The prof for this semester's class asked that we blog what we have learned from our readings for the week. The readings were pretty intense, actually. It is all about how things work on the internet, search engines, file formats, etc. I feel pretty comfortable with most things internet, but when I read through this week's information I started to go a little crosseyed. I began to realize that I haven't really cared to know how it works, just that it does!
What the readings did help me to realize though is I DO need to have an understanding of how things work on the internet. The most important I feel is the file formats, especially when it comes to posting things to my webpage or blogspot. File formats can make a big difference in how quickly information will be accessed. If the file is too big, it will slow things down and lead to frustrated customers.
I also learned, or re-learned that blogger doesn't work at my school, so if I would truly like to pick back up on blogging, I need to choose a different avenue to use. Which, honestly, I'm a little surprised by it, considering our school mail is now powered by Google. I guess I need to do some investigating and see if the service they are providing us includes blogging. I know we can make webpages....anyway, not the point of the assignment fully, but a chance to ponder.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Things #16-23
It is the final blog for my 23 things adventure. While it has been frustrating to discover that a lot of the tools are not accessible through my public school library, there are a few that do work, and actually taking the time to learn about a lot of tools I've only heard about has been a lot of fun and educational. So here are the final things....
#16 Assignment calculator and research project calculators. From a student and teacher perspective these tools are really cool. Users put in their begin and end dates for whatever needs to be accomplished and the calculator breaks it down into goals, by using time management skills. I'm a list maker, so this tool is a lot of fun for me to play with.
#17 The ELM. This is what I like about it, and this comes from the 23 things blog site: "Every Minnesotan is entitled access to these resources. In some cases, the ELM databases represent the total number of research resources that a library can afford and in others an essential supplement to their collection of e-resources." Does it get any better than that?
#18 Youtube and other online videos. I like and dislike YouTube. I like YouTube because I've used it to learn how to knit, how to poach an egg, and my Dad used it to remodel his house. What I don't like are the "other" videos that come up when I am searching for innocent things. This is part of the reason why I don't let students use it at school. I can't control it. Teacher Tube is sometimes a good alternative, but they don't nearly the content as YouTube. Our task is to post a video into our blog, which I've never known how to do! I'm choosing a video I found useful in my personal life. Knitting in the round.
#19 Podcasts. They mention Gcast, which is something I learned about a couple years ago at a technology conference. It is a way to phone in and post a podcast. It is really a neat thing to use, and sooo super simple. When I was a classroom teacher, I had some instructional podcasts. We also had our students create podcasts. A great way to get information out to users, and they are small, meaning they don't take up that precious "space". Being a math teacher, I prefer using tools like Jing that records a video of the computer screen. Students can see and hear step by step how to solve a math problem. I am able to link these small videos to my webpage, making it easy for students to access at home.
#20 & 21. Facebook, myspace, and other social networks. Ahh, something I spend way too much time on! What is interesting is to look at these social networks from a professional perspective, and to also discover that there are more beyond my beloved Facebook. I am beginning to see how these can be used effectively in a library setting, but of course, they are blocked in my school district.
#22. Making a promise to keep up with my blog and to use the tools I've learned about in my library. I plan to keep up my blog, but it will probably change to being one about bicycling. I can't even access this blog in my future library setting, so I'm going to try and find a blog site that CAN work there. The tools that I can get to at school will be the ones from this project that I use. They are fun and useful.
#23. Reporting my adventure. That is what this blog has been about. After this, I will be truly "switching gears". This has been fun and informative.
Things 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23..........DONE!!!!!
#16 Assignment calculator and research project calculators. From a student and teacher perspective these tools are really cool. Users put in their begin and end dates for whatever needs to be accomplished and the calculator breaks it down into goals, by using time management skills. I'm a list maker, so this tool is a lot of fun for me to play with.
#17 The ELM. This is what I like about it, and this comes from the 23 things blog site: "Every Minnesotan is entitled access to these resources. In some cases, the ELM databases represent the total number of research resources that a library can afford and in others an essential supplement to their collection of e-resources." Does it get any better than that?
