Thing #23 Final Thoughts

If there's ever another similar program like 23 things on a stick, I would definitely participate! This program was so worthwhile and practical. I liked that it was at our own pace and each step included clear directions. The blog idea for keeping track forced me to reflect and helped me to remember what I did. Now that I've tried new things such as wikis, blogs, podcasts and Facebook, I feel like I can relate to my students better and I feel more confident in using new technology tools. There are so many ways that these tools can be used in the library and I'm excited to try some of them this school year. I enjoyed knowing that others were participating in this program and it encouraged me to keep going. I was surprised by how easy most of these tools are to use. I need to select carefully what I choose to spend my time on but many of these tools are time-savers in the long run. Thank you for putting together this program and helping us along the way! P.S. At the beginning of my blog, I didn't number each Thing, but I did label them similarly to the topic so hopefully you can tell that I did each step.

Thing #22 What did I learn today?

I am really glad that I did the 23 things on a stick. I've learned very useful skills and know about tools that I'd wondered about before. I plan to keep up with reading Google Reader, checking out the network groups I've joined and learned about and bookmark sites that I want to keep using. It helps me to have sites bookmarked so that they are readily available and in one place. I'm also going to keep looking back at this blog to revisit some of these tools I've learned about. and lastly, I like to read professional journals such as School Library Journal to keep up with what's happening. Overall, my hunger to keep learning about my profession and new technology trends will keep me on the lookout for opportunities to learn.

Thing #21 Continued

I also visited the Teacher Librarian Network and love it that it's focused on different types of libraries. I can join the YA lit group. I plan to visit this group in the future to get ideas for my library.

Thing #21: Other social networks

I joined the 23 things on a stick Ning and I'm going to add the badge to my blog. I think I can figure it out! I've also checked out some of the baking/cooking social networks like BakeSpace and Open Source Food. I love looking for recipes and these look like fun resources.

Thing #19 Podcasts

I enjoyed browsing several podcasting websites. I listened to a podcast from the St. Cloud School Media podcast site, browsed the podcasts on the Education Podcast directory, and looked at the MN public radio podcasts. I linked podcasts from John Piper's Desiring God to my Google Reader account. He has weekly sermons that are podcasts. I was impressed with how easy it is to record a podcast with Gcast. Podcasts are one more way to learn and stay up to date on information, so it's a matter of whether it's my preferred way to do that. I think I still prefer to watch the news rather than listen to it, but for road trips or to multitask, I think I could see using podcasts. Podcasts could also be a great way for students to create projects with a different media format. There are enough free online tools to make this a very possible project to do in the classroom.

Thing #20 Facebook and Myspace

I can't believe I have created a Facebook profile, but I have. I've already found a few "friends" and set up a picture. It's amazing how quickly you can get connected. It's a really fast way to see what's new in people's lives and it's easy to add information. I joined the Library 2.0 Interest Group. I think it will be another good way to see what's going on in the 2.0 and library world. I think Facebook is growing and so popular because it's rewarding to be part of a group and be connected to others and it's easy. I looked at the Hennepin Cty. Myspace page. They have different book discussions, you can search the library catalog, and get general info on library events. I'd rather visit the Hennepin Cty library's website rather than their Myspace page, but it's another way to interact with people.

Thing #18 YouTube

Yes, I finally figured it out and found the "embed" code. This is definitely helpful to actually do it myself otherwise I wouldn't remember how to do it or understand it. It's cool that you can put the actual video into a blog!

Thing #18 YouTube

I chose the Funny Commercial about a blond in the library to post to my blog. I thought it was funny but also liked the verses about wisdom that followed it. I'm going to try embedding the link to the video in this post. Hopefully it works!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APWVP459BK0

I may have to try this again. I couldn't find the "code" that the instructions were talking about, just the link to the video.

Thing #17 ELM Productivity Tools

I was surprised by the things you can do with these databases. The search alert feature can save time and keep a person up to date on certain topics. I think I could benefit from emails of articles related to school libraries. People could use this as a time efficient way to develop professionally. The Page Composer in Ebsco makes creating a web page really easy. This could be used for class projects or introducing students or teachers to making a web page. The buttons on the left side of the screen are clear enough for even the less tech savvy people. Netlibrary's feature of taking notes in an e-book is useful, if you prefer to do things electronically. I think it's a good idea, but if people don't make a habit of using Netlibrary, it would be easy to forget about the notes you took. Proquest's My Research tab is great for collaborating and sharing articles with fellow teachers. Of all the tools I learned about with this activity, I liked the search alert the best because it can save me time and keep me informed.

#16 Student 2.0 Tools

I love it when I find a resource that I can use right away! The Research Project Calculator has great tips and handouts for guiding students through the research process. I am helping a teacher with a research unit that starts next week and we are going to use the Big6 skills to guide the research process. But the basic steps and resources are similar so I may use some of these handouts. It helps to have instructional tips as well. As far as teacher resources, I think the RPC has a lot to offer. For students, this tool helps to give structure to their project. The links under each step are quick ways for students to get answers to questions they may have. It can give students more independence.

#15 Online Games and Libraries

I took a look at Second Life. Although my computer was slow with navigating the site, I got a good idea of what it's like in that world. It reminds me a little of a SIMS City game. It's neat that it parallels real life in many ways with real estate, the economy and entertainment. For students who haven't been able to experience many of these things yet, I can see how this would be very appealing. Second Life could also be used by Social Studies classes to teach economy concepts. The only thing I can think of for a library connection in my school would be an after school club for students to hang out and discuss/go on Second Life.

#14 Library Thing

My link to Library Thing is http://www.librarything.com/home/lcoddingtonnjh
I had a great time exploring this site. It's a little cumbersome at first learning how it works. But it's very easy to search for and add books. I love it that there are free book covers available too! After creating a small library I looked at how many other people selected those books. I was surprised by the range. The Angel Experiment had 1264 other members and Silverfin only had 11. It's fun to read other member's reviews, look at similar books to my selections and see the tags associated with those books. This site has great potential for use in my library with my students. I could create a library just for my school and have students view it for recommended reads.