thing 23 final thoughts

i have now added to my long list of things to try. i think if i can do a few of the new tools and stick with it, i will feel like i have accomplished my goal. i do wish that we would have had more time. the additional information that 23 things sends out is helpful. i will have to go back to the blog and see what else i can do or learn.

Thing 22 what i learned

last summer was the big jump into web 2.0 but i have to say i did add some new trick that i think might be useful.
1. i liked the additional flickr tools (big hugh lab) to use for promoting books
2. i will like facebook and trying out Ning with my peers
3.looking forward to using google docs and lazybase for book reviews
4. continue to use shelfari and get more people to log in with me

this is a good beginning and useful ways to use these tools.

Thing 21 more socialness (is this a word?)

Web junction for libraries look interesting, but the site is being updated so i will have to tune in later.

i also created a Ning for librarians. looks like a facebook. i will plug away at it.

Thing 20 (being social, i have no problem with that)

I decided to create a facebook and see what everyone is talking about. i invited a few friends, one was my daughter who immediately told me how embarrassing it was, yet she provided me with the tools(bumper sticker) and helped me out. it's not bad so far, i think my friends are impressed. easy to load pictures, you tube videos and talk to people. i think this might be better than a dating service.

Thing 19 podcast

we had the opportunity to podcast two author visits during the 2007-08 school year,
Gary Schmidt and Frank Beddor. i also use a site called meet the author to introduce students to authors and their books.

Thing 18 Good for a laugh

it was easier to post this you tube on my facebook!

Thing 17 (i need help with this)

i am not sure i would like to admit that i have never accessed ELM. i use the public library databases and the ones paid for by Minnesota (are they the same?) i think that this site should be on my get to know better list. I will ask our Stacked Librarian for some assistance with this.

i just figured out how to set up a folder in the database. i can see using this to help teachers find information.

i also find net library hard to use. i like using overdrive to select ebooks. the have a better selection of young adult books and easier to use.

Thing 16 (get organized)

the assignment calculator looks very interesting. i can see where this would be very helpful for students to organize their thoughts and work. we will have to try this when school starts, it's not a great time of year to do this.

The research project calculator is also one to try out with teachers when school starts again.

Thing 15 (i hate playing games)

Thing 15 is not of interest to me, after reading all the comments about what people tried i want to stay away. i don't want added software on my computer, i don't want to spend hours playing games on the computer when i could be outside riding my bike, reading a book or sailing. i know i should be trying this out but i will save it for another time or give the pirate site to our 7th grade team since they do study piracy.

Thing 14 (what are you reading now)

I chose to use Shelfari to keep track of what i am reading now, what i have read. i invited students and parent to join my shelf. They can send me messages and i found other media specialist looking at the list i have created. Both sites serve the same purpose.

Thing 13 (now here is something productive)

Productivity tools, which ones to choose to actually be productive! Here's what i have been using; igoogle ( love to pull up my personal site when i open the browser, that's why i use Firefox at school, did i just say that!) i added pdf maker to my home page since that looks useful. i am trying google docs spreadsheets with my IRA project and i think that will be much better.

Thing 12 ( i think i will not digg)

I think i will skip this one. how many places do i need to go to search? i can't even keep up with my RSS feeds. No digging today!

Thing 11 (Tag your it)

I have been using Del.icio.us and putting my tags into bundles. i was also using Big hugh lab mosaic and i found that in order to make a collage i needed to tag my pictures in flickr so that the software would read the right picture.

Instead of using a dreamweaver created Pathfinder i tried Pagekeeper which does the same thing but doesn't look at pretty.

Thing 10 Wikis ( a work in progress)

last year i created a wiki and i had a few successes. one was our volunteer pages where we could post a calendar for when volunteers were scheduled, this saved tons of paper and it was accessible.
i also used the wiki for our teacher choices project ( which was somewhat successful) . i have now updated that page to use a google docs spreadsheet.
we used the wiki for our conference materials. i also used it for book talks. after looking at some of the other wikis, i will update this page also.

Thing 9 Collaboration Tools (getting people to participate)

I set up a googles doc spreadsheet.
last year i used my wiki to have teachers post books they had read for the Teacher Choices Project. since i could only set up a table it was not easy to post and keep going and most important sort. So this year i will try the spreadsheet with all the features and see if we have better results.

Thing 8 (the S word)

Del.icio.us is my favorite tool that i use all the time. i like having my favorites accessible where ever i am. i presented at a conference and used my wiki and del.icio.us to direct attendees to our resources.
I am also trying Lazybase, which is an online database. i am hoping this will help me share my books that i have read so it's more accessible.
Thumbstacks is an online presentation program which i found interesting, my thought is to use this as another way to present books to both teachers and students.
I tried Big Hugh Lab, Mosaic Maker, you could use the collage feature and take pictures of kids reading different books or have them take pictures of friends and submit them to print.

Y.A. Book titles

Thing 7 online communication tools (let me be your friend)

I have done most of the communication tools, email, IM ( i set up an account and i never use it ) text messaging ( which i use all the time to reach my children ) i have done webinars and i have seen my daughter use meebo.
i did decide to get a facebook account since i am not familiar with it. so now i am registered and i will have to get my daughter to show me how to use it......

Thing 6 Online Image Generator ( a picture is worth a thousand words)

Ok, you could spend way too much time with this, which makes this a good project for students. i have been looking for a way to get students to talk about what they read this summer and i think that if i post the website for big hugh labs http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/deck.php
and ask them to create a trading card for what they did this summer and what they read and post it on the website.
i have been wanting to get teachers to talk about what they have read and this would be a great way to print and post their selection.

Thing 5 More fun with Flickr (edward!!!!)

i am working on Picasa2 and it may take awhile, but i do like the photo editing piece in it and can thing of many uses for that in the library for promoting reading.

i would agree that flickr spelling is very addictive, if i can figure out how to get it in the blog.

Thing 4 Flickr (picture anyone)

i started using flickr last summer and immediately found that i had too many picture to store and sort for the free version, so i immediately upgraded to try it out. i like sharing photos with my family and having a place for school related work that i can access anywhere, anytime. i have had trouble uploading many photos at a time especially on my p.c.

After reading 23 things flickr i realized i had not set up a URL which i proceeded to do right away.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/readinggirl56. i also think the emailing feature looks interesting. i am further investigating using Picasa, i will get back to you on what i think about it.

as far as uses in school, perhaps the yearbook staff would find this helpful, the sharing photo features sounds good but i think you still need to be careful when sending students to look for pictures.