I did it!!!!!
Kissimmee Crackers Softball
16 years ago
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thing 22: Staying Current
Life Long Learning.
I am truly grateful to have learned about these tools which I can use to continue learning and keeping up with world, life, technology, and library changes. However, I do need to say that 15 minutes a day is not enough time. Now I admit the RSS feeds make sorting through news of changes a little more accessible, but even though I am only subscribed to 4 feeds it takes time to go through all the "headlines" without reading the content. My account overflows......
Asking myself every day "What did I learn today" is the best idea! Adding this to my routine will definitely help my life long learning. I'm psyched to keep exploring.........
I am truly grateful to have learned about these tools which I can use to continue learning and keeping up with world, life, technology, and library changes. However, I do need to say that 15 minutes a day is not enough time. Now I admit the RSS feeds make sorting through news of changes a little more accessible, but even though I am only subscribed to 4 feeds it takes time to go through all the "headlines" without reading the content. My account overflows......
Asking myself every day "What did I learn today" is the best idea! Adding this to my routine will definitely help my life long learning. I'm psyched to keep exploring.........
Thing 21: Student 2.0 Things
I love both these tools. I think library staff as well as teachers and even parents are all aware of the last minute "I need to research topic X for a paper due tomorrow........
Providing links to these tools and promoting them is a great service library's can provide for students. The Teach Guide provides great tips for teaching the tool. Let's create a presentation introducing the use of these tools and take it on the road: !st to a Teacher's meeting so the Teachers are aware of it and then into the classroom to introduce it directly to the students.......
Providing links to these tools and promoting them is a great service library's can provide for students. The Teach Guide provides great tips for teaching the tool. Let's create a presentation introducing the use of these tools and take it on the road: !st to a Teacher's meeting so the Teachers are aware of it and then into the classroom to introduce it directly to the students.......
Thing 20: Books 2.0
Wow is this a lot to cover! Why does it have to be paper books vs e books? I think the future holds both and that what is important is that reading, culture, literature, etc continue. The format is not so important: a love of learning, of reading, and of life long learning is what is important (no matter what format we do it in).
I enjoyed my quick tour of many of these book 2.0 ways for sharing the love of books and reading. Books on my phone is a category that I will not be using personally, but will continue to be aware of in order to serve those for whom this is style of connectivity is important. (If we all have different learning styles, I suppose that we all have different communicating styles too: so it is important to be familiar with this technology.) I looked at DailyLit and at Twitterlit. I'm still not a Twitterer, but this Book 2.0 phone game is fun! It reminds me of the podcast "Who Said Literature Game" that I loved so much in the podcasting thing. Getting daily literature sent directly to an individual's phone can be great for those on the go -- if a book's not handy but your phone is this is a great way to keep reading.....
In the Reader's Advisory section, I already use What Do I Read Next (as well as Novelist). So I looked at Reading Trails. I liked it, but it needs to grow: The idea is cool and if anyone had read anything I read to get me started down trails, I would probably never stop. However, too few people (so far) are participating and they don't the same types of things I read (despite my very eclectic reading tastes). I'll keep checking back, who knows, maybe I'll start my own trail -- I like the idea of being a trail blazer.....
I looked at several of the online book communities and am glad to be aware of them but personally will stick with LibraryThing and Goodreads.com.
Book group resources was a wonderful selection of resources. I glanced at each of them and thought that they were very helpful and informative. My absolute favorite, however, was Open Culture. It includes lists (plural lists) of FREE online courses! Oh I will be using this site the rest of my life........
The Book Reviews selection I was less enthused with. I already use several book review sites that were not included in this list. I like the ones I'm using better. Of course I get to them through my bookmarks on my computer at work and I am currently at home so what are the sites I use? Powell's is the only one I remember. But I also just do a google search with the book title in quotes followed by the word review and often find the odd gem that way.
I enjoyed my quick tour of many of these book 2.0 ways for sharing the love of books and reading. Books on my phone is a category that I will not be using personally, but will continue to be aware of in order to serve those for whom this is style of connectivity is important. (If we all have different learning styles, I suppose that we all have different communicating styles too: so it is important to be familiar with this technology.) I looked at DailyLit and at Twitterlit. I'm still not a Twitterer, but this Book 2.0 phone game is fun! It reminds me of the podcast "Who Said Literature Game" that I loved so much in the podcasting thing. Getting daily literature sent directly to an individual's phone can be great for those on the go -- if a book's not handy but your phone is this is a great way to keep reading.....
