Live to read. Read to live.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-11-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

Thing 46 - WebJunction

2009-06-18T20:18:00.001-07:00

I remember this Thing from the last go around. I have signed up, but I used the wrong email address and created a goofy log in. At first I signed up with my personal email instead of my school email address. That was a bit of a rig-a-ma-roll to get that straighten out that I was indeed a library employee. And then it turns out, you cannot change the email address you registered with.

So now this time around I am trying to log into WebJunction and do my last Thing on the last day and I can't get in. I clicked on the "forgot my password" button and still have not received a email response yet.

I plan on continuing to use WebJunction to take web training courses. It is a fabulous resource available to library employees and it is FREE.

Thing 45 - Cloud Computing

2009-06-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

the idea of cloud computing: “The concept of cloud computing is one of a user sitting at a terminal taking advantage of services, storage space, and resources provided somewhere else - on another computer, through an Internet connection.”

I find I am already doing this through iGoogle, Flickr, etc... But to switch 100% to cloud computing. I don't think I can make that leap. I don't necessarily think my data is all that important, but to put it in somebody else's hands is not a risk I am willing to take.

Google Docs is fabulous and I love it for creating documents and sharing them with colleagues. But it still can't hold a candle to Microsoft Office.

I am rather intrigued by Web OS, but this is the first time I have heard about it. I will check this one out further. I have used Remote Desktop Connection, but always for work purposes and related to the tech side of my job not the library end of it.

Thing 44 - The Economy

2009-06-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

This thing doesn't really apply to the media center, but there is a lot of good information out there. I liked the calculators available at mymoney.gov. These resources will be good to recommend to the social studies teachers and students.

The simple explanation video is worth a look too. Keep getting the information out there and hopefully, eventually it will sink in! Don't borrow money you can't afford to pay back.

Selling stuff online is a breeze too. I have done the ebay thing, right now we have a motorcycle listed on Craig's List too. Selling stuff is definitely buyer beware and seller beware. There are a lot of dishonest people out there looking to scam anyone they can.

Thing 35 - Books 2.0 revisited

2009-06-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have to highly recommend shelfari.com. This is one site I keep going back to. I have entered about 150 books I have read so far. I even had my 10 year old and my 8 year old sign up. It is fun to track the books that you read and get suggested titles.

Thing 43 - Online TV & Video

2009-06-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, people I really am old. I don't even have much time for TV anymore. I do watch PBS kids with my children. I like Arthur, The Electric Company, and Ruff Ruffman. I also catch Law & Order SVU reruns on USA. Honestly, I have never watched an episode of 30 Rock, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol....etc. I do check out a lot of DVDs from my public library. Everyone get the most out of your library card. Great River Regional Library has the biggest selection of movies, even more than Hennepin County Library. But, I digress.

I am not a 100% total dork. I have been to Hulu before. I was searching for a Jerry Springer episode after I heard a former Rockford High School student had been on the show. So there I was watching Jerry Springer on the computer. I didn't find the episode I wanted to watch, but I did see Jerry had adapted his show to please the audience. They don't even provide the "guests" chairs anymore. I guess it is much easier to bitch slap someone standing up.

Thing 42 - Music 2.0

2009-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, I had previously thought myself old. I don't listen to music on the radio much anymore. I always tell people you are old when you hear a new song on the radio and say "what the **** is this crap!"

But I have once again encountered a Thing I already am utilizing. I have an account on Pandora Radio and find it pretty cool. You can set up "radio stations" and vote on the content if you like it or not. And actually that is the downfall of Pandora radio too. You have to click on stuff once in a while or the music stops playing. The other downfall of Pandora is it is a huge suck on the bandwidth, so naturally is is blocked at school.

So, I also started poking around on the lyrics websites. You ever had a song that has plagued you for years about what the lyrics are. Problem solved!! Just look it up on the internet. I have finally figured out the chorus to Beck's "Loser" is "Soy un perdedor", which is just the Spanish translation of "I'm a loser". Does that mean I am a loser? Come on, who doesn't remember playing a record and picking up the needle and playing the same part of the song over and over again trying to learn the words to your favorite song. Or does that just mean I am an old loser. haha......

