Phew! At the last minute I have finished the 23 Things! I'm feeling a bit worn out! This has been such an amazing learning experience...thanks for making this available to us. I look forward to taking all this new knowledge and applying it both at work and at home. I laughed, I cried, I shook my computer monitor..... I enjoyed going on this journey with friends at work. We had many good discussions on the topic of "things" and helped each other get over the rough spots on the trail. I am, (somewhat), less intimidated by cyberspace now....a bit more willing to go the distance to get over the wall when faced with my own ignorance. So glad you offered the data stick....very nice carrot! All-in-all a grand adventure! Count me in on the next journey.

My library uses email to keep everyone up-to-date on policy changes, upcoming events, scheduling changes, and daily tasks such as shelf-checks.Using web 2.0 tools such as IM would be quite a challenge at first, but a boon for libraries who have large student populations. I am not, nor do I think I will ever be, a text messenger or IM-er. Too old to see the letters on the darn phone for one thing. My son (20 yrs old) loves it and can text almost as fast as he can talk. It's a good way to communicate when you do not want the rest of the world to hear your side of the conversation. Webinars and podcasts seem to me to be great communication tools...good source of info and a way to have people spread over a large geographical area all come together in the same "place". This evens the playing field in a way. The article on productivity was very good.....email can definitely eat up a lot of time! I visited a Webinar...Minitex, eBooks and NetLibrary.

Thing seventeen was nearly the undoing of me. I don't know why it was so difficult...once I broke through it was quite simple (aside from Google Reader not wanting to accept my RSS feed). These are very handy tools for the researcher/student. I can see the ability to find sources and send them to co-workers would be a very effective way to share info. The rss feed never came through Google Reader but I was able to a desktop rss reader (NetNewsWire). I plan on visiting these sites again in the future...a handy resource for the student or just the curious.

Have added Blue Skunk to my Google Reader...looks like it will be fun to check in with from time to time! I plan on creating a blogspot to get in touch with artists who like to create the same general sort of things I do and that will exercise my skills no end!

I am now a member of NING and Good Reads among others. Really enjoy being a part of these sites and look forward to keeping up with them. Would be a great way to get reading groups together who cannot meet for book club but want to do it in cyberspace.


View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Used Facebook...not a comfy place for a person who values her privacy! I can see the idea behind it...imagine it is a way to develop community for people who need to...do not feel comfortable there AT ALL. This is NOT in my future. Looked at Henn. Co. My Space page...lots of self promotion from authors, did not find it very inspiring. Sorry to be such a downer!

wow! I wish I had come across the assignment calculator years ago...am going to introduce my children to it right away! Found the teacher guide to be a good guide to encouraging teachers and LMS interaction, a great place to start. I would be great to have a handout for both teachers and students to steer them to these tools.

Used Google Docs...agree with another poster that this would be a nightmare without being able to see the original document and the revisions...I am sure there must be a way to accomplish that.The Founding Fathers would probably have thrown their laptops across the room with their wigs (what a painless way to pull your hair out!) Signed up with Zoho...looked like it had more options for artistic expression, I like it better than Google Docs.

Made Yahoo my start page...it's ok...nothing to write home about. Further search may find a better fit for me. Decided to use Don't Forget the Milk. Good way to keep track of things but I don't think I would be inclined to give up my pocket calender. Doing both seems cumbersome but this applies to my home life only. I like the idea of using it at work as it would be a quick reminder of those tasks I need to get done. Did not like Backpack at all...just could not seem to make it work for me.

Well...now that I have done 1/2 of the "things" I will do #2. Finding the time...mostly at home as working part time in the circ dept does not lend itself to much quiet time. Also, for someone like myself, (not very tech-savvy), full concentrarion is usually needed. I am doing 23 things for many reasons:
1. I LOVE data sticks!
2. I have been wanting to learn how to use sites like Flikr but never seemed to get around to it on my own...having a time frame really helps.
3.I want to understand where libraries are going so I can keep up!
I think that the internet can be a blessing and a curse at the same time...many of the "things" I have used have the potential to be huge time users and the potential good that comes from the use of it does not always validate the time it takes. I look forward to the potential of using some of the tools to point users towards books that they may not have found unprompted. My knowledge has grown through this process but I have a long, long way to go!

