Thing #16

Wikis: Thanks to this technology class and "23 Things", I have a better understanding on how Wikis work. The Common Craft video in plain English is very helpful! Wiki is a Hawaiian word for "quick," and this Web 2.0 application is definitely a quick way to collaborate your ideas with others. Using a Wiki is so much better than sending emails to one another because you're not clogging up your inbox and it's hard to keep the information organized. My grad school classmates and I have been using Wikis to post our thoughts, research, and powerpoints so that we can continue working together when we are not able to meet in person. We are able to keep our ideas organized and edit our work when needed.
Wikipedia is the largest and most popular Wiki used by others. I know that this is going to sound dumb, but I always thought that Wikipedia was just another encyclopedia resource until now! Since Wikis allow more users to post their ideas without having a webmaster verify their work, I now understand why some teachers frown upon their students using Wikipedia as a resource when assigning research projects.
Librarians can use Wikis to post book reviews and allow others to post their reviews as well. In order for this idea to be effective, there would have to be guidelines established so that others do not use inappropriate language and remain professional when posting their thoughts online. Using a Wiki in this fashion would be another way to advocate the library program at school!

Thing #15

Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the Future of Libraries: Library 2.0 involves interaction between the librarian and the patrons. This includes face-to-face interaction as well as virtual interaction, which is Web 2.0. I agree with Rick Anderson's blog post when he stated that librarians need to learn to adapt to today's changing world of technology. Since many people use the internet to access information, many people believe libraries are just a place to store books. Librarians need to be knowledgeable of Web 2.0 applications so that they can interact with their patrons and keep people interested in utilizing the library. Michael Stephens points out that librarians need to keep its patrons in mind when using technology. Librarians need to select technology that would be beneficial to the users as well as show these people how to use this technology. I agree with Stephens when he stated the future of libraries depends on how people access, create, and utilize information. LIbrarians will need to teach people how to become effective users of all information available to them, whether it is found in a book or on the internet.

Thing #14

Technorati and How Tags Work: I understand how tags work, thanks to Thing #13 and de.licio.us, but this "Thing" left me feeling frustrated. I tried to look up "School Library 2.0" as a keyword search on Technorati, but I did not have any results. I also did not have any luck looking at Technorati's popular blogs and widgets because it is temporarily unavailable.
There also seems to be a debate among computer programmers regarding who should be able to tag. Some people believe that users should be able to create their own tags, but others think that the publishers should be the ones to tag their work. I would rather be the one to tag what interests me. The only exception would be on Flickr. If it wasn't for the tags, I could lose track of time looking at all of the wonderful photography people have posted on that website!

Thing #13

Tagging and Discover Delicious: I can see the benefits of using tags and social bookmarks such as Delicious My favorite bookmarks on my personal computer are not organized, and I have saved so many websites on it! By using Delicious, I can add tags to my saved websites as an organizational tool, and I can also share my findings with my colleagues. Teachers and librarians can use it to save websites for research projects for students so they can easily access them without retyping the URL. This will also keep students on task and prevent them from searching the web to find unrelated topics to the lesson. Hopefully my school district will allow us to use this helpful tool in the near future!

Thing #12

Creating Community through Commenting: I will admit that I am a more of a lurker than a contributer while I'm reading blogs. Darren Rowse gave his readers some great tips in his blog post titled "10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog" that I will remember to use, such as asking questions and writing open-ended comments in my posts. I also enjoyed reading Meredith Farkas's post about sharing your knowledge and your personal experiences with others, which can be done as sharing your wisdom on your blog as well as posting comments on other people's blogs. It was interesting reading my classmates' blogs to see how far they are in the "23 Things" and to learn what's in store for me when I encounter the upcoming "Things" on the list. I posted my comments to let them know I appreciate their insight. I also left comments on my high school classmate's recipe blog and on The Book Whisperer's blog. My high school classmate is very creative, and I wish I was that talented in the kitchen. The Book Whisperer always has great advice for other teachers and librarians. I plan to become more of a contributor than a lurker so that I can share my knowledge and learn from others while reading blogs.

Thing #11

LibraryThing: I really think this website is such a great way to share your personal reading lists with others! It is also a great resource to use to read book reviews to add to your "must read" list. I created my LibraryThing account last weekend, and I have been adding more books to my list as I look on my bookshelves at home and in my classroom. I checked out some of the groups on LibraryThing, and I joined the Read YA Lit group. I teach junior high school students, and I also have one "tween" and one teenager at home, so I like to keep up with the latest books in young adult literature. LibraryThing will be one of the Web 2.0 applications I would like to implement when I become a librarian so that students and teachers can share their reading interests with each other.

Thing #10

Online Image Generator: I enjoyed working on this "Thing!" Wordle and Glogster are popular online image generators with my students. My older son gave me some pointers on how to make the words in various sizes and using different layouts and colors while I was playing on Wordle. Students like to use Wordle for their vocabulary homework assignments by including the vocabulary word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and situations in which one would use the vocabulary word. Glogster can be used for a variety of assignments: vocabulary reviews, chapter reviews, and book reviews. I thought the Comic Strip Generator was pretty cool. I tried to save my Captain Jack Sparrow comic strip, but somehow I ended up saving the entire page instead of the comic strip image. Go figure. (I am using a MacBook Pro without a mouse, so I couldn't right click on the image to save it.) Comic Strip Generator can be used by students to post vocabulary words in context or post favorite character quotes. The one I will share with you is my trading card that I created on Trading Card Maker. Students, teachers, and librarians can create trading cards to introduce themselves at the beginning of a new school year. It can also be used for character analysis or chapter summaries for a novel unit. I created a trading card of my two labs. Check it out!