Library Learning 2.0 for Media Clerks

We are now in our third week of learning about Web 2.0 tools, applications, and ways to use them for our own productivity and in the library with our staff and students.

So far? Blogging, RSS, Technorati, Flickr, Image Generators, and lots of exploration ...a TON of learning going on; discovery, laughter, some frustration, some jubilant outcries, and some chaos. What fun.

You can visit our path and progress here. Take some time to browse, see what we are up to, visit a few blogs, and maybe even leave a comment or two.

Media Clerks Cherry Coffeecake recipe

Holli asked me to post this recipe for the cherry coffeecake that I brought to the clerks meeting.
Cherry Coffeecake Ann @LYMDSR 1/08
2 sticks oleo
1¾ cup sugar *
4 eggs, add one at a time
1½ tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder

1 can cherry pie filling
1 tsp almond extract

Cream oleo & sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
Add flour, salt and baking powder. Spread ¾ batter in greased 12x15 inch pan.
Add almond extract to cherry pie filling. Spread cherries over batter. Drop remaining
batter hit and miss over cherries. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

Make icing: Warm 2 Tablespoons oleo and 2 Tablespoons milk until oleo melts. Add
½ tsp vanilla. Stir in 1 cup powdered sugar to make a thin icing. Drizzle over warm coffee cake. Cool. Serve!
*high altitude tip, I always reduce the sugar in any cookie or cake recipe, for every cup of sugar in a recipe...use ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup powdered milk.

Book suggestions for 9th grade girls?

Does anyone have some book suggestions for a group of 9th grade girls that have read the three books by Stephanie Meyer? They like romance and loved the Meyer series of Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse.
Any suggestions would be quite helpful! Ann @ LYMDSR.

The Darkest Evening of the Year

The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz, was next on my shelf of holiday reads. I like to be scared, I like supernatural, I like thrillers, and I like Golden Retrievers. It should have been a home run. Not quite. After reading some really good books lately, this one didn't make the grade.

In typical Koontz's style, this is a story of evil building for a confrontation with good. Intermix some supernatural elements and you have his formula. He used this story for the advocacy of Golden Retriever Rescue and a plea for the humane treatment of dogs -- that is a good thing. But I felt that it got to the point of lecture, not story. I also found the horrible things that his antagonist(s) thought and did very distasteful -- perhaps the scary part was that humans perhaps do have the capacity for that kind of evil.

Even with the supernatural elements, my love of Goldens, and the triumph of good over evil, this is not one I will recommend.

The World Just Got a Lot Smaller

As I ponder the possibilities in 2008, my first task is to let go of the remorse for things left undone in 2007. On the bright side, my to-do list is already populated for the new year. As I look forward to the new year, I am excited about the prospects -- and all of those prospects all revolve around education – more precisely, learning. My learning journey.

I am 54 years old and I feel like I’m just entering a new realm…again. The world continues to shrink – I am amazed that I can participate in world conversations via the Internet. My goals, this year, are to become an active participant in that world and create some personal learning networks. But, I won’t go alone. I plan on taking lots of people with me, as this is too big of a thing to keep to oneself.

Learning is my keyword for 2008. Not just my own, but I am fortunate enough to be in education – not as a teacher, but as one who can influence. Maybe that's even better.