarian!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 02:22:00 +0000

I am going over the list of speakers at the upcoming Internet Librarian Conference next week in Monterey. As always I am bowled over by the caliber of presenters. Stephen Abram! Kenneth Haycock! Mary Ellen Bates! Marshall Breeding! Carolyn Foote! Joe Murphy! Greg Notess! Gary Price! Lee Rainie! Melissa Techman! Roy Tennant! My boss Holly Weimar who is presenting with me! I feel so lucky to be able to attend, and deeply honored to be presenting again this year. I know all the other speakers are dynamic leaders also. I think that the concentration of experts at this gathering is what makes it such a unique and special event. I go to other conferences to network and recruit as well as to learn. THIS is my chance to just listen and learn, and I am very grateful for it. Special thanks to Jane Dysart, Dave Hoffman, Carolyn Foote, Carol Nixon, and everyone else who makes this conference so important year after year. Kudos to Information Today for its many contributions. My association with this conference and with Internet@Schools Magazine have been invaluable to me throughout my career. I cannot adequately quantify what I have gained from my associations with both the conference and the publication over the years.

Next I went through the list and looked at job titles. These are ones that sound especially awesome and cool to me:

Meg Backus, ILS Administrator & Chief Maker, Chattanooga Public Library...I wanna be a Chief Maker. In fact I think I AM! I maneuvered Dr. Holly Weimar into taking my place as Department Chair.
Tasha Bergson-Michleson, Instructional and Programming Librarian, Castilleja School. Wow I would have loved to be called PROGRAMMING LIBRARIAN at my junior high.
Chanitra Bishop, Digital Scholarship & Emerging Technologies Librarian, Reference Services, Indiana University Bloomington...I like the sound of THIS job a lot!
iane Cowen, Virtual Services Librarian, Santa Cruz Public Libraries...this job title has a very nice ring to it!
Jenny Howland, Makery Facilitator, Lower School K-6, Katherine Delmar Burke School Fablabs K-12 Google Group, BAISNET, NYCIST...Sounds like a dream job!
Richard Le, Teen Librarian, San Francisco Public Library...Teen Librarians are ALWAYS cool!
Keith A Rocci, First Year Experience Librarian, Mabee Library, Washburn University Emporia State University...Every university would do well to have this position!
Jeremy Snell, Web & Electronic Services Librarian, Mechanics' Institute...I had to look up this amazing institution. Now I really need to visit! http://www.milibrary.org/

FINALLY, going through the list a third time I found this gem: Josh Hanagarne, Salt Lake City Public Library, & Author, The World’s Strongest Librarian, Level 3, Salt Lake City Public Library...I just bought his book last week! OMG!!!!

If I went through the list again I think I would find OTHER people to highlight. That's how amazing this conference will be again this year as always. Just don't get me started on session titles and how to pick!

LEADING UP TO IL2013: A Bit About Online Badging, My Preso Topic at Internet@Schools West 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 23:01:00 +0000

I first got interested in badging over a year ago, when I was exploring the broader topics of gaming and MOOCS. Badges are often used in MOOCS. Pretty soon I was interested in online badging as a topic of its own, apart from gaming or MOOCS. I did some reading on the topic and rolled out my first badges to students in spring 2013. These are adult learners, degreed educators seeking MLS, Master of Library Science. The experience exceeded my expectations. Students really liked the badges and so did I. My presentation at Internet@Schools will describe my experiences, share survey results from students in our program who received badges, and offer some tips and cautions. I feel strongly that badges are great for increasing motivation and for recognizing positive student performance. I also want to stress that badges should NOT be tied to grades. They should be strictly kept apart. Also, there should be badges that any student can earn, not just the top achievers scholastically. Further, there should be clear descriptions of the badges that spell out how each can be earned. I chose to give badges for behaviors I wanted to promote: turning in work early, going beyond the expected with assignments, finding ways to respond to assignments creatively, and communicating well with peers via live and asynchronous chat and discussion boards. My strong recommendation is that badges be online only, posted to a common website, rather than physical objects. They should not in any way be allowed to go beyond simple recognitions. The excesses that happen with reading programs such as Accelerated Reader are to be avoided at all costs. Having spent most of my career in the K-12 environment, I feel confident that badging can be used reward students of all ages. In fact, the group with whom I had the most doubts was adult learners. I was afraid they might think it was too much like something for youngsters. This did not occur. I am looking forward to using badges as long as I continue teaching. I am still polishing my presentation, and will have the final version up at the Internet Librarian Conference Site by Saturday evening. I will also upload to Slideshare and will post that link through this blog. I will also share helpful websites. One I will mention right now is Cred.ly. This online service is great for creating and managing badges. I hope both attendees and readers will find this topic interesting.

