I'm Done with all 23!!

Here goes the last one! I've really enjoyed doing the 23 things, and now I'll have to find some other sites to keep me learning about these things. My favorite finds from this process have been the podcasts, webinars, and photo things. I will be using the bighugelabs and flickr site for sure, I'm a huge photo person and I was really excited about these. I would definitely participate in another 23 things if there is one.

Keeping up with 2.0 - 22

Now that I'm almost done with the 23 things it is kind of bittersweet. I love to learn new things available online. I'm the one at work who gets really excited about a cool new site and ends up peer pressuring others (in a nice way) to try it out. I like to show others how to use different tools and new things, and I like to learn with other people (thus the peer pressure). I don't feel like I need a "resolution" to stay on top of 2.0 things, but I will make more of a conscious effort to learn new things rather than waiting for new things to come to me. I think one per week, rather than the suggested 15 minutes per day, works best for me. That way I'll spend my extra time during that week learning everything I can about the new tool or site, and trying out everything I can think of with it.

More Social things 21

• Are you a member of any online communities? Other than being on facebook and myspace, I'm not a member of any communities online. At least, none like I was finding on ning.
  
• Are any of these social networks appealing to you? I found ning really interesting. I could see creating a group with classmates or work cohorts or other groups that either are working together or just like to hang out. For example, on Sunday mornings my husband and I have a group we meet at a Starbucks (kind of our "Sunday school" but very informal). Currently we send mass emails to each other to let people know about other things going on, but having a ning site would make this so much more convenient.
  
• What did you find that was interesting and that you might use later? A few networks on Ning looked interesting, though I haven't joined any yet. One was Library Youth and Teen Services 2.0.

Social Networking 20

I've been on facebook for several years now. I was an undergrad when the site began as a college based social site, and signed up then. While I'm on both facebook and myspace, I rarely use myspace anymore. It was the site that my friends who had not gone to college were on, and that was my primary reason for having a page on there. Now, everyone is able to have a facebook page and thus, I don't need to go to myspace :)

My reasons for liking facebook over myspace:

• I can access it from the library. (myspace was blocked by our library system)
• Less spam.
• Less virus threat.
• Don't have to worry about making my page "look cool"
• I don't have to worry about what random images or adds that are posted to my comments/wall
• The list pretty much ends there...

The library and Social Networking:
The library I work for currently has one page that users can be fans of. I believe they are about to pilot a branch level page in which the staff at one of the branches gets to post their own events and pictures to their own page. If this turns out well, I may be doing this at my branch.

Podcast 19

I listened to a podcast about Julia Child and one with Meg Cabot. I've never looked for podcasts before and didn't know what I was missing. Finding authors on here is great! I found that publishers often have podcasts with their authors on their web sites. I found that using google and searching what I was looking for with the word podcast worked better than using the podcast directories. I haven't subscribed to any podcasts yet but I did find a few that looked good!

YouTube number 18

I chose this video because I've done Peep Joust tournaments at the library before and the Tweenaged kids really loved it. I've also found videos on this site that help give me ideas for t-shirt making programs. There are a lot of great ideas out there just waiting to be found on one of these sites. I'm always open to having someone email me what they've found.

Personalized Databases - 17

• How can these tools be applied to your everyday work? I didn't know that these tools were on the sites that I regularly use, like EBSCO. I don't know that I'll ever use the web page maker, but it was fun to play with. I like the note taking that is available on the netlibrary site. I normally don't like reading on screen, but searching the text is SO easy.
  
• How can these tools facilitate collaboration with your colleagues? I could see dividing up materials in netlibrary regarding a project and sending each other our notes on what we read.
  
• How can these tools benefit your patrons/students? It offers a way to save information without printing! They can access the information they found in an organized way.
  

Planning Ahead...thing 16

This seems like a useful resource for someone having trouble figuring out how to begin on a big project. I tend to make my own time-line for getting things done, a plus of doing this on my own is that I can take into account how much time I have now versus later and what other big things I am, or will be, working on. What I liked most about this site was the resource page. Particularly the ones related to Google and Boolean. I don't know that someone who is a novice would understand these printouts, but they would help me walk library users through learning to do searches.

