Thing 23

One word for this program? Exhausting! I did Things 8-22 in 3 days. I don't recommend it. I knew nothing about Library 2.0 before this. I learned a lot. I'm not sure how much of it I will use again, but it was interesting.

Flickr was definitely my favorite. I had a lot of fun with the pictures. It was very frustrating in the beginning, but now I have the hang of copying them into my blog. I even taught my dad how to use it.

I was telling a friend about the program and he thought it sounded great. There is so much new technology out there and no easy way to learn about it. This was a great program in that everything was there for you in one place.

Will I do it again? After I have time to rest.

thing 22

What Did I Learn Today?

I don't think that I will be able to give up on the new learning anytime soon. I am working on the Mn Voluntary Certification. I have been in the program for a year now. I probably have a years worth of work left to do. I have learned so many new skills.

I had very little library experience when I started working on the bookmobile 2 1/2 years ago. I had worked a few times as a substitute in the Eveleth-Gilbert school libraries, and really enjoyed the work. I was so happy when the bookmobile job came along.

I may not have homework to do everyday, but I'm sure that there will always be opportunities for learning.

Thing 21

I learned a lot from the Web Junction article on social networking. It had the best information that I have seen on how social networking can apply the all of us, and for once, not just the youth. Libraries are for all ages and so can social networking be. I loved the last two lines of the article. They say it all.
"The library is already a community space. Let's make the social web a new meeting room. We already interact in person. Let's begin interacting online".

I think that I could be sold on social networking after viewing some of the "grownup" sites on Gather and WebJunction. I love Bake Space and Open Source Food. I like to cook and am always on the internet looking for new recipes. I looked at Good Reads and also found that interesting. Aren't all of us interested in what others are reading?

Thing 20

I wish I could remember who wrote it, but another blog said that her "advisers" (her kids) told her how to do this Thing. My kids will not allow me to sign up for Facebook, the one that they use. They are so embarrassed that someone might see me.

I signed up for Myspace and found some friends.

I don't ever expect to use this. No time or desire. I'm sure I would have liked it when I was younger. I know that the kids have lots of fun with it. My kids enjoy using Facebook. A recent survey done at the University of MN states that of those parents surveyed, 92% of their kids use FaceBook or MySpace. 11% of the parents have a site.

I liked the Denver and Hennepin County Library MySpace pages. Lots of cool stuff for the kids. Links to fun and interesting things. I liked the list of the favorite books of the year. Since I do most of the buying for our collection, I like to see what others are reading.

Thing 19

I listened to podcasts about smoking shacks on MPR and one about a trip to Cairo on Lonely Planet Travelcast. I tried opening many other podcasts and their sites were all down. Story of my life! I finally found one that was very interesting called Coffee Break Spanish. No matter what I tried, I could not get the link to copy. I finally got it to copy to Google Reader, but the whole list of available podcasts on that page copied. The first one on the list was a sex talk. I deleted the whole thing.

This Thing almost inspired me to want to listen to more podcasts. I was very pleased to find the podcast called Coffee Break Spanish . I think that I would enjoy brushing up on my Spanish. After finding it, I read that someone else was listening to Coffee Break French.

Thing 18

This is my daughter's cheerleading squad at the University of Minnesota.



I could not find anything about "embeded" or "about this video" on YouTube. I had to sign up for YouTube, another thing that I don't want to signed up for. Once I was logged in, I could see it.

Thing 17

ELM Productivity Tool

Had trouble with setting up the search alert. I didn't think that there were good instructions. I went to the 23 Things on a stick news, but I thought that it just gave clues on how to do it. That was the first time that I heard of the newsletter. I think that it would have been helpful.

I had never used ELM before. I have obviously heard of it, but never had a need to try it. I had a hard time with this at first also. I could not open any of the articles. Thank heaven for college kids. My daughter told me that many of the articles can't be opened on the web sites. I was picking all of the wrong articles. After finding that out, I was able to find and open some.

I set up my pages on EBSCO and ProQuest. Not sure where I would ever use these. Why couldn't all of the assignments be as easy as the NetLibrary one?

ELM provides access to accurate information. Many people don't realize that not all of the information online is accurate. Students should be informed of this excellent source of information for research papers.

Thing 16

My daughter is home this weekend from the University of MN. I showed her the Assignment Calculator. She had never heard of it. She said that she would be interested in using it next year when she has another paper due.

I think that it would be a useful tool in college or high school. It seems that it would keep you motivated with reminders, and with helping you to get started on a paper. The step by step instructions make it seem very easy to use. I think that if more people knew about this, that it would get used a lot more. Maybe a bookmark or pamphlet explaining its features would be nice to have available at the library.

The Research Project Calculator is another great tool. I think that the teacher guide materials would be very useful in helping patrons at the library with research projects.

Thing 15

OK, people over 40 should not be playing video games! I am awful! I could actually handle the bilging in Puzzle Pirates, but when I tried to be a carpenter I was so slow that they kept telling me to hurry up. They made me walk the plank. I also tried sword fighting and was pretty awful at that too.

I read the article on Second Life and watched the video. Oh to be young again!

