And then....

I was missing the blog-
Since the last post, we've had a book fair and an author in our media center. I haven't done too much online, but I've thought about it. For instance, I would like to give parents access to the pictures I took of their kids with the author. Which tools would accomplish this without stepping on the privacy of the author or students? Or do I need to worry about this as long as I don't identify them?

Thing 23--Time to Celebrate!

As I looked at the blog prompts for thing 23, I decided I needed to look back at my earlier blog entries. I'd forgotten just how frustrated I was at the beginning of the process. I was anxious to learn some new things, but I was a bit afraid I'd never get to "Thing 23" before April 15. As a result, I introduced myself to several of the tools, but gave up on getting them to work. The countdown for example has never worked. I was encouraged to read other blogs and find out that things didn't always work for others either. And then we discovered that one of our computers does have issues...this is the technology we know and "love".
"23 Things" has defined Library 2.0 for me. I was unaware of some of the tools it contains and I'm very aware that we haven't looked at all of them. The Internet is overwhelming and the challenge is to be aware of what kinds of things to look for and then select things that are appropriate tools and concentrate on them. However as a media person, we need to be familiar with what comes along that would be helpful for our patrons as well.
Favorite things? iGoogle and the RSS reader have been useful, but as I look back through the list of things, I see several other things that I'd like to go back and explore. (Now I won't have to worry about making a deadline.)
I did connect with a couple media people-- but honestly, I made more connections with family at this point. It was a good thing.
This was a wonderful program for me. The links were very informative and sometimes entertaining. I wasn't real sure who to contact or how to contact someone with questions I had. But given the number of people signed on for "23 things" I thought the comments left for me & the emails were good.
I would be very interested in participating in another program like this if it is offered. Trying to learn these things without the links and suggestions would be very frustrating & time consuming.
So--A Big Thank You to those who sponsored and set up "23 Things". It was and is a valuable experience that I look forward to sharing with my fellow staff members.

Thing 22--What Did I Learn?

I am pleased to have been a part of this program. I feel that I have learned a lot. I am not comfortable enough with these tools to teach them to others and I will probably go back through some of the Things to review and explore their other features.
When the link was posted for the "Finishers' Blogs, I found them very interesting. However, I decided that I needed to finish my own before I spent much time looking at those blogs. Now, by way of review, I plan to visit some more of those blogs. It was obvious to me that these people have had more experience on these tools and I will learn much from them.

Now, as to the 5 things that we were supposed to learn--

• Sorry, I think it takes quite a bit of time to figure these things out. It is worth the time, but be honest, it does take time. I'm sure that it will take less time when you've learned more, but it does take time.
• I was able to figure out most of what I think I was supposed to do. The links provided were very helpful and I think the program deserves much of the credit for my success.
• I did enjoy most of these activities and was surprised that I did. I've had a lot of fun with nieces & nephews on Face book. They made me feel welcome in what I felt was their arena.
• We do need to be informed about the tools that are now changing our world. My husband brought a charango back from Bolivia a couple weeks ago. I asked him what it sounded like when played in Bolivia. It only took a couple minutes to find some amazing examples on YouTube. I wouldn't have thought to look there a month ago.
• Supporting each other is especially important in the media field because many of us are in our school district by ourselves. Unlike English or math teachers who can consult someone else down the hall, we usually need to get ideas from others at a distance. Learning to use these tools more efficiently could greatly help in this area.

Having already added several things to my RSS aggregator, I wonder if adding many more will defeat the purpose, giving me more to look at than I could ever hope to read. I think it would be a good plan to spend some time with these sites before adding them.

Thing 21- Beyond MySpace

I read the articles. Gather seems like a time consuming way to learn of new authors. I didn't find it too attractive. Goodreads, that I visited later seemed to have information in an easier to use format.
Again, becoming an interactive library is a worthy goal, but it seems like a daunting task given the other activities that seem to be demanding our time. I'm not sure what you'd give up on to accomplish this goal.
I joined the "23 Things on a Stick Ning" at the beginning of this project and have added comments to the wall for a couple of the people I recognize from MEMO activities. I also added the badge to my blog.
Finally, I joined the WebJunction. The online classes are something I may come back to explore.
Some of the other networks I checked out were interesting. I was most interested in the 43 Things. I didn't join at this point, but I like the concept.
The Wikipedia list of social networks would seem to be a very helpful item to use when exploring the concept of social networking.

Thing 20--Libraries & Social Networks

I registered for Facebook and added some friends. I knew one other person participating in "23 Things". I relied on the good humor of my nieces and nephews to bring my friends list up after that. It was interesting to see how linking the friends list from one of the kids took me the next one... I did feel like I was intruding a bit. I was also uncomfortable writing my own profile, not knowing who would eventually read it and not feeling that there is much of interest to write.
I joined Librarians & Facebook & the Library 2.0 groups. I was pretty sure that I would be interested in the discussions of these groups.
I visited MySpace and thought the content seemed less controlled. I did think the feature for finding friends was more helpful than on Facebook. Being able to search for people with certain criteria would be helpful if you actually wanted to make contact with people of the same age, interests and geographical location.
I visited the 2 library MySpace sites and didn't see the attraction. Some of the information seemed dated (activities from last October). Setting up a website or any other communication is one thing. Keeping the site updated and fresh is a time consuming challenge. I wonder if having a site that isn't maintained is worse than not having one at all.
Although I don't see an immediate use for these in my library, I think it is valuable to explore these social networks and understand a bit of what is going on in technology.

As a postscript, I have enjoyed reading the blogs of those who have finished the task. It is good to see some examples of how various features can dress up the presentation.

Thing 19-- Podcasts

I have used podcasts from NPR before. TeachingBooks.net has linked me to author interviews that I have enjoyed in the past. I also have some NPR favorites that I enjoyed finding and listening to again.
The gem discovery in "Thing 19" was the Educational Podcast Directory and more specifically http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/shows/Willowcast29.html. This is the site of a very well done project about volcanoes. It is definitely something to show my fellow staff members. What an interesting way for students to showcase their research.
Adding a podcast site to the RSS was a simple process. I have actually set up folders in my RSS account at this point.

Thing 18--- YouTube and other online video

These were quite fun to watch. Conan the librarian, etc. shows the creative side of people for sure.
I was interested to find a 40 minute piece on the chaos in Kenya. I have a friend who is presently living Kenya and just emailed this past week to say that things have been tense (understatement). It was amazing timing to stumble on that particular video.
A fellow staff member emailed us about http://teachertube.com/ and I checked that out as well. That is where I picked up the 'water cycle' video that I chose to add to my blog. That piece caught my eye because I recently helped a staff member find information on that for the unit in her classroom and thought this may be something else to add interest. I also came across a class doing times tables to music. Many of the clips on this site could be easily used in the classroom. Of course, there are clips that make me think I could compete in this ----