Levi & Jessica's Wedding, August 17, 2008

Exploring & Promoting the Tools

Recently I have been attempting to help a co-worker create a presentation for a class project. She is combining a podcast with a slides using Picture Trail, but we aren't sure how the timing will work out. Just now I was also looking into Zoho and Thumbstacks to see if one or the other would be something that she could use.

I have been actively participating in Facebook and have 5 friends! So far I have preferred that over doing anything with Google Chat. And now Facebook has Chat also, so I'll probably use that instead.

Remember These?

Personalized Myspace Comments In Flash

Vacation Countdown

Myspace Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com

Thing 23. Final Thoughts

Well, here I am doing Thing 23!! Almost finished! When I started with Thing 1, my thinking was that this would either be so way beyond my capability or may not be of interest to me. I wasn't at all certain as to how far I would go. I couldn't have guessed that I would hang in there to the end, but one Thing led to another Thing, and then I was hooked!

I can't say that I have connected much with others that are doing 23 Things on a Stick, not yet anyway, but I did join the 23 Things Ning and hope to connect there. Also, there may be some from our library doing the "Things" the next time it's offered, and I would hope to at least be an encourager when that happens. I have made connections in Facebook, of course, and that wouldn't have happened without 23 Things. Also, just becoming more knowledgeable of Web 2.0 has opened doors of conversation with others, especially younger people. I suppose that would fall into the "unexpected outcomes" category.

The overall unexpected outcome of doing 23 Things on a Stick was a reviving of the joy of learning. I never would have guessed that I would enjoy doing it so much that time would go by without even thinking of snacking or eating! The positive outcome of that was losing a few pounds! A somewhat negative outcome has been that I haven't been doing much reading at all while doing the "Things".

I have a hard time coming up with "favorite Things" and "least favorite Things". Some "Things" were obviously more fun, like Flickr and the Online Image Generators, but some of the more challenging and frustrating, like the ELM Productivity Tools, are probably the most useful in our work.

With respect to improving the program in any way, I do have one suggestion that was inspired by the WebJunction article in Thing 21, "Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library". The examples were very specific. I think it would be helpful to propose a real or imagined scenario and then demonstrate how to apply a certain web tool to it. It's fine to ask for participants' ideas of how to use the tools, but frankly we need help to see the possibilities from those who are much farther along. At least I do. Perhaps a typical situation could be presented in which the old way of handling it could be contrasted with a new approach using the Library 2.0 tools. Or maybe there could be an assignment for participants to work together in a team project in which each one is given the task of applying a particular tool, or otherwise, to be responsible for a particular aspect and use whatever tools they find appropriate.

I appreciate the opportunity provided through 23 Things on a Stick to learn about web tools that, at most, I had only heard about. Where else could I get this training, and to be able to do it at my own pace, in my own setting, and at no cost to me? 23 Things has enabled me to break through a sort of information barrier that, from my age and perspective, I would not have thought possible. I would be very interested in participating in future learning programs of this sort, but not without having a break. Having been exposed to so much new information through 23 Things in just a few weeks, I will need some time to digest and attempt to apply what I have been learning. I also need to get ready for my son's high school graduation, learn a few words of Norwegian before my trip in August, and yes, read a few good books!

Thank You! Thank You! This has been an amazing experience, and I am so glad that I did it.

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

I do resolve to keep up my blog, to use what I have learned in 23 Things and to continue to be on the lookout for new tools and ideas. I'm already hooked on Facebook, Flickr, my "tewdew" calendar, my email, etc., so that part will be easy. I did set up RSS feeds for ALA TechSource, LibraryBytes, and Web2 to help me keep up with Library 2.0. How could I forget anyway!? It will be fun to go back to the "Things" and explore a little more. I plan to check out some of the topics in OPAL and the Webinars and hope to gain a better understanding of ELM in particular. We will also be having some staff training on ELM in May. I don't really have many opportunities to apply Library 2.0 tools to the particular job that I do at the library, but I will try to promote their use when appropriate. In my personal world, I think about wikis a lot, wondering if a wiki would work here or there! How about a wiki for our homeschool group, a wiki for the co-op buying club that I belong to, or a wiki just for our family? Wikis are intriguing!

