Thing 19. Podcasts

I have been intrigued by podcasts for awhile. Up until now I have not taken the time to research for podcasts of interest to me. I have listened to a few that have come my way but not really utilized this tool. I listened to a few from St. Cloud State and then I used Podcast.com to search for gardening podcasts. I was pleased with the number available. Then I googled for children's book review podcasts and hit pay dirt. I read many book reviews now I can listen to reviews while doing other library tasks. I added probably too many to my Google Reader. I was excited to discover childrenbookradio.com. It has an archive of interviews with children's book authors. Making my own podcast with students will be the next step. I added "Just One More Book" podcast feed to the sidebar on my blog.

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

I am in awe of the creativity of the YouTube contributors. Who could have thought that two of my favorite books could be combined? This is by far the most seductive and time absorbing activity. Gaming was not interesting to me, but I found so many very funny and clever videos to watch. I am not surprised this site is banned at some schools.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

Well, blow me over! I have been using ELM databases with the students for years and I had no idea of the amazing tools that it has to offer. It is my fault for not attending a workshop. I will now. I am sure I will be receiving more information than I need about youth smoking in my Google Reader, but I am excited to use the RSS feed for other subjects. The web page with EBSCO took me quite awhile to complete, but I liked it so much I made two for student research projects that we will be starting soon. I had not used ProQuest before. I found it easy to create a "web page" and I can see how it would be useful for the teachers for their own research. NetLibrary was fun and very simple. We are very lucky to have this resource. This will be one of the most productive Things for me.

Thing 16. Student Tools

I was very impressed with the U of M's Assignment Calculator. I wish there had been a tool like that when I was there ( Google would have been nice also). The RPC is too advanced for the elementary students at my school, but I can see using elements of the RPC for some research projects. I really liked the "No Time" version and plan to use parts of it to help our students with projects. It is a great template for any teacher planning a research project.

Thing 15 Online Games

I am very glad that I was able to explore gaming. Since I have no experience and my children are older it is truly a foreign land. Second Life reminds me of Sim City although much more sophisticated. I think it is wise for libraries to be in the "virtual worlds" and I am intrigued by the meshing of real and virtual. I tried Pirate Puzzle. It was fun. I am very good at bilging but not so skilled at carpentry. Good to know. I was poor at communication. I did not remember to read the text. Several other pirates were friendly but I unintentionally snubbed them. I guess I was concerned about the water level:).

Thing 14 Library Thing

I love this tool. I preview many children's books and I have found that I no longer remember each book as well as I should. So I keep a notebook. I have four notebooks and I am always thumbing through them trying to find a certain book. I can use this tool to list the books and refer for my own use, but even better I can read other reviews and compare and reassess right at the same time. Often parents and students ask for recommendations, now I can refer them to my LibraryThing list. I plan to add a widget to my library web page. I am wondering if I should create another account for my personal use. I do occasionally read adult books.

Thing 13 Online Productivity Tools

This was very fun and interesting and extremely unproductive for me. I can see the value of the calendars, home pages etc. but to really utilize these tools I would have to have the home page and calendars right in front of me during the day. I am not at the computer all day. I created a Google home page because I had already so many accounts with Google. I added the RSS and my Google Docs right on the page. BUT, then I played tetris, checked the weather, read the news, watched the latest at Youtube, and added a few other time wasting but oh so fun gadgets. I made lists of lists and made everyone I know read them. I looked at Backpack but I think that while I am interested I will have to do it this summer. The clock is ticking. This Thing is very seductive. I plan to explore the idea of the students creating Google home pages with information and gadgets that would be useful to them (word of the day or calendar) I would have to monitor it carefully. Experience has taught me that Tetris is the black hole of time.

Thing 12. Do You Digg?

There is a world of news out there. I enjoyed learning about all four sites. I also looked into StumbleUpon. I can see the value for a library to keep current the latest news on popular subjects. Again, to read all the stories on the web and mainstream media would take forever so I can see that it would be beneficial to be able to sort and collect pertinent news. I could see an individual using one of these sites to keep current on quickly changing news i.e. technology. I set up a homepage for myself on Mixx for just that reason. I am hoping I can cut out some of the many technology periodicals I read. One drawback for me was that I started reading a news story that normally I would not find in my newspaper. In fact, I read quite a bit of interesting but definitely not important news.

Thing 11 Tagging and Del.icio.us

Another account! After exploring this tool, I can see a multitude of uses. At first, I was just interested in the ability to access my bookmarks from any computer, but as I explored the tags I found a wealth of information. I followed the tags to a number of discussions about the use of Wikipedia. While I still have concerns about the use by elementary students who are conditioned to accept print material as "gospel", I do see the value of open and current information. I would like to explore Pagekeeper when I have more time.

Thing 10 - Wikis

I have been stalled at this Thing. I understand wikis but could not think how to utilize one until today. I did edit the list of classics. I changed Diary of an Artist as a Young Teacher to Librarian, and added Pride and Prejudice to the list. But I wanted to create a wiki for a reason. Today I used PBwiki to create a wiki to plan retirement parties for our principal. Some people not on our faculty will be able to keep current and have input. I think it will be a great tool for us.
I am one of the librarians who discourages using Wikipedia. I do allow students to read the pages because the explanations are often very clear and easy to understand, but I always require another source. I guess, I do not trust that everything is accurate and balanced.