Thing 41- Mash Up Your Life

2009-06-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. Sounds good in theory. If I am thinking about it right, friendfeed.com is like an RSS feed for friends I already have in email, facebook and whatever. I only ended up with 3 contacts; ALA, Barack Obama, and Debra Hamel. I like the concept and would like to utilize it, but I don't think it will work unless you have contacts also using it. Most of the stuff that came through was twitter and I already have a twitter feed on my iGoogle page.

Thing 40 - Mashups on the Web

2009-06-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is from booktour.com (utilizing google earth). What fun! You can use Google Earth to find author's speaking engagements.

Thing 39 - Digital Storytelling

2009-06-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

Digital storytelling, online scrapbooking, screencasting, etc.... All the Things are starting to overlap. I suppose that is just nature of the beast. There are so many resources on the web it gets to be overwhelming....and exciting.

I am trying to fly through these last few things before the deadline, so I don't have an example.

Thing 38 - Screencasting

2009-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Wow!! What an incredible tool. I only wish I had an idea to actually make a screencast and post it. So far, I have only been to screencast-o-matic, but imagine the capabilities. At work the Art teacher had purchased Snapz-Pro, so I was rather impressed with myself that I actually knew what screencasting was. I will keep pondering the possibilities and hopefully play with this tool some more. I am still amazed it is free.

Thing 37 - Photo Tales (rolfbot)

2009-05-31T17:30:00.001-07:00

Thing 37 - Photo Tales (rockyou.com)

2009-05-28T15:06:00.001-07:00

Thing 37 - Photo Tales (slide.com)

2009-05-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

My Goodness!!! This one makes a nice slide show, but I had added a song to it and there is no where to stop it. It just continuously looped and wouldn't stop. I like it a lot, but what to do with the noise?

Thing 37 - Photo Tales (One True Media)

2009-05-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thing 37 - Photo Tales

2009-05-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

I love the Things I already know about. I have worked with Animoto before. It is a fun easy way to share photos. You only send a link to people in emails, you don't have to send emails with attachments. Makes it easy to send photos to mom (who still has dial-up internet access). Animoto is so easy to embed on your blog or facebook. Give it a try.

Thing 37 - Photo Tales (Animoto)

2009-05-27T17:31:00.001-07:00

Animoto Bonfire Video

2009-05-27T17:01:00.001-07:00

Thing 36.3 - More FUN!! (Toon Doo)

2009-05-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

by badcathopkins | Create your own Cartoon at www.toondoo.com

I have been having problems with the Toon Doo in my blog. It showed up fine last night, but now when I try to view it all I see is a blank box. In preview it looks fine, but just regular view. I will mess with it some more and see what happens.

Thing 36.2 - Still having fun!! (Obomiconme)

2009-05-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

This was done at Obamicon.me.

What an iconic image.

Having fun with iMovie.

2009-05-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

Thing 36.1 - Still having fun!! (fodey.com)

2009-05-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is from fodey.com

Web 2.0 Tools

2009-05-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

I was turned on to this site by a colleague. It is a comprehensive list of Web 2.0 tools. Check it out, it is pretty overwhelming. This website could be called 230 (plus more) Things on a Stick. I am pretty proud of myself. I am pretty familiar with a lot of them, thanks to 23 Things on a Stick, More Things on a Stick and my personal knowledge quest.

If the links are not working be sure to visit http://www.go2web20.net/.

THING 36 - Have some fun.

2009-05-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

This site is pretty cool. This is from Glass Giant. There are different generators that will make fun things. Just a note, the prom make over was stupid. I tried it with 2 different photos and all it did was put a paper bag over the face. It was kind of disappointing, I thought it would actually apply make up or something.

I liked the fake newspaper page generator. I used this slide in my daily announcements on the TV as a reminder to students to return library books.

This is from an email icon generator

This image is from http://www.acme.com/labelmaker/

Thing 35 - Books 2.0

2009-05-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! I love this Thing. I signed up for Library Thing the first go around, so I am already familiar with it. One interesting thing about Library Thing is GRRL (Great River Regional Library) uses Library Thing in its card catalog. When you search a book and click on it for the description and information, you also see tags from Library Thing. I haven't logged into Library Thing since 23 Things on a Stick. I also signed up for Shelfari, it is basically the same as Library Thing. I do like the look of Shelfari better. Facebook also has similar applications, you can add books to your profile and join reading groups or become a fan of authors too. I really loved What's Next too. I tagged it in Delicious and plan on using it frequently. Working at a school library, a lot of my readers are looking for series and the next book in the series. What's Next is perfect for that. I also signed up for Overbooked, the Ning for books. We will see. Once again, my never ending dilemma....not enough hours in the day.