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

In this Thing I first tried the link to the "MySpace for Books" article, but it didn't work. I wondered if the intention was for us to search for it, so I tried various ways and couldn't find it. Thankfully, once I noticed the comments at the end of Thing 21, the problem was solved, and I was able to read the two articles. The example of "Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library" is so appealing and makes sense, yet it seems that it is just beyond our reach at this point. One "thing" at a time, however, and soon we will be there.

I joined the 23 Things on a Stick Ning. I filled out my profile, picked a theme and connected my blog to it. Next, I added the 23 Things badge to my blog and then commented on a fellow members page.

I also joined another Ning that was of personal interest to me.

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

I chose to register with Facebook in part because I've heard that it is more private than MySpace, but also because my son is a member of Facebook, and he is allowing me to be his friend! I also "friended" with another homeschool mom. I put a few names into the search and thiink I found a long-lost friend from the early '80's! She and her family had moved to another state, and then another, and we had lost contact with them. So, now we'll see if she wants to "friend" with me!

I filled out a profile to a certain degree and will perhaps submit a photo eventually. Only "friends" are able to see my profile, and I like that, but there are other privacy options that I may want to apply also. Several groups sound interesting to me, but for now I just joined the Library 2.0 Interest Group. I added a message to the Discussion Board and wrote on my son's wall too.

I'm not sure what to think of some of the motivation to being on Facebook. For example, what's the point of having 1433 friends on Facebook? Is that just an ego trip or what?

I did some more Facebook searches and was surprised to find my older brother, so maybe we can be friends as well as siblings!

Podcasting

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Thing 19. Podcasts

For Thing 19 I first visited the Minnesota Public Radio podcast site and linked to America Public Media. I was interested in the Writer's Almanac podcast but was unable to subscribe to it, possibly because I don't have the necessary podcast software. Back at MPR I found the Grammar Grater, listened to some of it and then added the podcast to my blog. I looked at Yahoo Podcasts and also the Educational Podcast Directory where I found and subscribed to the First Amendment Minute.

I set up my own podcast with Gcast, and now I am able to podcast to it by phone. I'm not sure what to put on it yet, but I'll think of something I'm sure!

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

After exploring YouTube and Google Video, I chose two videos to post in my blog. The first one is "Mr. Bean at the Library". My family loves Mr. Bean, so that was an easy choice. I also selected "America's Got Talent (Chicago)-Terry Fator", not only because he is an AMAZING ventriloquist, but because his interest in ventriloquism began at age 10 with a BOOK he found at his school library!! That's inspiring, isn't it?! There are several videos of Mr. Fator doing his ventriloquist impressions of famous singers, and I think they are awesome.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

Wow, I feel that I am in way over my head in Thing 17. I have known that ELM is something so huge, but have wanted to give it a serious try someday. Thankfully our reference librarian has a good understanding of ELM, and I have been very comfortable leaving it all up to her!

To start, I went to the InfoTrac Student Edition database and attempted to do the suggested search for "youth smoking" and set up an RSS feed to Bloglines. After trying a few times and getting nowhere, I read the 23 Things #8 News and deleted ".prodigy.elm4you.org" from the URL as indicated, but it still didn't read it as a valid feed. Somehow though I was able to get the feed on my Favorites Center. I don't prefer having it there, but we'll hope that it works. I did do the email choice too, so I'll wait to see what shows up and where.

Next, I set up an account in Academic Search Premier and followed all the instructions to set up my web pages or personal folder or whatever. I named my web page, added text, and downloaded it to my computer, but I really don't understand what this is all about or what I'm supposed to use it for. I added a search for a particular medical condition to my Favorites Center Feeds also, so we'll see about that one too. I really don't know what I'm doing.

I did the search in ProQuest Newsstand Complete and followed the instructions to create a web page and download the search. Then I emailed the search summary to myself. It worked, but I still don't really understand much of what's happening.

I next created an account with NetLibrary and did a search in eContent as suggested. I found the ebook and the pages that contained "branding", and then I added a note to the Favorites and Notes.

The information available in ELM seems unlimited. I know it can be extremely valuable to those who know how to access all that information easily. For me, however, I know that I have a long, long way to go in comprehending how to reap the benefits of ELM without it being overwhelming. I'm sure learning increases more rapidly with use, but at this point I will still be relying on our reference librarian! I do plan to check out the Webinars that have to do with ELM.

In the midst of my frustrations with Thing 17, I learned that we will be having some staff training on ELM at our library in May. So, there's hope. Meanwhile I am getting some Gale Search Alerts.