Week+6

=Week 6 - Play!=

**//Thing 7 - Play with online image generator//**


Image generators are websites that allow you to generate fun images that capture peoples' attention. There are quite a number of sites out there. You can Google for "image generators" to find them or try [|the sign generator] or [|the generator blog]. Generate a fun image and post it to your blog by clicking on the little image icon (to the right of the check mark) above the box where you type your blog post text. Unfortunately the ALA image generator is no longer available on their website or you could have created a cute READ poster.



__Thing 7 Learning2.0 Tasks__
1. Find and explore an image generator. 2. Play and create fun images. 3. Save an image you really like to your hard drive. 4. Post this image on your blog.

**//Thing 8 - Library Thing//**
[|Library Thing] is a website that allows you to catalog books online for free. You can create your own collection and see who else is reading the same books, read reviews, and get new book recommendations. Take the [|tour] and sign up to [|create an account]. Add five books and view your virtual book shelf. Finally, add a [|Library Thing widget] to your blog and write a post about your Library Thing experience and possible uses of Library Thing for libraries.

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__Thing 8 Learning2.0 Tasks__
1. Explore Library Thing 2. Register and create a free account. 3. Add at least five books to your collection. 4. Create a Library Thing widget for your collection and add to your blog. The video How to Add Widget/Gadgets to your blog explains how to add it to your blog. 5. Blog about your Library Thing experience.

**//Thing 9 - Create your own search engine//**
Creating your own search engine is a great tool for school media specialists because it allows you to specify what websites will be searched rather than the entire web. You specify which websites the search engine should use to search. You can add only those websites that you know are reliable and would be good for your students to use. Use Google Custom Search to set up your customized search engine. Note that you need a google account (aggiemail accounts also work) to get this to work.

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__Thing 9 Learning2.0 Tasks__
1. Explore the Google Custom Search Engine 2. Create a search engine of your own. 3. Add your search engine to your blog.

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