What I Learned Today

Today I learned more about Facebook. I received a notification of a new friend through my email account. It will be fun to see how this new mode of communication works for me.
I also checked out Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog. The latest topic was copyright and music. The question posed focused on the use of music in a graduating class' end of the year video. Food for thought. Doug gave some great suggestions on how to deal with the issue. I liked his idea of media specialists being copyright counselors rather than copyright cops...much easier to work with other staff if you are giving advice.

Thing 23

The last task.... As I mentioned in my entry for Thing 22, this was a great experience for me. I needed to be brought up to speed on what was happening with libraries and technology. It was difficult to find the time to complete the program, but it was definitely worth the effort. I did most of the tasks at home. The benefit of doing it at night and weekends are that I could share the skills with my family, too. They really enjoyed the custom image generators. I enjoyed learning about something new and then sharing it the next day with my colleagues. I look forward to going back and spending more time on the new things that I learned. Thanks for an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Thing 22

My resolution to keep up with Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools
The 23 Things on a Stick process has been very rewarding. Not only did I do a lot of research and learning new tools, but I found a whole new network of people willing to share their experiences. How will I keep up with the new things that I have learned? I plan to continue blogging and reading other blogs on the CMLE network. I also am going to add the websites listed under the 2.0 tools to my RSS feeds. I think the Librarian in Black site had information that we would use in a school setting. The Blue Skunk Blog is one that I check frequently. As I stated earlier in a blog - I have never been to a MEMO conference. I am hoping to attend Fall of 2008. I'm glad that 23 Things On A Stick will continue to be a live link. I will go back and use the references to develop my skills further. Thanks for all of the great resources!

Thing 21

Social Networks continued... I found this task enjoyable because the searches were more tailored to networks that I could relate to and use. I didn't need to worry about trying to find friends to communicate with or trying to refine searches as much as I needed to with MySpace and FaceBook. I like the fact that these sites were based on common interests that related to my profession. Here are some of my favorites...It was interesting to read the comments about To Kill A Mockingbird on the Minnesota Readers site. My son is reading the book in English class and we were discussing it on the way home this evening. The Minnesota Life article, People Like Me Should Never Play Golf by Greg Schiller, was hilarious! I liked both the 23 Things on a Stick Ning and the Teacher Librarian Ning because it felt like the network was focused, not vast like the Facebook or MySpace networks.

• Are you a member of any online communities? I have been a member of LM_Net for a couple of years. I enjoy reading the current topics and I also use the archive for a reference. This year they added an LM_Net Wiki. Something to check out.
  
• Are any of these social networks appealing to you? I will go back and use the 23 Things On a Stick Ning and Teacher Librarian Ning.
  
• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later? WebJunction looked like it was a great reference. I was impressed by the number of reference links and how many things were partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Will definitely revisit the site.
  

Thing 20

Facebook and MySpace...social networking. I chose to create a profile on Facebook. I need to work on friendships since I don't know many people who use Facebook, but it was fun trying it out. I thought I could add my teenage son, but he informed me that it just wouldn't be cool for him to have his mom as a friend on his page. Did quite a few searches and was able to find people from my hometown, nieces and nephews that have Facebook accounts. Facebook is easy to use and could be an effective way to communicate with friends and colleagues. Thanks for the links to the online video tutorial. It helped me a lot. I went through the privacy and security setups. Was pleased with the number of options that could be hidden. I now know that Facebook has evolved from being the college MySpace to having uncool moms sign up for accounts...who knows maybe there is even a group for "uncool moms" to join.

MySpace

I did not set up an account, but I did go through and look at the suggested links that were listed in this task.

• How are libraries using MySpace? The sites I went to had great resources for listing current information on book awards, library celebrations, and available resources. I can see how the layout and resources would be appealing to the teen+ patron. Great way to hook new users into the programs.
• Did you find anything on a library's MySpace page that would be useful for your library? We aren't able to connect to MySpace at school. I would use some of the resources and reviews that the libraries had listed to prep for the classes I am teaching and to share with colleagues and students. I need to examine the Teen Tech Week celebrations more. There were some interesting links to explore.
  

Thing 19

This task was a great resource for me! I am in the process of creating a presentation on podcasting for my staff. I spent a lot of time this week getting ready for the presentation and working with the resources listed in the task and challenge. I was also able to find tutorials online. Thanks for the great links!

