Thing 20

I posted 2 u tube videos below because both were so good. I found a video to use tomorrow in class to teach Heat Transfer with a rap on Teacher Tube. There are obviously many resources that we can use in education available on U Tube or other video sites. Someday we may even be able to access them at school but for now I am happy to learn about and use Zamzar.

Thing 20

Thing 20

Thing 19

I like Last for music which you can use without setting up a login, and you can look at other users who are listening to what you are listening to, even if some of them look a bit scary! If you select music to buy it gives you a choice of itunes or Amazon. I also like Farecast for travel.
Overall the list of awards gives you the picture of just how much Web 2.0 stuff there is which is really overwhelming if you try to be an expert on all of it. I like the site that lists the awards as a list of applications to use so I would say the best site is the award list itself, especially if it is updated every year.

Thing 18

I have used open office on a computer that did not have MS Word for awhile. It was ok but eventually I ended up removing it and installing MS Word. I did not know until today that Google Docs had a spreadsheet application and word processing application. That was cool except that you have to login to get to it. I did not need Google Buzz when trying to look at Google Docs but I guess that is the price we pay for free apps.
Advantages of using a free online application like Google Docs are that it is free (duh!) and it is everywhere you go like cloud computing. I don't need my laptop to get at it because it is ONLINE which is a huge advantage, I am betting it is very easy to use gmail with it as well. Disadvantages are that you get stuff like google buzz, Google had issues with security recently so I am not sure I want to put sensitive data in a google doc spreadsheet, and it does not have all the bells and whistles as a not free application like Excel. The advantage of using MS Excel or Word is that they constantly upgrade it to have new features (hence word 2007 will soon be word 2010) and you get every possible functionality you can dream of in the applications. They are so widely used there are hardly any compatibility issues. The main disadvantage is have to pay dearly for them, unless you are in education. The other disadvantage is that they are tied to a specific computer. You can not collaborate with another person either. It is harder to merge the same document. With online apps I can work on something and share it with other users to update also.
I am a HUGE advocate of open source software and used to work as a php programmer, which is open source.

Thing 17

Rollyo Rolly who??? Too much blogging today, need golf!
Rollyo is a search tool with a filter which did produce some interesting results when I used it to search 23 things. It still returned a long list of mostly appropriate links BUT the best part was I did not seem to get any of the scary websites that we so often stumble into when innocently searching. I can see where it would be a very good tool to use with students who are researching a topic because I can setup trusted search engines. I LOVE that you can save the searches and then make them public. I checked the list for Tech News and it was excellent and more good sources than I could have thought of on my own. The real beauty is that I can add my sources to their list and make it my own. This is the full list of sites searched when I looked at 23 things in tech news. I was able to use it without downloading any tools so that is a plus to me. Rollo gets an A+ from me.

Thing 16 Wiki's

First I want to know how to post to the sandbox! I joined the wiki, signed in, what else? geez!
Wiki's seem to me to be less fancy blogs that can be less public. Wiki's seem easier to restrict who sees it. It is fascinating to see who reads our blogs and I suspect the person in Australia found mine because there is a university there that is also doing 23 things. Read about that in wired - very cool to be part of it.
Wikipedia was obviously the start of the wiki, and the most famous one. Wiki's can be updated by anyone if they are public, which is an advantage and a disadvantage. Everyone may think they are an expert but they are not. I want my information from sources that are expert.
We use wiki's, as do other library programs. Here is the Denton 23 things wiki I found this using a wiki search tool.
When we use a wikis to teach we can restrict who sees it and who updates it (which is probably why I can't post to the sandbox yet!). For education purposes it is a very powerful tool for communication.

Thing 15

This post should really be the last one, or maybe thing 22. Web 2.0 and the future of libraries - isn't that the whole deal here?? Where are we going and where have we been. I found a great blog about this written by Rob Darrow - California Dreaming (all the leaves are brown..) where he blogs about the future of libraries READ THIS if you read nothing else about the topic. He basically sums it all up as we the future librarians must lead the change to transform the purpose of libraries from a video rental unit to a center of information availability (not necessarily on site) and above all - learning. We will teach tools to learn with rather than dispense books and data. I read the article Away From the Iceberg which had a Titanic like feel to it - we are going down with he ship. Web 2.0 will evolve into the next thing and libraries will continue to evolve along with technology. Some will fight it and try to block it, but we must OPEN it to all and embrace the chance to move forward.
This blog about libraries and 2.0 looks like it has many other 23 things type blogs made by teachers and librarians in California. Interesting to see their comments along the way. Interestingly as soon as I posted the link to the California blogs I now have California visitors on my feejit map "California Dreamin"... now I have to figure out how to post the song!