#18 Youtube and other online videos. I like and dislike YouTube. I like YouTube because I've used it to learn how to knit, how to poach an egg, and my Dad used it to remodel his house. What I don't like are the "other" videos that come up when I am searching for innocent things. This is part of the reason why I don't let students use it at school. I can't control it. Teacher Tube is sometimes a good alternative, but they don't nearly the content as YouTube. Our task is to post a video into our blog, which I've never known how to do! I'm choosing a video I found useful in my personal life. Knitting in the round.
#19 Podcasts. They mention Gcast, which is something I learned about a couple years ago at a technology conference. It is a way to phone in and post a podcast. It is really a neat thing to use, and sooo super simple. When I was a classroom teacher, I had some instructional podcasts. We also had our students create podcasts. A great way to get information out to users, and they are small, meaning they don't take up that precious "space". Being a math teacher, I prefer using tools like Jing that records a video of the computer screen. Students can see and hear step by step how to solve a math problem. I am able to link these small videos to my webpage, making it easy for students to access at home.
#20 & 21. Facebook, myspace, and other social networks. Ahh, something I spend way too much time on! What is interesting is to look at these social networks from a professional perspective, and to also discover that there are more beyond my beloved Facebook. I am beginning to see how these can be used effectively in a library setting, but of course, they are blocked in my school district.
#22. Making a promise to keep up with my blog and to use the tools I've learned about in my library. I plan to keep up my blog, but it will probably change to being one about bicycling. I can't even access this blog in my future library setting, so I'm going to try and find a blog site that CAN work there. The tools that I can get to at school will be the ones from this project that I use. They are fun and useful.
#23. Reporting my adventure. That is what this blog has been about. After this, I will be truly "switching gears". This has been fun and informative.
Things 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23..........DONE!!!!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Things #11- 15
Another big blog of things...it is amazing how time sneaks up. Here I felt I had all the time in the world to explore the 23 things, and now I need to be done in a week. So, I'm cranking out as many as possible.
#11- tagging and del.icio.us: Okay, how many times have I gotten to work and needed to access a website that is bookmarked on my computer at home? This would be so handy for me to use....if it wasn't blocked at my work. Oh well. Another one bites the dust.
#12- social media sites: Not sure if these will work at work or not. I have a feeling one or all may not. What fun these were to explore though! My kind of news on most of them...mindless. Like a posting that is a picture of a guy walking with a ginormous shirt on and his pants around his ankles. They titled it something not appropriate for me to put here and then everyone commented on it. LOVE it! No editors just people sharing their thoughts on what they are reading or seeing.
#13- Again, not sure if these would work at work. But, my online productivity tool I am going to use for my website is the countdown clock. I had to guess on when summer school will be over and (God willing) I will be done with school. I can think of lots of fun countdowns that could be used in the library world.
#14- Library Thing: Oh, I really hope this one works at school. I think this is a fun site, and the suggestions offered on the 23 things blog site on how to use this on a library website makes me want to do it!
#15- Libraries and games: I will definitely have to email the links for the online virtual games given in this thing. It will be interesting to see if this one is available or not, especially knowing the big hoopla about gaming and the libraries. (Yes, I have to email it to myself, because I can't access my blog at work either). The types of games, especially Second Life can be very dangerous for me. I had to stop playing Sims when I had my first child because if I hadn't stopped I'm afraid I would have been charged with child neglect.
Okay, so a few I was able to play around with at home, that is always a given ...but the true test will be tomorrow when I try them at work. Again, so many really cool and useful things that I could use in my future library, DENIED. Oh well. I will make the best with what I can use. For now, Things #11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.....DONE!!
#11- tagging and del.icio.us: Okay, how many times have I gotten to work and needed to access a website that is bookmarked on my computer at home? This would be so handy for me to use....if it wasn't blocked at my work. Oh well. Another one bites the dust.
#12- social media sites: Not sure if these will work at work or not. I have a feeling one or all may not. What fun these were to explore though! My kind of news on most of them...mindless. Like a posting that is a picture of a guy walking with a ginormous shirt on and his pants around his ankles. They titled it something not appropriate for me to put here and then everyone commented on it. LOVE it! No editors just people sharing their thoughts on what they are reading or seeing.