I know that "gaming and libraries" is the most talked about thing in libraries these days. It is a great way to get young people to the library. Thank heaven I don't have teach anyone how to play those games.

Thing 14

It sure took me a long time to figure out how to move my book list from Library Thing to my blog. It was a fun site. I liked choosing my favorite books. Unfortunately, some of them didn't have cover pictures.

I especially liked the Zeitgeist overview that showed the most reviewed, top authors, top books. At this point, the only book lists that I share with my patrons are the best seller lists. If we were computerized, I could access other lists for them.

I found discussions on some of the books on my list. The Memory Keepers Daughter, The Kite Runner and The Glass Castle.

Thing 13

I liked the iGoogle start page the best. It was less "busy" than some of the others. Great for my needs. I like having the weather available on my desktop at a glance.

I liked the Backpack calender the best. It was simple, easy to read and easy to set up. I used to have a calender set up with Outlook, at another job. It was great! I would have to put down all of my bosses haircut and dentist appointments. He would forget if I didn't remind him. That's where the different colors in Backpack are nice. I will have to put one on my new computer at work. Much easier than trying to remember to turn the page in my day planner.

I do really like the idea of the reminders. They are very helpful. We so easily get distracted during the day.

Do we really need another site like Ta-Da List to go to and make a list? What happened to just typing it out in Word, printing it off and crossing things out with a pencil? Or handwriting it on a piece of paper?

Thing 12

I had not heard of sites such as Mixx and Reddit until I started 23 Things. As I stated earlier in Thing 10, I am interested in what is recommended by others (most votes, most popular, most stars). There were many very interesting articles, pictures and videos on these sites. I wouldn't think that it would necessarily be a time saving tool. I found that I wanted to read a lot of the articles. Things that I never would think of to look up. Spent way more time reading than I normally would.

One thing that I really don't like at all about this 23 Things project is having to sign up for Sooooooo many sites. I really don't like to do that. If I have to register for a site, I usually don't bother with it. I had to sign up just to read the article in the Washington Post so that I could share it.

Thing 11

If I was a college student again I think that I would love all of this new technology. What a great way to gather and organize research for a paper. Personally I don't use more than 4 sites ever at work and at home my list of a few items under favorites is fine for me. I'm sure that if I started using it, it would become as familiar as favorites and more organized.

Thing 10

I had heard of Wikis before, but I don't think that I had ever used one. I couldn't believe all of the information available in some of them. I really enjoyed the Minnesota Public Radio Minnewiki. It was interesting to look up different Mn musicians.

The Common Craft video on wikis was about planning a trip. I talked about using Google Docs to plan a trip in thing 9. I think that this would also be a great tool for trip planning. You'd never know that I like to travel would you? I guess being snowed in for a second weekend in a row is making me crazy!!!

I also like the idea of using it for book reviews. It could be somewhat like Amazon where you can see what a number of people think about a particular book. I am often more influenced by what the typical reader thinks about a book, than I am by a journal review.

I added my entry to the 23 Things Wiki. Finally something that was easy!

Thing 9

I tried both ZOHO and Google Docs. I think that I liked Google Docs a little better. I do not have any use for this in my job, but I am sure that it would be very useful for others. I did read about someone who used it for planning a trip with a few friends. Instead of emailing everyone and getting them updated, everyone could share and edit the travel planning documents. I found that very interesting. We have a large family and are planning a family reunion. I might have to try using it for that.

Thing 8

Had fun with Picturetrail. It was very easy to use. I think that there would be many fun ways to use it.

We are having our second snow day this week and I thought that the snow pictures would be appropriate.

Thing 7

1. Email

I used to love email. When I first got it I had so much fun reading all of the cute things that people sent me. Then I got to wondering, did these people have jobs? I was bombarded with junk. Now I am bombarded with spam.

I only work in the office one day a week. I usually have 30 - 40 emails to go through at that time. For me it is a huge waste of time. So much of what I am sent does not pertain to me. Over 50% of it is spam. I don't get any of that junk mail at home. I don't know why they can't control it at work.

I tell my boss that if she really needs to get a message to me, that she should put a note on my desk. I work on a bookmobile and am on the road 10 to 14 hours a day. I have so little time in the office. I might have a half hour before I go on the road in the morning and less than an hour after I get back at night. I hate to waste time reading email.

For me, it is not very productive. Sending an email is faster than walking to the desk of a coworker, but personally I like to get up and get exercise once and a while. I prefer to communicate face to face. At work I guess I would rather email a coworker than call them. At home I enjoy it to keep in touch with family and friends.

2. Instant Messaging

I have tried instant messaging. I talked to my sister in Florida a few times. Personally I would prefer to talk on the phone. When I am in the office, I am usually on the computer all day. I really don't want to spend my evenings on the computer.

I think that IMing is fun for teens. I have 3 girls 16-23. They hardly ever make a phone call. They either text someone from their phone or the "talk" to them through instant messaging. My girls thought it was fun to show me how to do this. They had to rub it in that I didn't have any friends to add, but them, when I signed up. I was much slower at typing than they were.

