Done!!!

I am finally done with 23things on a stick. I really wanted to make sure I met the challenge and finished by the deadline. I must say, though it was frustrating, I think this was perhaps the best learning tool that I have evr used. I am very computer degenerate, or should I say was, and now I feel like I know how to do so much. There are still lots of areas where I can improve my computer skills, but I really feel like I have the confidence to try new things. I would like to go back through the things and practice and explore more. I felt like the time frame for us to complete the things did not provide enough time to really use all the possibilities connected to each thing. I hope to keep up this blog. I am curious to see what direction it will take. Perhaps it will become a bit more personal now that I am done with 23things and do not need to specifically blog about them. Some of my favorite things were the project calculator, setting up the blog, learining about rss, and youtube. I also enjoyed reading other peoples blogs to see what they thought and ideas they had.

#20 myspace and facebook social networks

I went back and looked at my blog and noticed that I had not posted about this thing. I distinctly remember writing about it but alas, I don't know what happened to it. I joined facebook because all of my friends and family were urging me to hurry up. There is a word game called srcamble that they have now got me playing. It is quite relaxing, but could very easily become addictive. I can see where people enjoy social networking sights as they allow you to keep up with people you don't see that often. I like the fact that only people you choose as your friends can view your profile. I don't like everybody that I know having my e-mail address as I hate receiving mass mailings. I can see where there are advantages to work at the library with this sort of thing. It can make you more familiar with your colleagues and provide yet another avenue to communicate with them. It also provides another avenue of communication with patrons, should any of them become your "friend". I also feel like it is good for me to know how to use these types of networking sights in order to better assist patrons.

#22 maintaining blog and keeping up

I can't believe that I have made it this far. I would have never thought it possible before. It does feel really good to know that I can do so many things that I would not have had the foggiest idea about a few months ago. The deadline of Sept. 15 is what drove me to get this far, I was determined to finish on time! Now for keeping this up. The blog part will be easy because it is a great outlet and a wonderful way to unwind. I plan to make it a point to add to my blog at least every two weeks , if not more. I will be social networking because I kept my facebook account and I kept the yahoo tools as my home page. I plan to go back over some of the tools and use them more without the pressure of a deadline. That way I will be able to get the projects exactly the way I want them. I also hope to keep abreast of what is hot on the web and read more articles about web 2.0 and the tools available. I see this as really valuable information in light of the library and the way the web is changing it's uses. I also would love to corroborate with fellow employees and create a web page for the Grove City Library. It is something that would really reach out to our community and provide residents with info where they use it. I want to go back through all the things and practice with them so they become that much easier to use. Wish me luck!

#19 podcasts

I explored podcasts and listened to a handful. On the computer I use at work this task was impossible, probably having to do with the age of the computer. It is dysfunctional in a number of ways, anyhow at home the podcasts were easy. I love talk radio and a podcast is nice becuase you can listen to in on your computer as you search for other things and get other tasks completed. I went through the process of getting a podcast onto my blog and was able to do it, but then I removed it because some of the titles were not an image I wanted to present of myself, especilly on a work project. It was a blog about motherhood but the writer had some "eyeca-catching" titles. I searched several of the podcast sights for library and story hour as well as pre-school learning and did not find a whole lot that made me want to listen. I did listen to some only to find they were somewhat boring. I sometimes think podcasts are made by people who could not make it on talk radio. If you know where to look and the process was not so time consuming, this could be great. It may even be fun to have a podcast on a library website as a way to generate more interest. If someone comes across a good one it would be easy to share it with the rest of the staff. As for making a podcast myself, unless it became a specific part of my work duties I wuold never do it. I don't relish the thought of my voice, squeaky as it is, being out there for everyone to listen to. Nor do I really want that much exposure online.