JUMP ROPE VIDEO

2009-04-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

Thing 34 - Online Answer Sites?

2009-04-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Good or Bad--hmm. Well there are both good and bad sites out there? Yes. Are they used? Yes. Will students continue to use them? Yes. Here at the HS-MC, usually I am the only one here. And doing tech duties at the same time. Most of the students are doing projects dictated by their teachers and have approved sources. The answer sites are helpful, especially for a small school media centers, we don't have a large budget or staff. So for the most part, I would have to say good. If it weren't for the computers in the media center my traffic through here would be greatly reduced. (The couch helps a lot too! :)

Thing 33 - Travel 2.0

2009-04-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, is this stuff fun! Creating a travel journal, blogging about your experiences, mapping the route and inserting pictures and videos. I liked the blogs and the travel journal sites. As internet access grows, I see computers being so much a part of daily like, just like cell phones. It is kind of like blogging though, who has time to look at all this stuff?

Thing 32 - Google Maps

2009-04-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

I liked this Thing. It combines two of my favorite things, maps and Google. Maps because I was a geography major and Google because who doesn't love Google? I played around and made a map of states I have visited. That was kind of depressing, I would love to travel way more than I have!!

Google maps would be useful in the media center to create book promos. You could create a map of different book settings, books about different cultures, etc. You could map out your favorite authors, libraries, colleges, the list is endless.

I could definitely waste a couple of weeks on Google maps.

Thing 31 - More Twitter

2009-04-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Twitter is much like RSS, it can be so overwhelming. I like following just a few local people I know. I follow some local politicians and libraries and Sam at CMLE, to name a few. I prefer to keep it kind of small. I am a "Twitter Pragmatist", only following 30-50 people. I once stumbled on a guy I though might be kind of fun to follow and what a mistake that was. He was way into it and have 16,000 followers. After I started following him all kinds of people started following me and it got so overwhelming. Who has the time to read all this information!! There is a whole world out there I don't want to be a part of. Maybe later down the Things journey I may change my mind. Right now even the ALA posts get overwhelming. It kind of stinks to look at your Twitter feed and see nothing good.

Thing 30 - More RSS and Delicious

2009-04-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling on this thing. I just don't surf the web enough to check my RSS feeds all that much. It is just too much....information overload. Occasionally I will check my Google Reader and that is sufficient for my needs. I don't post that often, or even want to. Same with texting and IM.

Delicious is ok, it is kind of cumbersome to use. You have to log in and I really don't like the layout of it. I have been trying out the Delicious sidebar, which I really don't like that much either. I like the look of Microsoft Internet Favorites better than Delicious. Of course Delicious has the advantage of being on any machine you are on, but I pretty much use the same computer all the time and haven't utilized it much.

Thing 29 - Google Tools

2009-03-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well here I go gushing about Google...again! I feel like this is all I ever blog about. I love my iGoogle homepage. I heavily utilize Google Docs. I have done Google Sites, Google Calendar, Google Reader, etc.

If you are not a user of Google Docs, you should be. I love it, it is not as fancy and as user friendly as Microsoft Office. But, it is free and online and always accessible. You do not have to save your documents to a flash drive or CD or disc. You can easily share documents with other people, you can give them read-only access or editorial privileges. I have so many documents for all my work and volunteer groups.

I did a Google Site. It is not the best for making webpages and a little frustrating at times. But, like I said...it is free. What can one expect?

p.s. Try National Geographic Picture of the Day. It is fun to get a new picture every day. I frequently change my desktop wallpaper to one of their pictures.

Thing 28 - Customized Home Pages

2009-03-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

Once again, a Thing I already have done. I love this project! and I love Google. I have iGoogle set as my homepage with my Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Groups, Weather, To-Do List, Gmail, Google Reader etc...... There is no end to the amount of gadgets you can put on your iGoogle page. I try to keep it to a minimum though. Who has time to go through that much stuff everyday? I went to Widget box and tried to do a blidget, I liked how it turned out. But I just can't seem to get it on my blog page. Oh well. On to the next thing.

