Thing 32 - Google Maps & Mashups

I played with Google Maps and created "my map" showing the places I have lived. I tried to link it to this blog post, but the html that I pasted into my blog entry did not take me to "my map"! I tried several times, unsuccessfully. Now I'm thinking maybe it needs to be added as a widget??? If you see a map of the places I have lived, you'll know I was successful. There were lots of interesting mashups - I could make one of hotels/motels and restaurants to avoid!! We could make a map that shows the locations of all our library branches (oh yes, someone already did that...)

Thing #31 More Twitter

Tweet, tweet, tweet. I've been experimenting with Twitter: I added my name to the directory, JustTweetIt. This is a good place to find people to follow. I've added a bunch of folks to follow, thanks in part to Ruth Solie's account (I looked to see who she's following - this is kind of like Delicious ,isn't it?). Anyway, thanks, Ruth! I wanted to add LoudTweeter to post a digest of tweets to my blog, but it currently does not work with Blogger. I'd like to use Twitterfox, but cannot download anything onto the computers I use. What does my Twitter page say about me??? Probably that I'm new to tweeting - hopefully that I try to make it a worthwhile activity (I don't post totally useless stuff). Right now I'm in it for what I can get out of it, but hopefully I can add some decent content, too! I check my account every few days - and I've deleted Ashton Kutcher - CNN would be much more interesting - but Ashton will probably win his little contest anyway. This is getting too long - unlike tweets ;-)
What stage am I at? I think it would be value in interaction. What is Twitter? Sharing quick tidbits that others might be interested in!

More Thing #30 - Delicious

Thing #30 More ways to use RSS and Delicious

Yes, I feel guilty about my RSS feeds - each time I go into Google Reader there are hundreds of "unreads". And I have tried to keep the feeds manageable. Now I've fed my blog to Twitter! I think Traffic.com would be great if I lived in a large city - not much use to me in northwest MN. I added rssWeather.com for the town closest to my lake home so I can keep track of potential weather threats there. Tabbloid is very cool - I think that would be fun to try.
I'll let you know about Delicious when I get that far - this is all for now. Bye.

Thing #29 - Google Tools

We are in the midst of a March blizzard so I thought this would be a good day to work on my Things. Let me say, I've learned something very important today: do not attempt to bake cookies while working on the Things. I burned most of them! Another thing I learned today: don't believe the weather widget - it says light snow and 6mph winds for Fisher - what a joke!
Google tools are great. I have the calendar on my iGoogle homepage and have added things like birthdays, anniversaries, team schedules, and some important school dates. I signed up for Google Alerts - I want to know anything about the author, Spring Warren (she wrote her first novel, Turpentine, last year - it's wonderful and I recommend it to all of you). I also signed up for a number of alerts at Alerts.com. I'm hoping my e-mail account doesn't go into overload.
Google Sites is a cool tool, not unlike PBwiki - could be very useful for a school project or adding info to my school library home page. And I was delighted to learn about Goog-411 - there have been many times when I could have used that tool (if only I'd known).

Thing #28 - Customized Home Pages

Last year I set up an iGoogle page, so I decided to stick with it, making a few revisions. I deleted a number of widgets that I'm sure I wouldn't make use of (some games, some NFL sports, and some entertainment widgets) and added some new ones that I thought would be nice to have. I added Flicker, Facebook, Twitter, and a few new games. I already had GoogleTalk and GoogleReader - just clicked "as read" the 1,000+ unread feeds!! Okay, I'm busted - I haven't made much use of GoogleReader. When I set up my iGoogle page last winter, I didn't set it as my default home page - this time around I will do that so I'll be sure to make better use of it!

Thing # 27 - Twitter

I think it took me 3 hours to read through all the links that were listed for this Thing! I've bookmarked some of the sites, and printed off some of the articles. After watching Perry Belcher's youtube video (which was very helpful) I couldn't resist watching "How Twitter Ruined My Life" - I laughed so hard I cried! It's a good example of how not to use Twitter.


I set up an account, played around with design (not very successfully, I might add), invited some friends to sign up for Twitter accounts, did some Tweeting. So far, I have a hard time picturing myself using this, especially since I don't enjoy texting on my phone. If I add a tool that lets me Tweet directly from my browser, maybe... I don't know. I will try to remember to be social, show some personality, add value/content, ask questions, etc. I didn't see much use for Facebook when I first started with that last winter, and now I go to it several times a week. Maybe Twitter will grow on me, too. BTW, if you're looking for me on Twitter, my username is sillyp. :-)

Thing #26 - Join the Ning

Thing #26 - Join the Ning

I joined Ning the first time around. I have to say I was surprised to see that our NLLN group hasn't made use of it since last April, so I started a new discussion. I think there has to be a current discussion going to get people to come to the site. I added a couple of friends, commented on Alice's picture, sent a message to Glenn, and created a Ning badge to include in my blog. I definitely think LARL employees could use a Ning group to discuss various topics - we always appreciate the chance to get together at All Staff Day to talk with one another - this is one way we could continue the conversations.

