Thing #15

Going to the library today is not like going to the library when I was in elementary school.

I just finished teaching all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders about all of the databases our school district provides them. After 3 -4 weeks of going over everyone (in detail), the kids finally realized they have a library at their fingertips - on their computers. When I was explaining World Book Online and Britannica Online, I showed them a real encyclopedia. Most had no idea what it was! I told them a story of when I was in elementary school and how my mom would have to take me to the public library on Saturdays and we would spend the morning in the reference section of the library hoping no other kid was using the same volume that I needed. I then explained to them, that now I stay in my pajamas and do all my research on my computer.

It was amazing how I showed the students these resources and how they have started using them. The kids are ready for all of the Web 2.0 stuff, but are the teachers/librarians ready to teach them?

Web 2.0 is changing things, especially the library. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 are good changes and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Thing #14

To start off this post, I have to tell the truth ... I did not like Technorati. First of all, I became confused because the screens that were shown in the information video are not the same screens I see when I go to the Technorati web site. I even joined, thinking it would change, but I was wrong. So the information video did not help me - I had to explore the whole site myself to find all of the features they had talked about.

I did a keyword search for 'School Library Learning 2.0' and I found 0 blog posts, 4 tags, and 38 blogs. After finding the link to the popular blogs, searches, and top 100, I found an interesting blog titled - Blog tips to help you make money blogging. I also noticed that most of the top blogs were blogs about blogs.

I joined Technorati and I even claimed my blog, but to tell you the truth I do not think I will ever use it again. I found it very confusing and I did not like the lay out at all. From my viewpoint, I can not figure out a way that Technorati will ever assist me. Every other thing that I have been exploring for my 23 things has been somewhat useful, but I did not enjoy this thing at all.

After completing all of the things that had me learn and explore tagging, I think tagging is very useful - especially when I can select the tags myself. I think it a better way of organizing web sites and blogs.

Thing #13

After watching all of the tutorials and exploring Del.icio.us, I think social bookmarking is a great way to find information about a certain topic all in one place. Instead of using a search engine and making my way through thousands of websites, I can use a social bookmarking site and see the sites that other people find useful. It is almost like having someone else do the work for me. :) Just by typing in one of my favorite hobbies - scrapbooking - I was able to find several useful web sites that sold products that I need and great ideas for layouts.

I think social bookmarking sites can be used either as a research assistance or just as a place to store your bookmarks. I think it depends on the person who is using it and what their needs are. Like the Del.icio.us tutorial (http://www.ottergroup.com/learning2.0/?p=14) said, it is a great tool for building a shared reading list, finding information for research, and just to share great web sites.

There are many ways a library could take advantage of using a social bookmarking site. For example, if a class is doing research on endangered animals then the librarian could tag several web sites and then have the students access those sites through the social bookmarking site. Students could also see and use the most popular sites with that tag.

Thing #12

After reading the different articles and postings about commenting on blogs I found the two points that I think are important from the Ten Commandments of Blog Commenting: http://www.brownbaron.com/blog/2007/07/17/the-ten-commandments-of-blog-commenting/.

The first point that I think is important was commandment #1 - Read before you write. It said that you should always read the full blog and completely understand it before posting a comment. It is like the saying, 'think before you speak' - you do not want to put your foot in your mouth and you do not want to feel foolish.

The second point that I think is important was commandment #4 - Contribute. This point was in all of the articles about commenting. It emphasizes not to just post a simple comment like 'Nice job,' but add something that will contribute to the topic and continue a conversation.

I have not commented on any blogs yet... more to come later...

Thing #11

I really liked using LibraryThing. It will be a great way for me to keep track of the books I read. I also liked that I could rate the books and that would help me to remember what I thought about each book.

I think that LibrayThing could also be used in a school library: older & responsible students could use LibraryThing to keep track of the books they read. It would be a great way for students to keep track of Bluebonnet or Lone Star books.

I started looking into groups and was able to find many groups that had the same interests that I do. I looked up Jan Austen groups and found a huge list of groups that love the work of Jane Austen.

I also was able to add my Author cloud and LibraryThing search box to my blog (look to your right).

Thing #10

I had a lot of fun with the image generators. I created so many that I could only choose a few of them to share. The following was created at Comic Strip Generator (http://www.comicstripgenerator.com/).

I then created the following at ImageChef (http://www.imagechef.com/)



This is the one question that I get asked at least once a week by one of my library students. Let me just say: we have signs everywhere to help the students find the different sections of the library.

Thing #9

I found Blogline and Google Blog search the easiest to use when looking for feeds to add to my Google Reader. Both were easy for me because I was able to just put in a search term and then I had a list of blogs to choose from. The most confusing was syndic8.com. The page was filled with too much information and I became overwhelmed.

I was able to find a lot of useful blogs for elementary school libraries. When looking through library blogs, I was able to find the bookshelf that I added to my blog (look to your right) I also found some blogs for T.V. shows I love to watch, but sometimes miss. I also found a blog that was full of technology cartoons: http://geekandpoke.typepad.com/geekandpoke/ It was a little unusual. And to tell you the truth, I did not completely understand a lot of the cartoons I read. Once I started finding several useful sites, I started looking at the other sites that were connected to them. I found several sites by doing this.