I also have a MyYahoo! page, but I much prefer the iGoogle page. With all the add ons Google beats Yahoo! hands down. I do prefer Yahoo! groups and Yahoo! email though. I have long done away with email accounts from my ISP and solely rely on my Yahoo! email address.

Thing 27 -- Twitter

2009-02-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Once again, an easy Thing. I found twitter through a learning workshop at school. I like it and got a few friends to join also, unfortunately they don't post very often. But then again, you can also follow public people. I am a follower of MN govenor, Tim Pawlenty, and Barack Obama (who is also following me). Yes, I am that important!

If you are already on twitter, also check out twhirl. It is a widget you can put on your desktop and it will feed your twitter posts.

So, look me up on twitter as dianehopkins

Thing 26 -- 23 Things on a Stick Ning

2009-02-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

I love when the Things are easy. This one all I had to do was renew some info. I already had an account and a picture. I joined the CMLE Central Perk and School Librarian groups. I started a couple of discussions and posted a few things. Once again, it is hard to do at school because all the pictures are blocked.

OK, I did send some photos to Ning. It was surprisingly easy. All you do is email them to the address provided by Ning. I like the Ning Thing a lot, but I don't think it will ever be engrained into me like Facebook.

I joined Facebook in the first round of Things on a Stick and really did stick with that one. Hey everyone out there, give social networking a try.

Thing 25 Blog Tools....to be continued

2009-02-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

I am still working on all those blog tools that are available. The biggest hindrance to me, is most of the things I need to access are blocked at school. I have been having a lot of fun lately taking videos with my new digital camera and posting them on YouTube and Facebook. So, I will probably keep posting about blog tools, but now on to Thing 26!

Fund our school media centers!

2009-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

KSPTP story about outdated school media center library books
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S760112.shtml?cat=5

All about Thomas

2009-01-28T12:53:00.001-08:00

Thomas created this one by himself

All about Erin

2009-01-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

animoto slide show

2009-01-28T12:47:00.001-08:00

Thing 25 Blog Tools

2009-01-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

Who's Watching & Statistics Tools.
Well I found out the answer to my own question....who is reading my blog? NOONE. I like Site Meter, they email you statistics of what is going on with your blog. And now I added Clustrmaps and Google Maps, I hope I get some people reading my blog!

#24 Renew Your Blog

2009-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm. This one sounds easy. I had planned to keep this going, but as you see the last time I touched it was in September. As you can see by my feeble attempt at posting a Google calendar. By the way get yourself a Google account! It is the best thing on the internet! I visit my iGoogle page daily. It displays all your Google apps, such as; Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Groups, Weather, etc. Even blogger is a Google app. I think I like pbwiki better though for putting up a webpage. I haven't had much luck and/or time to work with Google pages. I am still trying to work through in my head the difference between the two and what is better suited for RHS-MC.

So, anyone, please let me know your comments. I love the idea "if noone reads your it, is it still a blog?" If a tree falls when noone is around, does it make any noise?

AM I MAKING ANY NOISE?

Cub Scout Calendar

2008-09-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Thing 23 FINAL THOUGHTS

2008-09-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

What a super fantastic program!! The only thing I didn't like was - I didn't take time to finish the Things the first go around. I am continuing to learn and grow on the fabulous foundation the program gave me.

See the Google calendar to the right: I am still fumbling with how to embed this in my blog page.

CMLE, I can't thank you enough for this learning opportunity. Keep them coming!

Thing 22 CONTINUING LEARNING

2008-08-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

I am so committed to keep learning. I haven't blogged much lately, and that is because I have been learning. I have the best job in the world, my job is half library and half technology, my two loves: books and computers.

The school already hosted a tech seminar, Tech Quest 3.0. There are even more fun, free things on the net. We did Twitter, Animoto, Wordle, Google Docs, Google Calendars, Google Sites and further explored wikis.

My biggest problem now is finding time to squeak in my books between work and all my computer stuff. I did manage to read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and The Host, all by Stephenie Meyer, this summer though. Currently I am reading "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris.

So everyone Keep on Reading!!! and computing!!!

Still Loving the Things!!