1. Which podcast(s) did you listen to? For this task I spent time listening to the SCSU Memoirs for School Library Media. I found the podcasts from the MEMO conferences interesting because I haven't had the chance to attend one of the conferences. The topics ranged from book talks to interactive boards. I also spent time searching the directories for podcasts that related to elementary schools. I was looking specifically for student examples and formats for presentations. One of my favorites is Radio WillowWeb

2. Which of the directories did you find easiest to use? EPN - The Education Podcast Network was the easiest network for me to use. I appreciated how the directory was organized by grade levels. The Minnesota directory was good, but the links I was hoping to use were down due to a change in software.

3. Has this Thing inspired you to do any podcasting yourself or to subscribe to a podcast to listen to it regularly? Podcasting is something that I am looking forward to sharing with my students and staff. I think it is a another great presentation format that will get students excited about sharing their research. I think that the idea of the "audio essay" is great because there are so many different skills involved. I will be teaching my students and staff how to create the audio file using GarageBand and iTunes. In GarageBand we are able to add multiple image effects to the audio. The images will also display in iTunes. At this point we will be sharing audio files over our internal network, but sharing over the internet may be in our future. We'll see how things work on a small scale first...

Thing 18

YouTube

• What did you like or dislike about the sites you explored? In a word, variety... YouTube is filled with choices. I thought the links under this task were interesting. The 70's TV commercials brought back memories. The Reading on a Dream video was classic...especially the various reactions of the students after the performance. What I dislike about YouTube is the amount of video that is not kid-friendly. It's hard to filter out the bad from the good.
  
• Why did you choose the video that you did? I chose No Cookies in the Library. My choice was made partly because I remember actually viewing the skit as a kid, but also because Cookie Monster is timeless and still gets a laugh out of kids.
  
• Can you see any ways to use video--YouTube or other sites--on your library Web site? I liked the way that the Winona University Library tour was set up. It looks like it would be easy to do with iMovie and GarageBand. Our students could do an introduction to the school for new students and their families in a similar way. We aren't able to access YouTube in our school, but we could create a video to share over our school network.
  

Thing 17

My thoughts on ELM...

• How can these tools be applied to your everyday work? I have used the InfoTrac Jr. Edition for student research in the past. I will also begin using the Kid InfoBit site for my younger students. I read through some of articles on people. They had a blend of historical and popular subjects.
  
• How can these tools facilitate collaboration with your colleagues? I like the idea that web pages could be made in EBSCO program. It was difficult for me at first because I wasn't able to access any of the QuickTime videos. I like the idea that links could be created through the database and also with outside sources. I would use the ProQuest database for research. The ability to email articles to colleagues will save time when doing group projects or just wanting to share news updates. Being able to add notes to the NetLibrary site was a great feature. I haven't done much with eBooks, but this part of the task fascinated me. I will definitely explore the resources more.
  
• How can these tools benefit your patrons/students? I have suggested the use of the database with teachers who are working on college courses. The ease of accessing refereed articles is important in research. Access to ELM will be time saving. I will continue to access InfoTrac Jr, but will also begin working with the databases for K-5. It's wonderful to have a resource that is kid friendly, has multiple reading levels and does not contain advertising.
  

Thing 16

I was very impressed with the U of M Libraries assignment calculator and The Research Project Calculator. It was interesting to see how the number of tasks per day changed with a shortened time frame. Great tool to show students to avoid procrastination. Both had well developed links to explain and execute the process of research. They also had tasks to identify the credibility of the online source, which is important. For example, Google Scholar was identified as a possible resource on the U of M site, but the page also highlighted how to check for credibility.

The real strength behind the U of M assignment calculator is the depth of the resources under each task. Students can literally click on a task and be taken to a reputable resource for definition and guidance. Collaboration between the U of M, Princeton University, University of North Carolina, Purdue and other respected universities is impressive. The Quick Study, links to writing centers and the ability to access the database at the U of M directly from the website will make the process more accessible for students.

The Research Project Calculator is organized and does a great job of defining the research process. Not only are there links to help identify keywords and other steps in the process, but there are direct resource links. The handouts for organization and the links for bibliographies, how to use applications, and create final projects are also valuable. I will definitely be sharing this site with my colleagues.