ARRRG...15

I played the Pirate game! This has to be the most fun thing yet :). I was a bit disappointed that I have my very conservative computer that isn't up to doing 2nd life, I'll have to try that one later. Games like these seem so important to my job. I work with teens at the library and part of that is letting teens feel comfortable by doing fun things like playing video or computer games. Also, I can't remember how many times I've been asked to come to the computer area and help a kid find a "cool game site." The ones that seem popular are addictinggames.com and poptropica.com.

Library Thing 14

• How can you use LibraryThing for your library? I can use it mostly for reader's advisory and through keeping track of things that I have read and would like to read.
  
• How else do you share booklists, etc. with library patrons? Would LibraryThing offer an alternative? In working with teens, I've shared booklists through both the teen section of our website and the "What Do I Read Next?" lists as well as through bookmarks of lists related to certain genres. I could use LibraryThing to find similar books, or author read a-likes.
  

Thing 13

• Which start page did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page? I've made a Google and Yahoo start page before, but have not made either one my homepage. I liked Yahoo the most, because I was able to make it look the coolest, but that was a while ago and the tools might have changed. I don't use sites like this too much because, I like my homepage to be a quick loading site without much too it.
  
• Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at the library or at home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others? An online calendar would be great for keeping track of schedules and events, both for me and my husband and at work. Having this visible from anywhere rather than on 3 different calendars would be better than I keep it now.
• What about the to-do lists—helpful, too much work…? I don't keep to-do lists normally, but this site was fun.
  
• Did you try out Backpack? What did you think? I viewed the tour for backpack, but didn't try it. This would be nice, but I don't see using a for $ tool any time soon.
  
• Did you try any of the other tools in the list? Any good ones we should all try? I don't have a tool to recommend but, I have bookmarked the top 10 and top 25 lists to go back to later when I have more time to get organized :)
  

in the Mixx - thing 12

The article I submitted to share to Mixx was already submitted, but it jumped to it and I was able to see all of the comments that had already been made about it.

• How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home? I've never used one of these sites before, but they would be great for staying on top of information. This seems like a great site to go to for gossipy entertainment news, one of my guilty pleasures.
  
• Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor? The comment sections on news sites tend to be a detractor for me. I find myself getting mad or frustrated with some of the things people post rather than just reading the story for myself.
  
• Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites? I've never used one of these sites before, but people are able to post similarly on facebook. I don't normally go to the articles people post on there, but I have before.
  

Delicious number 11

I started using Delicious a few things ago after I took a webinar over it. It has been fun learning about it, it has been really handy for keeping track of sites that I use for school and work.

• Can you see the potential of this tool for research assistance? Or just as an easy way to create bookmarks that can be accessed from anywhere? I can see this being helpful with research. I've bookmarked the sites that I use for getting articles for school. But, it is an easy way to bookmark!
  
• How can your library or media center take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us? If you were to look at the "bookmark" tab on internet explorer on any of the staff computers at my library you would see a mile long list of links and folders. Using a site like del.icio.us would greatly help in organizing all of these sites that we use from day to day. That's just the most obvious use I can think of today.
  

Wiki 10

I've attempted to create a wiki, but wasn't feeling to creative today.

• What did you find interesting about the wiki concept? That multiple people can contribute and read the content of the page. This would be great for collaborative projects.
  
• What types of applications within libraries and schools might work well with a wiki? I've seen a few wiki's used for planning and brainstorming in committees. The use for book reviews is interesting as well.
  
• Many teachers/faculty "ban" Wikipedia as a source for student research. What do you think of the practice of limiting information by format? I understood this for a few reasons, there was a time that the entry for the high school I attended was obviously created by a member of the rival school. There are items that are placed on this site that are not factual, however it can be a great starting point for research. This is often on of the first sites brought up by google, and thus one of the first sites I look at if I'm just searching for a simple answer.
  

