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Workshops

Gardens, Restaurants, IL2010 & QR codes

Oct 20th, 2010
by pollyalida.
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I’m looking forward to the Internet Librarian & Internet@Schools West Conferences starting this weekend. I’ll be teaching a Saturday pre-conference workshop on WordPress and doing another WordPress session with Buffy Hamilton on Monday.

But before I get to Monterey, I hope to get to Filoli Gardens in Woodside, CA – sort of on the way from SFO. I visited this gorgeous garden & estate in the February and basked my snow weary soul in the gorgeous daffodils. They close next week, so last chance this year.

And on the trip down to Monterey, I hope to have time to for lunch at Palapas Cantina, a great Mexican restaurant with a gorgeous water view in Aptos. My good friend Steve Watkins introduced me to their tasty food.

So what about the QR Codes? Well here they are:

filoli palapas

These will take you to the locations in your smartphone’s map app.  But what I’d really like to do, is find a way to put a whole bunch of locations into one QR code. I know I can create a custom map in Google Maps and create a QR code for that map. But that opens in your browser. And yes, you could save that map and it will sync with your phone. But it would be faster if it just opened in a map with all the locations.

I’ve done a bit of digging around, but it there doesn’t seem to be a standard for this sort of code – yet.  Several years ago I worked on an  “I Spy” projects with about 20 libraries.  The kids created something of a photographic scavenger hunt of historic spots in their towns. It was great fun and I could see incorporating QR codes into that project if we were doing it today.  But it would be terrific to be able to create one code with all the locations marked. If anyone knows of a way to do that, please share!

In the meantime, hope to see some of you in Monterery!

Google Earth at TST BOCES SLS

Oct 20th, 2010
by pollyalida.
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google earthThanks to Jane O’Brien and all the great folks at TST BOCES SLS for sponsoring and attending my Google Earth workshop. I had a wonderful time with you all yesterday and look forward to hearing how you use these tools in your schools.

Resources for the class are available at: Google Trips with Google Earth & Google Maps

Slides are embedded below:

Google Maps, Earth & Lit Trips

View more presentations from pollyalida.

New Tech Camp Workshop – but no “canoe time”

Oct 15th, 2010
by pollyalida.
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I’m really looking forward to a new workshop tomorrow!  We’ve been calling it various things: Tech Camp – The Sequel, Advanced Tech Camp, Research 2.0 and so on. Whatever you call it, this workshop will give participants the chance to explore a wide range of web tools that will help them and their students take a new approach to research projects, one that involves collaborating and sharing. Share ideas on how to integrate these tools into your curriculum. Learn how to take advantage of tools that will help you and your students manage resources, organize information, collaborate with team members, connect with experts and create meaningful presentations.

Our School Library Learning 2.0 Tech Camps are one and two day immersions in technology tools and and  opportunities to explore ideas for integrating technology into the curriculum.  These sessions offer school librarians an opportunity to explore a variety of online tools & services that will help them work more efficiently, improve their library’s online presence and enhance student learning.

Canoes at Sagamore Great Camp

The “camp” in Tech Camp comes not from the unconference/barcamp tradition, but from actually going away to a “camp” of some sort. Elaine Baker at the Southern Adirondack Library System started this tradition in 2000 with continuing education trips to the Sagamore Great Camp in the Adirondacks. And she made sure every workshop included plenty of what we called “canoe time” – time away from the classroom to share ideas and connect with colleagues, whether in a canoe, hiking or hanging out in front of the fire.

Linda Fox, former director of the Capital Region BOCES School Library System and Dee Portzer, director of the Questar III School Library System,  picked up on this idea and took the tech camp idea to Rensselaerville Institute – making sure the concept of  “canoe time” was kept!  Since then, I’ve had the great pleasure of conducting Tech Camps for a number of other school library systems around NYS. Unfortunately, with tightening budgets, the “camp” part of tech camp is disappearing.  What’s been lost has been the “canoe time”,  that opportunity to get away from the our everyday commitments and build new collaborations and connections with our colleagues.

School Library Tech Camp – March 2010

Mar 26th, 2010
by pollyalida.
1 comment

Last weekend, 30+ school librarians & classroom teachers gathered at the Hotel Thayer at West Point for 2 days of Tech Camp! After a bit of a rocky start due to problems with the hotel’s wireless network (which the ever resourceful Danielle handily solved!), we were off to the races.

Tech camp is a two day immersion in technology tools and and an opportunity to explore ideas for integrating technology into the curriculum.  The sessions offer school librarians (and classroom teachers) (more…)

Upcoming School Library Workshops

Jul 28th, 2009
by pollyalida.
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3766673127_653c513b45_oIt’s almost August and it finally feels like summer. And for me August is full of workshops for school library media specialists.


WSWHE BOCES SLS

Oswego & OCM BOCES SLS

And look for another post soon with my fall schedule including classes in Connecticut, New York and at Internet Librarian in Monterey, CA in October.

David Lee King: CDLC Emerging Tech Program – May 7

Apr 28th, 2009
by pollyalida.
1 comment

digexpApril 30th is the deadline to sign up for this great program: The Future is Not Out of Reach: Change, Emerging Trends, 2.0, and Libraries.

The speaker is David Lee King, the Digital Branch & Services Manager at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka. He’s written and spoken at conferences about websites, digital experience, working with techies and other technology-library related topics. David is also the author of the recently published book, Designing the Digital Experience.

Library Journal says: “Librarians agree: David Lee King is your go-to guy for simplifying complex technology. King’s real focus, though, is not on the technology itself. “It is,‟ he says, “making sure our focus stays on the user rather than on the great features of new web sites or technology.‟”

The program will be held at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library on Thursday May 7th and is sponsored by CDLC, MVLS, SALS & UHLS.

Register now before it’s too late!

Hope to see you there!

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