Week 15: One Last Thing

Thing 20 - Overview

I know this is the brown-noser response, but I actually enjoyed this part of the class. I didn't love all of the pieces of technology we explored, but it is so refreshing to be in a class where I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something other than learning yet another way to write a research paper.

As I showed the webpage I made to my students so they could begin using it, my coworkers were impressed. I would like to say my students were, but they could probably do everything I did in a 70 minute class period. Even so, I feel like I know something potentially useful.

Some of the aspects didn't come easily. I still don't feel like I have a great grasp on Wiki's, but neither do I have the desire. Ditto for Twitter.

The most useful information for me was learning how to create a webpage and to add all the functions that make it look less "homemade". The skills transfer fairly easily to other applications.

Week 14: Google Drive

Thing 19 - Survey
(Scroll to the bottom of the page)

Week 13: Tag Clouds

Thing 18 - Tag Clouds

The one feature I wold like is to be able to edit which words are in the biggest fonts.

Week 12: Podcasting

Thing 17 - Podcasting

I listened to the podcast "Episode 31 - Living on the Phone" which is a podcast by a gentleman who calls himself the Cyberpunk Librarian. Something that drew me to his podcast was his great name for himself, but also the subtitle, which is "High Tech, Low Budget".

In this episode, he talks about how most of us have smart phones these days - or in other words, we walk around with a computer in our pockets - yet we don't fully use the phone to its capacity. In his dialogue, he talks about different ways to use the device to maximize its ability and - as librarians - to have the technology at our fingertips at any time.

He recommends getting a keyboard to attach to it, but cautions that it will not work like a desktop PC or full-sized tablet because it simply isn't. However, most the functions available on these devices are also available in one form or another using a cell phone.

The frustration I have with all this downloading is that the computer belongs to my work. How am I going to explain iTunes ... or the virus I seem to have acquired.

Week 11 - Online Video

Thing 16 - Online Video

Apparently there is an American adaptation of Japanese game show  Quiet Library.  Essentially, the objective is to complete a ridiculous challenge in the library and be able to do it without making too much noise - as measured by a noise meter.

Jimmy Fallon and the Roots participated in a celebrity edition of the game and above is their video. It's about 20 minutes long.

Week 10 - Spring Break

It would be really cool to post amazing pictures of things I did over spring break, but spring break for my work and USU are not at the same time. Plus spring break stopped being cool about the time that I took on adult roles.

Week 9 - Twitter

Thing 15
Dumb. So, so dumb. I hate Twitter for the same reason I hate Facebook. I DON'T CARE WHAT EVERYONE I KNOW OR DON'T KNOW IS DOING OR THINKING!!!! OPINIONS ARE LIKE BELLYBUTTONS; everyone has one, but no one cares about yours.

It's like being on an episode of Hoarders only instead of dead cats and human feces, there is just a constant stream of information. I like order. When I want to know about something, I look into it. I don't want to be the collection point for stuff that might be useful, but has to be sorted through.

Library feeds could be useful, but I'm not going to read through everything I'm given just to find out. I want to wait until there is a need and then look.

And it is all well and good to have a link to 15 librarians to follow, but there is no button to follow them and I don't see myself taking the time to look them up individually just because an article by someone I don't know or recognize said I should.

I won't use it in my current library because unsupervised computer usage and cell phones are prohibited. Even if it were a useful tool, I can't get past my hatred long enough to engage.

Week 8 - RSS, Newsreaders

Thing 13 - RSS feeds and newsreaders

I used Digg Reader to subscribe to the blogs of my classmates. Fascinating. I like the concept, but I don't love everything about it. Remember a long time ago when if you wanted to talk to someone, you had to and when if you wanted information you had to look for it?

I do not look at or read probably 3/4 (75%) of the information I am sent. This is just another way to fill up an inbox with information I won't access. It would be a useful tool as a librarian to keep on top of new books, etc. if I had time to filter through it. But it's like picking Legos out of the vacuum bag. At first I do it because the pieces are useful and I don't want any piece to be lost. However, after weeks of filtering them through the hairballs, dust and unidentifiable particles, having to wash them and then find the Lego bucket to house them, I'm over it. It is likely that the Deathstar will never be able to be built because I've tossed that one essential piece, but it saved me time from having to look through everything I don't want to get what I do.

Thing 14 - Finding library blogs and newsfeeds

Blogs I added:
The New York Review of Books - I love New York so it seemed a natural.
New Yorker's Page-Turner - Did I mention that I greatly care for New York?
The Rumpus - Where the Wild Things Are. Anther book blog with various authors.
 Bookslut - What's in a name?


Speaking of what is in a name, I also added Information Literacy Weblog by Sheila Webber. It seems with a last name like Webber, one would be predisposed to use the web as a means of expression. Sort of like how Mark Hacking hacked up his wife or Lorainna Bobbit ... you can look it up, but it's fitting.

Once again, I added the blogs and I'll get updates, but until librarian is my main life-focus, I will probably not delve into much of the information I get.

Week 7 - Social Bookmarking

Thing 10 - For me personally, the biggest use of Diigo (which is what happened when cartoon explorer Diego met up with a dingo in Australia. In the end, all that was left was a Diigo ... tragic, reallly) would be personally as I don't know that my students would be allowed to use it. It's useful enough, however, I think I will ask. I foresee issues with them getting lost on the comments and wandering rather than actually working, but it would be useful for them to be able to annotate and highlight in the document, especially for those students with propensity toward losing things.

As a teacher/librarian/writer, I also like the ability to bookmark pages, highlight information and add annotations. Often I come across pages that I bookmark and use, but then two years later when I repeat the curriculum, I don't remember exactly what I did with it.