#21 beyond myspace

First, I had trouble with everything I tried to do in the podcasts because the computer I work on at the library is tooo slow to do anything! Ok, that vent is out and I can go on to this things. I skipped #19 to be done at a later time. I tried out sveral of the social networking sites and joined the 23things nink and posted a comment and put a badge on my blog which was easy enough. I think that this site might be more useful than facebook simply because it has to do with libraries and the work we do, and the issues we face. I do not care for the format of these social networking sites putting up info everywhere. I joined facebook for one of the things and it gives me to much info about what my friends have been doing and who posted what and so on. It reminds me of high school gossip and I am just not that nosy. Nor do I care that much about what everyone else is doing. I guess I have some more exploring to do to find any other social networking sites that I want ot belong to. I am big into privacy and do not want too many people having access to my e-mail of my address for that matter and even with just your name a person can find your address and phone #. I know because I tried it once with a sight that an aquiantence had her kids pictures on. We spend so much time telling kids to be safe online but is anyone other than me thinking about this as adult? I guess it is perfectly fine for me if my social network consists of family friends and colleauges that are around me and not online.

#18 youtube and other online video sites

I have embedded this vidoe from youtube because I think is is good for demonstrating all that librarys have to offer. I think that something like this about the Grove City library would be great on a website if we had one. It may get people who are not familiar with the library more interested. This video that I chose to embed could use some better lighting however. I am familiar with youtube and I think virtually everyone is. It is a lot of fun to explore. I also e-mailed a video to my sister while I was on and playing aroud for 23things. It was very easy to do.

#17 elm productivity tools

I tried all of the elm productivity tools and found them all to be easy to use. The most difficult was creating a search alert, because I was unfamiliar with that term I had to google it and do some reading. I was able to rss my alert to my yahoo home page quite easily once I figured out how to do the actual alert. I think this tool would be great for a student having to write a paper on a particular subject. They could easily get the info to themselves with very little work involved. Next I created a web page on EBSCO. I can't say I love it, but I was able to do it and experiment with the different tools and found it quite simple to do. If I were really trying to make a nicer web page, say for the library I would likely put a bit more time and effort into it. I them tried proquest and was able to find the articles and e-mail them with ease. I can see where this would be useful to virtually anyone. Margaret and I, along with Sarah, could use it within the library as we come across articles pertaining to our work at the library. A student could use it to share info with another student. A parent could use it as an efficient way to share info as well. NeLibrary was new to me, as I was not familiar with e-books. I found it very useful to be able to open up an e-book and then save it into notes and read it later. Time is a hot commodity and you may locate the info and not have time to read it so this is great. I think this would be useful to anybody seeking information. Especially for students and within the library. I was not aware of the wealth of tools and info and stuff you can do with these elm productivity tools. I am glad my eyes were opened to these tools and I am sure they will be prove to be very useful both to myself and to our patrons.

#16 online project/research calculator

I really enjoyed the online calculator. I think it would be great to link it to our library website (again, if we had one). I wish this had been available when I had english and speech class. I love how it outlines what steps need to be taken and it gives you a timeline of what needs to be done and when. I also love that it encouages research, that could be because I love to research things. I also think it would be very useful to homeschooled students, helping them prepare for college. I also loved the teacher side of things. It helps to define excatly what you expect from your students and gives an assignment a clear goal. Again, I think this could be used very effectively for homeschool moms as well. I also could see it being applied to library use in implementing our summer reading program and other special events. By clearly defining the goal it easir to stay on task. I love the idea of timelines and deadlines. I must confess I am becominc addicted to 23things. it is more fun than housework and I even find it relaxing.