2008-08-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Thing 21 BEYOND MYSPACE-SOCIAL FORUMS

2008-08-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am having so much fun with this program. I hope the 23 Things sight stays active. I joined Web Junction and Ning. I am no longer freaked out about posting my picture online.
I am loving all the book sights and the library forums. I plan to keep current on all the Things I have signed up for. They will all apply when I get around to my master plan of going back to school for certification as Information Media Specialist. There is so much information and so many resources!! I am just lovin' it!

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

Thing 20 FACEBOOK VS. MYSPACE

2008-08-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Another easy Thing for me. I just recently joined Facebook, one of my girl scouts parents created a group so she could post photos. I am not the most happening person, I only have 12 friends. I did join some of the library group though.

I also checked out MySpace, but I know a few young people on there and some of the pages are so unacceptable for viewing, to put it nicely.

I think MySpace does a nicer job displaying their pages, Hennepin County Library, for example. But since I am already a Facebook user, I won't be switching.

Thing 19 PODCASTS

2008-08-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

I found another addicting Thing. I loved the Memoirs for School Library Media . I found myself listening for about an hour and bookmarked my page (with deli.cio.us). I provided the link for you above.

I plan on trying my own podcast, but right now I can think of any topics. Also, I think I am running out of time and want to finish the 23 Things first.

Thing 18 ONLINE VIDEOS

2008-08-13T14:59:00.001-07:00

I checked out the instructions for embedding videos, which I obviously don't have a problem with. I did have problems with finding the share button on YouTube. I found myself wasting a lot of time looking at videos. I did find some funny, appropriate videos to share on my blog though. I was at first worried about not finishing the 23 Things, now I am wishing there were more.

Thing 18.1 GOOGLE ONLINE VIDEO

2008-08-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

It is a little bit of a different format, but many of the videos are the same as YouTube. It will be interesting to see how things play out, if they will leave them as separate sights. Here is a video I pulled from Google Video.

Thing 18 YouTube & ONLINE VIDEO

2008-08-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

Once again, a Thing I am a little bit familiar with. My new favorite thing is embedding videos. I love this help desk one, sorry for stealing the 23 Things idea.

And here is another one I liked.

Thing 17 ELM PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

2008-08-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

OK, :), another Thing I have experience with. I have used ELM, Gale, EBSCO and all those things and have them linked to the HS Destiny site. It was nice to learn some more features. I did the ELM challenge, went to Info Trac, searched child health, listened to the Podcast and added NPR RSS feed on child health to my reader. At last some time on the internet that I don't feel was a total waste of time.

Thing 16 STUDENT 2.0 TOOLS

2008-08-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

I love when I find the Things I have already done. A few years ago, I took a class at the UofM and utilized the University Research Project Calendar. It is great, it sends you email reminders and deadlines of things you should have completed. You enter a start date and a finish date, then the RPC will send you reminders to be working on an outline, a draft, bibliography, etc...

Research Project Calendar does the same thing. This site I even have linked on our Destiny homepage.

High School Destiny Page

Thing 15 ONLINE GAMES & LIBRARIES

2008-08-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

I checked out both games, Puzzle Pirates and Second Life. Puzzle Pirates is graphically geared to a younger audience and Second Life is geared to adults and teens. Picture Super Mario Bros vs. Grand Theft Auto. I am not real thrilled with this Thing, I don't have much interest in RPGs. In a work/school setting, this is not allowed anyway. I did the tour of Info Island and thought the authors Poe and Koontz were displayed nicely, but I don't think it would encourage anyone to read.

Thing 14 LIBRARY THING

2008-08-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

I found another Thing I already have been using a little bit. I can't believe I actually remembered my log-in and password. I took the opportunity to add some of my titles to LT.

So now I just need a time machine to create some extra time during the day to enter all my books into LT.

Thing 13.4 BACKPACK

2008-08-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

I like the BackPack suite of tools, but alas it is not the magic amount; FREE!! Working at a school with no budget can get kind of tough sometimes. BackPack is part of 37 Signals, which I am utilizing Campfire and now TaDa Lists for free. So you can worm around the cost, but it would be nice to have all the features rolled into one place.

Thing 13.3 ONLINE LINE LISTS

2008-08-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

I went for the Ta-da list because it is part of the 37 signals group, which also does Campfire (an online chat room) we have been trying out at work. I can already think of uses for this. I created a list of books I have been buying for the HS. I can see creating wish-lists of books, assignments, tasks.

I make lists all the time, so this Thing is right up my alley.

