Now that was a helpful question

I am sitting here on my first day of "summer break" (OK it's maternity leave but I like to pretend) and am I trying to get as much school work done as possible. I was thinking that I would try and think of as many topics and things to blog about and just save them in a word document and then I could cut and paste them in as the weeks go by. However, I was a little worried that I would be busy or not available to post them. Then I read that great answer on discussion board about how you can schedule your posts! This will be great for me and I know I should have looked around a little more before deciding on my word document theory but it seemed so simple that I saw no need to look further. It was also really nice to see a post on the discussion board that I thought was a good question not everyone would have thought of that would benefit the entire class. I am not saying there haven't been others but before last week there was definitely an abundance of posts that were personal in nature, repeated or just not all that professional. It's nice to see that everyone is maturing and moving along with their class questions. I know the teachers are here to help us but so are our classmates. I admit I have questions all the time and after I try and figure it our myself I email one of our classmates and bug her until the two of us can figure it out. I hope that people aren't afraid to post which it seems they may be since there has been a serious lack of posts lately but instead are taking a little more time to figure things out by themselves if they can.

Well, we are over the half way point and I am hoping that everyone is feeling better than they were at first. Only 6 more classes to go!

A little breathing room is nice!

Well I have to say it was a very nice surprise to learn that the assignment for ePrints is no longer mandatory. I had logged in and taken a look and it seemed as if it was going to be a little more easy to navigate and use than Omeka so I'll have to check it out once the problem has been fixed. However...being 9 months pregnant (I am due July 7) it is nice to have 1 less mandatory assignment to do! Today is my last day of work so I am hoping that I can dedicate next week to getting a majority of my school work done in case this baby decides to come a little early. Which I have to say I wouldn't mind, because I am getting quite uncomfortable!

I like that the next assignment for Koha we are able to pick our own topic to catalogue. It will be a nice change of pace because I have to admit that most of the information and data we have collected hasn't been the most interesting information to me:)

We are half way there, hope everyone is getting by ok and enjoying their summer!

Another assignment done!

So I just finished up the Omeka assignment and once more I am feeling pretty good about it. I have to thank Tim again for posting some really helpful instructions on the discussion posts because at first I was a bit confused.I believe that I have completed this correctly but I will have to wait and check out some other collections once they are up to make sure!

I found that this assignment was a little more time consuming than I thought it would be, probably took me a couple hours total. There is just so much information that a person an input that I can only imagine how long it would take if they filled out every single field. This is an interesting way to keep track of collections and materials. I found that searching and savings articles was much easier for me than using websites. I wasn't exactly sure how to get full use of the "file" field when I didn't have an actual document to attach. I will admit that this assignment was a bit frustrating because the instructions on the syllabus didn't really provide much detail. Maybe a little more detail will come for the next assignments in the beginning so poor Tim doesn't have to answer 50 separate questions on the discussion boards.

Good luck to the rest of you on this assignment. Again, time consuming but not too difficult once you get going!

Watch what you put online

I thought that this was a really interesting and relevant article about the pitfalls involving educators and blogging. It's hard to say what my thoughts would have been when I was in high school because of course there wasn't blogging, texting, facebook and all the new high tech communications that we have today. I know that I am careful about what I post on facebook because many employers can have strict rules about that. Also, when I look to switch professions once I complete my degree (or sooner!) and become a librarian I don't want to run into any unnecessary road blocks. Finding a person's blog, facebook page, etc. is an easy as a Google search so I think it is important that we are all careful. On the other hand I don't think that people (educators especially) are unaware of the potential problems that they could face posting their thoughts so some fault must lay with them. As the article states, the teachers are warned "Perhaps that's why the Pennsylvania State Education Association says on its website that teachers should not blog about their "job duties, colleagues, supervisors, or students." It is a little sad that educators are losing their freedom to speech in order to make sure no lines are crossed but (again like the article says) it is better to be safe than sorry. Especially in a time when jobs are few and far between. To read the full article please see below.

https://sremote.pitt.edu/inquirer/home_top_left_story/20100609_Ex-teacher_learns_the_hard_way__Watch_what_you_put_online.html

I did it!

Wow, I have to admit I didn't think that I would be able to figure out how to record and capture and download all at the same time. I found that using Jing was relatively easy to do and the problem came when I had added my embedded code to my blog. The first video I had was HUGE and you could only see half the screen. Thankfully I had read the steps from the discussion board and followed Timothy Schlak's advice on how to add a gadget and all problems were solved. I have to say I feel pretty good about it. This class can be overwhelming when I look at all the assignments we have to complete but as long as we receive a little guidance as we have so far I am confident I can do it. I hope that everyone else feels the same way!! Good luck classmates if you have completed this assignment yet, I know you'll get it.

Cheeseburgers - Off topic but still awesome

So this is not a tech related post but I still feel the need to share. I am 8 months (9 months next week) pregnant and besides school work I have one thing I cannot stop thinking about. Cheeseburgers! I swear I think about them 22 out of 24 hours a day. It's all I want to talk about and eat, my son's (yep it's a boy) first word is going to be "cheeseburger" and I am totally OK with that because they are delicious (sorry to all those vegetarians). I didn't think that I would be one of those pregnant ladies who had cravings non-stop but I do and clearly you can tell what it is. Now, on to important business...the best cheeseburgers I have found. One of my new favorite places that one of our own classmates (thanks Kim!) introduced me to is on/close to Pitt's campus, 5 Guys Burgers. WOW! That's all I have to say, and you never have to worry about leaving this place hungry. The portions are so huge you need to order a Little Guy Burger just to get a single patty and the fries! Well get ready to split them because you really don't need to eat that many potatoes at one sitting. Another wonderful burger place is the Sharp Edge Creekhouse in Crafton, conveniently located 3 minutes from my house. They have a variety of burgers and sweet potato fries that are fantastic. I recommend the Sharp Burger or the BBQ Burger, both are awesome but if you like it cooked, say well done. Ok, I could go on and on and on because Pittsburgh is full of great burger places but here is my last one. Red Robin! There is a new one up at Settler's Ridge and I had my first of what will be many many visits here on Sunday. I like to think of Red Robin as my own version of Disney Land. Yes, I liked it that much. I got the Teriyaki Burger that comes with teriyaki of course, shredded lettuce, tomato, and best of all grilled pineapple! The other great aspect of Red Robin, endless fries. No need to go any further. If you sign up online you can get a free birthday burger. So yes, you just heard a pregnant lady rant and rave about burgers and I am ok with that. Should there be somewhere out there I am missing that has an awesome burger I beg (yep begging, not embarrassed) to share it with me. As of right now, Red Robin is number one on my burger list.

Microphone at Walmart

I was reading the posts and thankfully found one about a microphone to buy and thought I would share what I found. The recommendation was for the Logitech USB Desktop Microphone and this is the exact one I picked up. I was at Walmart on Friday and they have it for $8.88. The soon as I attempt my Jing assignment I will be sure to let you all know how well it works:)

On another note I saw that you can just use your headphones for a microphone and that is an awesome tip. I figured I would just do that but since the mic was only $8.88 I just went ahead and purchased since I will need it for my Storytelling class as well. Also, I go through headphones like a crazy lady! It seems that I can only find pairs that last a couple months at most before they start going out in one ear or the other. I have tried the pair that came with my ipod, the around your ear kind, cheap pairs, moderately expensive and the same thing happens every time. If anyone can recommend a quality pair that will last I would sure appreciate it!