Thing 15

Libraries and Gaming - I began the task by going through the introduction for both the Pirate and Second Life websites. I decided to concentrate on the Second Life website since I found that site more relevant to my job. The task wasn't easy for me. After I set up an account with Second Life, I wasn't able to login as a resident. Frustrating. After several failed attempts, I went back to researching Second Life rather than actually interacting with it. The articles about gaming on PBS, Ohio University, and Second Life tutorials were helpful in understanding online gaming. I also watched the YouTube video on Ohio University. There were related links on that page that I thought were interesting, especially the video, Education in Second Life: Explore the Possibilities. It was amazing to see how distance learning and exhibits look online.

I found the YALSA podcast intriguing. The three students who were being interviewed were very knowledgeable. One of the things that was impressive was that not only did they interact in Second Life, but two of them were also scriptors. From the podcast I realized that Second Life can be time consuming. One of the boys spent 12 hours a day (on average) on Second Life. If he's still in high school, when does he sleep?

Info Island sounds like an adventure. I'll give it another try tomorrow.

Thing 14

LibraryThing is an interesting resource! It was easy to set up an account and then begin adding items to the collection. I like that you could type in a simple search by author and retrieve information. Most of the books I chose were by Andrew Clements, since he is one of my FAVORITE authors to share with children. There were comments and reviews on each of the Clement books. Frindle was by far the favorite with 588 members and 19 comments. No Talking had 117 members with 7 comments. School Story had 238 members with one conversation. Travel Team by Mike Lupica had 121 members and 1 conversation. Swindle didn't have any reviews, but it is a 2008 copyright. I am sure that there will be some in the future. Adding the collection items to the blog was easy... make a few choices in format and copy and paste html. I checked out the MN groups on the site. I was hoping to find an elementary group, but I didn't see one. I found the middle school web site interesting. It will be a site that I will check on frequently to see what other MN middle schoolers are reading and reviewing. Another great task that was a great learning experience for me!

Thing 13

Productivity Tools:

• Which start page did you choose? I went to all three, but I made the most changes to iGoogle and Yahoo. I decided to work with the Yahoo account since that is one that I use a lot. There was a variety of background choices. The layout was limited in columns, but the items to add were numerous. It was easy to drop and drag things into the main page from the Best of Yahoo choices. iGoogle was easy to use also. There were a ton of things listed under the stuff to add. The only thing that I question about the iGoogle page is that the gadgets were made by third parties. How much spam and potential for viruses are then linked to our computers? I read the privacy statement, but it makes me wonder...
  
• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others? I would recommend adding links for the calendar and RSS feeds to local news.
• How can the online calendars be useful to you? It's an easy way to share upcoming events and deadlines at the center.
  
• What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…? I think the to-do list is too much work. I know that I would have a hard time keeping up. It probably would be great for those people who access their computers continually through the day. Great idea, just not my choice for productivity.
  
• Did you try out Backpack? What did you think? I explored Backpack. Another great idea to share information with others. I don't think I will be using this source. I am already using other productivity tools.
  
• Did you try any of the other tools in the list? I think the PDF converters and the Zamzar converting website will be useful. There are times when I receive PDF files that need to be filled out and it would be great to be able to type right in the document. You can choose to take a PDF file and convert or take a file and convert to PDF. Very handy. Although Zamzar had quite a few options, one thing I did notice is that it will not convert to a basic DV format which is one that iMovie will recognize. Size is limited since it works through email.
  

Thing 12

• How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home? In theory I think that this is an interesting way to keep up with news events. I like the idea that we can have access to all of the Associated Press articles without being denied by the editor's choices. It was interesting to see that articles showed up on multiples lists throughout Mixx, Digg, Newsvine and Reddit.
  
• Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor? I don't think that I will be using these tools as much as I use the news updates from the RSS feeds. These tools will be more of a productivity detractor. There is so much information on the sites and I don't really think that sharing the articles is something that I have time for each day. I went to The New York Times and shared an article with digg. The article had been shared earlier and my submission was then a vote. Interesting process.
  
• Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites? I found out about the Adobe Photo release for editing photos online. It will be interesting to see how many elements will be available online.
  

Thing 11

The idea of social bookmarking is going to make life easier to plan and prepare for classes. So often I would find a great site to use and then send an email to myself with the website. Let's hear it for online bookmarks! My first introduction with Del.icio.us came at a TIES social web class. I set up an account and then began using them at home. Time saver! This task helped me with the concept. The Del.icio.us tutorial podcast gave me a better understanding of the whole process. Creating the reading list and syllabus to share with others online, made sense for the use of this application. I can see myself organizing the websites by tags that refer to the grade level I am using the site with and sharing with students and colleagues. Creating tags works well, however I have had issues with trying to rename a tag or deleting unwanted tags.