I chose to use Mosaic Maker in Big Huge Labs. I used images from my account on Flikr. The information on tags really came into it's own here! Libraries could make good use of this in many ways...making posts with covers of reccomended books, subjects, photos of authors you want to highlight for a promotion etc. This was a fairly easy application to use...I am sure I will make use of it in the future!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25521202@N02/

Listened to a podcast from NPR interviewing Maya Angelou. Very interesting. I enjoyed searching for a podcast and found a wealth of posibilities. I do not, however, think I would connect an RSS feed as it seems to me it would be too much like an e-mail account flooding me with more information than I would want to deal with. I am more inclined to go looking for what I am interested in. Still a Luddite at heart I guess.
http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819383

Here is a YouTube video I found by searching under a tag called "books". I enjoyed the film, which reminded me of the films we watched in school when I was but a 'wee gel'. Enjoy!

Library thing is my new happy place. :-) ! This is what appeals the most about the process of doing the 23 Things...discovery. I am being introduced to so many new sites and for every one that drives me crazy there is one that keeps me smiling for days. Thankyou!!! This is a great tool for libraries. Every library has a wealth of varied interests present in their staff and this tool would be a great way to put that resource to good use. The staff member who loves civil war history can post a list (updated periodically), of favorite books and dvds...the person who reads every vampire, time-travel, historical novel can also post. If reference librarians had access to this ,regardless of whether that particular staff member is working that day or not, to give tips to the public...or could direct the public to the lists..wow! Add together lists from many, many libraries....well, you get the idea. This is the internet at its best!

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lady-traveler

Added a wiki to aadl.org (Ann Arbor public library blog of upcoming events) blog that mentioned Julie Andrews being a guest speaker. This informed me about a new title. It is enjoyable to interact with an institution on-line. I found the Common Craft tutorial to be,as always, illuminating and fun! This is my favorite go-to site for making the tech understandable. The example used of a small group using the wiki as a communication tool that is less cumbersome than e-mail was eye-opening! I will definately make use of this in the future. Within schools a wiki would be a good way for students to organize a class project. I think encouraging many formats in schools would be a better policy than banning any given source and be a good opportunity to discuss wikis with students. I would not like to see wikipedia used as an ONLY source.

de.licio.us

Not very tasty. I must say this is not a tool I can see myself using but, then again, I am not a reference librarian. Perhaps I am just not seeing the big picture here. In my work at the library I do not depend on computer tools very much...in part because it is outside my comfort zone. I will definately be asking my co-workers in the circulation department how they felt about de.licio.us and its usefulness on the job.

Signed up with newsvine...shared an article (report of an accident). Do not really think this is a site I would use. Imagine it would be a way to pull together articles for a project or share with a friend. I also created a link to a news article on my blog...I found this to be more user-friendly...at least for THIS user!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/world/asia/11dalai.html?ex=1365566400&en=b561ff46134740be&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod

Arghhh! Just tried Puzzle Pirates game. Do games have a place in libraries? My opinion is no, not really. Patrons can, (and will),play games on the internet but I don't think the library needs to promote it. In my experience kids that come to the library to play on the computer are so focused on their turn at the computer that they do not spend time exploring the other wonders the library has to offer. Seems a bit too much like the nifty toy in the cereal box to me...it is a library not a happy meal.As far as interaction with other characters on the ship goes...distracting. I imagine once you have found your sea legs in the game that would be a big component of the enjoyment.

OK...jumped ahead to thing 11. Used the tagging info to tag my blogs with the thing # they refer to...this is very helpful to me as I try to quickly finish the 23 things that I have been ignoring for most of the time provided.

Noticed I had not mentioned the tags in flickr...great organizational tool. Also, loved the tutorial...really helped me understand the concept.Also enjoyed the zombie video...very creative!

OK...interesting concept. I think I would be more inclined to make bookmarks for book week, of banned books, for each season etc. because I am a part of circ staff. Many possibilities here!

Really like this idea...would be great for creating posters or notices that would be sure to get noticed!

Love, Love, LOVE Flickr!!! What a great resource. Much easier to use than I thought it might be...by George I think I've got it! Uploaded a photo of a boat on the Nile that I took in March of 2007. Because I left these "things" till the last minute I decided to only use one in this post. Originally I had used other peoples photos, OOPS! I guess there are times you can do that but I'm out of time so I'm just re-doing my posts that used photos.

Have completed an RSS feed from GoogleReader called Thinkers. Gives a feed from NPR among other things. I'm looking forward to having the info sent to me rather than having to go looking for it...think I am going to enjoy this!