Thing 9

• Which of these tools is easier for you to use? I've used Google Docs before, but Zoho seems easier to me.
  
• How do the features of each compare? Does one have features that would make you choose it over the other? I like the ruler at the top as a frame of reference, as in Zoho. Not having collaborated with anyone on it before, I wouldn't say that it is better than Google though. A group I've worked with before used Google Docs for creating a project. I remember having to wrestle with the formatting, it was great for getting text together but not as nice as Word for setting up the format.
• What would the Founding Fathers think? Spell check! and no mark-outs! No one has to know that I can't spell. And, they don't have to look at my penmanship. Copies are so much easier to distribute! No more handwriting multiples. I went to see one of the copies of the Declaration of Independence when it was in Tulsa. My friend and I were so surprised to see that this "official" and "historical" document was written on a slope, much like the envelopes I try to address by hand.
  

Thing 8

• What uses do these tools have for library or personal use? I had trouble getting the lazybase site to work, but I could use this for keeping track of summer volunteers. I currently have to create my own database in excel, and this might work quicker. I'm not sure how I might use photo slide shows right now, but linking photos of programs and events to library twitter/email/facebook accounts would be nice.
  

• Was the tool you used easy to navigate and understand? I tried a few tools before finding on with a working link : ) But the one that I ended up with (bighugelabs) worked well and was very easy, without having to sign up or register.

• Would you recommend it to others? I would definitely recommend the site I used, it is able to talk to your flickr and facebook accounts so that you don't have to upload any more photos, but use what you've already added.

• Do you use other sharing tools for photos, documents, or other creations that you would recommend? The site that I'm working on now uses Picasa by google for adding picture slide shows to the site, and that has been working well.
  

Communication...Thing 7

• Describe how your library uses email. Has it improved productivity? The library I work at uses email as a form of communication throughout the library employees. Any new/important information is sent out in system wide emails. Also, there are email lists, such as CHAT, which are lists of those of us working with children or teens. One could email the entire list with questions or suggestions regarding youth services. At the branch level, we don't always get a chance to pass along information face to face, having different work schedules, so email is the best way to communicate when something is going to happen or a new way to do something. I find that my email folders are the most organized area of my work, because most of the important information is sorted and stored there and not in my desk files.
  

• Share your thoughts on online reference using some of the other Web 2.0 communication tools. Are you an active user of text messaging, IM, or other communication tools? I actively use text messaging, have previously used IM, and sometimes use skype (0r webcam based communication. I haven't used any of these at work though. I grew up in the AOL days and thus, was IMing constantly as a teen, but haven't used it much in the past 8 to 9 years. Text messaging is quickly becoming the way I stay in contact with my friends. The Tulsa library has an IM capability on their AskUs site, I haven't had a need to use it, but I've wanted to.
  

• Which OPAL or MINITEX Web conference (Webinar) did you attend? How was it? What do you think of this communication tool? I viewed an archived conference on Del.icio.us and learned about bookmarking sites. This was great! It gave me the capability to start up an account while watching and listening to an expert doing it at the exact same time. While I'm sure I could have learned about Del.icio.us on my own, it was fun to have help. For someone who is less confident on the Internet, this would have been wonderful.
  

Thing 6

These are a few examples of the things I made while playing with the ideas from Thing 6. Much like from Thing 5, I've gotten more ideas for doing displays. I liked the words in flowers for a display/program about gardening. I also really liked the trading cards for use with teens, thus the vampire focused images. Having these for advertising programs would be neat, but I really like the idea of using them for reading suggestions.

Number 5...or more Flickr

This thing was fun. I work do displays regularly at the library, and this gives me some great ideas for making them look fun. Also, we have a library blog to advertise programs on our teen site and adding fun images would be great for grabbing attention to my entries.

Mr. October

October
Originally uploaded by smorehe

Using my dog for a calendar.

Crafty!

Crafty!
Originally uploaded by smorehe

Me in beads.

