These are fun, and easier to do than I thought they would be. I can see how they are a good way of sharing more specific information, and even somewhat interactive, as you can add your own comments or corrections. Taking authority into account (as usual!), they can be really helpful or informative. I loved the Book Lover's wiki, and was thinking that just viewing the exchange of information can give really good ideas of how to do your own project-sometimes more informal, but sometimes more currently applicable than information at a fixed site. I am looking forward to following the ACLD Story Hour wiki: This is a perfect example of being able to collaberate and share the wealth of information within our system when we don't have the time or ability to actually get together for a meeting or conference.
Even though it may take you down some topic paths tangential to what you are looking for, the divergence of topics has the same advantage as browsing when researching: Even though it may take up a little more of your time, it will also you new or different ideas and perspectives, which can only enrich your learning experience. Ahhh......so many ideas, so little time to explore them!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thing 11: Social Media
The fun part of this was the social factor-it was interesting to see what other people find interesting. Reddit was my least favorite (kind of haphazard), Digg and Mixx were very similar, and the graphic interface on Newsvine was nicely done. Looking through these gave me a way to share articles with my son, who has always enjoyed sharing and discussing current topics. It's not possible to do in person since he's moved to Hawaii, but now that's not a problem (although not QUITE as fun as face-to-face!). Since I didn't want to have to sign up for yet another thing, I cheated with sharing an article from New York Times by using Ben's (my son) existing account, for which the user name an password are still in my computer! And I still love StumbleUpon, and have gotten my daughter to sign up, too, by sending a cool artist's rendition of woman from the inside out.
Too bad I'm in a time crunch right now; I would love to explore these further.....
Too bad I'm in a time crunch right now; I would love to explore these further.....
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thing 10: Lost in cyberspace a.k.a. Tagging and Delicious
Boy, was this ever a fun one to get lost in! I was going to take a quick look around, and an hour later, I finally realized I had to tear myself away to blog it and get to bed! It will be good to be able to save some of my favorite places to pull up from computers other than at home, a problem with traditional bookmarking. And the tagging will help with grouping and finding what I want, but the social aspect of seeing what others have tagged was REALLY fun! This especially holds true for Stumble Upon, which is a very very seductive and fascinating way to get lost.....How will I ever get anything constructive done on the computer again? So if I don't show up for work for a few weeks, you'll know where to look for me!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thing 9
http://show.zoho.com/editor.do?P_ID=442203000000004017 Check out this link to a presentation I did on Acupuncture and imported from my Power Point documents.
I tried ZOHO, because I could see where it would be very handy to run class lectures in Power Point style from a remote computer, without saving to disc or sending to the computer at school or having to make sure the computer I was using had Power Point capabilities, etc. I was also interested in using the Lazy Base (?), and would like to try that, too. Had a little trouble navigating the site, though. Both would be very useful teaching aids (which I'll need starting this May).
They would be good ways as well either to present (as a slide show) or summarize (in a database) information for library use, such as reading recommendations or researching strategies for specific topics or areas of interest. One could make a database, for instance, that would list and evaluate internet tools like the 23 Things and provide the URL links to each tool. Wouldn't that be handy?
I tried ZOHO, because I could see where it would be very handy to run class lectures in Power Point style from a remote computer, without saving to disc or sending to the computer at school or having to make sure the computer I was using had Power Point capabilities, etc. I was also interested in using the Lazy Base (?), and would like to try that, too. Had a little trouble navigating the site, though. Both would be very useful teaching aids (which I'll need starting this May).
They would be good ways as well either to present (as a slide show) or summarize (in a database) information for library use, such as reading recommendations or researching strategies for specific topics or areas of interest. One could make a database, for instance, that would list and evaluate internet tools like the 23 Things and provide the URL links to each tool. Wouldn't that be handy?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Thing 8: Web 2/0 tools
As with everything else about the Web, the communication tools covered in this Thing were a two-edged sword; cutting through barriers with technology to make communication easier and (sometimes) more fun, while at the same time either making it too easy (to waste your own time or someone else's with a lot of fluff), or getting caught up even tighter in the "Web" while struggling with all the technological glitches hidden behind the "fast, easy and convenient" propoganda(!)
