Thing #22 Ways to Stay Current

I will continue with my Library blog, I plan to start an entire new one this summer. I've started to jot down ideas that I will do with the blog and ways for the students to enjoy it. I have found when I get here early in the morning is the best time to work on my blog, I will continue that time frame. I need to take a few days and regroup what I have learned and put into good use the items I thought would be useful for the library. All in all it was a wonderful learning experience. I have been instructed by my Dean to do an inservice for the faculty and staff on what I learned through this and help them get started on their own blog or a "23" thing.

Thing #21 Other Social Networks

I enjoyed looking at the other social networks. Like I said in the previous post, MySpace and Facebook are just too juvenile for me. I can see myself using Ning as my social network. I am probably the only one in Northern MN not to have a computer at home so I wouldn't be using Ning or any other network all that much. I think they are a great tool to connect with different groups and I am not saying I wouldn't use it during the work week. I did join the ASPCA since I am a dog lover. As I was writing this, one of our faculty came in to tell me about her evening on Second Life with her husband last night. They had a great time going on a date and visiting other islands. Thats all wonderful but I don't see myself using the virtual world all that much, I need to stay in reality, that works best for me. The same goes for the social networking, its fine but I would rather talk on the phone with my friends. Again, this has been very enjoyable to learn about but putting it into use is pretty far off the radar.

Thing #20 Facebook and MySpace

I made accounts at both of these. I didn't particularily like either one of them. They are way too teen for me. Too much glitz and glamour. I did have an old friend find me on Facebook which was fun to reconnect. Some of my students signed up to be my friends which I really didn't need to see their pages. As a prospective employer I would never put the things these students put on their pages for all to see. I enjoyed the Ning social network and would use that one before these two. I looked at other libraries using MySpace and found that most were for teen information. I don't plan to use MySpace at all. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all we have learned so far. It is hard to keep track of all the passwords, logins, just trying to check in on everything. I will have to pick and choose what I want to keep and use. The blog is still my favorite.

Thing #19 Podcasts

I tried several different podcasting sites and I had more luck with podcast links off of sites like CNN, MPR, NPR. I had trouble loading the podcasts from Podcast.net. I thought Educational Podcast directory was not aesthetically appealing. I like the book review podcasts on NPR and MPR. I would and do use those. I could see using podcasts for the library in the future especially for library news, research techniques, although why reinvent the wheel when so much of that is already out there. I did go out to Gcast but I have yet to download anything from my phone. I've had a cold for a week and my voice is pretty crackly. This "thing" will take more research on my part

Thing #18 YouTube

This was fun to explore but very time consuming. I did use tags to narrow down my searches. Most of the videos to me were very immature and nothing I would want to post on my blog. I did return to one that I did post about cell phone use at school. It's called the Angry Professor and I don't know how staged it is but it does get to the point about cell phones in the classroom. I don't know about anyone else but I have a huge problem in the library with cell phones. Again, we do so much proctoring in our library that I try and keep it as quiet as possible, a cell phone going off is very distracting to people taking tests or just trying to read. No matter how many times I tell them or put signage up, it still remains a problem. I would like to show this video at our orientation but now I think I will just post it in my library blog for all to view!
I can see using different videos in my blog, even creating one myself on library research, orientation to the area, different procedures, the dewey decimal system. It would also cure my small desire to act!

Thing #17 ELM Productivity Tools

This was another interesting thing, as I have not used any of those "tools" in ELM. I can see using the folder and notes options when working with colleagues on a project and sharing information. This is something our faculty can use to share with their students on topics they are researching. I wasn't too crazy on the web page idea, maybe if I had more time but there are so many tools out there that I need to downsize and use the simplest and less time consuming ones. When I get more time to set up some mini classes for faculty I will definately be showing them these tools.

Minnesota Library 2.0 Thing #16

I have looked at putting a link to one of these tools for a long time and never did. It was nice to be able to play around the two of them and look at their different tools. I liked them both but would consider using the RPC. It was a little more user friendly for our students. I showed it to my work study and she thought it would be very useful. I have our English teacher looking at it now so I will get her opinion. The Teacher guides were very helpful. I printed off several of the PDF files about search tips, Boolean basics and evaluating websites. I will use these when I talk to classes about research. I can hardly wait to work on my blog and get it ready for use this summer, there is so much I have learned through this program to use. The email feature is nice to, at my age every reminder helps. It is a great planning tool for students and myself, it just getting them to look at it and use it. I can see our nursing students using the RPC, they are a very organized group.

Thing #15 Online Gaming

I chose to sign up for Second Life since I already have an account there. Two of our Faculty just attended a conference on Second Life and our college is part of the MNSCU island. I will eventually be putting my library out there with the rest of our college. I went to Info Island where a lot of libraries are and was not to impressed with what was there. I would have all my database links there, maybe a reference desk. I could show new materials. I don't know how many students would utilize it if they weren't already signed on. Our college is thinking of a way to create like 50 different avatar accounts for students to use throughout the semester. I will be working closely with our two faculty who got the ball rolling on this. We had 100 plus high school students visiting our college last friday and the three of us got on Second Life and showed them around. It was pretty cool. I am a real novice at it compared to my collegues but learn more everytime I visit. I would like to put some kind of library orientation out on our island also. Just have to figure out all the logistics, hope to get something going this summer.