Thing #18 - Online Productivity Tools

I went into exploring this activity with a negative mind. I worked for a school district that had went away from Microsoft Office and subscribed the whole district to another tool that was supposed to be interactive. We had a lot of problems with student work created at home that was Microsoft Office with it converting to the other program. Teachers also had problems as well. As you can imagine, it made it hard for me as the librarian and technologists at the time to help people. It was very frustrating. But, I thought I would explore at least one of the free tools. I like the word "free" if really does work. I decided to explore Google docs because I already had a google account. It worked very nicely. I created a spreadsheet and a word document using it and I had no problems. Everything seemed easy. I saved them on my account. Tomorrow is going to be the catch all. I am going to go up to school and try to open these documents and use them at school. I will print them out and see how that works. I felt like it worked nicely and I can store the documents from home on google docs and then open them at school. I still like Microsoft Office because I am so use to it. I don't want anything to go wrong with the two different programs interacting. I would think that it would be the worse disadvantage if there was a problem with the two programs interacting. It will be interesting to see and another tool that we can use.

Thing #17 - Rollyo

I loved the video that one of the Library2Play players made. It made it so much easier to understand. I wasn't sure I was going to like Rollyo but I understood his Teacher Tube video and was able to download some bookmarks, find another persons search and add it to mine, and also make my own searchroll. Here is teh link that I created for my searchroll titled Library Lessons. http://rollyo.com/tfishman/library_lessons/ It was a lot of fun. I would like to add some more of my links and make this available to the teachers. I have a lot of good information that will help students search and get through all of the yuck on the internet.

Thing # 16 - Wikis

I never knew what Wikipedia meant. I always knew that it was an encyclopedia that anyone could contribute to but now I know the underlying meaning behind it. I think Wikis could be of great help for our teachers or our students. There are many wikis that could be set up, either with curriculum or a certain topic. Students could add to the information around a project. Teachers could add to the information around a certain staff development project. I went into the sandbox project and posted a wiki entry. I was able to read some others as well. A lot of the links that were provided while working on Thing #16 were excellent. I especially like Joyce Valenza's posting. I like all of the different wikis that were set up. I liked the book lists that can be added to and changed. I also liked the wikis on podcasts. There are a lot of wikis out there for me that can help me become a better librarian and I can also contribute back to them. But, I would like to set up a wiki this year at our school, maybe try it at the Junior High level with a teacher. We could start a wiki on the Catholic Saints. It would be interesting and fun to try. It will be nice to integrate the technology that I have learned into our school little by little.

Thing # 15 - Web 2.0; Library 2.0

Good Question - What does library 2.0 mean to me or my school? I really enjoyed what Michael Stephens had to say in the article Into a New World of Librarianship. I feel that it is very important to have a user-centered library where users can access the library from school and home. I also feel that the user should be a part of the library planning. It will take collaboration from the user and the library staff to work together to continually change and plan the library to reach the needs of the user. The library should be a place that meets the continual change of people, the web, and technology. We are the providers and we should always be on the cutting edge. It is always my privilege to provide an atmosphere where the user and myself can work together. That is what library 2.0 means to me, everchanging, everserving, evercollaborating, always looking towards the future.

Thing #14 - Technorati

I am still not sure that I favor Technorati. It had a lot of information on it and some neat blogs. I just feel like there is so much to weed through. I did realize that it was easier to search by tags than to search by blogs or all of the information. I enjoyed looking through the most popular blogs and the most searched. It was interesting to see all of the different blogs. I find that Technorati could be helpful if there was a certain interest or topic that someone would be looking for. It would be a great tool for a librarian's belt to help a student or a teacher. I think that as time comes and I get to use to using it, I will find it more helpful. I have enjoyed the class and learned a lot. This one was definitely not my favorite.

Thing #13 - Delicious and Social Bookmarking

Delicious is AWESOME! I don't know how I did without it for so long. There are so many different opportunities that social bookmarking sites provide for us as educators. I feel like it does serve as a place for me to house all my bookmarks in one place so that they aren't on all different computers. But, using the tag capabilities allows us to categorize our bookmarks and use them to the best of our abilities. At my school, we have folders assigned to different themes, categories, etc. for research and curriculum enhancement. I can see how using Delicious would make this so much easier. We could have accounts set up for our classes or for research projects. It would make things much easier for students and teachers while working on activities or articles. I can't wait to continue working on my Delicious account and adding all of my favorites! Not only can teachers take advantage of these sites but librarians can too. This could allow students to look up books or book reviews. They can find books by authors that they like or themes that they like to read. There are endless possibilities especially when using the tag capabilities.

Thing #12 - Commenting

Two important parts about commenting are to get involved with the blog and be a part of the conversation and to be aware of the DC (Darth Commenter.) I always worried about what would someone think if they thought my blog or comment was silly or dumb. I think that if we all follow commenting etiquette, we wouldn't have this problem. I also like the information about getting involved and really commenting and "speaking" with the blogger. Short comments don't really mean anything. The first time I had someone comment on my blog, I was so excited. I felt like someone was really interested. I thought about her comments and how she took the time to care. I immediately wanted to check her blog which is what comments can also help us do. It will lead us to other great blogs. I have commented on five of the players with Library2Play. I went to two blogs and commented on them. The first blog was a book review blog. I commented on the book that was being posted and the review. The second was a podcast. I commented on the great podcast. I really enjoyed the interesting "comments" and "rules" that I read about commenting. It made me really want to take more time to comment on other people's blogs. And, it made me realize that blogging is only one part but that commenting is just as much needed as blogging.

Thing #11 - Library Thing

This was a neat website. Library Thing is the title. It is a way to catalog the books you have read. The thing that I like about it is the local connection to bookstores, other libraries, and events. You can also identify reviews, recommendations determined on the books you have already read. I also like the fact that you can sign up to get an advanced copy of a book and become the reviewer. I have always wanted to be a book reviewer. This is one way to become one. My link to my library catalog on Library thing is http://www.librarything.com/catalog/tfishman. I have created a widget to display some of my books. :-)

Thing #10 - Online Image Generators

I really enjoyed using the image generators. I liked using the Comic Strip Generator and Image Chef. I did not like going to happy face generators or custom sign generators. Every time I tried to make something, it either didn't work or was charging me for the sign. I am having a problem getting one of my images to download.


Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com

Well, I finally got it to work. I would have a lot of fun with the image generators. Students and teachers can use them for writing, presentations, book cover projects, and many other exciting things. I can't wait to show people these sites.

Thing #9 - Explore Blogs and News Feeds

Exploring RSS feeds was interesting. There is so much out there that you aren't even aware of. Sometimes it is overwhelming. I could find myself on the computer all day using these interesting tools but then I wouldn't get my work done! There wasn't a blog searcher that I liked the most. I am so new at this that each one of them intrigued me. I liked the award blog searcher. It was nice to have the lists of winners for the different subjects that were awarded. It made it easier for me. That search site was Edublog's Award Winners. I didn't like Technorati as much because there was a lot to the site. I like things a little more simple for me. I was able to find some great feeds on library skills, book talks, and podcasts. There are some strange ones out there on the news, politics, anything under the sun. You just have to look for them. I really liked the Topix website. That allows you to search and find some great RSS feeds. This has been a fun exploration tool. I have enjoyed exploring RSS feeds. I really have a lot to learn still.