Thing 16, Week 7

I set up my first wiki and called it SJA Library Wiki (that's original). After looking at some of the other wiki examples, I can foresee all kinds of possibilities. So far, I've just added two basic links on the navigation bar of the wiki. I've looked at lots of the wiki links and I especially like the wiki developed concerning "library best practices". It is expertly organized and has lots of great information. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be to have experienced librarians collaborating on a site to give all the rest of us a point of reference. I also love the open World Cat. I have it set up as a gadget on my iGoogle page for Library Stuff. It is a wonderful reading reference tool and an example of what a collaborative catalog could look like.

The "Blogging Libraries" wiki was interesting in that it basically created categories of libraries and then provided links to those library blogs under each category. So the wiki was acting in this case as another 2.0 organizational tool. I also really liked the "library instruction" wiki and the idea of not recreating the wheel every time you need some new ideas for library instruction. Most of the topics treated on this wiki were designed for college level instruction but could be adapted to the high school level. The article "Using Wikis to Create Online Communities" was also very helpful with ideas for wiki use in libraries. I can see a lot of possibilities in terms of a wiki as an organizational tool. I was wondering if any school library automation systems have the ability yet to use wiki applications in the OPAC??? To me, that would be the "best use" of a wiki tool in the library as it would allow students to add their own reviews, we could add book cover art, and probably set up categories and tags for specific genres.

Thing 15, Week 6

I read pretty much all of the articles with the exception of the Horizons Report (a little overwhelming for right now). I really like Dr. Wendy Schultz's article entitled "A temporary place in time" the best as it really summed up what everyone else had to say. Libraries have really always been a collaborative community if run the right way and librarians have pretty much always seen themselves as instruments of communication and service if they were any kind of a librarian. I think the library will remain as a physical place because it is a "community" and will remain a gathering place not only for patrons but for ideas and collaborative effort within whatever community or communities it serves.

All of the articles pointed to the importance of such collaboration in the future of libraries and an open mindedness on the part of library administrators to the dissemination of information in a variety of formats. School librarians I think have been particularly aware of this need because of our desire to see not only the physical facilities of the library in use by students but all of the resources we work so hard to place in their hands being used as well. Libraries and librarians have always pointed the way and will continue to do so as long as we are willing to be open to the input of those we serve.

Thing 14, Week 6

I joined Technorati and claimed my blog. Did the search on school library learning 2.0 and compared the results for posts and blogs. Obviously, the posts are more specific and the list for blogs was just descriptive of each blog. The posts right now have a lot to do with the launch of School Library Journal's 23 Things online tutorial. I think that's great so more people can get through this stuff. I haven't seen the "tag" search entry for this search yet.I was able to add two Technorati gadgets to my iGoogle pages. I added the Technorati RSS that displays the Technorati "Front Page" titles and I also added a tag tracker gadget that tracks whatever posts have been added regarding whatever tag you are currently tracking.

I can see where tracking blogs and keeping up with them in certain subject areas could be helpful in terms of some research applications but I'm concerned that the overwhelming amount of information may be difficult for students to sort through along with searching information with true authority. It would be interesting though to see how they did after they were armed with some good information about a particular subject and then let loose to track some blogs using tags that relate to the subject they are researching.

In terms of "tagging", I think it can be a great idea but unlike library cataloging, tagging is going to be very subjective. Everyone may have their own idea of what kind of tag a post should have and if you add in slang, dialects, and even the age differences in the people doing the tagging, it might not always be the best way to find information. However, that said, tagging could be a place to start or as I said above, a place to compare your own research with the research of others whether good or bad.

Rollyo page finally, Thing 12

Lung Cancer Info
Well, I finally got the information to get the link to my Rollyo page...they certainly don't make that very easy. Sandra Delgado helped me out quite a bit although we both still don't understand why the Rollyo creators have made everything so simple except finding the link to the page you have created!!!

I also created a searchroll for Pride and Prejudice because that is the kind of application I can see using it for in the library. The Rollyo searchroll could easily be embedded in a digital pathfinder on our web site for access during specific research projects. My Lung Cancer Info page was for my own benefit since that is the disease that I'm dealing with, but what an opportunity to present your own small level of expertise to others. Now that I've figured out how to post the link (getting the searchscroll icon from Rollyo on the blog was easy), this tool will be a wonderful one to use for all concerned in the academic setting: library, faculty and students.

Week 6, Thing 13

Already starting to find great sites by just exploring SJLibraryLearning2.
I saw a great one for developing lesson plans, another application for building you own templates to use in other 2.0 applications, and right now I'm downloading a video link for info from a guy who maintains a site called "Library Thingtims".

Looked around at the Delicious account set up by the SJL Library and could see all kinds of applications. I want to experiment with the tag bundle application that I saw on their page. I have set up my account but unfortunately I'm working on a wireless network right now that is not very fast so I gave up trying to set up my bookmarks for now. I would like to set up a network badge for my library web page for easy access for my students to an account or accounts for just the library. I'm wondering though if I will have to do some in-service and class instruction on the use of tags. (Yay!! I got my first two sites bookmarked finally...this network is slow...)

