Week 7 -- #16 Wikis

I am part of several educational wikis so was somewhat familiar with them but not in the public library aspect. The thing that, in my opinion, is important is deciding the use of the wiki and making sure that it is developed with that use in mind. For instance, I really liked the Book Lovers wiki because I knew it was going to be various peoples' opinions about books and the opinions could vary quite widely and I couldn't take any of them as being the 'right' one because they are opinions. It was very interesting to see how various people perceived the same book. However, I have seen students go to Wikipedia as an authoritative source and say that it is the absolute truth. Since anyone can alter a wiki, unless the settings prohibit it, it can't be said that Wikipedia is the absolute truth because the last entry could be from someone who doesn't know the subject matter and or has a 'cause' to promote. I can definitely see the "Book Lovers" type of wiki being used within the public library setting, as long as there is someone who monitors the postings. I also think it would be a nice way to announce library events/new books/items of interest but I would have that wiki as one that only the author can edit. It would also be a neat tool to use with people who are collaborating on the same project but live large distances apart so cannot have face to face meetings. I think they are very useful and allow for a great deal of interaction.

Week 6 -- #15 Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

I read several articles which centered on the future of libraries and librarians (media specialists) with regard to technology and the emphasis of Web 2.0 Of those that I read, I could relate more to the one titled "Into a New World of Librarianship" because he dealt with the traits of a librarian who deals with 2.0 Actually, what he stated as good traits for a librarian in the Web 2.0 field apply to being a good librarian/media specialist overall. For instance, he talks about planning for the users. I think we all try to plan for our users' needs by asking what they would like to see, keeping a log of things that are well received, not well received, etc. I particularly liked his point that a good librarian does not buy technology just for the sake of buying it. I've run into people who have 'this' gadget or program just because 'it's there' but don't really have a sound use for it and therefore, it largely goes unused and is a waste of money. Another article I read was "Away from the Icebergs" and while Mr. Anderson made some very good points, I'm not that I can fully agree (maybe it's the 'old' librarian in me) with getting rid of the 'just in case' collection. He talks at length about so much information being in digital form that we really don't 'need' the basic collection that encompasses many subject areas. I still believe that we need a basic, well-rounded collection of print materials. I know, myself, that I don't want to take my laptop or i-Touch with me everywhere I go just so I can read a book in digital form. For me, it's much easier to put a paperback in my purse or suitcase. I lastly read the Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries. this was a fairly comprehensive article dealing with a true definition of Library 2.0 and innumerates some essential elements that Library 2.0 would encompass.

Week 6 -- #14 Technorati

As I've discovered many times when using technology, it's not always dependable and Technorati was giving me a message that the "Technorati Monster" had escaped and they were having problems so I will return later for the assigned searches.

Try 2---I am still having difficulty with the site working properly, particularly on searches. However, I was able to compare the favorite blogs by fans, by authority, and the top search. Several, such as Boing Boing and TechCrunch were listed as top both by fans and authority. The searches were much more specific, and would be expected, were related to things that are 'of interest' today such as tv and movie stars, items from the news, etc. I find the site to be rather difficult to use and don't feel it's very user friendly. I think it would be fine to use with just a general term to find some blogs but am not sure I would use it with students. Also, it has all blogs on it, some of which are undoubtedly not done well or in good taste. This has probably been my least favorite Web 2.0 exploration thus far.

Week 6 -- #13 Del.icio.us

I had actually started my Delicious account before beginning this class as I had attended a session about it at a conference and liked the way I could access my favorites from various computers. However, I learned much more about it through this class. For instance, I didn't realize the meta-tags that I could put on my favorites, or that I could search for subject-area favorites from other Delicious lists that people have made public, or that Favorites can be listed as shared or private within the same account. I went to the PLCMCL2 Delicious account first and found several nice bookmarks, especially pertaining to students and the use of Web 2.0 I then started searching through tags that people have utilized in their accounts and found some that were educationally based, and then, of course, couldn't help myself from looking to see what neat sites had been bookmarked for quilting also. I can see where this would assist students with research in that they could type in the meta-tag to get information specific to their topic but it would also, in my opinion, require quite a bit of pre-planning on the teacher's part so that students do not get into peoples' favorites lists and access inappropriate material.

Week 5 -- Thing #12 Rollyo

Up until this point, I had at least heard the name of each of the 2.0 'things' mentioned but Rollyo was totally new to me. I looked at several search rolls that were listed on the "23 Things" list but the one for photos led me to a dead link. I then went in and explored some of the search rolls that had already been created and thought, at first, that it was going to be much like our county's teachers' bookmarks site...bookmarks.allconet.org but then saw where it went one step further in searching for particular subjects within the websites themselves; whereas the bookmarks site for the teachers just gives the specific link for each one. I created a search roll for some educational sites that I use frequently (NASA, Discovery Science, etc.) with the Math/Science Partnership Grant and saw where it would be very helpful because I am often out of town for meetings with this grant and don't have my own computer with me so could access the sites from whatever computer I was at. I can see where it would be very useful for that purpose. I can also envision possible use of it to teach student web search skills but have them use only the websites you have designated so they do not get into inappropriate material, which is a large concern. By putting only the sites you want them to be able to get into and having them accessing Rollyo, they can learn the basics of searching without being in the entire Internet.

Week 5 -- #11 Library Thing

I have one basic thing to say about "Libraray Thing"....DON'T get into this site unless you want to become totally engrossed for hours at a time! ;-) I absolutely LOVED this site and it's one of those where you start at Point A and find something that leads to Point B which goes to C and so on and so on. For instance, I like to read 'light' mysteries so when I first logged on, I did a search for "Mysteries" which led me to a group for "Crime, Thriller, and Mystery". I decided to explore it and found a group talk titled "Cozy Mysteries" which is exactly what I wanted. This group talk then had various sub-topics in which they had postings. The people who participated in the group talk had some wonderful suggestions of authors and series that I hadn't read and this, in my opinion, was one of the best parts of "Library Thing"... I simply went to the tab for "My Books" and "Add Books" and just typed in the author's name and got the list, double clicked on any in which I was interested and they are now in my list, along with any tags I wanted to put on them. I was then able to print out my list so that I could take it to the library with me instead of wandering the shelves with a Post-It in my hand with the author's name on or worse yet, forgetting the Post-It and trying to remember the author's name. There are many other features in this website that I want to explore but thoroughly enjoyed, and will definitely, be using this one! For anyone who likes to read mysteries that aren't horrendously morbid, bloodly, etc. but are a little more "light" (amateur sleuth who 'stumbles' upon cases), here's my Library Thing listing: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jkeating1

Week 5 -- Thing #10 Online Image Generator

This was a fun activity with the image generators. I used "The Generator Blog" because it had such a wide range of images and ideas to work with. This would be a great website to use with students via an LCD to show them how people change pictures and then post them as the true pictures. Students need to realize that many images they see on the Internet are fabricated by using sites such as these.

I didn't create any avatars as I have done it before, and loved doing it, but wanted to explore some of the other image generators that I hadn't seen before.