#23 (Week 9)

The discovery exercise for this activity was to find an example of how the program was modified from the original version. The CSLA program included making an avatar that the original program did not have.
In summarizing my thoughts about this program I realize that completing the 23 Things has had a great deal of influence on my online use. I use my Bloglines account every day. Today I added an RSS feed from Lawrence Lessing’s Blog to keep informed on Creative Commons. I post to del.icio.us daily and ZoHo Writer has been an extremely useful tool that I am recommending to students.
These are just a few of the changes in my use of the Internet and this professional development activity has been extremely rewarding. My plan is to develop a Web 2.0 program for my staff next year that will take advantage of Creative Commons and share some of the 23 Things. I appreciate all the work that MSLA has done to make this program available to members and it will help me to share the wonderful world of Web 2.0 with my staff.

#22 (Week 9) eBooks and Audio eBooks

I have been a fan of Audio books for years. Listening to books has made many long trips enjoyable and one of my favorites was an unabridged reading of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. We now have Digital Audio Downloads at our local library and after viewing the World Books efair site and the Gutenberg Project it has sparked an interest in this format for listening to audio books.
After reading the statistic that over one million free electronic books are on the Internet it is time to catch up on some of those classics that I have always wanted to read.
Once again the positive impact of the Internet on modern day life can be seen in this technology. It’s wonderful to have these listening options and to see the positive offering of free eBooks balancing the negative aspects of the online world.

#21 (Week 9) Podcasts

I have been hearing about Podcasts in many different ways. As I drove to work the radio announcer mentioned they now have Podcasts of interviews on their website. Recently I took a road trip with a friend who listens to Podcasts from NPR. In exploring the NPR site I added an RSS feed to my Bloglines-
Media Matters with Bob McChesney
I can catch up on past Podcasts as well as hear the latest presentation.

In looking at Podcast Ally it was interesting to see how some libraries use the technology. I need to explore ways I can incorporate this technology into our program. Book review Podcasts might be a fun. Once again it seems that the new Web 2.0 tools are continually growing and finding ways to incorporate them into the library media program will be both exciting and challenging.

#20 (Week 9) Discover YouTube

It is hard to be on the computer and not realize the impact YouTube has. One or my recent discoveries when watching my 18 month old granddaughter is Elmo is very popular in the world of YouTube. What a great combination -"Elmo and Bocelli". Her Dad is a musician and she is an Elmo fan! I managed to link to the video - hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Elmo and Andre Bocelli

I think the possibilities are limitless for finding video that might work on a library website but the issue that arises is teachers at school can access Youtube for classroom use but students are restricted from the site. This limits the way that this video can be used on the library website.

#19 (Week 8) LibraryThing

Exploring LibraryThing has been fun and I am going to use this to keep a record of books I have read. A teacher has requested help from a student to organize her classroom library and what a great tool LibraryThing will be to catalog her collection of books.
When looking at the way other libraries use LibraryThing I have decided to use it as a way to list new books in the library and add a link on the library website.
Check out the fiction books I have read - it will be a fun to keep adding to the list and I think I just might become a lifetime member.

#18 (Week 8) Online productivity tools

This is a terrific Web 2.0 tool. I can think of so many ways it can be used and it is an excellent way to do work at school and home. Students often collaborate on work and this program would help facilitate group work.
I often have students email work to me at school when they have printing problems and with this program they could work from home and access their work in school to edit and print.
I found it a very easy process to post from Zoho Writer to my blog.

#17 (Week 7) Wikis and Learning 2.0

This week I have spent a great deal of time exploring Wikis. I have started a school book review wiki on PBwiki and hope to encourage students and staff to write reviews of books they have read. With a wiki on Wikispaces and PBwiki, it is now time to explore MediaWiki. The challenge is to find what program works best for me and to find ways to incorporate this technology into the library and school curriculum.