Pinterest

I am still playing around, learning how to use this blog and figuring out all the ins-and-outs of Pinterest. I am so thankful I started the Nebraska Learns 2.0 at this point because I am loving the plethora of great ideas I am finding on Pinterest and thinking of some ways to use this blog in the classroom.

Ah, Pinterest... what can I say. I have a new display in my high school library that we just debuted this week based on a pin I lifted from another librarian (Ginger Who?). I am staring at the word "debuted" and laughing because of a post about words that seem to make sense until you try to spell them. I have some cute ideas for Dr. Seuss day. I found a great Google tips sheet that I hope to turn into a poster for my 6th graders or to project in the lab as a reminder of what we have learned in recent weeks during our research unit. I have come to realize more than ever what I nerd - or geek - I am because of the humor I am connecting with. I love getting an inner peek at how my friends' minds work and what inspires them. Oh wait - was I supposed to be doing homework to earn credit/professional growth with this? I LOVE getting educated!

Reflections on 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
Sadly there was no audio with this tutorial but hopefully I got the gist of the presentation. I think the easiest habit for me is #2 - Accepting responsibility for my own learning. I haven't received much formal training in technology and have gained most of my knowledge and skill sets through workshops and on-the-job training. Fortunately you can learn about anything on Youtube!
The hardest habit for me will probably  be to view problems as challenges. To me, problems are problems! Annoying timewasters that just eat up my day. Sooooo - I will have to try to focus on that glass-half-full philosophy.

My Title

I should probably explain the title I chose for this blog. Back when I started my job in 1996, I was hired to be the school librarian for the high school and elementary buildings. I didn't know much about technology except how to make a simple web page with html code. The school  had about a total of 40 computers, all either in the elementary or high school computer labs. The machines were either Apple IIe's or IBM. The local network was 10-BaseT in one room only, if I remember correctly. The high school library also had a computer with a dial up connection to access the internet. We had about five different people who had their own specialty; one took care of the network and computers, two others took care of the Power Macs we got in 1997, one taught the students how to use the technology, and I took over the network-related issues.
This quickly snowballed into being in charge of the whole shebang as the other techie-type people moved on or retired. Thankfully, I had a lot of technology proficient folks to learn from over the years. I still don't know much about technology, but I know all the right people to call and am now the "technology coordinator" for the district. This is in addition to my library duties and the elementary library classes I teach. The majority of my time is spent fixing technology and related issues, but my heart is still with books, information, and kids, and getting them together. I love to see the kids get excited when we learn about a new database or try out a new interent searching skill. But I also am thrilled when the kids laugh at the funny parts in a book we read together or really relate to the characters in the story. Thus the blog title "technobrarian."

Getting started

This is my first blog and I am really excited to get started! I am hoping to create a blog that will help me organize some of my thoughts and my commonly used resources. In addition, I am hoping to learn a lot from the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program. Since I have never done this before I'm feeling a little self-conscious about putting my thoughts out there and feel uncertain of how to go about this. It will be interesting to see how much I have grown by this time next year.