Thing #16-Sandbox Wiki

Using wikis is a great way to see what librarians are doing in their library program. Because information can be added and updated quickly I can easily access the ideas shared by others. One exercise I have enjoyed thus far has been the image generators. While playing in the “sandbox” I was able to add an image that I had generator earlier, as well as see what other ideas people were posting.

Thing #15-Wikis

Wikis could be used to help strengthen the communication and collaboration among libraries and staff, students, and other members of the community. Information is organized and can quickly be updated. Upcoming professional development opportunities, policies and procedures, book reviews, and successful library practices are just a few applications that could benefit from the use of wikis. As Meredith Farkas stated in her article Using Wikis to Create Online Communities, “If you are looking to develop content that requires input from people outside of the library, a wiki is an ideal tool to solicit that content.” I personally enjoyed exploring the Texas School Librarians’ Wikispace because of its helpful content in various lessons and other resources.

Thing #14-Perspectives of Library 2.0 and the Future of Libraries

Technology is now a common staple in schools and most homes. There is an abundance of media in today’s society and our environment is completely saturated with it due to computers, TV, video games, etc. One must keep up with the times and therefore libraries are facing the challenge; trying to change the paradigm. Libraries are asking the question how it will deliver needed information? We are much more global than past years and are sharing with others online more frequently, and at a faster pace. I think the future of libraries will experience an increase in the instruction, implementation, and use of technology.

Thing #13-Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Librarians could definitely utilize del.icio.us to help with collaboration. Creating a social bookmark site would allow other members of your profession to share and learn different lessons, various storytelling techniques, and informative author/illustrator visits. It would also enable librarians to be more aware of new and upcoming literature, successful research ideas, and strong incentive reading programs. The simple organization of tagging your “favorites” makes it easy to acquire useful sites that can be shared with others.

Thing #12-Social Networks

Ning gives you the option to allow only selected members or interest groups to join and participate in your social network, which can be a helpful feature. Since it is not quite as public as Facebook and MySpace, I would feel a little more at ease using Ning. However, even after exploring certain social networks I feel a little uncomfortable putting myself out there for the entire world to see (especially with so many vigilant warnings about identity theft, spyware, etc., etc., etc.). I can understand why college students would use social networks to communicate with friends, but I find it difficult to believe that social networks could effectively be used in schools (especially with younger students) as part of their curriculum.

Thing #11-LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a neat way to share your favorite books, as well as take a peek at what others are reading and recommend. It is easily organized into its own library catalog and is very simple to join. With a wide range of search data from hundreds of libraries, even out of print materials are easy to locate. A great way to have an online book club and find other topics of literary interest is to create a “group” within LibraryThing. Other useful tools include the Book Information page(which gives high quality data about books you are curious about) and the Book Suggester and UnSuggester. I thought the UnSuggeter was a neat feature because it made recommendations of what not to read.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/VarsityReader

Thing #10 Online Image Generators

I enjoyed playing around with most of the online image generators. I had difficulty with the Comic Strip Generator because every time I tried to upload a picture it would tell me the site was overloaded and to try back again later. I plan on using some of these image generators to enhance my library webpage. I think it could help to make the site look inviting and fun. Here are some creations.

Thing #9 Finding Feeds

I think the simplest feed search for me was Google Blog Search. I was easily able to search and find feeds on children's literature and I feel that much of the information that I found would be very useful in my library program. Technorati I found was a bit overpowering due to the massive amount of feeds that were listed. All in all I think using most of the blog search feeds is an easy way to find the information that you need.

Thing #8- RSS Feeds

RSS and newsreaders will help me to stay connected with the outside world faster and more frequently. Many of my RSS feeds are news sites so I will be more aware of what is going on in the world. Using RSS feeds would be a tool that could easily be used in any Social Studies or Current Events class to quickly see what the latest and greatest news is. With the high cost of certain magazines and other literary journals, using RSS is an inexpensive way to stay on top of the most current trends in library media programs.

Thing #7- Google Tools

I found the Google calendar feature to be very helpful. It can easily be created and updated, and is a great way for all staff, students, and parents to see what is going on in the library or at school.

Using Picasa Web Albums is a great to set up a photo gallery in which parents and other staff members could view what students are learning. I think students would enjoy seeing themselves in an online photo album.
Check it out at http://picasaweb.google.com/VarsityReader/StudentsOfScience

Thing 6-Flickr Mashups in Library Program

Check out the trading card made about students researching in the library.


I really liked the movie poster feature because it could be used to make "Pick of the Week" posters. Students would summarize their favorite book for the week and the poster would be hung to advertise various books students are reading. Also, the calendar feature would be very handy to help organize events occurring in the library. I also liked the use of trading cards, where students could trade and collect cards that would feature popular titles or authors.

Thing 5-Flickr Photo

What a cute dog! She looks ready for Halloween!

Thing 3-Avatar Creation

Creating an avatar proved a little difficult at first because yahoo was unalbe to process my request. I think it will be neat to personalize my avatar once I am able to get into the program.

Thing 4-How Will You Use Blogs?

The use of a blog will benefit me most by being able to share new experiences, as well as learn other successful lessons from various librarians. Blogs can be a great resource for collaboration.

Thing 2- 7 1/2 Learning Habits

Playing and having fun has never been a problem for me. I think that learning habit will be the easiest for me to implement. Beginning with the end in mind will pose more of a challenge for me. It has been my experience that many objectives have a completely different outcome than originally planned.

Thing 1-What Do You Want to Learn with Web 2.0?

I hope to learn more about blogging and become more comfortable with online posting. Creating and setting up a blog was relavtively easy.