Thing 11 - So much easier to complete since it is no longer a "thing".

Thing 12 - My understanding is that this is for ITLS 6030

Week 6 - Play!

Thing 7 - Play with an online image generator
Pretty creative, right?

Thing 8 - LibraryThing (Goodreads)
It's a short read, even if it isn't a Goodread. Speaking of which, did you notice the new widget on the right side of the page? It will take you to my Goodreads account so you can see what I've read and what I'm currently reading.

Prior to this assignment, I didn't really know what a widget was. I had heard the word and I know there are widgets on my phone, but I didn't really understand what it is and how it differed from an external link. I now understand that it is something that updates automatically and doesn't have to be monitored - like the number of visitors who have seen my site or a countdown to a specific date.

As a librarian, I might use it to countdown to a specific upcoming event to keep the students excited about an author visit or the release of a long-awaited book.

Or if my students were regular students who could play around on the internet, I would do a widget just as I have here so that students could see what I'm reading/have read so they could ask me about it.

Thing 9 - Create Your Own Search Engine

This feature I love and I think I would actually use - probably to the point of annoyance. I only included a few sites such as pioneer, pbs, and another blog I have, but I can see the potential as a librarian in a school where students' internet use is highly restricted or where students have a seemingly difficult time finding reputable sources. Plus there are specific links I refer them to all the time and it would be nice if their search results could be confined to those pages.

Week 5 - Skype

To be completely honest, I don't know how I would use Skype in my library other than to have virtual author visits, which was already discussed in the reading. Students wouldn't be able to use it to contact me because they aren't allowed free reign of the internet. Besides, I don't really want to be contacted on my days off and in the evenings to answer reference questions. That might make me a bad librarian, but it makes me a better mom/wife/friend. Long term, that's more important.

The only other use I can think of is is to contact other librarians. With Skype I don't have to just describe troubles I'm having, I can actually show it to another librarian to get advice.

Maybe I could recommend setting up accounts to have parent/teacher conferences with parents who are unable to travel to the school for a face-to-face conference.

The school uses Skype for long-distance communication, but most of that I would not be involved in as a librarian.

Week 4 - Wikis

This week, I learned everything I know about wikis. I did not make the connection between wikipedia and wikis until going through the information for this week.

After completing the assignment, the only real advantage to a wiki is the ability to monitor how much time students spent doing what. The other features, such as the ability to chat and share documents and post items to a calendar, are available and more user friendly through other sources. 

I wouldn't classify myself as a wiki wizard or anything, so maybe I'm not utilizing it to its full potential, but I don't see myself using it in the library environment where I will be working. This is why.

1. Students don't have internet unless they are at school and at that point, they can just talk to each other, which makes the discussion feature null and void.

2. I like the shared documents feature, but google docs will do that. 

3. Calendaring items and events is nice, but google calendars or the program we use internally does that. 

I just don't see myself as a munchkin in the Wonderful World of Wiki.

Week 3 - Photos and Images

I like this photo for a number of reasons. The first is because the phrase "old school" is used a lot and this is truly old school. My dad owns a set of desks like those pictured. I love the artistry of the iron scroll work on the desk supports. As children, my siblings and I pinched our fingers in the seats that slid up and down and  we dropped things through the ink well hole into the desk as we played school.

I also like the colors. With the warm colors and the sunlight streaming in through the back window it looks like an inviting place to pick out a book and just read - although a comfortable chair or plush carpet wouldn't be completely unwelcome.

Lastly the willow tree outside the window looks like the perfect place for a warm summer day. A place to sit beneath and read, nap, or daydream.

The scuff marks and signs of wear on the flooring and desks suggest years of use and streams of endless knowledge.

Week 1 & 2 - Lifelong Learning and Blogging

1.      Begin with the end in mind – I feel like I’m fairly competent in this area. Generally speaking, I know what I want to know or what I want to accomplish, but what keeps me awake at night is trying to figure out how to successfully get from the beginning to the end.

2.      Accept responsibility for your own learning -  If it is something that interests me or seems useful to me, I have no issues taking responsibility for my own learning. If it is something I “should” know or something that doesn’t apply to me personally, I am less motivated toward learning.

3.      View problems as challenges – Usually I can view a problem as a challenge, though sometimes I have to take breaks from the problem because if not it gets to the point of frustration and I shut down and make personal attacks on people.

4.      Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner – see #2. I feel like I learn useful things that are applicable to me fairly well. At the same time, when I look at everything I could know or everything I perceive that I’m expected to know, I feel more like the idiot a village lost.

5.      Create your own learning toolbox – I hate to say people are tools, but to be completely honest when I need to know something, I have a specific person I go to. I also have my favorite sites and get comfortable with what I know. Comparing it to my real toolbox, there are multiple hammers of various sizes, weights and head-shape. My favorite - my go-to hammer – was given to me by my dad. It is graphite so it weighs less than steel but still carries a powerful impact when used to strike a surface and it has a rubber-coated grip on the handle to absorb some of the shock. My learning toolbox is like that. I have my favorites. I generally gravitate to the same thing. I do not seek change … until I find out how amazing the next thing is.

6.      Use technology to your advantage – When I understand it, yes. I struggle to learn new programs because I get comfortable where I am and with what I understand.

7.      Teach/mentor others –  I’m skillful at this to a certain extent. Sometimes my patience wears thin if the person I am teaching/mentoring doesn’t pick up on what is being taught.7.5 Play – This is probably my favorite part of learning because I think this is the application step. The step where what has been learned is learned and then I use it to my advantage or to the advantage of those around me.