Thing 13.2 CALENDARS

2008-08-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

I can't just seem to say Google Docs enough. I have created a calendar and shared it already with my fellow Cub Scout leaders. It works great! I put in important school dates and Cub Scout events and then shared it with the other leaders so they can put in their data. I just love iGoogle.

Thing 13.1 ONLINE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

2008-08-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

I am always so excited when I find Things I have already done. I am already a user of iGoogle and My Yahoo!. I have never heard of PageFlakes, but I went there and it does the same thing as iGoogle and My Yahoo!. I use iGoogle more, because I like there Google Docs. I create and upload a lot of them. The Google Doc calendar is my favorite right now. You can create a calendar and invite collaborators to provide input, make changes, or edit existing information.

I do like the Countdown timer. See below!!!

Created by OnePlusYou

Thing 12 DO YOU DIGG IT?

2008-08-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

Social media sites: hmph.....I am kind of torn, I checked out all four of the recommended sites; Digg, Reddit, Mixx, and Newsvine. The most legitimate looking one was Newsvine. All the other sites had a lot of junk, not worth looking at. In a high school setting the social sites are not allowed. They can be a huge time suck. I just wasted probably about 2 hours checking them out. I would like to say I only looked at the worth while sites and news stories, but I found myself just surfing crap.

Thing 11 TAGGING & DEL.ICIO.US

2008-08-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

I already had heard about del.icio.us at a tech conference I went to that was hosted by Apple. I loved the idea of having my bookmarks on any computer I was at. There are so many times when I am at home and I want to just click on my favorites from work and get to the web address I want without typing it in. Del.icio.us does that for me. Del.icio.us is acting goofy today, I can't seem to get on their website.

I like the potential of sharing bookmarks. I have referred a couple of people to this sight to try this already. I even went back and added more tags to my existing bookmarks. The key to doing this right, is to add the tags right away. It is so easy to say/think "later" and then it never gets done.

Thing 10 WIKIS

2008-08-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

I like wikis. I never quite understood what they were and how they worked. The Common Craft Video explained it all very thoroughly. Now I just need to explore which website that offers free wikis would work best for me.

I am thinking this might be the perfect tool to set up a High School Class Reunion. Everyone can edit their own information.

Thing 9 ONLINE COLLABORATION TOOLS

2008-08-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Zoho vs. Google Docs.

I may be a bit biased, I have already been using Google Docs extensively for sharing documents with colleagues.

I have uploaded Excel documents to share with my Friends of the Library. I have created an online Google calendar for Cub Scout events. I created a sample presentation for online sharing. The Google presentation was easier to use than the Zoho one I thought. But, Zoho does have more editing features. I think I would still stay with Google, I am pretty engrained with them for iGoogle, Google calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader. So just for ease of not having another log in and subscription, I will opt for Google.

Click on the link to view my sample presentation.

Thing 8 ONLINE PRESENTATION

2008-07-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

I like the Zoho idea creating an online "powerpoint" presentation. It has a few glitches I couldn't seem to work out. I put in a time for the slide show and wasn't able to clear it. So now the embedded video gets cut short. If I could just extend the days and have more time to figure all this out!

Thing 7 WEB COMMUNICATION

2008-07-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

EMAIL: This one is not a problem for me. I am a heavy user of email at home and work. I have a Yahoo! account, Outlook at work, and gmail. I have had hotmail, I am not a real big fan of the hotmail format. I stopped using it, I thought the spam filters were inadequate and you got hit with too much extra junk.

IM: We are already utilizing AIM at work. I am ok with it. I feel a little tied to my computer sometimes. The tough thing about IM is there are so many different ones. I hate having so many subscriptions/accounts/passwords/etc...

TEXT MESSAGING: This is just not applicable at work. Right now use of cell phones is not allowed during school hours. With teenagers nothing else would get done! It would be useful at the college level where the student/patron is more responsible for the work getting done on their own.

WEB CONFERENCES: I have participated in some web conferences before for training on our new Destiny Card Catalog. They work out very nicely. It is still a bit of a hassle, scheduling it into the day and making sure all the technological aspects are in place and working and getting everyone in the conference. One new thing Kevin found is "Campfire". It is like IM, only more people can get in on the chat. I think it will work great for ongoing projects.