In the Reader's Advisory section, I already use What Do I Read Next (as well as Novelist). So I looked at Reading Trails. I liked it, but it needs to grow: The idea is cool and if anyone had read anything I read to get me started down trails, I would probably never stop. However, too few people (so far) are participating and they don't the same types of things I read (despite my very eclectic reading tastes). I'll keep checking back, who knows, maybe I'll start my own trail -- I like the idea of being a trail blazer.....
I looked at several of the online book communities and am glad to be aware of them but personally will stick with LibraryThing and Goodreads.com.
Book group resources was a wonderful selection of resources. I glanced at each of them and thought that they were very helpful and informative. My absolute favorite, however, was Open Culture. It includes lists (plural lists) of FREE online courses! Oh I will be using this site the rest of my life........
The Book Reviews selection I was less enthused with. I already use several book review sites that were not included in this list. I like the ones I'm using better. Of course I get to them through my bookmarks on my computer at work and I am currently at home so what are the sites I use? Powell's is the only one I remember. But I also just do a google search with the book title in quotes followed by the word review and often find the odd gem that way.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thing 18: Social Networking
Well, this proves it: I'm officially old . For this Thing I signed up for Facebook. Sign up was easy but tedious: All that friend searching and not one person from either of my high schools is on Facebook. Only one of my email contacts has a Facebook page (of course we already stay in touch by email...). I must be antiquated.......
I created a Myspace account a while back getting ready for Teen Tech Week. I learned to create skins, friend people, etc. I don't see the point for myself personally, but professionally I'm glad to know about this so I can help patrons be aware of Internet safety practices as well as be of some technical assistance if needed.
I do think it is important to have a Library presence on social networks because this is where many people do lots of communicating and networking. Having a library presence in the social networks is another important way for us to reach out and serve our worldwide communities.
I created a Myspace account a while back getting ready for Teen Tech Week. I learned to create skins, friend people, etc. I don't see the point for myself personally, but professionally I'm glad to know about this so I can help patrons be aware of Internet safety practices as well as be of some technical assistance if needed.
I do think it is important to have a Library presence on social networks because this is where many people do lots of communicating and networking. Having a library presence in the social networks is another important way for us to reach out and serve our worldwide communities.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thing 17 Podcasting
I tried the Educational Podcast directory first. It was an easy to browse directory and I immediately found this incredible podcast: "Who Said A Literature Game Delivered as a Podcast." It's great fun to listen to the passage and guess the character speaking, the novel, and the author. Each Podcast begins with the answer to the previous passage and a listing of participants who guessed correctly. I love it.....
I then tried Podcast.com. Browsing was a little confusing at first as I did not immediately understand the "Channels." I did find a directory in the lower right quadrant that I found easier to navigate, but was having a hard time finding an interesting (to me) topic to listen to. So I tried the search feature. Bingo! I tried PBS and got lots of interesting choices and then tried NPR and got more. NPR's Florida Stories podcast is great!
Podcastalley.com was easy to browse. I didn't find anything new and exciting, but that could be because its getting late and I'm tired. I went back and found some great podcasts here as well and still find the browsing and searching very intuitive.
However, I give up: I cannot figure out how to put the great podcasts i found onto this blog. So I will insert links to the podcast sites so you all can try them out from the podcast home pages. Sorry I can't get a click and go version inserted into my blog.
Thing 16: YouTube
Wow, I have always wanted to see the Auroraa Borealis!! Great video!!!!
It was fun searching YouTube for something that would be both visually and audibly stunning. I wasn't sure what I was looking for so I searched keywords such as caves, whalesong, space, and then found videos on the Northern Lights and had to share one. This is my favorite of the ones I viewed because I enjoy both the music and the pictures.
Interms of using YouTube for the library, anything that inspires creativity is wonderful as far as I'm conscerned. I would love to have teen challenges allowing teens to submit thier own youtube creations to be placed on our branch web page. And wouldn't it be great for local history projects to create YouTube shorts of local seniors sharing a favorite memory of our local heritage?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Thing 15: Rollyo
Well this is truely cool! I created a search engine of my favorite Arthurian Legend sites titles Arthuriana. This could be a great tool for us to coordinate with school projects -- if the teacher let us know what is being assigned we could set up a rollyo search engine for that class to use! We couls also use it with our teen advisory board for special projects. I love this!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
thing 14: Online Productivity Tools
I already have an I-google page that I set up back in Nov 2008. Not sure how it relates to productivity but maybe I missed the point: I have several game widgets like hangman and several weather watch cities. I never use it at work, but it is nice to log in using my laptop while at the airport waiting.....
RSS feeds are great because I am finding news that I would have missed without the feeds, however, does this actually increase my productivity? While finding out about these tidbits is enriching my life, only one has related directly to work (so far).
I am thrilled to have found ZAMZAR!!!!
