#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.

#16 (Week 7) Discovering Wikis

After viewing the many wiki sites it is amazing the various ways this technology can be used. I work with high school students who are always willing to share their opinions on books they have read. One of my projects will be to create a school book lovers wiki.

Seeing the different sites that offer free wiki space was interesting. I recently started a wiki on Wikispaces with the MSLA Recommended Information Fluency Standards for Grades 9 to12. My goal is to present this to the staff to document how the classroom teachers are meeting these standards within the curriculum. It is time to explore the other sites and find which one I find the best fit for my future wiki projects.

#15 (Week 6) Web2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries

As I began my readings for this week the realization has come that in the process of learning about Web 2.0 tools I am beginning to re-evaluate my library and what can be changed to make it a resource that will benefit future students. In Away from Icebergs Rick Anderson says “it no longer makes sense to collect information products as if they were hard to get.” That one statement has opened my mind to a redesigning my budget and how I spend the money I do have.

But what must be considered is how to best spend the money in the budget to purchase technology that will enhance the learning experience of our students and not “buy technology for the sake of technology” and make decisions “that redesigns for ease of use, user involvement and easily added/re-configured pieces” as Michael Stephens suggests in Into a new world of librarianship. This week one of my projects will be to look at my space and research possibilities for implementing changes.

Participating in The 23 Things has been a wonderful experience and learning about the many new web tools and reading new ideas about the future of libraries has made me see the need to change my thinking and reach out to the students and teachers in different ways.

But I will always keep trying to find the perfect book for a student to read and enjoy. Attending a Young Adult Workshop each year to keep knowledgeable on new titles will continue to be a priority for me. It is finding the balance that will be important and that includes attending workshops that will broaden my thinking – I am attending the Computers in Libraries conference in Virginia this spring and that should give me more incentive to embrace change in the library media center.

#14 (Week 6) Technorati and tags

I have explored Technorati and it may not be a site I use frequently. Reading family blogs is fun but I am not inclined to spend a great deal of my online time reading blogs. When doing the keyword search in Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog directory there were some differences but many of the results were connected to the 23 things that are part of this discovery learning program.

Technorati does do a great job searching and tracking blogs. In a previous post I mentioned a Web 2.0 site I did not find useful and within an hour I had a request from the site to get feedback on my experience.

#13 (Week 6) – Discovering Del-icio-us

My Del-icio-us account is up and running and I think as time goes on it will become a great tool for me to manage my online favorites both at work and home. Unfortunately, the tutorial was not working but as I explored the many links it became evident what a useful tool this will be. I have added the SJLibraryLearning2 RSS feed to my bloglines. In a very short amount of time I have incorporated Web 2.0 tools into my online life and these tools have impacted the way I use the Internet.

What I have come to realize is the Internet and the Web 2.0 tools that are developing can take a great deal of the hours in a day and I personally will work hard to not let the computer consume my daily life.

#12 (Week 5) - Rollyo Search Tool

I created a Young Adult Book Review Search with Rollyo. Hopefully this will be a useful tool for me to search for books to encourage our high school students to read. I can't quite figure out how to put a link on my blog so I'll just move on and make this a future challange.

#11 (Week 5) – Explore Web 2.0 award winning applications and Ning

I visited the short list of award winners and you could spend hours exploring all the sites shown. I have purchased on Craigslist and my daughter has found housing twice in the DC area from this site so it doesn’t surprise me to see it take first place for Classified and Directories. Looking at #2 and #3 was interesting.

I didn’t find Oodle particularly useful but vflyer could be helpful to anyone who is trying to create a classified ad. In an educational setting this Web 2.0 application may be useful in a marketing class that designs Ads.

Lulu is a great site for anyone who wants to self-publish. We have many student writers and artists who might find this a great way to showcase their work and I can definitely see student interest in this site.

I am now a member of the Ning Teacher-Librarian Network. I’m not sure just how much I will use this resource – as I continue on with the 23 Things it is apparent that there just isn’t enough time in the day to be competent with all these wonderful tools. The computer already takes up a great deal of time in my life and balancing what is useful and worth spending some of that time on is going to be a challenge. But, I will add the RSS feed to my Bloglines and that might just be the answer to how I use the Teacher-Librarian Network. Wow, in just a few weeks I am managing some to these Web 2.0 Tools.

#10 (Week 5) - Play week -- Image generators

The only limit on the things you can do are finding the time and picking from all the possibilities. I'm going to have so much fun!!

