#20 - YouTube

I LOVE YouTube...and have been watching videos on it pretty much since it started. When I first set up my blog, Micki helped me insert my all-time favorite video on the left sidebar..."The Evolution of Dance"...it always makes me smile :-) I do have to say that getting to play around with YouTube was as much fun as playing with the online image editing tools. This first video I am putting in is in honor of the fact that I am going to the New Kids On The Block concert in just TWO WEEKS (yes, feel free to make fun of me...but I was in LOVE with Joey McIntyre when I was 9, and I am reliving my childhood by going...) and this is one of my favorite songs of theirs!



I looked at alot of singing librarian videos and found some fun ones...a few that were way too raunchy to put in...and then stumbled onto the '2008 book cart drill teams' and found one that was pretty darn funny!!

#19 - web 2.0 (Annette Lamb)

Okay...well, I went a little blurry-eyed looking through her list; it is ENORMOUS! I had to try out several and there was one I created a screen name for (and one of the things I thought would be most fun to try at my branch that I took away from NLA).

The first thing I looked at was a National Geographic 'Explore a Pyramid'. It was interesting for me to use, but would be best geared towards younger grade school students as a fun tool to use with an Ancient Egypt lesson. There is only one pyramid to explore, with four rooms to search through...but was entertaining (not too much scholarly value, just a fun game of sorts) as it has actual video footage that the user is viewing the tomb with.

Spelling City was under the practice environment section, and looked pretty darn cool...I will definitely try to remember this site for when my children have spelling lists. You can use a pre put together list, or enter in your own terms. From there you can ask the web-site to "Test me", "Teach Me", or Play a game; only a few of which are word searches, hangmouse, unscramble, and more...several of which are printable to use with paper/pencil. Again a great tool for either a teacher or youth services librarian to use to help struggling spellers find a fun way to learn their words.

THIS WAS FUN...and I do not like comics. However, so many kids today do...so it is something we all have to be aware of no matter if we're at the youth desk or ref desk. Several sites that Annette provided allow the user to build their own comics. The one I specifically looked at allowed the user to choose a backgroud, characters, and bubbles for words...and then you could print them off as a coloring page. Lots of fun!

The one I was most interested in, and looked at for having a practical application in my branch setting was www.booksprouts.com. It is an online book group/discussion tool that allows users to have a totally online book group or to supplement groups who meet in person. I have heard several times at my branch that people are not able to fit it into their schedules to come to meetings when they are scheduled at our branch and this tool could allow us to help them. The same book discussion leader could have the same book each month...but 'host' meetings at multiple times (so there is still only one book to prepare for...) allowing for users to come join at the time that works for them that particular week. It would also be great as an outreach tool for homebound patrons that might have access to the internet, but are unable to participate in a traditional book group because of physical limitations. I liked this web-site (and it is the only one I looked at out of many options, each would need to be thoroughly looked at to choose one to actually use for a library book group...) for several reasons. It very simple to start a book group, just three quick steps; register for an account, create the bookclub and invite friends to join, and choose the book. Useful features include, but are not limited to; can make the club by invite only or allow anyone to join, box showing recent activity, creating a new book choice allows for a democratic OR book leader choosing (can choose the number of days of nomination, number of days of voting, and how many nominations each member gets), and the book leader can send out mass email with information updates to all members. The uses for a library setting were already mentioned above in allowing for busy patrons who feel they do not have time to physically get to the library...or for homebound...or to teach kids/YA computer skills...or to allow for book groups between people in different parts of country/world.

There was a TON of fun stuff that would take months to get completely through...everyone should be able to find something they enjoy and can make use of...if they can't, they are picky!

#18 - online productivity...google rules

Okay...so I just went to NLA where a few of the sessions I attended encouraged us to (and I quote) "sell our souls to Google". I got a small lesson in the googledocs during one session, and I was excited about the different uses for me personally - not to mention patrons. Having ONE place where I can store all of my school documents and easily come back to no matter what computer I happen to be at is incredibly appealing...while of course always creating backups - you never know...