#13- Again, not sure if these would work at work. But, my online productivity tool I am going to use for my website is the countdown clock. I had to guess on when summer school will be over and (God willing) I will be done with school. I can think of lots of fun countdowns that could be used in the library world.
Created by OnePlusYou
#14- Library Thing: Oh, I really hope this one works at school. I think this is a fun site, and the suggestions offered on the 23 things blog site on how to use this on a library website makes me want to do it!
#15- Libraries and games: I will definitely have to email the links for the online virtual games given in this thing. It will be interesting to see if this one is available or not, especially knowing the big hoopla about gaming and the libraries. (Yes, I have to email it to myself, because I can't access my blog at work either). The types of games, especially Second Life can be very dangerous for me. I had to stop playing Sims when I had my first child because if I hadn't stopped I'm afraid I would have been charged with child neglect.
Okay, so a few I was able to play around with at home, that is always a given ...but the true test will be tomorrow when I try them at work. Again, so many really cool and useful things that I could use in my future library, DENIED. Oh well. I will make the best with what I can use. For now, Things #11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.....DONE!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Things #7-10
It has been a couple weeks since I've been on here, so I have some major catching up to do. I had mentioned in an earlier post that I am unable to access some of these great tools from my workplace which is a public school system. The same system that I intend to have a future library job with. This is a frustration. I am discovering a lot of cool tools that are available and am coming up with ways I could use them in my future library....but won't be able to! Ugh.
Thing #7: Web 2.0 communication tools. I am very good at the tools they mention, email, text, IM, video conferencing, network sites, etc. What I really enjoyed reading about are the ways a librarian can use them. What a great way to get instant answers and help! A student that is accessing the online card catalog but having difficulties could send a text to the librarian, or an IM. The librarian can use Twitter (I CAN use that at school...shhh! don't tell) to keep patrons updated on the happenings of the library. Cool and useful tools. The best part? SIMPLE!
Thing #8: Sharing photos, decks or slide shows. I used PictureTrail.com to create a slide show. Way cool and fun. It can definitely add pizazz to your webpage. I am blogging from home, so I don't know if I can access this at work or not. So for fun I created a photo cube of my daughter's birthday .
Thing #9: Collaborating using something like Google Docs or Zoho. I have used Google Docs in the past (and in current) classes. I swear by it and recommend it to anyone needing to do group work, even if the group can meet face to face. I recommended it to our computer teacher at school. She has had her students use it to create their presentations. It comes in handy especially when one group member is absent and they don't have to rely on him/her being there to log in to get to whatever they are working on. Every collaborator can be logged on at the same time...and the best part is it being on the web. The document can be accessed anywhere there is an internet connection.
Thing #10: Wikis. I think wikis are a big undertaking. To me they are similar to blogs, they get easily forgotten about. I think they are another great way to collaborate but on a much larger scale. Even though there were examples given, I still have a hard time knowing what I would use one for. Maybe my time will come.
My apologies for a long post it goes against my personal belief of how long a blog post should be, but I had a lot of catching up to do!
Things 7, 8, 9 and 10......DONE!
Thing #7: Web 2.0 communication tools. I am very good at the tools they mention, email, text, IM, video conferencing, network sites, etc. What I really enjoyed reading about are the ways a librarian can use them. What a great way to get instant answers and help! A student that is accessing the online card catalog but having difficulties could send a text to the librarian, or an IM. The librarian can use Twitter (I CAN use that at school...shhh! don't tell) to keep patrons updated on the happenings of the library. Cool and useful tools. The best part? SIMPLE!
Thing #8: Sharing photos, decks or slide shows. I used PictureTrail.com to create a slide show. Way cool and fun. It can definitely add pizazz to your webpage. I am blogging from home, so I don't know if I can access this at work or not. So for fun I created a photo cube of my daughter's birthday .
Thing #10: Wikis. I think wikis are a big undertaking. To me they are similar to blogs, they get easily forgotten about. I think they are another great way to collaborate but on a much larger scale. Even though there were examples given, I still have a hard time knowing what I would use one for. Maybe my time will come.
