Thing 23

I learned so much from this experience. Alot of the "things" were really fun and I created a lot cute stuff. I don't consider myself to be very technonlogically savvy, therefore I am very proud of myself for completing all 23 activities. I feel much more confident about using google docs for my final presentation. I look foward to using the Mosaic Maker in the future. My proudest moment came when I embedded the video from YouTube into my blog and it actually played when I clicked on it.

Thing 22

I'm not a fan of social networking sites (My Space and Facebook) due to some of the content people chose to post. I chose to click on Nings for Teachers which took me to Teacher Lingo. This is a great site for teacher to socialize. All of the Nings that I looked at seemed very professional in nature. I couldn't locate anyone that I actually knew on the site.

Thing 21

Photo Story is a great product and I think my students could use it for their final product on some research assignmnets. I went through the online demo and looked at a lot of finished products, but I didn't create my own. The site required me to download a lot of stuff and I'm already having some problems with the computer that houses my Circulation system, therefore, I have some concerns. I think this program could be very useful for my students, but I have some questions for my CTS before I download it onto all the computers in my library.

Thing 20

I am very familar with YouTube and TeacherTube, but this is the first time I have ever embedded a video.

Thing 19

OMG! Where do I begin. This is a great list of wonderful sites. I chose music because those are the types of sites my kids always ask to go to when they are in the library for free time. I went to Pandora. I really liked the way you can select an individual song, a certain artist or a genre of music. I am a little concern about students access to songs with inappropriate lyrics. I couldn't think of a song off the top of my head to check because I don't listen to that type of music, but I will check that aspect of the site out before I allow my students to access the site.

Thing 18

Thing 18 was very educational for me - meaning I feel these are tool I can use as a student here at UHCL to enhance my own learning. As a librarian I am constantly searching for tools to enhance my students learning. I truly believe in the concept of being a "lifelong learner" so the discovery of OpenOffice.org excites me. I am currently working with the Google docs program for the Final Presentation.

Thing 17

Rollyo is another tool that I had no experience with. It is super easy to use. I did a quick practice search using the topic - Polar Bears. The list of sites and information that the search produced were excellent! This is a great tool for students needing research information. Everything looked very safe for students and the quality of the hits were excellent.

Thing 16

Wahoo!!! Wikis - this is actually something I know a lot about! I love the CommonCraft video that explains how to use a wiki. Shannon Black and I used a presented a wiki for our mid-term. I really like the examole Dr. Bishop gave for using a wiki to take lunch orders. I have used wikis with my 5th graders for online reading clubs. I post a summary of the book that everyone is reading and the students express thier opinions about the characters, plot, events, etc...

Thing 15

Prior to Thing 15 the only time I had heard Library 2.0 discussed was at a short session I attended at TLA. I like the concept of the Library 2.0 Online Public Access Catalog, but I really wonder if it will catch on with alot of librarians. The principals behind Library 2.0 are nothing new. I know that technology is a key component to Library 2.0 and some smaller libraies don't have the funding needed to update the techonolgy needed.

Thing 14

I had never heard of Technorati before I clicked on Thing 14. This is so useful. I can't tell you the number of times I have clicked on a blog with a title that describes exactly what I'm looking, but after spending 10 or 15 minutes reading I find it's not the information I'm needing. I read tons of blogs on parentdish.com, especially when I'm about to buy an expensive baby item (car seat, stroller, etc...) to see what others think of the product. Technorati can search the blogs to find the exact information you are looking for.

Thing 13

I was so excited when I began reading the information for Thing 13. I already know how to do this one!!! When I began tagging seemed so easy, but I quickly learned the more bookmarks I have have the more precise my tags needed to be to actaully be able to find things later. It is the ultimate organizational tool and if master and used correctly it can make your life on the web so much easier!

Thing 12

This information was really useful. I'm new to blogging. I have read several bolgs just for informational puposes, but never made commnets. I really never thought about "etiquette" for adding comments to blogs or what constitutes a quality comment on a blog.

Thing 11

I was really impressed by LibraryThing! It was so easy to use. I pulled some cheap paperback books I recently purchased at the Dollar Store to add to my LibraryThing "Library". I couldn't believe that every title including the cover art was available. The records were very impressive!

Thing 10

I already had a chance to use Big Huge Labs on Thing 6. I loved the Mosaic Marker. On Thing 10 I chose to play with the Comic Strip Generator. My kids are going to LOVE this. This would make a wonderful writing activity.

Thing 9

I really liked the information regarding RSS that was on Atomic Learning. Atomic Learning is new to me, but I have to become familar with it because my school district will now be using it for online staff development sessions. This was my first expeience with it and it was nice to see that it is very user-friendly and useful!

Thing 8

I really like the way information is organized within the RSS.
RSS feeds would be easier for students to locate information and you don't have to worry about advertisements or pop-ups that may not be siutable.
Two cons that I found: 1. On some websites it was difficult to locate the RSS link.
2. On several sites when I clicked on the RSS link it was broken or I got a message stating that it was disabled.