Thing 8: Communication -- Web 2.0 Style

Okay, here goes. You are really trying to teach an old dog some new tricks here. I have spent a good bit of time reading everything in this Thing. I can't figure out how to get Instant Messaging in my Gmail account. That is my email account through the school board. I have been on the receiving end of a chat a couple of times when people were trying to remotely fix a computer or software problem. This was helpful because the library phone is not near the computers and the school is not allowed to give me a cordless phone. I can't figure out how to initiate a chat. It is after 6:00 p.m. and no one is at NEFLIN. It is Spring Break in Alachua County so none of the other media specialists are available. I could not figure out how to access chat in my personal hotmail account either. I can ask my Digital Native daughter when she gets home later tonight.
I do not IM or Text message either. I would not do either at work as I don't sit at the computer with my email open that much. I think it would be discouraged by the administration. I have tried to imagine how it might be used. All school board faculty and administration have email accounts and I do use my email frequently to share info, ask questions, forward good ideas, etc. I can email faculty at my school as well as at every other school in the county. I can email the Media Supervisor, AV equipment repair, computer repair, tech people, Media Specialists and Media Aides. We use email for interlibrary loan, to set up meetings, field trips or programs, etc. I find this very useful and efficient although when we first started using email it was tedious and cumbersome and I avoided it whenever I could. I can't even remember the program we were using.
What I know about IM and text messaging, I have gathered from others, mainly my children. I remember a teacher from a number of years ago, whose son went away to college and she discovered they could IM each other. It was the first time I had heard about it and she was very excited about it and explained how it worked. My son and daughter use IM, although I think my daughter does more because she has her own laptop. My son is in to text messaging. We gave him unlimited texting on his phone for his high school graduation and he uses it all the time. Sometimes it is very annoying. Recently, I took him out to dinner so we could catch up. He kept looking at his phone because he was being text messaged. I thought it was rather rude. I think my son and his friends do not bother to plan ahead, they just text each other or broadcast about a party, movie, going to the mall, or going bowling. I find this frustrating because I rarely know what he is planning or doing. (He is 18 and a college freshman but he still lives at home so I like to know where he is.)He does have permission to text me late at night so I will know where he is and what he is doing. He does not need to do it often which is good because I have to pay for each text on my phone but it is a good back-up option. Maybe once or twice, I have wished I could text a family member with info. One thing that concerns me was that in one of the articles I read, text messaging was promoted as a way to communicate while in class or when you need to be discreet. As a school librarian and a parent who is paying for college tuition, I do not think texting should be allowed in the classroom. I have recently seen a couple of articles addressing this very issue.
I was finally able to bring up an OPAL program and view it. It was a useful way to learn about something right on my desktop. My mother instilled in me the value of being a life-long learner so I always enjoy learning new things. As a certified media specialist, I have to renew my teaching certificate every so many years, so I usually apply for CEU's or points towards my renewal. How would I earn them viewing OPAL programs? I guess I would have to work that out with my supervisor.

Thing 7 --Online Image Generator

This is the image I was finally able to generate and upload. I have been working on this all day off and on. I tried Big Huge Labs, Image Chef, and the Generator Blog. I tried to create a cube with Big Huge Labs but I must have been missing a step. I wanted to print and use the cube with a new curriculum we are using this year. It would be fun to create cube dice of book parts, book genres, characters, fairy tales, etc. to use in games. I tried Image chef but again I think I was missing a step. I looked at the Generator Blog but I have to be very careful what I choose to use with my students since some are visually impaired and all are mentally handicapped. I have to make sure my images are very literal and recognizable. Also some choices were inappropriate for use in a school setting or with children. I could spend a lot more time on this but I need to move on.