Thing 6 TRADING CARDS

2008-07-30T18:04:00.001-07:00

Big Huge Labs is temporarily down, so I guess I will not play with Trading Cards right now. Onto Thing 7!!!!!

Thing 6 IMAGE CHEF

2008-07-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Thing 5.4 PUZZLES & FLICKER

2008-07-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

OK, so you can make your photos look like jigsaw puzzles. I can't think of any practical applications for this at the HS Media Center.

Thing 5.3 Splashr

2008-07-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

My Presentation

Create your own slide shows and post them on your blog page with Splashr!!!!

I am lovin' 23 Things!

Thing 5.2 SPELLING WITH FLICKER

2008-07-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Spelling with flickr is fun!!

Thing 5.1 BIG HUGE LABS

2008-07-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Big Huge Labs is kind of fun. Still trying to figure out how to get to all these pages without using the link from the 23 Things website. The best idea I can come up with is to bookmark them on deli.cio.us.

Thing 5 COLR PICKER

2008-07-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

I am fumbling around with Thing 5 today. I couldn't figure out what to do with Clockr?

This beautiful, blue jellyfish photo was selected from the color wheel on Colr Pickr. It is from Flickr. I had a few problems actually getting it on my blog page. I am not sure if that is my bad or my inexperience on my MacBook. I have been encouraged by colleauges to "come to the Dark Side". As an original PC girl, I am still a bit resistant.

More posts to follow. Thing 5 has a lot of sub-things.

Thing 4 FLICKR

2008-07-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Flickr was kind of a tough one for me. I am working on a Mac right now, usually I am a PC girl. I had to find a photo uploader that actually worked. Once I did that, I just grabbed some photos from iPhoto.

I already had a subscription to Flickr from when it used to be Yahoo! Photos. I really like the ability to post and share photos via the web.

This is one thing I will continue to use.

Thing 4 FLICKR

2008-07-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally figured out how to get the photo uploader for work on a Mac. I was already a member of Flickr, grandfathered in from Yahoo! photos.

Now I am figuring out how to actually use all the features. I want to scan in all my grandmothers old photos and be able to share them with the whole extended family.

I am so excited to finally be doing the 23 Things. I am learning so much stuff!!

Thing 3 RSS

2008-07-26T12:30:00.002-07:00

Summer is flying by!!!

I figure I better get moving on my 23 Things. So Thing 3 is RSS. I started a google reader account. Which was easy, because I have already discovered igoogle and absolutely adore googledocs.

I subscribed to my own blog!! I hope that counts. It was hard finding blogs in the CMLE list that have been kept current.

On to Thing 4.

Thing 2 WEB 2.0 PERSPECTIVES

2008-07-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

I also redid Thing 2. I watched the online video of the Murdoch University guy. First time around I didn't have the interest to watch the whole thing. It is worth 6 minutes of your time though, I recommend watching the whole thing.

Still Tryin'!!

2008-07-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

I did Thing 1 again today. I really want to learn all this stuff. I think I already made a mistake on my blog though. My blog name "Live to read. Read to live." is different than my blog address. I will keep researching and maybe have to change something down the road.

23 Things on a Stick: TAKE 2

2008-05-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well, here goes again. I was too busy the first time around to finish the 23 things. I think I only got to Thing 2 or 3. But my learning curve has been off the charts. I am constantly learning new technology things at work....and I just signed up for Facebook. So I will be able to see if that is useful or not. Most of the the 23 things are blocked at school, so when I am home this summer it will be nice to do this stuff with no internet filters at home.

AVATAR

2008-02-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

You can now see what I look like in avatar form. It is pretty accurate, except maybe I am not that slim! As you can see, I have always loved libraries. I created this long before I worked in a library.....oops I mean Media Center.

President's Day

2008-02-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

You just gotta love working at a school. The biggest bonus is you have the same schedule as your children. So as the rest of the world is working, I am at home, well....working. All of you stay-at-home moms know what I mean (It is not a picnic sitting on the couch and eating bon-bons and watching soap operas).

I don't know if anyone is actually reading this, but the only way to learn, is practice. OK, you can read the instructions too. See the name of the blog!

HAPPY MONDAY

Thing 1

2008-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well, this is my first attempt at creating a blog.......OK, well 2nd attempt, but we won't go there. I am eager to learn and apply all about technology and its application to the media center.