Thursday, July 31, 2008

20. Social Networking

MYSPACE: I visited several library sites for teens,and at times felt overwhelmed by the music, colors, patterns, and movement on the screen. I know this is appealing to young adults, and feel this is a great way to attract them to the library. Public libraries can use them to appeal to teens and preteens. In an academic library, the patrons range in age from teens, young adults, and older, so I feel that the library would need to appeal to a broader audience. What may be appealing to young adults may overwhelm patrons who are less experienced in Library 2.0 technology. I found many positive uses on MySpace Library sites such as book lists, databases, chats with librarians, blogs or comments, schedules for library, videos of library highlights, podcasts, friend spaces, descriptions and history of the library, and more. I think it would be fun to set up a MySpace site for our library. I will ask one of our librarians about doing this for the Fall semester. Usually the answer is no, but I will ask anyway. I got a negative reply for my idea of using Library Thing when adding new books to our popular reading collection. One of our librarians said he was told there was a charge when you added beyond a certain number of books, which he did not want to pay. It can be difficult to bring about change.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

19. Podcasts

I have visted the directories and listened to a few of the podcasts. On Podcast.com, I listened to author David Sedaris doing a booktalking session. I also viewed a funny video under comedy on EPN (Education Podcast Network). Both of these sites were easy to search, and the podcasts popped up quickly for use. I know we have a professor at our college who uses podcasting for his lectures, and this has been very successful for students who wish to review or who had missed a lecture. I think that podcasts can be very useful for educational purposes and in the library for relaying information.
I set up an account in Gcast so that I could record over the phone at home on Friday afternoon. It was very easy to call and enter my password, then do my recording. My only disappointment was that my podcast sounded very boring when I listened to it on Monday on the computer. I tried to read some funny anecdotes about cats, called Cat Rules, but like I said, I think I need voice lessons to improve my expression. Next time I do a podcast, I will practice so I sound more professional. That was fun!

Friday, July 18, 2008

18. You Tube and Other Sites



This video (Four by Feist on Sesame Street) is fun and happy sounding, so I picked it to listen to when I need a lift. It was very easy to add to my blog. I do not have speakers on my computer so I have to borrow headphones from the circulation desk to listen on You Tube. This could also become a distraction because there are so many different videos available. Wow!
The library videos in You Tube are very informative and could be viewed on web sites in libraries, but you would have to have the technology available or the skills to use these new ideas in your library.

Monday, July 14, 2008

17. ELM Productivity Tools

1. SEARCH ALERT: I set up a Search Alert in Gale which I have been checking daily. I have it in my Internet Explorer RSS Favorites, so it is very easy to reach. My topic I searched was libraries, and the articles are so interesting and right up to the minute. This would be helpful to use for research over a length of time to keep up with the latest information.
2. EBSCO PAGE COMPOSER: I now have a folder and a web page that I have set up. I plan to use the folder when doing research in the future. The Web site will be useful to display information from my research project. Very easy to work with.
3. PROQUEST: Create a Web Page. I followed the directions on the 23 Things web site and came up with my requested results. I thought this was more complicated than the other tools, but I think it will be great after becoming familiar with the procedures. One of my emails arrived with a blank page(Groupwise), but the other email in my Gmail contained the selected article. I wonder why. I did receive an email later that had been in Quarantine for Spam, that did contain the selcected articles from Groupwise.
4. NETLIBRARY: I set up my account in NetLbrary, did my search, and added my notes without any problems. I found NetLibrary very easy to work in, especially being able to search in the book to find the location of certain subjects. I think the notes feature would be very helpful for referring back in my research to find the pages and topics. This would be a good tool for students.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

16. Student 2.0 Tools

I am very impressed by the Research Project Calculator which provides guidance in research planning for both student and teachers in the secondary schools. Users would be working together toward the same goal as student and teacher. The roles of both teacher and student are presented in the guides, so there is a clear knowledge of expectations in the project. The RPC is very specific, yet flexible. You can use whatever parts that work for you, and use it as a timeline to see where you are in your project if needed. There are many activities available for teachers, media specialists, and students, and resources to help with your project. I believe I could use these guidelines for many projects in the library or for personal use because of the organizational outline that aids planning, and the resources available for research.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

15. Online Games and Libraries

I have been playing the online game called Puzzle Pirates for a few days in my spare time and am starting to understand how you can spend hours doing this. There is so much to learn and explore with one thing leading to another. I have tried bilging the water and leaving the ship but I think I have a lot more to do before trying any new activities. I discovered that I can speak by writing in the appropriated box at the bottom of the screen. Hopefully, I will have more time to try other activities. This is fun to do! I am sure it is popular, and it is great that it is free.