Thing #25 - Bloggers Toolkit

There were so many tools to explore - this Thing took a really long time! I chose several widgets to add to my blog, as you can see. I added a picture of an old Coast Guard station - taken from my Flickr account. I considered doing a PictureTrail, but decided not to spend any more time (since I'd already done one in an earlier post). I added a search box. I also added ClustrMaps so I can keep track of visitors to my blog from all over the world (ha ha ha). But the coolest thing I added was the automatic podcast generation, using Odiogo - this is awesome! I learned not to type in caps, because the reader reads the letters instead of the word. He/it? is a very good reader, but doesn't know how to pronounce Agassiz. Click on "listen now" and check it out for yourself!

Thing #24 - Refresh Your Blog

Here we go again! As you can see, I have not made a single entry in this blog since I completed the first 23 Things last year. I had good intentions of re-purposing my blog and adding it to my school library home page, but things have not gone the way I'd planned. My position at school was cut to .3 FTE and I've had no time to play with blogging - it's all I can do to accomplish the bare minimum. For this Thing I added a photo and a new avatar, changed some colors, but did not change the template - guess I liked what I already had. What do I like about blogging? Well, it's kind of like keeping a journal, and I have enjoyed re-reading last year's entries. I also enjoyed reading the other participants' blogs as I worked on completing those first 23 things. I commented a few times, but not very often. Does that make me a voyeur???

Thing #23 - Final Thoughts

Wow! I feel supercharged!! This was the best continuing ed experience ever. When I began this project, I wasn't really sure what Library 2.0 even was. I have learned so much. What were my favorite things? It was hard to pick just three (for the survey) - I enjoyed setting up my blog, I especially liked learning about Flickr and all the fun things I can do with photos (that included several Things), and I love LibraryThing. Those were my favorites. What really surprised me was that I actually managed to complete all of the Things before the deadline - there were times when I wondered how I'd get it all done. I'm looking forward to repurposing my blog for my school library media center next year, and I like the idea about adding my blog's URL to my e-mail signature. There were times during this project when I became frustrated because things weren't working they way they were supposed to. The newletters helped, also the comments from other participants, but it would have been nice to have had the original Thing ammended once we realized there was a problem, rather than having to wait to read the newsletters. But, hey, I managed to figure lots of stuff out all by myself, and that's part of the magic. This was an experience that, if I were to describe it in one word, was EMPOWERING. Thank you so much!

Thing #22 - What did I learn today?

It really doesn't take that much time? It really doesn't take that much time?? You must be kidding! I wish I had kept a log and kept track of the hours I've put in to getting these Things done. Maybe it doesn't take Jennifer Hootman much time, but it took me forever (at least it seems like it). Please don't get me wrong - I am not complaining - my time was well spent and I don't regret a minute of it. But it DOES take time. Going on to the other points mentioned: I know I can do it. I wasn't always so sure of this, but now I feel much more confident. And yes, it IS fun to use these tools. The need to stay informed seems obvious. At the public library I am routed the journal, Computers in Libraries. I'm supposed to read them and then send them on to the next person on the list. I used to look at the journal and think "this is Greek to me", but lately (since I started working on the 23 things) I've actually begun reading and enjoying the articles - there were some very good ones that dealt with the tools I was trying to learn to use! So this is one way I will stay informed. Webinars is another way I'll continue to learn. I feel fortunate to be part of NLLN and also the Lake Agassiz Regional Library because both of these organizations help keep me moving forward - sometimes being a school library media specialist (I don't have a para or even student helpers) is a pretty lonely business, and we DO need to support each other. I'll also make use of the groups I've joined - they'll help keep me connected to others in my profession and hopefully motivate me to keep developing my Web 2.0 skills.

Thing #21 - Beyond MySpace

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Thank you, creators of 23 Things, for introducing me to Gather and Ning - both social networks that I like a WHOLE lot more than either MySpace or Facebook. I joined Ning (23 Things Group and the NLLN 23 Things Group) and left some messages and added a picture. I had a heck of a time getting my badge into this blog!
I joined WebJunction back when it first started and I've used it to find helpful resources a number of times. I registered for a class a few months ago, but haven't had time to take it yet - as you might guess, I've been otherwise occupied with the Things!