I found a great article about social bookmarking from Library Journal while I was looking at the SJL delicious page. I did a search of the tag "bookmarking" as suggested and found the article. It says just about everything there is to say about the positive benefits of using a social bookmarking tool like delicious. The most important aspect I think of utilizing this tool as the article points out is the lowering of barriers to the patron in participating in the addition of information to the library. If the Library web page included tag clouds or delicious accounts for various research projects, it would also encourage patrons (faculty and students) to create their own delicious accounts and develop information pathways for their own and others use.

Of course being able to access your bookmarks from any computer is wonderful. I have lost mine so many times that I hate to admit. Also, being able to share the sites you've found with others is a great opportunity. I've found so much just in the couple of hours I've spent tooling around delicious and the SJL delicious account for 2.0. I did add the del.icio.us icons to the toolbar on my laptop since Mozilla supports the add on. It's great!

Nings

I have decided to revisit Nings. After reading posts on other people's blogs, I think I missed a whole lot.

Also, I'm having problems with my Rollyo account. I set up the searchroll with no problem but I do not see how everyone gets a search field with just the name you set up appearing and then the profile at at the bottom for the creator. I've got it set up but when I access it, it doesn't look like everybody else's. What am I doing wrong?

Nings, Thing 11

I joined the Ning called Spill. I thought this would be a fun one to join since it has to do with fun movie reviews. The site posts reviews in a comical fashion from embedded videos to their own creations. Their motto is "if it's crap, we'll tell you". Can't get anymore honest than that!

I was really hoping to find more of a definition of what a "ning" actually is. I understand the premise of the application but I was looking for more like the Common Craft explanation of how RSS feeds work in Plain English. Even on the Ning site, there is no explanation that I can see.

I did the Travel IQ part of the Discovery exercise and that was a lot of fun. One could spend a lot of time playing that game. I did the cities of Europe and did not get enough points to go on to the next level!! I was close, but no cigar. I really need to get more familiar with a European map now that everything has changed in Eastern Europe because that's mostly where I messed up.

Week 5, Thing 11

I finally figured out how to insert a screen shot!!! I pasted the screen to a Power Point slide and then saved the slide as a jpeg which you can insert into the blog. Yay!

I took a look at the site called Swivel
It has some great possibilities. Below I copied and pasted the explanation for how it works below and of course, above, is a screen shot from Swivel showing a graph that someone created using an image as the background template. The visual aspects for presentations and implied meaning to the presentation seem to be limitless. An interesting graph too in light of our own blogging. Click on the picture and check out the data for blogging.

It would be a great place to pass along to faculty and instruct students in the library and classroom on its potential applications. Basically, it allows you to upload your data and create your own graphs and spreadsheets. You can also add images and share the information with others. WOW!

There are sample graphs to look at to get ideas under different subject tabs like Science, Entertainment, etc. I'm thinking it would be fun to create a graph of circulation stats or even a graph at the end of the year illustrating library usage during the school year for presentation to administration.

Explore

I'll know it when I see it.

• Compare data from multiple sources.
• Sort & Filter data according to simple criteria.
• Map geographical data.
• Plot pie, bar, scatter and line graphs.
• Download data into a spreadsheet for analysis

  Share

  Eureka! I've found it.

• eMail graphs to friends and colleagues.
• Blog data and graphs.
• Bling your graphs by choosing a background image
  

Upload

I have data to be analyzed.

• Upload & Update data from a spreadsheet.
• Copy & Paste data from the Web.
• Integrate data from Google Spreadsheets

Week 5, Thing 10

Okay, this was a lot of fun! I think it would be great to create stuff for reading promotion contests and put it on your website or produce posters, signs, etc. to plaster the library and displays with a lot of panache. There is a great place to go called ImageGenerator.org that has links to lots of different applications. I bookmarked it on my Library Stuff iGoogle tab so I can access all of them. Even if you had to buy some of the posters you could produce, it would be well worth it to customize the library or classroom. The kids will eat it up.

I can also see possibilities for the students using these applications as well in producing their own book covers, signs to go along with projects or very customized slides for their presentations. As you can see, in my blog posts, I used Myspace Picture Generator and Comic Strip Generator.

Library Stuff, Thing 9

One of the sites I have set up on my iGoogle Library page as an RSS feed is Library Stuff and is a weblog maintained by Information Today. It's just a good place to keep up with stuff that could make a difference in the library. Another site I really like that has an RSS is the Shifted Librarian. It's a fun site to look at and it has some great ideas. It's basically another blog but the links to other blogs are great and the page is maintained with a great sense of humor, very empowering to librarians. I have also added Unshelved, Librarian's Internet Index, librarian.net, LISNews, and the things mentioned in the earlier posts.