Flickr....aka Thing 4

• Will you use Flickr for the library or media center, for your personal photos, or in another way? I most likely won't use Flickr at work, because our library currently blocks the site. However, I have visited the site at home to look for library display ideas. This, so far, is the best site I've found for gathering ideas for putting together book displays.
  

• Do you use Flickr or another photo hosting service? Which one? How does it compare to Flickr? I've use the Kodakgallery.com for my photos for the past few years, mostly for creating photo books and cards. Also, I use facebook to share photos with friends and family. These sites don't offer the same tagging and group features that Flickr seems to, but most of my friends and family only use facebook so I might just have to stick with it.
  

• How do you feel about having your photos public (note that you can mark your Flickr photos private, too)--any concerns? I'm not sure about making my photo's public. I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of myself or my house for fear of them being used by others for purposes that I wouldn't like. I'm not sure what that would be, but I feel the need to be cautious for some reason.

Book Truck Entry

Book Truck Entry
Originally uploaded by smorehe

Last picture for today...
This is the entry from last years "Trick My Book Truck" contest that our teen volunteers put together. It is a Robot...Isn't that obvious? :)

Twilight Open House

Twilight Open House
Originally uploaded by smorehe

One of last years big programs was an Open House to celebrate Twilight. Here is a picture of the library from that day.

Teen Gaming

Teen Gaming
Originally uploaded by smorehe

I work with Teens at my job, and here is an image from a gaming program we had last year.

RSS - Thing 3

• What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
  I like that they do the searching for me. No more going to multiple sites to see the latest updates.
• How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
  I'm not sure how I might use this for school, maybe subscribing to feeds related to coursework. In my personal life, the first few feeds that I have subscribed to are all of interest to me. It is an easier way to look at the websites I usually go to anyway.
  
• How can teachers or media specialists libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
  For one, by subscribing to professional development type of feeds. New information related to what they do will come to them.
  
• Which tool for finding feeds was easiest to use?
  I'm not sure yet, I liked the google blog finder. Right now I've mainly subscribed to only the sites that I use normally.
  
• Find any great sources we should all add to our feed reader?
  If you use the Tulsa library to get your DVDs, like I do, you can subscribe to the new DVD list.

Thing 2

Blog questions...

• We know time is always an issue--Stephen Abram shares some ideas on where to find the time for 23 Things. Where will you find the time? I've set aside time in the evenings to work on both 23 Things and learning HTML. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with my time frame.
• Why are you participating in 23 Things On a Stick? What do you hope to learn? I'm participating in 23 Things as a requirement for a school course, but I've also been encouraged to do the 23 Things as part of Con Ed at work. I hope to learn about some of the new techie things that are out there and how I can use them. At this point, I know about a few of them but have lacked the drive or need to learn about them.
• How has the Internet and the vast resource it can be affected your use of time at work and/or at home? I know that I am greatly dependent on the Internet. All I need is a power outage to feel cut off from the world. I use the Internet for any research that I do, at work or at home. If I am asked a question at the library, I use the Internet based catalog, databases, and search engines to find answers. I also use the Internet to stay in contact with friends and family, and even just last night I used it to follow a football game that I couldn't get on TV. I would say almost 90 percent of my time at work involves using the Internet while only about 25 to 30 percent of my time at home does. Currently I do not have Internet capabilities on my phone, but I don't see that being too far in my future.
• Where are you in your knowledge and use of Web 2.0 tools? How about your library? At this point, I'm still struggling to comprehend what is encompassed by the term Web 2.0. However, I am pretty apt at staying on top of the new developments that are used at my library and quick to learn new tools.
• What are you looking forward to in 23 Things On a Stick? I look forward to showing others (friends and coworkers) what I have learned, or will learn.
  

First Day

I'm doing 23 things for my class this fall, and setting up a blog is thing numero uno.

Wonder where the blog name came from?

Well, my name is Stacy Morehead, and my work email combines the two into something that reminds me of a tasty little treat so I figured I'd go with it. :)

Off we go into the land of blogging...