My apologies for a long post it goes against my personal belief of how long a blog post should be, but I had a lot of catching up to do!
Things 7, 8, 9 and 10......DONE!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Thing #6
I explored the website Big Huge Labs as recommended by the 23 Things blog. I have to say, this site is pretty cool. I love places that you can do fun and funky things with pictures. I created a trading card and a puzzle, and will probably create a whole bunch more, because it is quite frankly a little addicting! The 23 Things blog offers suggestions on how to use the trading cards in the library which I think would be a really neat way to give information about different books and resources that are available in the library. I am doing this at home, so I have yet to find out if it is blocked or not at work. Thing 6.....DONE!
Things # 3-5
I know it seems like a lot to put this many things into one blog post, but bare with me.
#3 is to subscribe to and explore RSS. I have always been curious about this. I decided to subscribe to "Entertainment Tonight" because while we are supposed to look at library stuff, but sometimes I need a brain break. Since most of my continuous email time is at work, I have it sent there, and with Outlook 2007 you can set it up to receive them. Wow! Within 10 seconds my RSS folder was full of quick entertainment news. The downfall of doing this at work? I am in a public school system and the full story links are.....BLOCKED! Oh well, I see how it works, and seeing the quick blip that the president's dog took a pee on the front lawn is enough information to get me by without having to read the entire story.
Onto Flickr. Played around a little bit, this isn't my first experience with an online photo album, I have used one for years, and can see the features that can be used. I still don't "get it" as what its use would be in my future library world, and quite honestly it won't matter, because when I tried to play around with it at work.....you guessed it....BLOCKED! I realize that some districts may not have this issue, but considering I hope to stay in my current district I am not spending too much time on getting to know it. As I said, I already have online photo albums and have no need for another one. So, Things 3, 4, 5....DONE!
#3 is to subscribe to and explore RSS. I have always been curious about this. I decided to subscribe to "Entertainment Tonight" because while we are supposed to look at library stuff, but sometimes I need a brain break. Since most of my continuous email time is at work, I have it sent there, and with Outlook 2007 you can set it up to receive them. Wow! Within 10 seconds my RSS folder was full of quick entertainment news. The downfall of doing this at work? I am in a public school system and the full story links are.....BLOCKED! Oh well, I see how it works, and seeing the quick blip that the president's dog took a pee on the front lawn is enough information to get me by without having to read the entire story.
Onto Flickr. Played around a little bit, this isn't my first experience with an online photo album, I have used one for years, and can see the features that can be used. I still don't "get it" as what its use would be in my future library world, and quite honestly it won't matter, because when I tried to play around with it at work.....you guessed it....BLOCKED! I realize that some districts may not have this issue, but considering I hope to stay in my current district I am not spending too much time on getting to know it. As I said, I already have online photo albums and have no need for another one. So, Things 3, 4, 5....DONE!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thing #2
Library 2.0. It sounds so cutting edge, with the times, the place to be, revolutionary!! I enjoyed reading the blog written by John Blyberg. He laid it out there on what exactly Library 2.0 is referring to, which was something I admittedly needed. In fact, just recently my school's librarian came to me asking what it meant....I will be sending her the link to his blog, as I have a better understanding of it, but still feel inadequate in my abilities to explain it. This hopefully will change before it is time for me to take my comprehensive exams in the spring though.
Blyberg says in his blog that Library 2.0 is not about the technology. It is really the revolutionary changes that must take place in the library to keep patrons coming through the doors, logging on to the website, and generally keeping an interest in what the library has to offer.
I've done everything listed on #2 for the stick list, so I'm going to call it DONE.....but I feel this one won't truly be done for a while.
Blyberg says in his blog that Library 2.0 is not about the technology. It is really the revolutionary changes that must take place in the library to keep patrons coming through the doors, logging on to the website, and generally keeping an interest in what the library has to offer.
I've done everything listed on #2 for the stick list, so I'm going to call it DONE.....but I feel this one won't truly be done for a while.
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