Any of the search tools worked well for the specific areas I tried. I think I liked the Google search tool the best for blogs as it wasn't as subject specific. If I needed something to do with current events, I might go for Topix or Technorati. But, in a way, the blogging like all other information portals can become overwhelming in terms of the information one might have to sort through. I could spend way too much time doing this. Another interesting place to look for blogs is Blogdigger which searches blogs not only by subject but by geographic location. I put in several searches using my zip code but didn't come up with anything. I think in a larger metropolitan area, it would be very helpful.

Week 4, Thing 8

I had already been doing some stuff with RSS feeds because I have been spending time this summer setting up my iGoogle pages. You can set up your own personalized home page and then add tabs for different subjects. I set up the Google reader on my "Library Stuff" tab of iGoogle and have already added the infodoodads RSS to it so I can get updates since I thought that was such a great site. I've been trying to figure out a way to upload the screen for that particular iGoogle page that I've set up to my blog because it also shows the other RSS feeds I've linked to having to do with library issues. iGoogle is great if anyone else hasn't tried it. I don't understand why we can't do attachments to these postings. I can't find an "add an element" to page choice that allows you to just upload a word document. I have my iGoogle screen pasted to that.

On my iGoogle "News" tab, I added the following news feeds: Time, Newsweek, and People magazines. I also added Scientific American, Psychology Today, PC Magazine and The Economist. The neat thing about iGoogle is that you can add the feeds in separate text boxes or you can set up the Google Reader to get the feeds. In terms of the library, I think there all sorts of opportunities here especially in collaborating with other faculty members who may be working with their classes on current events. You could set up the feed on your library web page along with a digital pathfinder for a specific class project or ongoing discussion of current issues.

I'm going to publish now since I'm working on this during Hurricane Dolly and I don't want to lose it...so, I may be doing a lot of short postings today!!!

Week 3, Thing 7

I've been spending time on the infodoodads site and explored several different places. Probably have spent too much time here, but it is too much fun. I tried working with a site called Book Sprouts but the site seems to be having problems since everything I have tried to set up on the site is not working. It is a site for creating and managing book clubs which includes discussion, voting on books and making nominations for the next book to read. I think this will make a great tool on our web page because we never have enough time during our book club meetings for the kids to talk about everything they want to talk about, also, I think it will give kids who never say anything but that I know are reading the books an opportunity to speak their minds. I'm going to keep working on it.

I also spent some time on a site called Zoomi which is basically on online bookstore where you can actually browse the shelves!! It is connected to Amazon so when you want to make a purchase, you can add it to your cart in Zoomi and then when you are ready to check out, it will take you to Amazon to place your order. It is a "mash up" of the first order and would make another great link from the library's web page maybe in the same section with the Book Club.

Wikipedia articles

I read the Wikipedia articles this morning on mash ups...very interesting. One of those situations where you feel overwhelmed by information. I really want to experiment some more with these applications, hopefully before finishing this course.

Trading card

Thanks for all the great comments. I like how my card turned out. I can think of lots of other applications using the cards. I did it while I was getting my latest chemo treatment at MD Anderson so that inspired me quite a bit. I love that picture.

Week 3, Thing 6

Thing 6, Week 3 Red Rose

red rose
Originally uploaded by flyin' hawaiian

Here's a picture I found using the mashup tool Flickr Color Picker. I've been playing with the Mappr tool as well but haven't quite gotten it figured out yet. I guess this tool would be good if you needed to find some particular color for a presentation or to create a template in other applications. I couldn't see yet where you could take all the photos the Color Picker found and create something. I love this picture.

Wee Westie's Domain

Wee Westie's Domain
Originally uploaded by Randy Son Of Robert

This is my week 3, thing 5 post. I loved this photo on flickr because it reminds me of my Westie! My Westie's name is Sophie and she is just 7 months old. My first Westie, Maggie, passed away last year at the age of 10. They are great dogs...smart, affectionate, and very fierce. They are so much fun because they are little dogs who think they are big dogs. Sophie has a big brother in the house who is a Basset Hound named Hunter. His long ears and tail are a constant target for her sharp little teeth, but they have a wonderful time romping in the backyard. I saw where the owner of this Westie had created his own calendar of picture with his dog on Flickr. I can see so many possibilities using this site. I'm having a hard time thinking about moving on!

avatar, week 2

thanks for the advice from esc 1! I was going to the wrong "add on" in the customize application. Of course it makes perfect sense now. That was really frustrating the other night. On to the next thing!

Week 2

I really enjoyed composing the avatar, but I'm having problems posting it correctly to the blog. So far, I've only added it as a post. I'm seeing the process, but somehow missing a step! I'm tired right now so I'm going go come back to this tomorrow.

Week 1

As far as the 71/2 habits, I think the most difficult one for me would be #3: View problems as challenges. I've recently had a lot of experience with that on another level, but I still think I'll have a hard time remembering that when I'm trying to set up goals and accomplish them in the lifelong learning process.

The easiest for me would be #7: Teach and mentor others. I feel like I've been doing that most of my life. It just seems to come naturally.

I really enjoyed setting up the avatar. Can't wait to change the appearance, etc.

Librarian

A new place

I want to set up an inviting blog space for my students and faculty to use, especially for my book club.