Week 5, #11

I had a great time looking at the Web 2.0 Award Winners. Looking in the philanthropy category, I found donorschoose, a site where teachers and librarians post requests for contributions to programs/materials they want. Searching specifically for library requests, I found many to support classroom libraries, and a few for school libraries. Most of the dollar amounts are very modest; they remind me of the type of grant applications teachers submit to PTAs and local foundations. One interesting feature is that among the information given is the percentage of children living in low socioeconomic status at each school.
Begreen, an environmental site I found, is one I think would interest the environmental science teachers at my school. Under mashups, I found coverpop, which has montages of similar/related items in many categories. I liked the graphic novels and Harry Potter montages.
Looking at the suggested Nings, I got immediately hooked on Teacher Librarian. I have joined the High School group, and even posted a reply to Mary Ann Harlan about senior exit interviews. I can see many uses for Nings at school, particularly for specific groups like students participating in the CYRM program, readers' groups by genre, etc. Students always seem to be pressed to meet in real time, but they always make time for on line activities. For example, many students who read fantasy don't know each other; meeting and interacting through a Ning would be an effective way of bringing them together.