Wikis are great! We're already using them in our school to compile information. They are much easier to coordinate between groups of people than old fashioned email. At our elementary school, we use wikis to create lists of teacher's needs, list student district assessment scores, etc. One use for a wiki in my life would be for party planning :) The example given on the Common Craft show (Teacher Tube- Wikis in Plain English) where the group plans a camping trip is an excellent illustration of how wikis can make communication and collaboration so much easier.
Wikis in Plain English:
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=51aeb480ecbd988cd8cc
Often, I plan trips for my girlfriends and I to take. Using a wiki, we can collaborate together on the itinerary, lodging, and sites to see.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thing 15: Library 2.0
I read the article, "Into a New World of Librarianship" in the OCLC newsletter written by Michael Stephens. I liked many of his ideas for bringing our libraries into modern time. He believes that Library 2.0 means that we need to design our services with the patron in mind. We need to think about their needs and then arrange our services and resources to meet their needs. We also need to bring our resources into their space- using tools like a library web page, online OPAC, My Space or Facebook account, email and instant messenging. We shouldn't start adding new technology just for the sake of "technolust," but should really think about which new technology tools will work best to meet our patrons' needs.
Into a New World of Librarianship:
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm
The concept of Library 2.0 is a two way street. No longer does information flow only from the library to the patron. Now, information flows both ways.
Into a New World of Librarianship:
http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/3.htm
The concept of Library 2.0 is a two way street. No longer does information flow only from the library to the patron. Now, information flows both ways.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thing 14: Technorati
I don't know if I just don't get it, or if Technorati is just not my thing. I don't really get the point. I mean, I understand that it searches blogs by organizing them into subject areas using tags- I guess it's just not relevant to me in my life right now. I'd much rather find blogs that are respected and authoritative in library land rather than spend time searching on my own.
I watched the You Tube video about Technorati and agree with the girl that spoke about the Top 100 blogs being the Top 100 crazy people who post 20 times a day and respond to each other. This just doesn't seem relevant to those of us who are more normal and just want to include a select few blogs in our "circle of wisdom."
I chose not to register my blog on Technorati because I'm not sure if it's something I'll keep up with posting on after this assignment is complete. I would much rather post on Facebook than blogger.com at this point.
I do think tagging information is valuable. I found the tags on Flickr to be very helpful in locating photos. Tags on Del.icio.us help to organize and find information. Tags on facebook help to identify people and connect them together. Overall, tags are great time savers that help people find the information they are looking for.
I watched the You Tube video about Technorati and agree with the girl that spoke about the Top 100 blogs being the Top 100 crazy people who post 20 times a day and respond to each other. This just doesn't seem relevant to those of us who are more normal and just want to include a select few blogs in our "circle of wisdom."
I chose not to register my blog on Technorati because I'm not sure if it's something I'll keep up with posting on after this assignment is complete. I would much rather post on Facebook than blogger.com at this point.
I do think tagging information is valuable. I found the tags on Flickr to be very helpful in locating photos. Tags on Del.icio.us help to organize and find information. Tags on facebook help to identify people and connect them together. Overall, tags are great time savers that help people find the information they are looking for.
Thing 13: Del.icio.us
I had never heard of a social bookmarking tool before I watched the Common Craft tutorial on Del.icio.us on Teacher Tube. It makes sense to have a place that saves all of your bookmarks online rather than the "old fashioned" way to bookmark websites on a personal computer.
The Common Craft explanation gave a wonderful example of how this tool could help teachers. He gives the example of algebra teachers who need to get lesson plans online. If they share all of their bookmarks, they'll continue to discover new and useful sites for lesson planning.
Librarians can also use this site. They can share webpages on any range of things from book reviews, lesson plan ideas, blogs, etc.
The Common Craft explanation gave a wonderful example of how this tool could help teachers. He gives the example of algebra teachers who need to get lesson plans online. If they share all of their bookmarks, they'll continue to discover new and useful sites for lesson planning.
Librarians can also use this site. They can share webpages on any range of things from book reviews, lesson plan ideas, blogs, etc.
Thing 12: Blog Posting
Many of the pieces of advice given about commenting on blogs seemed very common sense to me. But then again, I have seen people be very rude to each other on the internet, rudely correcting grammatical errors and making mean personal attacks.
Two good pieces of advice:
1. If you want to encourage readers to comment on your blog, be humble, be inviting, and be controversial. Keep things open ended so others feel inclined to add in their own two cents.
2. If you feel inclined to criticize someone, first think if it will make a difference. Will it contribute to the overall discussion? If so, always criticize kindly.
I followed my own advice when commenting on blogs. I commented on five Library2Play blogs and then chose two other blogs. I google searched blogs about the library. I commented on one blog post about prescription medications- wondering why parents don't medicate their children who have SEVERE issues. I really empathized with the blogger's frustration on this issue! I also commented on another blog post on the Librarian Philosopher blog about incorporating Facebook into instruction.
Two good pieces of advice:
1. If you want to encourage readers to comment on your blog, be humble, be inviting, and be controversial. Keep things open ended so others feel inclined to add in their own two cents.
2. If you feel inclined to criticize someone, first think if it will make a difference. Will it contribute to the overall discussion? If so, always criticize kindly.
I followed my own advice when commenting on blogs. I commented on five Library2Play blogs and then chose two other blogs. I google searched blogs about the library. I commented on one blog post about prescription medications- wondering why parents don't medicate their children who have SEVERE issues. I really empathized with the blogger's frustration on this issue! I also commented on another blog post on the Librarian Philosopher blog about incorporating Facebook into instruction.
Thing 11: LibraryThing
LibraryThing is pretty cool. It's very similar to other applications on facebook (Like Visual Bookshelf) where you share books you're reading with friends. I actually like the facebook application better because it's sent directly to all of my friends on something they read every day, rather than another tool they have to log into.
I checked out some of the groups including Harry Potter fans and Twilight fans. I also read some posts under the Librarians group. The most helpful post for me was the Book Nudgers group that gave great intros for book talks that really might get kids motivated to read certain books.
I would be interested to see a site like this that is geared toward students sharing books and their ratings with each other.
I checked out some of the groups including Harry Potter fans and Twilight fans. I also read some posts under the Librarians group. The most helpful post for me was the Book Nudgers group that gave great intros for book talks that really might get kids motivated to read certain books.
I would be interested to see a site like this that is geared toward students sharing books and their ratings with each other.
Thing 10: Image Generators
I made this Trading Card using an online trading card maker on Big Huge Labs:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php
I also played around with some other image generators including a comic strip generator and a custom sign generator.
These image generators are easy and fun to use. They are great tools for students to use when creating presentations, projects, and websites. They're also good for teachers to use for the same purposes. Librarians can make lots of signs to post informing students of library procedures, and also can use these image generators to highlight new books or to supplement a book talk.
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