PageKeeper is anther great find. I am definitely going to share it with my colleagues. In the tutorial on Del.icio.us, the author mentioned how she would follow tags to see what other people are tagging. I did the same thing on PageKeeper. It is user-friendly in that you can sort by content area and grade level. I can't wait to dig into this site deeper. When I looked up the McMaster University Library, there was information on free images that I found valuable. Posted the link to my Del.icio.us account. Great resources!

Thing 10

The idea of setting up a wiki for meetings and student collaboration is awesome. The common craft video says it all. It does take a lot of emails to get things organized. The wiki is a great solution to the constant email trail. I recently attended a TIES workshop on the social web. The PB wiki I set up was an introduction at best. After working with this task, I will go back and invest more time into it. I like the book review idea. In my experience, students are anxious to read a book if someone in the class has really enjoyed it. On the 23 Things On A Stick wiki, I wrote about the idea of using the MN Twins opener to engage my students in reading some baseball themed books. It worked. Our Dan Gutman books and Finding Buck McHenry are off the shelves. Heat by Mike Lupica is being passed around. Word of mouth is great, but I can imagine what my students would do if they had the opportunity to work with a wiki.

Thing 9

I didn't get the invite to edit the ZOHO or Google Doc today, so I will cruise on to Thing 10 and revisit this task...

Sent another email. No invite yet. Hopefully on Monday.

Here are my thoughts on ZOHO and Google Doc... As a media specialist I am glad that students will now be able to have access to word processing, spreadsheet or presentation applications that they won't have to worry about whether or not the document format will be compatible with the versions of software we have on the computers. The fact that more than one person can edit the project is advantageous when students are working with two different platforms at home. I thought ZOHO had more options to offer in each application, but both will be beneficial. Great resources to share with students and staff!

Thing 8

I created a natural disasters introduction for my fifth graders on ZOHO. Ran into problems trying to publish it in this blog. Here is the web address... http://show.zoho.com/public/mvick08/Natural%20Disasters

I like the fact that this is an option to saving on flash drives and trying to transfer files from home. The website users need to be 13 and above, so this would work more for high school media centers and above. What an easy way to do group work and share files. I also like the Google version. I had heard about Google docs at a TIES workshop that I went to recently. There are so many great resources that are available to us! I know I have said this in past blogs, but I am really excited about these 23 Things!

Thing 7

• Describe how your library uses email: Our media center uses an email system to communicate with staff and outside sources. Our elementary students do not have individual accounts on our system. Has it improved productivity? It has definitely improved productivity. Rather than having to find someone during the busy day, it is much easier to send an email. We have the ability to send full staff emails. We do the scheduling for our computer labs through the calendar function. We also have the ability to connect with our email system from home which makes it easier to do planning from home. It is true that you need to restrict the amount of time spent working with email. It is easy to get overloaded. One of the things that I have taught my own children is that if you are planning to send something in text, realize that it can be printed, forwarded and saved. If you have a difficult issue to address, it is much better to speak to someone in person.
  
• Share your thoughts on online reference using some of the other Web 2.0 communication tools: I think the idea of online reference is great. Text messaging and IM aren't things that our media center is ready for yet, but I can see how high school, colleges, and public libraries would find it very beneficial. Using the method of communication that your patrons find the most useful is a key to opening doors.
  
• Are you an active user of text messaging, IM, or other communication tools? I use text messaging the most. It's an easy way to get a message sent to friends and family. We used IM with a past software system at school. I set up an MSN account today and will see how it goes. : )
  
• Which OPAL or MINITEX Web conference (Webinar) did you attend? How was it? What do you think of this communication tool? I wasn't able to attend a conference, but did check out some archived conferences on MINITEX Web that focused on the Gale K12 resources. I had some issues with audio when I tried to access the webinars. I opted to look for printable resources instead. There were some PDF handouts on Library 2.0 that will be great references. As to my thoughts on web conferencing, I think it is a great idea. I participated in an online conference through the U of M earlier this year. It's a great resource, especially when travel time can be eliminated. It's another resource that reaches those who live in the outstate areas.
  

