MN Book Gal

More Things Number 26

2009-03-12T20:32:00.004-05:00

I joined the 23 Things ning, posted a video, and made a comment.

I guess I could see using a Ning instead of a blog for a class where students can post their work and get comments (the constructive kind) from their classmates.

There are a lot of options and I'm glad to have the opportunity to research what would be the best for me and for my students.

More Things Number 25

2009-03-09T20:53:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm finally doing this during my recovery from surgery. I added some widgets from Blogger to my blog, but I also added a Shelfari widget (Shelfari was one of my favorite discoveries from 23 Things).

I could have spent TONS of time looking at different widgets but I really need to move on to the next thing on the list. I hope to add/delete widgets as time goes on.

More Things will hopefully help me in designing a blog for our technology consortium. I'm looking for more ideas as I go on.

Starting More Things on a Stick

2009-01-27T21:02:00.002-06:00

Well, here I go again. . . I sure hope I can finish this new round of things. I only got through #11 on the second round of 23 Things on a Stick.

I have changed the look on my blog--Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses and I added a couple of gadgets onto my blog. I have to say, it was relatively easy to do this. The hard part was trying to find a template I really liked.

I have been reading a lot of blogs through my Google Reader (courtesy of 23 Things) and have made comments when I have time. It is really interesting to see the difference between blogs that are well-maintained/popular and blogs that are not so popular.

I haven't started a new blog yet; however I did volunteer to design our technology consortium blog. I hope to get this done when I take some time from work to recover from surgery in late Feb./early March.

Onward and upward. . .

#11 of 23 Things on a Stick

2008-09-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

I can definitely see the potential for Delicious as a research tool. It would be great if teachers could use Delicious as a starting point for students doing research on a specific topic. Then any new articles that students find pertaining to the topic studied could be added also.

I did create a Delicious account for myself. I hope to use it as a professional development tool for myself and other teachers.

Once again, the web amazes me.

#10 on 23 Things on a Stick

2008-09-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

Wikis are very interesting things. I can see how useful they would be in a library setting. I would like to set up a Readers' Advisory wiki within our school for students and parents. It would be interesting to see what happens.

I edited the 23 Things on a Stick wiki. I put in the Readers' Advisory part at the top of the page (at least it was at the top of the page when I last saw it). It was really simple to do and I had no problems with it.

#8 of 23 Things on a Stick

2008-09-05T11:36:00.000-05:00

Well, here is my Dewey Decimal presentation on Zoho Show--How do you like it? I'm pretty pleased with myself.

I really liked the easy use of Zoho Show. I already had a Google account, so I could login with those passwords.

This would be a great tool for students. They wouldn't have to worry about forgetting their presentation CDs or flash drives. They can just call it up on the Web right in the classroom.

I definitely would recommend Zoho Show. Since this is the first time I've ever done anything with file/photo sharing, I don't have any other recommendations.

#7 of 23 Things on a Stick

2008-09-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

Well, it's nice to know that the library world is embracing new Web tools. Education has been slow to embrace IMing, SMS,etc.

I've never really got used to Instant Messaging--it's really a nusiance in a school library. I've had to kick more kids off the computer because they are IMing their friends instead of using the Internet to gather information for their class.

I am intrigued by SMS. For those that have a cell phone, but no Internet connection at home, SMS would be a nice alternative for basic question answering.

I really need to manage my e-mail better also. I need to clean my inbox out. What am I doing saving messages that are 2 years old for? It's like the old "touch a paper once and then throw it away, don't keep it."

I did listen to part of an OPAL web conference on mystery books. I have taken web classes before and liked them well enough, but I do like the ones that you can actually participate in the best. It's hard to listen without some visuals, at least.

Right now, I don't think I'd use much of these apps. in my small library--I have to get my web page in order first. But it poses an interesting future. . .

My Trading Card/#6 of 23 Things

2008-09-03T22:25:00.001-05:00

My creation, originally uploaded by demps66.

I really like this option. I looked at the Carleton librarian trading cards and thought what fun it would be to have my own card! My kids would love it!