Let's start with IM: I did not IM anyone in ACLD, as I have already experienced using this tool, both with my kids and a couple of friends, and with "HELP" services offered in some of the online shopping sites. The best part about them was the instant reply-whether it was an answer to a question or a response to my thoughts and comments, it's comforting and gratifying to get an immediate response. The only thing better would be face-to-face, which of course isn't always possible-hence all these other communication tools. Oh, and I guess sometimes a phone call is nice to actually hear someone's voice when they are not-so-near but dear to you. On the other hand, BECAUSE it's so easy, one can be tempted to blurt more than is good for either themselves or whomever is on the receiving end without thinking through what they are saying, which to me has always been an advantage of the written word as opposed to real time conversations.... From a library standpoint, I would liken it to my experience as a page: On the one hand, there would likely be a lot more people to seek help if they could get a quick answer from the floor and didn't have to either wait in line or "bother" someone at the Reference Desk. But there are always those who abuse the system by throwing out questions in hopes of the having the librarians do their work for them as opposed to thinking it through for themselves, and it seems to be pretty labor intensive to have someone manning (or womanning) the Help Desk 24/7.
SMS, or text messaging, is another quiet and effective way of getting in touch. My daughter lives on her cell phone, and I do have to say that although she sometimes carries it to the extreme, I am fascinated by the concept of her having her circle of friends so easily available to chat with, whether they are down the hall or in another state! She's definitely never alone, but the flip side is that she's never alone-sometimes being too available prevents focus on the issue at hand, such as having an uninterrupted conversation or listening to an instructor, etc. I like it for personal use when I need to contact someone with a question or comment as soon as possible without intruding or "calling at the wrong time"-this gives whomever I'm calling a chance to open the message and respond as they are able. It would also be a good option for the library to notify overdues or holds, but I have found that long-winded sales messages from Verizon, for instance, to be as annoying as recorded sales messages on the telephone.
Web conferencing is a very useful tool where classes or conferences are concerned. The graphics and sound options of the sample webinar I reviewed (Scott Nicholson at the Library Game Lab at Syracuse) was far advanced from the classes I took for the MLS program at FSU, but the concept of getting a group of people together in real time from all geographic corners of the globe remains the same. Although nothing beats the experience of interacting face-to-face in a classroom...with the body language and after-class networking that goes along with it...how else could we all get together for class after a day of work in Gainesville, FL; Tuscon, AR and Toronto, Canada? Although the added voice and video options have vastly improved since my class experience, I would like to mention that I was still jettisoned from the website by clicking on the wrong thing, though, so some things haven't changed!
Let's start with IM: I did not IM anyone in ACLD, as I have already experienced using this tool, both with my kids and a couple of friends, and with "HELP" services offered in some of the online shopping sites. The best part about them was the instant reply-whether it was an answer to a question or a response to my thoughts and comments, it's comforting and gratifying to get an immediate response. The only thing better would be face-to-face, which of course isn't always possible-hence all these other communication tools. Oh, and I guess sometimes a phone call is nice to actually hear someone's voice when they are not-so-near but dear to you. On the other hand, BECAUSE it's so easy, one can be tempted to blurt more than is good for either themselves or whomever is on the receiving end without thinking through what they are saying, which to me has always been an advantage of the written word as opposed to real time conversations.... From a library standpoint, I would liken it to my experience as a page: On the one hand, there would likely be a lot more people to seek help if they could get a quick answer from the floor and didn't have to either wait in line or "bother" someone at the Reference Desk. But there are always those who abuse the system by throwing out questions in hopes of the having the librarians do their work for them as opposed to thinking it through for themselves, and it seems to be pretty labor intensive to have someone manning (or womanning) the Help Desk 24/7.
