Thing #15 - Wikis

I must admit that prior to my discovery learning I was a bit concerned about the authenticity of wikis. I could only imagine what people might add to someone's wiki. After further review I think that it would be best to have a private wiki where a password is needed to edit content. I think it is an interesting way to get content across. I think that at the elementary level the greatest obstacle we will face is the classroom teacher - resistance to new technology, lack of time, etc. At this point I see the wiki used more among library colleagues, then with students. I'm tossing around the idea of the best way to create a wiki for MISD Elementary librarians based on sharing/using Mockingbird books. Something to pursue after 23 Things.

Thing #14 - Web 2.0

As I read various articles related to libraries and Web 2.0, I'm not sure that my mind can comprehend all that is involved with Web 2.0. I understand that it is the read/write aspect to the web. I'm having a hard time grasping all that it encompasses: Google docs, MySpace, blogs, del.icio.us, and the multitude of other things that I have yet to explore. What I do know is that it means that the things we do with the students in the library will change. I just don't know how fast it will actually happen. We will need to come up with new ways to meet the student's needs. I think to myself that I won't have to worry about it so much in the elementary setting, but I know that deep down it isn't true. I like the Library 2.0 Manifesto and what that librarian has listed, especially regarding the change and resistant colleagues. Our biggest problem at this point is the resistance I believe that the classroom teachers will put forth. Only time will tell!

Thing #13 - Social Bookmarking

I set up my own del.icio.us account. I thought it was neat to see if others had bookmarked the same things as myself. One thing I noticed is that even though you can access your bookmarks from any computer - by knowing your web address for del.icio.us - you will have to add the post to del.icio.us button to each computer you use to be able to add to your account from any other computer. I noticed that with Furl and Magnolia as well. I may be missing something though. I thought that Furl had an interesting ability and that is to archive the web pages that you tagged. It is really frustrating when you bookmark a site and it is gone. Furl would have an archived copy of the page. That could be really beneficial in the library for research purposes. This is one thing that will take more time to use and explore for me to decide how much I like it. Right now it appears to be beneficial.

Thing #12 - Social Networking Sites

This one seems to be the one that is causing the most hoopla. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive at first. I've heard horror stories about myspace and also how so many young kids are using myspace to communicate with one another. I wasn't going to create a page, and then after reading so many posts on the subject I decided to create a page on myspace so that I could see what it was all about. I first had to have an introduction to the real thing from MW. After that I created a page and had a very difficult time trying to change the background and invite friends. I can't seem to get it to work (probably user error, not computer error). Having created a page and looking at things, I can say it really doesn't interest me.

What does interest me, is discovering where our students are with the social networking. I created a survey similar to Bookmaid's and will be using that with the students soon. I took an informal poll at lunch the other day to see which teachers had their own social network page. I was amazed by the responses. Several had myspace pages, one had a Xanga page and one had a facebook page. Several teachers were clueless. The teachers are all different ages. The one with a facebook page was talking about how much better facebook is because there aren't as many ads. This topic created an interesting lunch conversation. One teacher was commenting on how poorly students write nowadays because they write like they text.

I'm glad I created a page to see what it is all about, but I don't really see the need for it in schools - though it might be a way to get the reluctant, unmotivated student to perform! BTW - here is the link to my page: Anna's myspace page

Thing #11 - Library Thing

I liked Library Thing, but it isn't for me. I love to read and I am a firm believer in utilizing the library; therefore, I very rarely buy books for myself. As a result, I have very few books to catalog. I think it would be very beneficial for a person who wants to catalog his or her personal library. There are some very interesting posts out there and a person could easily spend all his or her free time tied to the computer checking everything out. I did catalog some of the books that I do have and you can check out my bookshelf.

Thing #10 - Online Image Generators

Oh my! This is another one of the fun toys that you could play with for hours. I looked at several of them and there are thousands of images to play with - plus any of your personal photos you would like to enhance. I found that several of the ones that enabled you to add your own text and change fonts, sizes, etc. were a little difficult to manipulate (getting centered, etc.). Overall it was a lot of fun though. I could see this being useful in the library for adding images to the web page. Instead of placing a plain photo on the site, you can embellish it in hundreds of different ways. I am attaching a couple of images that I made.

Thing #9 - Finding RSS Feeds

I looked at all of the different ways of searching for feeds. I was surprised at the huge volume of feeds that are available. For someone that is still new to all of this, it was quite overwhelming. I found technorati to be VERY overwhelming - probably because of all the different types of things that are available. I saw some "interesting" pictures and articles related to celebrities on technorati - it's amazing what is out there! I think I liked the edublogs award winners site the best. Probably because it is someone's version of the best of the best. It was interesting to read blogs from people all over the world. After checking bloglines for about a month now, I do believe I like using the reader.