I also know at work we have the "X" drive with everyone's documents on it...this HAS to take up a ton of space and if we could get everyone to sign up for their own account to keep track of their documents with we could free up alot of space.

This is also an AWESOME tool for our patrons, because multiple times a week we have people coming in who don't have a flashdrive or burnable CD...and don't want to buy one...but want to have continued access to a document. Now instead of trying to bite down on frustration as you attempt to get them to understand that they cannot save documents on our computer hard drives, we HAVE a free tool we can show them and encourage them to use...

To view my 'test' HTML post...here is the link :-)
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcdfr9qt_2dcjptsg7

#17 - add blog to favorites

Well...I have a username/password set up for PBWiki...but every time I try to 'edit' the learning 2.0 page with my blog name (and other favorite things) it tell me I need an invite password...so I guess I will update this when I figure out what that password is :-)

Update: 11/4/08 I have tried a couple of different times now, and obviously am not understanding the directions on how to link my blog to the favorites section. I am leaving the incorrect version up so everyone knows I tried...and will continue to try and find out what I am doing wrong!

#16 - Wiki

There are so many different types of wikis 'out there'....they are essentially web pages that anyone can edit with new or different information. There are password-protected wikis so that there is some accountability as to who is making what changes. Wikipedia is the largest wiki, and is actually a great place to begin research projects especially if the student does not know entirely what they are searching for. I have used wikis for multiple classes, both set up by the professor and some were set up by the students as our choice of keeping in touch. They are FABULOUS for group projects, because everyone has access to the latest information, and there are archive pages if you want to go back and see previous work. Wiki's are great for conferences to put information on about all the sessions, fun programs, eating places, etc...but then after the conference people can go back and post thoughts on what worked/or didn't work and continue discussions that were started. I love how easy these are to use, Terry Wingate and I have actually put one together for Millard Branch as a test project, because we would love to have a password-protected wiki with information pertaining to staff members here, upcoming events, etc. Not much has come of it since it is not currently password protected! However, it is a great idea to keep everyone up to date on information at a specific location.

#15 - Library 2.0

Library 2.0 is something that has been discussed in many of my MLS classes. To me it is something that the customer can interact with along with the librarians, and can adapt when needed (this of course would not be as easy to change in a larger system...) to adjust to new, changing, and different needs as they arise. As I was reading through the suggested list, one section really stood out to me.

"Currently, libraries have a tendency to plan, implement, and forget. Library 2.0 attempts to change this by encouraging the development of a schedule that includes regularly soliciting customer feedback and evaluating and updating services. Both new and existing library services should be revisited routinely to ensure that they are still meeting expected goals. Even older, traditional library services should be reviewed with a fresh eye to determine if any aspect needs updating."

Casey, M.E. & Savastinuk, L.C. (2006). Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library.
Library Journal. Retrieved October 11, 2008, from
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html.

This to me shows that any service we provide can be *2.0* as long as we make collaborative decisions based on community needs, and proactively go after patron feedback. I liked the ideas of allowing patrons to leave comments or tags on the web-site, and also book reviews. Obviously some type of screening system should be in place, just so no one tries to put up naughty language.

#14 - Technorati

I found this web-site a tad difficult to search/navigate. It is probably just me...lol! However, on the advanced search page it did offer multiple ways of searching, it would have been nice if it made full use of boolean logic (in the tag search area you can only use OR, etc). You are able to search by keyword, URL, or tag. I am not sure why I assumed the basic search would search tags...and not keyword...but my initial searches I was surprised how many items came up that had nothing to do with what I was looking for. I had more success in searching through the tag function, because then I was connecting with like-minded people. I found some GREAT stuff on current Packers news! :-)

#13 - Delicious

I have heard of this tool before, but had never looked into to it very much...there are so few things I have bookmarked on any computer that I never felt the need before. I do see a great use for this in the workplace for RA resources, web-sites often used to help patrons, etc. It would be much more efficient to log into one place and have everything right at your disposal for when a question arises. Also at my particular branch we float from computer to computer depending on where we are for our shift...and having something we can use from any computer is a necessity. If there are multiple things you like to keep track of for personal information/knowledge it would be beneficial (obviously) for that as well.