Thing 6

These tasks on imaging were linked together well. I had originally thought it was all one task and then had to break my post apart and divide it into tasks 5 and 6. There are so many great sites to use with graphics! I can't wait to share the ideas with my colleagues and students. Image Chef and trading cards were fun to use. Using the Image Chef was my favorite. The variety of templates and frames that could be used were awesome. The site was user friendly and I was able to copy and paste the code right into my blog. The Image Chef also had the option of exporting into a variety of blogs. The Big Huge Labs site was also interesting. I could see students really enjoying the trading cards. I liked all of the options that could be used with the background and icons. The trading cards could be used to create projects on many topics...natural disaster, animal, state, country, or history projects - without having to use students photos. This task was cool!

Thing 5

I enjoyed using the mashups. Spell with flickr was a neat way of generating an image. It was easy to change the letters and copy/paste the code into the blog. The one problem I had was trying to change the size of the image on my blog. I went with a simpler image that would fit on one line instead. I couldn't figure out from the code if there was a way to change the size. I guess I could try adding the image into the actual posting, but I couldn't find a way to save the image on the Spell with Flickr site. Hmmm....

Thing 4

Interesting task! Flickr was a great website. It's hard to find images that can be used as royalty free. The tags worked well, but it was hard to locate images of local spots. When I did a basic search of Minnesota there were thousands. I could see where a lot of time could be spent searching on this site. I did some searches on the Library of Congress images. We are currently working on a WW II research project. Great images of WWII and Wisconsin. The idea that the Clemons and Alcuin Libraries at SJU and CSB could show if books were checked out from the notes on the image was a neat option. I found a cool image of books in the creative commons portion of Flickr, but was unable to link it into this blog by adding an image in the post. I've gone through the process a couple of times, but the image doesn't show up on this blog.

Here is the link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/violetmonde/200852603/.

The idea of photo sharing is great. I'm not sure that I would want to have a lot of my photos public, but I could see sharing them with friends and family rather than sending files via email. Off to Thing 5...

Thing 3 - RSS Feeds

Score! I used Google Reader and am now able to check on my blogging colleagues and receive news updates. Hits and misses of this task included adding all of the news blogs. Quite a collection - that I didn't really want or need. It's a good thing the help menu and setting option work well. I was able to narrow it down to the local MN news headlines. I wasn't able to set up the local newspapers in our area, but will continue to try to fine tune my list. Other subscriptions that I added were people from the 23 Things on A Stick CMLE list. I used Doug Johnson's blog as a choice for a media blog. He also has an article that describes the impact of blogs and lists some recommendations for school library media and educational technology blogs.

RSS will be a timesaver for me. Instead of traveling to many sites, I will be able to have updates at one location. Looking forward to adding to this list as I find more blogs with teaching resources.

Thing 2 - My thoughts

Until watching the video and reading the articles for this task, I hadn't realized that there were such strong views on Library 2.0.  I agree with some of the things that John Blyberg wrote.  I don't think libraries could continue to exist in the traditional sense, if changes aren't made to keep up with the technology that is being used by our patrons. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish traditional libraries to be replaced by virtual libraries.  The availability of print resources is vital to our patrons.  As an elementary media specialist, I firmly believe that children need to be read to and have books to read.  The library provides resources for enjoyment, reading development and inquiry.  The excitement of going to the library and receiving quality literature should never be replaced.  The library is also a vital resource for those patrons who are unable to afford technology in their homes.

I was drawn to Rick Anderson's article by the intriguing title.  The iceberg analogy was interesting.  The three issues: the "just in case" collection, reliance on user education and the "come to us" model of library service are issues that all media centers and libraries are dealing with today.  How much money should be spent on print versus technology resources?  How are centers staffed?  What are the needs of our patrons? Is access user-friendly both physically and virtually?  I agree that we don't need to get rid of the core principles and values to meet the changing needs of our patrons, but we do need to keep up with the technological advancements available to us. 

 

Where am I in my knowledge and use of Web 2.0 tools?  Many of the things that are listed will be new experiences for me.  I feel like that little boat that Rick Anderson described.  I continue to learn so that I can change the direction of the way things are done in our media center to best meet the needs of our patrons.

Thing 1 - Blog On!

Welcome to my blog! I look forward to working on this project and reading insights from other media specialists and librarians. Networking is such a powerful process. I have to admit that I had some hesitation trying to set up this first blog, but so far things seem to be working. Creating the avatar was a fun process. Changing the layout didn't have the options I was hoping it would have, but it was easy to use. I am looking forward to what the other 22 things will involve.