Cataloging, Week 2

After finishing the reading, I am definitely feeling more confident in my understanding of cataloging. Thanks, Barb, for commenting that I don't need to memorize everything. I realize now that the book is there to be used as a reference for those times when we need to make a new record for something. I am glad that I now know that I can go to different websites, such as the Library of Congress one to be able to get a surrogate record if I should ever need one, since as I said in my previous post, Follett makes it pretty easy and I haven't had to get too deep into actual cataloging. After reading this book, I am anxious to get back to school tomorrow to look at records in our library and to actually be able to understand what all of those little numbers and letters mean! Looking at examples will also help me more with my whole understanding of cataloging. Now, on to a greater understanding of OPAC! I guess I never really thought about how the two are so closely connected.

Cataloging

Okay...I'm feeling pretty confused. I never realized there was so much to this cataloging stuff. I'm a pretty organized person and I like order so it seems like this should come easy to me, but it's not, yet. It seems amazingly complicated, with lots of memorization required. I guess once I get it and start to use it, it will become easier. So far, in the school where I've worked, cataloging has been very easy for me- I just need to search by ISBN, title or author, and usually I will find the record (we have Follett) and download it. I've also created a few very simple records myself when I couldn't find one on Follett, but they have just very basic information. I've seen MARC records many times, but never understood what all those tags and numbers mean. Maybe after I finish next week's reading, it will click in my head. I hope so. At least I'm understanding the Dewey Decimal Classification system fairly well.

Internet Safety

This week, it's all about internet safety. Here are some links that I thought would be useful.

1.dmoz Open Directory Project
http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Computers/Internet/Safety/

This site has a huge list of links that offer parents, teens and children resources, games, comics, videos etc. The topics range from chatting to cyberbullying to privacy. One could spends days seeing everything on this site.

2. Safekids.com
http://www.safekids.com/
http://www.safekids.com/parentpledge.pdf
http://www.safekids.com/safekidscontract.pdf

This site has the above parent and child contracts that I thought would be a good starting point for parents when talking to their children about internet safety. There is also an online safety quiz, a safety song, and a few safety articles.

3. CIESE- The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education
http://www.k12science.org/internetsafety.html

This site realizes the need to balance student protection with the need for students to utilize technology to its fullest potential. The site advocates for the need for an Acceptable Use Policy, appropriate classroom websites, and contains a list of useful links, such as parent, children's, and librarian's internet guides, acceptable use policies and a k-8 curriculum guide with lesson plans.

4.AT&T Internet Safety Connections Game
http://www.att.com/Common/images/safety/game.html

A simple but informative game that asks kids to decide what to do in certain situations, such as what to do when you receive a request for personal information, when you are asked to meet someone in person or you receive a scary message.

5. The FBI's Parent's Guide to Internet Safety
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

A comprehensive guide that gives an overview of internet safety, gives a list of signs that your child might be at risk online, answers the question of what to do if you suspect your child is communicating with an online predator, and tells you how to minimize the chances of your child being exploited by someone online.

6. Common Sense Media- The Internet Survival Guide for Parents
http://www.commonsense.com/internet-safety-tips/tips-for-kids.php

I like the straightforwardness of this site- it is clear and easy to read. I also like the page that gives recommended internet usage by age and stage. There is also a page with links to more resources.

7. Internet Safety Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZHq4CQekTY

I found this video to be very scary- I don't know that I would let really young children watch it, but it gives parents an idea of how quickly and easily a child can be fooled by someone online.

8. LoveToKnow Internet Safety Facts
http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Category:Internet_Safety_Facts

A comprehensive list of sites for a variety of internet safety facts and information, including a list of social networking games appropriate for children, information about cyber bullying, and lesson plans.

Professional Development

Since I have never attended any professional development workshops, it has been a little bit difficult to figure out how and what to present to teachers for this week's assignment. I've heard lots of complaints about PD, so hopefully, the presentation I prepare will be interesting and useful to teachers. I work in a K-3 school and maybe I'm not ambitious enough yet to try, but I feel that many of these Web 2.0 tools that we have looked at would be a little bit difficult for children so young to use. Or maybe it's not so much that the tools are difficult to use, but that it seems like they would be very time-consuming to teach to very young children, since they would probably need a lot of help and supervision while using them. Therefore, for my presentation, I am mostly showing teachers some of the tools that they themselves can use to make their lives easier, such as Delicious and TeacherTube. Maybe after teachers get comfortable with a few tools such as these, we could move on to tools that they could use with their students.