Thing 14

Technorati just revamped their website which did NOT make it any easier to navigate. I have searched Technorati before and stumbled into the site on other occasions. I never really understood what it was before so this is progress. I searched for my blog and it brought up an old blog from the 23 things site and a very odd one from Germany. I searched for 23 things and got a random assortment as well. Every link seemed to not be working today - maybe due to the recent upgrades? I could not get widgets or register my blog, although I am not convinced I want to claim my blog since I don't want the Darth Vader type comments and am worried about identity theft issues.
I searched for "School library learning 2.0" and got NOTHING on Technorati, but TONS on Google.
While I am not totally impressed with Technorati I am impressed with the TAG concept that we saw in delicious and on all the photo websites. Tags are the key to organization and all searches. The tag is behind all of it and the ability to put a logical tag on data is how we will be able to pass the data on to others. Tag creation could really be a science in that what I tag my picture may not be what someone else would use to sort for it. Tags have been around forever and you can consider tags even when filing paper docs in folders - what do you file stuff under where you will be able to find it again? That is the key question here.

Thing 13

The idea behind diigo and delicious bookmarker & organizer applications is great especially for those of us that look at every link and get so easily distracted while searching the internet that we find absolutely wonderful stuff but then can NEVER find it again!! We had a class about using diigo at school but of course I have not had time (or made time) to try it before nofw. I HATE applications that ask you to download a toolbar like diigo does for 2 reasons: 1)they usually slow down my processing and 2) they often are sponsored links themselves that can keep track of sights I am visiting so they can add popups and try to "help" me find sites online where I might buy stuff... so I am avoiding the toolbar feature due to all my past negative experiences with toolbar add on applications. I like delicious better than diigo because I can use it without the toolbar dl. I can skip the part where it wants to add buttons to my taskbar too and still use it.
I like the bookmark functionality but have lost my bookmarks when I updated or switched browsers so it is good to use a bookmark function that is not browser related. I like the annotation features and would use those with students in my classes. it adds an interactive portion to the search for data. My problem is that I am so easily distracted - look at this!! I found this article about how memory loss is linked to inability to ignore distractions as we age (like my age makes any difference!!) - found the article using the Science tag on delicious which I will use at school.

Thing 12

I read the articles listed about commenting on blogs and did not realize before reading them that when I get a comment on my blog I should reply to all the comments. To me this seems like how a never ending chain of comments starts. I post on my blog, you post a comment, then I have to post a reply thanking you for posting, then do you have to post a reply to my reply? And so it goes...the never ending chain of silly comments is started following my brilliant post!
I post comments all the time on our 23 things blogs never expecting a reply. I think in our world we process something and then move on. I think the rule for posting comments should be to BE NICE! Be like Princess Leah no Darth Vadars.
I commented on one of my favorite blogs - Golf.com. I am usually just a reader of blogs and really like it much better that way.
I like the Blue Skunk comments on commenting and the name Blue Skunk.

Thing 11 Library Thing

I added 5 books to Library Thing which was very easy. I looked at several groups and like the one about Russian Literature, the one for writer/readers, and the one where you hob knob with authors. I could use the groups to see what people say about books in a genre that I don't usually read. I would recommend the writer groups to people that I know who are writers and would like checking out recommendations from many people who like books similar to what I like. I can see where it would be useful to verify publisher and reviewer recommendations when ordering books for a library. Library Thing looked a lot like Shelfari. Here is a link to my books.

Image for Thing 10

Thing 10

I already did thing 10 when I mixed it up with Thing 6 one night when I was way too tired to be working on the blog, much like tonight! (sigh.) By now I have used several of the image generators for our midterm presentation and other projects. Tonight for the official Thing 10 I did the comic strip again. I choose Garfield because some students always tell me how much they hate all the Garfield comics that are all over our high school and I always chuckle when I walk by the countless Garfield posters. Personally I like Garfield but can understand why high school students would find him annoying!
In my library someday I will generate comic strips to liven the place up and keep news worthy events updated. I would spice it up much like some of the signs in the Morton Ranch Library that I stare at all during our Tuesday classes. I would keep signage simple but amusing, catchy and colorful and possibly recruit students to help me create it and update it.
(So dreaming of sleep -- too bad they have now blocked 23 Things in Katy.) Here is the link for the comic strip generators.

Thing 9 RSS feeds

Ok so I added all these RSS feeds to my yahoo including news links and golf.com's feed - who can resist all the tips about how to fix your chicken wing golf swing!!! I also added The Next Web from Technorati which was the absolute best organization of blogs that I saw. I chose to use my yahoo because Google had an issue giving out information about its users that I did not want to happen to me. The most confusing tool was the topix.net which resulted in popups even though I have popup control on and some very odd "news", and news that I would have been happier not knowing. (Robbery at a local Walmart). Sometimes I just don't want to know!!