I can see that in a university library that the instant referencing would be a great tool for students. They are usually short on time and on a deadline and a trip to the library to ask questions could be time consuming. The students would have to factor in that the librarian would still have to take time to look up their request, but it would save a trip across campus to the library.

In my job, at my office, I do not see a use for instant messaging. As with email, you could end up wasting a lot of time visiting with coworkers.

3. Text Messaging

I have received texts before, but never tried to send one. As I said before, I have 3 daughters ranging in age from 16-23. The two older ones have never had a land line phone since they left home. Cell phones are definitely more convenient and you don't have to pay for 2 phone lines. My girls text a lot! You should see my 140 page phone bill! They had a good laugh out of teaching me how to use this too. I had a hard time with it not working just like adding a name to your phone list. It kept assuming that I was typing another word. Boy did that throw me!

Most people have their cell phone with them at all times. If a library wanted to get a message to you, texting would be a great way to do it .

4. Web Conferencing

I participated in a webinar about downloadable audio books. We were able to interact with the presenter. We could ask questions verbally, I think over a phone line. We were shown how to choose a title that we would like to download and then instructed in how to download a book onto our computer and then onto an MP3 player.

I looked at the OPAL schedule for webinars, but there were none for about 10 days. I watched a MINITEX Webinar titled "ELM - What's That". I really didn't know a whole lot about what ELM had to offer. Now I do. I guess I would have preferred to watch an actual person though.

I think that this is a great tool. For a business or library with branch offices or employees that are many miles apart, it makes sense to use this type of information sharing. Many people in many different places can participate in learning at the same time with one presenter. It saves on travel time for participants and presenters.

Thing 6

Wouldn't these be fun to hand out for the summer reading program? Child friendly recipes for the "Look what's cookin' at the library" theme.

Thing 5

Bet you can't tell what I am ready for? Is winter ever going to end?
I had fun with Spell with Flickr. It could become addicting.

Thing 4

I hate to tell you how long this took me. I have had SOOOOOOO many computer problems. I was also just not doing it right. I started looking into Flickr before I went to Savannah, GA last month. I saw some wonderful pictures of the city. I saw some really beautiful pictures of the St John the Baptist church there. After seeing them, I made sure to go and see it. It was even more beautiful in person. There are some really good photographers out there.

My picture is of the Talmadge bridge in Savannah. The picture was taken by BK Ragsdale. I didn't get to see the bridge at night, but it was pretty impressive even during the day.

I do have a digital camera, but don't even know how to put the images onto my computer. I do know how to take out the card and print my pictures in the store. I will have to get better at this. I can definitely see the value in backing up your pictures, but I would not want my personal photos made public.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/311475838_b232091740_m_d.jpg

Thing 3

I set up the RSS. Since I already had a password for Google that we made doing the Avatar, I chose to use Google Reader. I'm not sure that this is something that I will use often. I like the description in the video that said it was like email. You don't have to check with all of your friends to see if they have sent you a message. It just goes to your account. I guess if I looked at a lot of different blogs, this might come in very handy.

I was reading other blogs before I posted my notes for today. I am a little depressed to see that one of the ones that I opened was on thing16. THING 16! I guess I had better get moving.

Thing 2

Technology is changing at such an increadible rate. How will we keep up? I can see that it could involve a lot of budget issues for libraries now and in the future. Especially for small libraries.

I know that I am not that computer savey. I use the internet on a daily basis, but in a limited capacity. I search Amazon for book reviews at work. I email at home and at work. I use the internet to research recipes and plan vacations. I have even set up the software to access downloadable audio books. I downloaded the books to an MP3 player, but don't have a clue how to use the MP3 player. I have little or no experience in ANY of the 23 things that we will learn about in this program.

One of the articles that I read talked about training patrons to use the new technologies. It brought up the question of how can we make it simple enough for them to use them and or train themselves in using them. I am college educated and use a computer and the internet everyday. Do I need to use everything that is out there and available to me? Probably not. Do the majority of library patrons need to learn these new technologies? Probably not, but the ones who do want to learn them will need some training. Budget, staffing, space, equipment. All of these are issues that play a part in helping our patrons.

I work on a bookmobile and not in a physical library. I work in the office one day a week filling requests, ordering book, writing reports, etc., but I do not have a computer on the bookmobile. I am interested in learning about the new technologies that are available out there (if for no other reason than I will know what my kids are talking about), but I don't think that I will be using them much in my job at this time.

Avatar

I registered my blog a few weeks ago and haven't had time to do anymore "Things" since then. I was reading other blogs this morning and read one that said, I thought that I finished thing one and now found out that I didn't make an avatar. Yikes! Me either! It only took me about 2 hours. My computer kept closing sites that I was in. I could only have one open at a time. Ugh! I had fun picking out the outfit. I aspired to be a ballerina, so when I saw the outfit, I just had to have it.

Thing 1

Yikes! I think I did it! I didn't even know what a blog was.

I am working on my MN Voluntary Certification and this will put me 23 steps closer to being done. As I read other blogs, I see that some of you are already very experienced and others of us are real beginners. I have a lot to learn.