We often have patrons come to use our computers because their printer or computer crashed and they bring in their .wps or .docz document and our computers don't read those files. Now with ZAMZAR I will o longer have to search for converting sites, I'll just know where to get it done without searching each time!!!! Productivity Yeah!!!!
RSS feeds are great because I am finding news that I would have missed without the feeds, however, does this actually increase my productivity? While finding out about these tidbits is enriching my life, only one has related directly to work (so far).
I am thrilled to have found ZAMZAR!!!!
We often have patrons come to use our computers because their printer or computer crashed and they bring in their .wps or .docz document and our computers don't read those files. Now with ZAMZAR I will o longer have to search for converting sites, I'll just know where to get it done without searching each time!!!! Productivity Yeah!!!!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thing 13: Library Thing
Well, this was easy, since I discovered GoodReads for Thing 12 and already set things up there. I added several more books in Library Thing than I did Goodreads and within 2 days someone marked on of my reviews as being very helpful. I started out with 7 books and then added 5 more 2 days later. I like both sites.
We could use Library Thing Or Good Reads with our Teen Advisory Board for them to post book reviews and link back to the branch website or the teen blog (once it gets going). I am going to recommend both sites to the Reading Circle and maybe we can set up our own online group....
We could use Library Thing Or Good Reads with our Teen Advisory Board for them to post book reviews and link back to the branch website or the teen blog (once it gets going). I am going to recommend both sites to the Reading Circle and maybe we can set up our own online group....
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thing 12: Wiki
While I already knew what a Wiki is and held some opinions about them before starting this thing, I confess I like them a little better now that I have explored them more thoroughly. Before I was leery of wiki content because I could not fathom how authority could be verified and how anyone could know the information found was legit. (For example the big Wikipedia headlines recently about fake quotes making it into the mainstream news.) I realize using the World Wide Web could also be chancy if you do not use critical thinking skills and check out the authority, currency, etc of a website. However, at least this kind of checking is doable, if you take the time.
I still don't like getting my information based on popularity or from the unnamed masses, but I can now see some uses for wikis even big popular ones. Big ones that allow individuals to review & recommend books, or movies, etc might be fun. Small ones within an organization could be useful for sharing ideas, for working specific projects, or for building communication within an organization.
I signed up to Goodreads.com a social networking wiki site that allows individuals to review and recommend books, link to friends, and discuss all things books. I posted one review about John Connelly's The Book of Lost Things. After one day, no one has commented back, but I think I will continue to use this site so eventually things will get moving!
I signed up to Goodreads.com a social networking wiki site that allows individuals to review and recommend books, link to friends, and discuss all things books. I posted one review about John Connelly's The Book of Lost Things. After one day, no one has commented back, but I think I will continue to use this site so eventually things will get moving!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thing 11: Social Media
I looked at all 4 suggested sites and found Mixx to be the most intuitive to use. Diggit was also pretty easy to navigate. I searched each site using keywords like "Welsh Corgi" "Arthurian Legend" "web 2.0" and "Everquest." Then I tried more obvious keywords like "Obama" and "economy." I then went on to "Library" as a key word.
In none of my searching did I find an article of interest that I hadn't already found using my RSS (Google Reader) or my regular news searching. I'm afraid I just do not get the point of these sites. I do not see how I could use them for home or work. Sorry.
And then I tried looking at the comments. Since no 2 people are going to agree 100 % of the time on 100% everything, I expected to see discussion and perhaps some disagreement. I saw some limited foul language and disrespect. I also noticed a lot of people expressing their own opinions, but noticed little of people thoughtfully "listening" to differing opinions before voicing what they thought. I was not comfortable with the quality of the "discussions" taking place via comment. I guess maybe I don't trust "popularity" to tell me what's important. Maybe it's that road less traveled thing.....
I guess if you're looking for what's popular, trendy, or outlandish these are the places to search. I can't say that I'll be using these tools, though.
In none of my searching did I find an article of interest that I hadn't already found using my RSS (Google Reader) or my regular news searching. I'm afraid I just do not get the point of these sites. I do not see how I could use them for home or work. Sorry.
And then I tried looking at the comments. Since no 2 people are going to agree 100 % of the time on 100% everything, I expected to see discussion and perhaps some disagreement. I saw some limited foul language and disrespect. I also noticed a lot of people expressing their own opinions, but noticed little of people thoughtfully "listening" to differing opinions before voicing what they thought. I was not comfortable with the quality of the "discussions" taking place via comment. I guess maybe I don't trust "popularity" to tell me what's important. Maybe it's that road less traveled thing.....
I guess if you're looking for what's popular, trendy, or outlandish these are the places to search. I can't say that I'll be using these tools, though.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