I plan on looking at other generators and getting more ideas.

I decided to make my trading card simple. It's almost 10:30 p.m. and I need to get to bed.

#5 of 23 Things on a Stick is Frustrating

2008-09-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm having real trouble trying to use the mashups to put anything on my blog. This is the first time I have been frustrated with something on 23 Things on a Stick.

The applications are definitely cool, but I need more direction on how to insert one on my blog.

I'll have to revist this one.

#4 on 23 Things with A Stick/Flickr

2008-09-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great tool! It makes me want to grab a camera and start snapping pics to share with family and friends. It would be cool to scan and upload some old photos too.

I love what the CSB/SJU libraries have done with Flickr. I would like to do something similar on my media center website (which, I'm ashamed to say, is currently BLANK). This could really spur me on to work on it (amongst my many other duties--I'm the only staff member in my library, so I rely on the kindness of student aides and volunteers).

I also think it would be a great tool for our Development Office to post pictures of alumni gatherings, old yearbook pictures, etc.

I'm constantly amazed by what's out on the Web.

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

2008-09-03T20:36:00.001-05:00

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland, originally uploaded by GoodMoon.

I saw the Cliffs 20 years ago this month and I was so pleasantly surprised to find this photo on Flickr.

All my photos were lost in the '97 Flood, so any photos I can find to remind me of that wonderful time are precious ones.

Obviously this is in my favorites.

RSS--I'm in love!

2008-08-22T19:21:00.000-05:00

Well, here I am again, struggling to finish 23 Things on a Stick for the second time!
Since I last blogged in April, once again life has been definitely interesting: my sister got married on June 21st and I ended up in the emergency room soon after the ceremony. I had to have hernia surgery that night, so I was laid up for a good 6 weeks and I'm still not up to par, but I'm finally ready to re-tackle this project.

I'm pretty addicted to RSS now, courtesy of 23 Things. I decided to use Google Reader as my aggregator. I wish I would have thought of this program--it certainly makes it easier for me to keep up with the websites I have. However, I also have to pare down the ones I've added. It can get to be too much of a good thing.

I would like to make my media center website RSS friendly. It would be a real big benefit to me if alumni subscribe to it. Since we are a parochial school, we rely totally on grants, tuition, and donations. Alumni could subscribe to my website to see what I am in need of, as well as what I am doing in the media center.

I'd like to see what RSS can do for education. I think our students would feel more engaged if blogs, wikis, and RSS were integrated into the curriculum. We haven't quite got the hang of it yet, but I say better late than never.

I would like to recommend two blogs from Publisher's Weekly: ShelfTalker , a Children's Bookseller Blog, and Children's Book News. They are quickly becoming favorites.

23 Things on a Stick--Web 2.0

2008-04-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

I can agree with the time factor. I started out in February, sure that I was going to finish way before April 16. Well, life seems to throw some wrenches in the plan. Both of my parents have had medical problems and I've had some problems of my own to tackle. But now I will try to finish before April 16.

I think the new tools that the term "Web 2.0" encompasses are intriguing, to say the least. I think it can open up a lot of interesting teaching ideas, but I still have some hesitancy with these new tools. Partly because whatever good comes with it, you also have to take the bad. And the time factor.

I do not have an internet connection at home, so anything I do has to be done at school. This becomes difficult because I get a LOT of interruptions at school. But I guess I need to make some time to delve into at least SOME of the web 2.0 tools. Hopefully I will find at least one thing to help me in my work.

MN Book Gal starts her 23 Things On a Stick

2008-02-12T08:30:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone, MN Book Gal here. Today's the day I start MN's 23 Things On a Stick, a Library Learning 2.0 Program. I'm excited to begin this journey and I think MN is on the forefront in innnovating great programs for librarians and media specialists to take part in our ongoing education of all things technology.

I believe if we don't at least try to keep up with current trends in technology as educators to the "digital natives" we would probably be woefully inefficient in our jobs.

That said, let the learning begin!