#15 online games

I tried pirate puzzles and had a little fun bliging. I think my kids enjoyed watching more than I enjoyed playing. I realize that I may sound negative about all these virtual things but I would rather do something for real than play a game. I would rather play cards with my son (encourages math and thinking skills and offers mother/son time) than waste my time playing with a stranger online. I know several people who do enjoy this sort of activity. They have a lot of fun too, but I have never been one to sit down to a video game and I thank God (literally) that my husband and sons don't either. There is so much to life, so much to truly experience why would anyone one to spend so much time sitting at a computer pretending they are socializing of sword fighting? I can do that with my sons too for that matter, except we use light swords. There are some online games that I really do enjoy, one is a word game. I guess my theory about socializing online is that you really never know who you are interacting with and you can only know as much as they want you to and that is not really socializing to me. I also took a look at Second Life which to me is slightly pathetic. If you want to go to the library go to a real one. If you want to buy land you are better off saving your 9.95 and purchasing something real. If you spend all your time, or even a small percent of your time sitting at a desk staring at a computer living vicariously through an avitar, you may need more things to keep you busy in your actual life. Is it really healthy for people to spend so much time pretending? I have seen and read a few articles where kids have gotten addicted to this sort of thing and spend alot of money on it. Is this really healthy? What about fresh air and excersise? It is good to know this kind of thing exists and be able to assist people if they want to know how some games work, but do I thingk this things is particulary yseful to me? NO. In all the years (6) I have worked at the library I have never beeen asked a question about an online game.

#14 library things

I joined library things and did some exploring. I read a few reviews, left a comment and put 5 books in my library. The trouble is that it is hard to think of your favorite books when you are "on the spot". I put up one that is a favorite to read to my kids. I finally managed to get the widget onto my blog after about 17 times. Don't know what I did wrong the first 16, but I got so frustrated that I prayed it work and it did!! I can see this site as being useful as books pertain to the library and I often read reviews of books before ordering them for myself and my children. I also like the fact that it can connect you to people with similar interests and that provides an opportunity for those people to open your eyes to books you may not have thought about. It is slightly overwhelming because there are so many books and groups and info on the site. I think it would be great fun to have a mini site like this with people who use our local librarys. For instance, if our library had a web site it could be linked to a site or contain a place for people to share what they have been reading and recommend books. It would also be fun to have an online book club and be able to review books connected with our library and its patrons. Something to think about.

# 13 online productivity sites

I tried a lot of the online tools. I liked igoogle because I am partial to google poducts and I really liked the layout and the choices. For a news junkie like myself it was fun to have stories from a variety of newspapers and news channels all in one page. I like having foxnews and cnn in one place in order to compare stories. I chose the yahoo site for my home page because I already have yahoo e-mail and frequently check it so it just made sense. I also liked that I could have local news like the pioneer press on my home page, and I noticed it had a calander built in. It has an easy to review layout and I got cought up in a game of sudoko. Not so sure that was in any way productive but it was fun and relaxing for a while. I also tried the online calanders and liked the one I tried. I can see for work that it would be nice to have a shared calander to keep each other abreast of what's happening. What I really thought would be great was if we could have a calander like this to post on our library web site(if we had one!) so that patrons could quickly look up what's happening at the library. As for the lists, I still think it is easier, for me at least, to write out a list on paper. I write faster than I type and could have a list written before I even logged on to my computer. I am a list maker and they help me a lot but they are easier done the old fashioned way.

#12

Well I tried the social networking sites. I found them to be a lot like wikis. Disorganized, somewhat confusing and not all that interesting. Yes, I read a few stories and if you had time to waste this may be a way to spend it. On the other hand, I personally believe that time is a precious commodity. With 4 kids, a husband, my job, and friends and other goings on I have a lot better things to do with my time. I don't foresee anyone at their death-bed wishing they had spent more time on social networking sites. I enjoy debate and am a news junkie so newsvine was my favorite. I was able to find some interesting articles and even left a comment. I do not enjoy signing up for everyone of these tools as I am a strong believer in privacy and would rather not have so much info about myself on the web. Are these useful? To a degree yes, it is always useful to be familiar with what is "hot" on the web. It could be a tangible way to connect with a new generation of libraries users. But it requires a tremendous amount of time. I also read an article in the NY Times and was able to e-mail it to my husband very easily. However, I had to become a member of ny times online. This is something I would never in a million years see myself doing. Not because it is onlie, I'm just more of a Human Events kind of girl. But it isn't always bad to get the view from the other side. I prefer to read news from a newspaper or magazine online than the no editor site. How reliable is the info?