Thing 23

This is a wonderful learning tool! I appreciated the chance to finish during a "second round". It was difficult to commit work time but definitely worth every minute. These lessons were a great opportunity to broaden my horizons and hopefully the skills learned will translate into benefit to the library. I hope to revisit several of the lessons and apply them to my home life as well.

Thing 22

I will make a resolution to maintain my blog, use the tools, keep up with new tools, and apply them to the library. I'm not promising how much time and effort will be put into this, but it's a good resolution. I'll try to be open to new technologies and methods and will try to greet them with anticipation not dread. How's that for high hopes?

Thing 21

I read the articles, joined the 23 Things on a Stick Ning, and added a photo. "Bake Space" is a social network that I may look into more closely.

Thing 20

I watched the Facebook tutorial and created a Facebook account, filled in a sketchy profile, wrote on one wall joined the "Librarians and Facebook" group. Technical difficulties made the experience a little frustrating in the evening. Will try again.

Thing 19

I looked at a number of the podcast directories and browsed for library information. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/tools/podcasts/grammar_grater.xml
was an interesting podcast for anyone interested in "English words, grammar and usage for the Information Age".

Thing 18

YouTube and Google Video are fun was to share video. It might be great way to introduce the public to library offerings and highlight past activities of the library.

Thing 17

The tools/databases here have become some of the most, if not THE most important tools available to patrons. The databases provide very current information as well as helpful historic information. Some of the tools have all but replaced reference texts, general use books and magazines/journals. Fast and easy searching makes research so much easier than the methods used decades ago. Some of the tools better lend themselves to academic and research activities than general public library use but are really helpful.

Thing 16

What a helpful resource for keeping a student or project coordinator on target. The organized person is more likely to love a plan like this. The teacher guides provide a visual, tangible step-by-step plan. Any large library project would probably benefit from a tracking system like this.

Thing 15

Puzzle Pirates is entertaining. It's a stretch, in my mind, to find strong ties to a library "purpose" but I suppose something like this draws children and young adults to the site. Second Life is like a step into "FutureWorld" only the future is now. Again, I wonder how much impact a Second Life "life" has on potential library use. If a person's spare time (what spare time?) is spent in a virtual world, is there time to pursue knowledge, entertainment, etc. in the real world library? I'll probably have a different impression as time goes by.

Thing 14

LibraryThing is a good way to share favorites and recommendations. I created an account and added a few items.

Thing 13

Online calendars and personal organizers can work really well when you are online much of your day...at home, at work, and away. Portable internet access (iphones, etc.) lend themselves to this better than having to find a wireless access, cable, access, etc. Backpack is amazing. With other systems in place at work and at home, I don't anticipate using these in the near future.

Thing 12

These tools are great if you enjoy sharing your thoughts or are interested in reading what others think. One drawback is that statements/headlines may not be based on fact. One headline pronounced the results of an event that had not even taken place, yet. They may be productivity enhancers if you're compiling information or thoughts about information. They may be productivity detractors if you become bogged down in the volumes of thoughts.

Thing 11

I added tags to my blog and created a Del.icio.us account. These are really helpful with collaborative projects...especially in the education field. If I spent more time gathering research data I would definitely use this tool.

Thing 10

What did you find interesting about the wiki concept? Anyone can add or edit. All participants is the same document...no need to catch up on e-mails to stay current.
What types of applications within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki? Additions to the catalog, community information sharing, in-house communication and policy sharing...
Many teachers/faculty "ban" Wikipedia as a source for student research. What do you think of the practice of limiting information by format? It can be a good place to start, but confirm information elsewhere.
Which wiki did you edit? 23things on a stick wiki.

Thing 9

Zoho Writer had great templates. What an easy way to share and update information on a project. Need to create tickets to an event? Just edit their example. The resume and cover letter portions my be of great help to patrons trying to create their own. Google Docs didn't seem as "flashy" but looks to be very functional. I had difficulty trying to edit documents without creating an account or having someone provide permission. I probably missed something.

Thing 8

Thing 8 was a lot of fun and with a little help from a co-worker, the cube is spinning. The Library of Congress photo archives is a real treasure. The photo cube is spinning on the side of the blog.

Thing 7

Email-Not surprising, the most familiar of the tools. The tips for e-mail productivity were good reminders.

Instant messaging-Interesting articles. This is used at our reference desk but may be an under used service. Interesting quote from Karen Wenk, science digital initiatives librarian, Rutgers University, "We are able to talk about things that we would hesitate to say in an email," she notes. "Office politics and more 'feeling' type of things are best said without the thought of an everlasting email trail." (smile)

Text messaging-As mentioned in the article, this may be a good tool for reserve notices..but don't patron's pay for every text message? This might create a bit of bad PR.

Web conferencing-One of the most beneficial bits of technology in my mind. Save travel time, save gasoline, learn without hassle.

Thing 6

Graphics are more and more important in today's world. Catching the patron's eye can lead to more library usage. This was a good lesson in saving and sharing images.

Thing 5

It's amazing to see some of the tools out there. Spell with Flickr could provide fun graphics for childrens' or young adult web pages or promotional items. The "add image" icon would not allow the upload, but adding the address to "edit Html" proved to be the solution. Playing on these sites is, indeed, time consuming.

Thing 4

Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17F bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. Better known as the "Flying Fortress". Photo from the Library of Congress' photo files.



The Common craft video people did a nice job. I was able to create Flickr account, was able to upload a picture, and added tags. On to Thing 5 for more adventures with Flickr.

Thing 3

Ok. I read about RSS feeds and watched the video, set up a bloglines account, searched for some interesting sites with RSS options, and added a few feeds. This is a helpful tool, especially if you're willing to spend the time to keep up with the information. The video was very creative but would stop and start with great frequency. Technology is still not keeping up with the creative imagination. It's also a challenge to spend large blocks of time to fully appreciate the capabilites. Perhaps these opportunities will move up my priority list with time.

Thing 2

The blog post by John Blyber and the article about Library 2.0 from "Library Technology Reports" were interesting. After repeated tries, only the virtual library video has been viewable. Perhaps another day or another time of day will bring success. The overall concepts are challenging and may be most appealing to those with a sci-fi bent. So many issues come to the forefront. Aspects of the "new library world" are fun and exciting while other issues, including authorship, identity, ethics, and privacy are not comfortable yet.

Thing 1

Thing 1 was interesting and challenging. Parts of the lesson seemed easy/obvious and other parts drove me to ask questions. Accessorizing the avatar , I have to admit, was lots of fun. "23 Things" should prove to be a useful learning tool.