Monday, April 14, 2008

Thing 23

I found this to be a worthwhile experience.  Everything is always so rushed in life so it is something that I would like to delve into when school is out and I have more time.  My favorite thing was the trading cards, name badges etc.  I looked at a couple of other blogs and realized I never made an avatar.  I did sign up for Second Life and think I will enjoy going to that space.

Thanks to all who developed this.  It was a great way to learn.  I know much more about the web 2.0 and feel comfortable using some parts.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Thing 22

I will try to check in on my blog and improve it. I know that I need to know more about these "things". I guess I am in now. I have so many sites that I can sign into . I hope I used that same password for all. Thanks to all who worked hard to set this training up.

Thing 8

My original post disappeared for Thing 8. Here is what I remember . I loved the trading cards. I have always wanted to use something where I could make cards like that. I am not sure how to get the info on the back. Also I liked the name badges. I didn't realize all the information was going to show up or I would have put it on this blog. My favorite Thing so far.

Thing 21

Web Junction article - I can understand the frustrations of trying to get everyone on board to use a social networking site. That must be very frustrating. I find it hard just to think about doing any of these things. It seems that we a very far removed from any of these things. Most of this will need to be done at home for me.

The article I was supposed to read about My Space for books just went to an ELM link. I am posting a picture of the Cork Library in Cork, Ireland. (actually not a library anymore)

Thing 20

Well I joined Facebook and thought it was ok. I can see where some people would take the time to use this. I think I just don't have the time. I much rather communicate with people face to face.

Thing 19

I use my ipod daily and download podcasts once in awhile. I did manage to put a link to a podcast from NPR called Grammar Grater. This was so good I am going to add it to my itunes podcasts

Thing 18

You Tube: So great everything from the library domino's to the Winona State library tour. I think I should do a little tour of my library and try to upload it to You Tube. No I didn't know that a Mn high school student created it. I found a video that I want to put on my blog I will see if I can accomplish that. I did it but I got four when I wanted one. So much to learn.

Thing 17

I use ELM quite a bit at work. Setting up a search alert seems very complicated. I will give it a try so i can have the best and the latest information from the ELM. I am not really sure how that would work though. It just seems too difficult to attempt.

Thing 16

The assignment calculator was interesting. I wish I had done this before I had to do a time line for upgrading the library system. This also could have been the first thing we should have done to better prepare for this assignment.

I can see using this with maybe the fourth graders at my school. I don't think any younger than that they would grasp the concept of how to use it.

Research Project Calculator - I will definitely email this information to my nieces and nephew's that are in college right now. I wish I would have had a tool like this.

Thing 15

I signed up with Second Life. This is an amazing place. I wanted to tour Trinity College in Dublin but my software didn't allow me to teleport. I can't wait to get this figured out.

Thing 14

LibraryThing is wonderful. You know that a librarian will want to catalog all of the books she owns. i don't think I will do that but I will more than likely use LibraryThing to catalog all of the books I use in my lesson plans. I can't even imagine the ways I will be able to use them. Thanks to whoever created LibraryThing.

Thing 13

I spent a lot of time on iGoogle and liked it a great deal. I will probably give up my Apple homepage to this one in Safari. Playing around I found quite a few gadgets I like and quite a few that I got rid of right away.

I can see making a homepage like this for the Media Center. Many things I like to use would be right there for me.

Thing 12

I took the Mixx tour and found this a great way to gather information. I like how easy it seems. Looking at the Digg home page was more difficult. It seemed harder to navigate. (I did read a blog by Jane Smiley, I had to read her bio to believe it was her.) Newsvine is quite different and I feel like I am getting more accurate news and not fluff. Reddit Well I didn't like the format . I thought some of the article titles were offensive. I did bookmark a website however that finds the number one song on the day you were born. To clarify I will probably sign up for Mixx and Newsvine but not the others. Does a person really need two?

Thing 11

del.icio.us I can see how this will be an invaluable tools for me as I do much of my lesson planning at home and have a complete different set of bookmarks at work. I was able to load the buttons on Firefox and will start to use them soon. I will need to check if I need to add the buttons on my work computer also. I am not quite sure how that works.

Thing 10

I have watched the Commoncraft video and am excited to learn about Wiki's. I am also apprehensive because they make it look so easy. After Thing 9 we will see.

When I went to the SJCPL Subject guides I liked seeing a feature that the edit was for librarians only. The BookLovers Wiki from Princeton was wonderful. I will be bookmarking this one and sharing it with a few of my colleagues. (Now I am looking at this again and wondering if it is quite old?) Was it just for a special promotion and then posts stopped?
Library Success looks good but not very pretty. I guess best practices don't need to be pretty to work.
The LibraryBloggers was good. Cold Spring Elementary, CA I will indeed go back. Great information for the elementary school librarian.

Thing 9

I tried to go to the Library of Congress site to edit a famous document. Something I would like to do. The document could not be found. I tried to report the error but that didn't work either since it was a link from the Things page. I will try again to do this.
Google Docs I don't know what is going on but I didn't have permission to edit anything in the document. Same with ZOHO Writer. So I am 0 for 3. I will go to these at another time and work with them.

I am getting very good at having multiple pages open and using the Foxfire tabs correctly. Not a total loss.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Thing 7

I am reading about productivity and email. Even though I have myemail set to be delivered as it arrives -- I only check it a few times a day. My home computer is shut down and only get to my desk a few times a day at work.
I remember ICQ from my daughter and from the 8th graders at the time. I will try to set up some IM with another member of 23 Things.
I will senda text message this week to my library aide as soon as I get back to work. I have attened two Webinars and I think this is the best thing for school librarians who are "islands" that have a hard time getting away.
I did look at the Minitex Webinar page. I will sign up for one of the Webinars that they are offering.

Thing 6

Wow, did I ever like the online image generator. I can see using this to teach my library skills. I always wanted to use a set of cards to do this. I made a couple of cards and a name badge. I uploaded a badge and it worked the second time but I deleted it because it had too much personal information on it.

Thing 5

I am exploring the Flickr mashups and so far here's what it seems:
AlphaLearner - beautiful pictures but the warning makes it unusable for school because whata student would see constanlty changes. BaeBo- Difficult to use, I can shop using multiple windows open much faster. I will invesitgate these some more when I have time.

Thing 4

Yes, I explored Flickr . I added it to my iGoogle homepage. Hope I can use it next time. I seem to have difficulty going back and using the different things.