LEADING UP TO IL2013: Tweaking Presentations...Do You Do It Too?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 18:31:00 +0000

I wonder if all writers and presenters do this...I am addicted to tweaking articles and presentations. When counting down to a due date for submission or presentation, I find I cannot leave the thing alone. I keep going back and playing with it...changing images, rewording, adding, cutting, etc. Part of this is due to my obsessive-compulsive nature I guess, but another thing is that the more I think about a topic, the more I come across relevant information that I decide MUST be added. This is the case with my upcoming preso about using badges in schools and libraries. I uploaded my "finished" product several days ago and since then I have come across more information that seems both compelling and necessary. A lot has come out about this topic since I first started exploring it over a year ago. Thus I will be uploading again today or tomorrow with several new additions, and confess that may not be the last time. I will post another blog entry soon about badging in general but right now this brief posting is to ask how common is the practice of obsessively revising right down to the last minute. I don't think I'm alone...do you do the same?

To Blog or Not To Blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 21:25:00 +0000

Given my "recent" activity, it is ironic for me to start remarks with that title. I actually did some presentations about blogging several years back and used that catch phrase. And then I ran out of steam and have had little luck in keeping current lately. However, I do THINK about this space and consider giving it another try. The catalyst for me now is the Internet Librarian/Internet@Schools West Conference that is coming up soon. I have gone so far as to sign up to blog from the conference and hope to join in with others enjoying the conference online as well as in person. So...here goes! My hope is to put up several entries BEFORE the conference and see if I can make some connections. Please comment if you're going! In my next entry I'll talk about my presentation, which will be on Tuesday.

DIY Memes

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:48:00 +0000

Recently I wrote an article about memes. One thing I mentioned was the ability to make a visual for a meme yourself, rather than use an online application. The beauty of doing so is that it allows students to make memes at school without having to sign in and log on to an online site. Here is one I made just using Powerpoint. It starts my best dog Ringo, who really did select and chew the highly appropriate book shown below:

LOVE Post 5: Love LM_NET

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Since today is Valentine's Day, I feel like I should blog about something I really, REALLY love. That brought LM_NET to mind. I have such a great fondness for this group. I went looking for history of the group and found an interview with co-founder Peter Milbury in School Library Journal back in 2007: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6498080.html
Here's a trenchant quotation: "LM_NET is probably the most successful electronic educational network in the history of the Internet." I believe it!

The last time I saw a membership count for the group, it was 16,000. The number is likely more today. This community for library media specialists is a combination support group, fount of information, social network, and occasionally debate arena. It has brought me more benefits than any other resource I can bring to mind. Because of LM_NET, I have been able to complete dozens of valuable surveys that have helped me with writing and presentations. It has made me laugh on gloomy days. One memorable year it led me to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for two weeks of Internet training in the company of an amazing librarians from across the United States. It has answered questions little and big. And fast! I am always amazed at how quickly I get responses when I ask a question of the group.

LM_NET is not colorful and enticing with Web 2.0 features. There are no profile pictures or, for that matter, any images at all. It is just old school black and white text. And that text brings me common sense, ideas, tips, resources, answers, and collegiality every sing day. Right to my mailbox. Thanks LM_NET, you are my Valentine!

LOVE Post 4: Love Shortcuts!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:22:00 +0000

I love finding nifty new tools that are time/worksavers. Here is one shared via LM_NET, thanks to Gwen Lehman of Larned KS. I am just pasting in her description:

"I've been seeing some info showing up on apps and looking for free ones. Here is a little tip I learned that has helped narrow my searches. Type the following in your browser URL box: linktoapp.com/
After the backslash, type in what you are searching. For example, dictionary or math. You can then add a + and type in free or a grade. Hit return and it will take you to iTunes with your search results.

I just gave it a try. In the window I added "+photo+free" and presto, I got a ton of free photo editing apps to use on my iPhone. These will be so much fun for using with my current favorite pastime, Instagram! Next I tried "+library" and got a mix since many apps use the word "library" in their names, such as "fitness library." But I did get a bunch of libraries, including LOC.

Next I tried Gwen's blog:
Tech Tidbits blog <http://techtidbits01.blogspot.com/>
Great stuff there! I feel like I have found two great new resources, the blog and the search tool. They are too good to keep to myself!

LOVE Post 3: I love my iPhone CAMERA

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Ann) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:10:00 +0000

Am I cheating? Maybe a little. I just posted a couple of days ago that I LOVE my iPhone. Now I am going back to that theme to say I LOVE my iPhone camera. I am increasingly impressed with the 8 MP camera that I carry around everywhere I go now that it resides in my iPhone. Because of it, and because of social photography which is in my case Instagram, I find myself always on the lookout for a new shot. This causes me to view the world in new and different ways. I used to love my digital camera, but it bit the dust about a year ago. I no longer feel a need to replace it. There are some tempting peripherals that you can get to increase your camera's capabilities, including some reasonably priced lenses. These can be found with a simple Google search. I think there may be one or more of these in my future. Also, there are many cool apps with which you can play around with images. I am adding a picture I took recently and just today edited it using Tiny Planet, an iPhone app which I just downloaded today. The original shot is a picture of the waterfall below Spring Lake in San Marcos, Tx. All this has me wondering if I may want a high end digital camera at some point to develop my growing interest in photography. Even if I do, it will not diminish my love for my iPhone camera.