Thing #20 - Facebook and MySpace

I joined Facebook last fall (again, so I could understand what my own kids were into) but I haven't used it too much and here's why: I have only three friends, my son and two nieces. It seems that not many people my age have Facebook accounts, and without friends, what's the point of Facebook?! I can see why it's popular - it's a great way to keep in touch with lots of friends. My son has tons of them from college, work, hometown, you name it. This way he can communicate with them all at once - how easy is that?
I joined the 23 Things on a Stick group and wrote on their wall, as well as my own wall. I looked at a number of groups - it's kind of wild to see comments from people all around the globe! I read an article recently about college libraries using Facebook - asking their student workers to be friends and hoping to grow their friends lists through them - is this a little creepy? I'm not sure I would be comfortable asking my students to be my friends on Facebook - or maybe I should say I don't think my students would like to have me for their friend. I prefer Facebook to MySpace for personal use, but when I observe people on computers at our public library, they're all using MySpace, so there's a real market there - I think the people using computer libraries to access the Internet are more likely MySpace users - the Facebook users are probably accessing it from home or school (of course, never from work :-)). One obvious thing it could be used for is simply to announce (advertise) what's going on at the library - programs and events. That would be a start.

Thing #19 - Podcasts

I listened to a number of interesting podcasts. From the St. Cloud State School Media podcasts, I listened to an interview with Wanda Erickson, who is both a public and school librarian in northeastern MN. It was like deja vu listening to her describe her dual hat-wearing (since I do the same thing). I also listened to several MPR podcasts: The Morning Show skits with Dale Connelly and Jim Ed Poole, and also NPR Booktalk, which I added to my RSS account. The directories were all pretty easy to search. I even found a podcast that teaches you Spanish at Podcast Alley - it's called "Coffee Break Spanish" (also avaialable for French and who knows what else?)! And Gcast almost makes it tempting to give podcast creation a try.

Thing #18 - You Tube

Thing #17 - ELM Productivity Tools

I expected this to be easy, and it wasn't. I was unsuccessful with the RSS feed from the Student Edition. I WAS able to begin to create a Web page using Page Composer in EBSCO, entered some text, but got stuck trying to set the background (or I should say the computer got stuck setting the background). Following directions in Proquest went fairly well - I e-mailed and downloaded the items I'd marked from my search. I should add that a couple of years ago I signed up for a Booklist alert in EBSCO, but after a few months I cancelled it - this was not the way I wanted to read reviews! I have created an account in NetLibrary and did the suggested tasks there. Cool.
How would I apply these tools in my everyday work? I would like to try creating a Web page for my 6th graders' history research assignments - but maybe a wikki would be easier??? As far as setting up RSS feeds, I don't care to use this myself, but I suppose it would be useful to be able to show someone else how it can be done - which goes to the next question: how can these tools facilitate collaboration with colleagues? If I can show them how to do something they don't already know how to do, that impresses them and they see me as someone that they might want to work more with. I don't see my students setting up RSS feeds to Student Edition anytime soon! But it's much more likely that a demo of NetLibrary would impress and help them.

Thing #16 - Student 2.0 Tools

Finally something I'm familiar with! I have a link to the Research Project Calculator from my library's home page and I have presented it at a couple of teacher staff development sessions. Teachers are impressed with it - I even had a third grade teacher ask about using it with her class on one of their projects. RPC offers wonderful support materials for teachers to print off and share with their students. I appreciate that it leads both the teacher and the student through the research process, and it emphasizes the importance of making use of the services of the library media specialist (we want to be included, too!). I wonder if I could have used this to help me schedule the completing of these 23 Things?! Unfortunately, like some students, I work best under pressure. :-)

Thing #15 - Online Games & Libraries

Ahoy, matey! Witch Baby has been born! Yes, I played Puzzle Pirates. It took a while to download, but then I was off to some tropical island, then on a ship learning to bilge and carpent. I was better at bilging that carpenting. Would I spend much time playing this game? Nope. It's not bad, but I had a hard time reading what the other players were saying. Besides, I prefer to play by myself - I work with people all day - I'd more likely play a computer game to escape from people! But the game site was very attractive and I can imagine that it would be quite appealing to anyone who enjoys this kind of activity. At school our students aren't allowed access to games (unless staff specifically requests a game be unblocked). At the public library, this is what lots of people (especially young people) are doing on our computers. They're chatting, in MySpace, or playing online games. So it's something we need to be familiar with. If we had someone with the expertise and willingness, we could offer a gaming club for the kids - I think it would be a hit.