Thing #16

I plan to use wikis in the library this school year. I have never set one up before, but I will practice doing so before school begins. I need a wiki for my Name That Book team to list which books they have read and to comment on them. I may use a rating system and add a comment page. They will love doing this. I have a debate coach who is always looking for sources that the group can share. I can set up a wiki for her to have students post these sources. Having my own librarian wiki will enable me to share ideas and resources with staff and students. I e-mail staff a weekly newsletter, and it seems that as soon as I click that send button, I discover something else that I want to share. I don’t want to send multiple e-mails to clutter up the in boxes. If I had a well organized wiki, I could add to it and teach patrons to search the wiki for help and information. I really liked Meredith Gorran Farkas’ comments on wikis. She makes clear that a wiki must have a specific purpose and some sort of structure so that people will feel comfortable posting. She also gives a suggestion for a spam filter to use:

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2005/07/05/ala-wiki-what-i-learned-and-what-im-doing-with-it/

Thing #15

Library 2.0 clearly means that the librarian bases all plans on what the users need and want. To effectively use the new technologies, librarians must be constantly learning. Michael Stephens' article gives 6 of the most important traits of the 2.0 Librarian : http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm I like his comment: "This librarian creates and nurtures a living, breathing technology plan." His comments promote a sense of urgency in the reader to work hard to learn more about web 2.0 tools.

I also learned a lot from the blog that "teacher Ka-blog!" posted : http://tametheweb.com/2008/06/26/what-is-school-library-20/ This blog makes concrete how the library uses web 2.0. I particularly liked the observation that web 2.0 tools enable students to collaborate on real world problems like global warming....

Librarians must embrace fully the web 2.0. It is their responsibility to implement technology that "create(s)a useful service for putting users together with the information and experience they seek (Michael Stephens in his web 2.0 blog)

Thing #14

1. I used the advanced search option and typed in the tags area. I found a blog of someone in our Library 2.0. I did not find anything else that I thought was useful to me. The blog directory just led to sites that gave very little useful information. I don't think I understand yet how this search works. Previously, I have read some helpful blogs, but when searching for facts and relevant information within a reasonable time frame, I think I would do better with experts and professionals, as opposed to "the "human experience--raw and uncut."



2. This site was not helpful to me. I did not find helpful information on any of my searches. If I had unlimited time, and the inclination to connect with people I do not know, I might enjoy spending time reading blogs. I think Technorati is beyond my current tech skills too.



3. I attempted to "claim" my blog but the e-mail verification did not work. I did send an e-mail to the contact desk and will wait to see if I hear from them. I still do not understand widgets or pings either--maybe in my next life, this site will make sense to me. I do not see using this site in my library.

Thing #13

1. I love the idea of social bookmarking. Sharing sites someone thought were good on a subject helps the next person. I found some great ones on the subjects I searched on Del.icio.us.



2. The tags worked well in my professional field. Teachers could use these tags to find lesson plans and other information in their subject.



3. Del.icio.us offers an easy tool to add bookmarks. I also like the fact that you can tag with subject headings and add notes. That you can "carry these bookmarks with you" by logging in at another computer makes it preferrable to just bookmarking on your local browser. This is a great tool for sharing research with classmates. It is an easy tool to teach too. I also liked Furl (although the tutorial is more tedious to watch), and I liked Ma.gnolia, which has a nice, clean interface. I found a great site where teachers can post their class notes so that absent students can go to them at any time. It came up on one of the popular lists (I think).
http://www.classnotesonline.com/

Thing #12

1. I loved Cool Cat's observation, "(Commenting) is like having a vote on the topic." When you vote you release power to make a difference. So I think our responses to blogs can add credibility to the writer--or as cited in some of comments--change or modify a writer's point of view. Another point Cool Cat makes is that commenting gives credibility to your own blog. This reminds me that I need to work on my profile. I don't need to give out personal information, but I need to development an identity to connect with readers. The 3rd point I saw that I would like comment on is the book Here Comes Everybody, which observes that technology is changing the way we form groups: "people given tools to do things together without needing traditional organizational structures." What an awesome insight.



2. I am used to responding to my "circle of wise" internet community. There is something in me that wants to respond to someone who has somehow inspired me, taught me something, or showed such a generous spirit that I must send out a response and say, "Hey, I hear you, or thank you, or yes! keep at it, you can do it!" I will continue to keep responding--and try to adhere to those suggestions to be specific, to add knowledge and ideas, to encourage.



3. I will add to this request as I move through the 23 Things experience.

Thing #11

I joined LibraryThing and joined one of the groups. I plan to edit my profile to change my user name. This option is not currently working, but I will keep checking. When I change my username, I will add more to my profile and add a review to a couple of the books in my library collection. I got hooked reading some of the talk postings. In fact, I found the group I joined through a comment on a post. I see lots of possibilities in this site. I will set up a group this fall for my Name That Books students to share their comments on the books they have read.

Thing #10

1. No longer will Microsoft clip art be the main source of my graphics for the weekly newsletter I send to the staff. I had fun with all of the Discovery Resources as well as ones I found along the way. The easiest to use was Comic Strip Generator. Here are two I did with this link: http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/

2-3. I also loved Custom Sign Generator as it led me to Glitter text, then to Warning Sign generator. My high school students like this sort of graphic. Here is the link to the warning sign generator: http://www.dangersigngenerator.com/

This map marking Iran and and Afghanistan comes from Big Huge Labs' Map maker: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php

I was able to save all of these images in a folder I have on my desktop then import them into my blog--very easy.

4. In addition to using these image generators in my newsletters, I will share these sites with staff and students, who will be able to use these for their own projects. I think the Big-Huge Labs will be very helpful for their many projects.