SMS, or text messaging, is another quiet and effective way of getting in touch. My daughter lives on her cell phone, and I do have to say that although she sometimes carries it to the extreme, I am fascinated by the concept of her having her circle of friends so easily available to chat with, whether they are down the hall or in another state! She's definitely never alone, but the flip side is that she's never alone-sometimes being too available prevents focus on the issue at hand, such as having an uninterrupted conversation or listening to an instructor, etc. I like it for personal use when I need to contact someone with a question or comment as soon as possible without intruding or "calling at the wrong time"-this gives whomever I'm calling a chance to open the message and respond as they are able. It would also be a good option for the library to notify overdues or holds, but I have found that long-winded sales messages from Verizon, for instance, to be as annoying as recorded sales messages on the telephone.
Web conferencing is a very useful tool where classes or conferences are concerned. The graphics and sound options of the sample webinar I reviewed (Scott Nicholson at the Library Game Lab at Syracuse) was far advanced from the classes I took for the MLS program at FSU, but the concept of getting a group of people together in real time from all geographic corners of the globe remains the same. Although nothing beats the experience of interacting face-to-face in a classroom...with the body language and after-class networking that goes along with it...how else could we all get together for class after a day of work in Gainesville, FL; Tuscon, AR and Toronto, Canada? Although the added voice and video options have vastly improved since my class experience, I would like to mention that I was still jettisoned from the website by clicking on the wrong thing, though, so some things haven't changed!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thing 7: Image generators
I had some fun using an old photo to generate a trading card. I was intrigued with this tool as a great idea for a creative teaching device. There could be unlimited projects to make learning fun.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Thing 4: RSS
Yep, you read that right....or should I say, "Oops, missed one!" I couldn't seem to get Google Reader to work yesterday, but was successful today in adding 3 Blogs from the ACLD bunch, as well as some news feeds from Fla. newspapers, NPR, and Google Earth. Also added the NEFLIN blog. Now, we'll just see how much I can keep up with (bwaa ha ha ha!)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Thing 6: Flickr mashup
This one was the most fun and has the most ideas for fun and creative ways to waste time so far! I am beginning to feel like Lucille Ball in the "I Love Lucy" show where she started out with the seemingly simple task of adding a decoration to a moving line of cakes, and things got really crazy as she failed to keep up! Oh well, hopefully there will be a few Things I will actually be able to move through quickly, so as not to run as fast as I can just to stay in place....
I especially liked the puzzle making option-saved the link so I can have one made for my parents (puzzlemaniacs) using a family foto.
And by the way, I would like to thank Katy Harris, my coworker and personal internet guru, for her help and perspectives on Things.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Thing 5: flickr
I decided to search images in Flickr, looking for ideas for a watercolor/woodburning project for my daughter's birthday. She specified the colors and theme she would like, so I searched "blue morpho", and found many beautiful and interesting photos of this butterfly, (and some I really wondered what the story was behind the picture!). My favorite photo (I was fascinated by the perspective) was this one, in gwennie2006's photostream (here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grfxdziner/2938950355/). If anyone reads this blog and is interested, the other photos in this collection were also beautiful-what an eye the photographer has!
The tags were pretty much essential, and well organized and relevant. And as much as I am so NOT one to take pictures (although I love having them!), I was tempted to give it a try after looking into Flickr and all the possibilities for keeping, organizing and sharing images, and thinking about how much fun it would be to share good pics! Just one more thing to add to that wish list for ALL our spare time(!).
The tags were pretty much essential, and well organized and relevant. And as much as I am so NOT one to take pictures (although I love having them!), I was tempted to give it a try after looking into Flickr and all the possibilities for keeping, organizing and sharing images, and thinking about how much fun it would be to share good pics! Just one more thing to add to that wish list for ALL our spare time(!).
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