#9 (Week 4) - Locate a few useful School Library related blogs and/or news feeds

RSS is a very useful and an interesting addition to my online life. Bloglines now has many feeds that I have organized into folders. Looking at sites where you search for feeds does not seem as helpful as finding RSS feeds on the sites I use often or find with my own searches. Having no luck searching for New York Times Book Reviews on Syndic8.com, I finally went directly to the actual site to subscribe.

One surprise came when I explored Blog Pulse, a program that tracks
conversations. "MSLA Web 2.0" brought a posting from my own blog.

#8 (Week 4) – Really Simple Syndication

I am now totally convinced that if you have a good enough explanation any technology can become understandable. RSS has been a hard concept for me to understand and in a very short time I now have set up a Bloglines account and subscribed to several feeds. After viewing Google Reader, it seems Bloglines will be my program of choice.

Working with high school students, one of my goals is finding books that will motivate them to read. The subscriptions at “Readers Club new reviews” will give me new titles to consider for purchase.

#7 (Week 3) – Technology and the world of Blogging

I am not a writer and could never see myself writing a blog that would be of interest to others. Frankly, I have wondered how people find the time to write and post their thoughts.

My first introduction to reading a blog on a regular basis began 17 months ago with the birth of my first grandchild. We are lucky to have Rosie living near us, but many family members live in California, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. What has been amazing is this blog and all the photos that have been included has allowed everyone to be able to experience the joy of seeing her grow-up. Her uncle in California has mentioned many times how this has been a wonderful way to be a part of the everyday experiences that are have brought her from infant to toddler. Recently, a video was posted of Rosie squishing her peas – laughing and having a wonderful time. Everyone has been able to share the fun moments in her life.

This has opened my mind to the benefits of blogging and how an interest can keep you reading and looking for more posts. It also has made me aware of the security issues and how it is important to not include personal information that one does not want the online world to know.

I don’t see myself starting a personal blog any time soon – but you can be sure I will keep checking on my favorite blog. All her local relatives are enjoying it as much as those living far away!

#6 (Week 3) - Flickr fun, mashups, and 3rd party sites

It is absolutely amazing to see the many applications that have been created with Flickr images. I had lots of fun with Montagr. "Costa Rica" and the "Library of Congress" made some amazing montages. I can see some gifts on the way with FD Toys. A puzzle with a photo of my grandaughter certainly would be fun and Mozaic Maker would be great to create a mosaic of pictures from a special vacation or holiday. They'll be on the list for unique gift ideas.

#5 (Week 3) - Explore Flickr

Capital from the Mall, originally uploaded by Zurmv.

It is amazing the amount of images that Flickr has and I decided to create an account and do some searching. In April I will be going to DC to attend the Internet@School East 2008 conference with a colleague who has never explored the city. The Library of Congress is on the top of the list and walking the Mall to visit the Monuments will be included. I searched Flickr and have found pictures of many of the places we will be going, including the "Tastee Diner". It should be fun to share these photos with her.

#4 (Week 2) - Register your blog

It's time to go public!! I am going to share this experience with some friends and family and by completing #4 on the list I have made a major move toward understanding the world of blogging. Now it's on to #5.

#3 (Week 2) - Create a blog & avatar

It has been easier than I thought to set up this blog and design an avatar. Exporting the avatar to my blog was a challenge and it feels great to have completed this. It should be fun to continue with the program and as I write on the blog it gets easier to be a part of the blogging world - something that has never interested me.

#2 (Week 1) - Lifelong Learning Habits

The tutorial "71/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners" was interesting. "Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind" is the easiest for me to follow. The hardest is "Habit 4: Have the confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner." I always doubt my capabilities and hopefully that will change and I will gain more self-confidence in my ability to learn the new technologies that are part of Web 2.0.
My Learning Contract involves a Wiki that will be presenting the Massachusetts Recommended PreK-12 Information Fluency Standards from MSLA to the staff of my school. I have set a schedule and hope to follow this and have a format for staff to input ways they have met these standards during the year.

#1 (Week 1) - About the Program

It is exciting to read about the program and the things that I will be learning. I was fortunate to have attended the Internet@Schools East 2007 and hear the presentation Lee Rainie gave "Web 2.0 and What it means to Libraries". It made me think of the changes in the way we will be educating future students. This program is a perfect way to introduce myself to all the Web 2.0 tools that our students will be using in the future.

The Beginning

Today I am entering the world of Web 2.0. Hopefully this new adventure will help to bring new ways to enhance the learning experiences of our students.