#12 - Rollyo

I created a Rollyo today...and I tried to think of something new that I want to actually keep up on (I have such limited interested...Green Bay Packers, NE Huskers, haha). I realized I have not researched any new information lately on my son's eye condition and created my Rollyo search tool for that purpose. This has a great potential, even though as I was going through the offered listings I saw the huge potential for a lot of incorrect information and how it could be more difficult to weed out the good from the bad when each web-site is not given much of a description. The link to my search tool is

http://rollyo.com/dontmissathing/opticnervehypoplasia/

I hope this gets you into it! If not you'll hear from me again soon....

#11 - LibraryThing

After I started looking around library thing, I realized it is very similar to www.goodreads.com which I currently already have an account with. You are able to search for books that you want to read, are reading, or have read...and add reviews and give stars 1-5. LT was a little more confusing to me than Good Reads, it is probably just personal taste on how the interface is set up. My 'catalog' of books is at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/dontmissathing , I did only add the 5 since I have a much longer list at Good Reads that I did not want to duplicate :-)

#10 - online image editors....FUN

Okay, I had a BLAST looking at the Generator Blog and playing around with all the different tools they offered throughout. I will attach my favorite ones, and a couple that I really could not get to work...and just didn't seem to work with the pictures I uploaded. Here goes :-)

The first thing I played around with was the magnigraph, http://www.magnigraph.com/ , and this is one I could definitely get hooked on. I don't know how the pictures will format on the screen, but this is the one of my son, Andrew, in his Husker jacket. I loved how this one turned out, since the shadow/light worked really well with what he was wearing in the photo.

The next thing I played with was called "make me babies"...haha....I love the name at http://makemebabies.com/ . You upload a picture of yourself and the person you want to 'have a baby with' (including celebrities). I tried to make a picture of what my husband's and mine boy would look like first (to compare to the two we actually made) and I have to admit our real ones are MUCH cuter :-) The little girl I created next, though, was ADORABLE. Makes me wish for a girl now, haha!

The next thing I played around with is Yearbook Yourself, http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ , which I did not really like all that much. The two pictures I tried to use did not crop very well, and when the program tried to insert my picture into hair and style fashions of decades gone by, and effect was odd. Notice I am not putting a picture in of this tool...haha. Another few tools that I found mildly amusing but nothing I could imagine myself actually using were some of the name sites where they provided a name for you. Celebrity baby names and Mobster names are what I looked at, although in the long list on Generator Blog I did see that there were many more. http://www.generatorland.com/generators/mob_name_gl.php & http://www.generatorland.com/generators/celebrity_baby_name_generator_gl.php is where you can find these tools. Another tool I have seen before, and used before in a couple of classes is Worlde at http://wordle.net/ . This is a unique graphic for handouts, web-sites, any type of publicity, etc. It takes a story or a group of words/concepts/ideas and makes a visual word graphic with the repeated words showing larger than words less used. One example for a possible professional use: if you are trying to figure out what concepts keep coming up in a survey you can just throw all the responses into this and it will show you.

GlowTxt, http://glowtxt.com/ , was alot of fun. However, there is a 40 character max...and so most of the quotes I attempted to insert were way too long. Ahhh well :-) Here is what I made

Hopefully it came out correctly since this was one of the tools you were supposed to be able to just insert the HTML code to have it show up....

The next toy I played with I happened to have the PERFECT picture for (I thought). It is Old Style Photo http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds that takes pictures and turns them sepia-toned and makes them look 'old'. I was recently in Las Vegas and took a fun picture of the NewYork New York hotel & casino. I uploaded this into the program, and voila...a really cool picture came out of it!

The next one I played with was the Coat of Arms http://www.makeyourcoatofarms.com/ and mine turned out really well, but I could not get the program to let me save it to my computer (without purchasing something...if I'd given them my credit card info I bet they would have let me save it...haha). It did let me print it out however, and I will try to scan and post that at a later date.

The last thing I did was the Celebrity Face Match http://www.picitup.com/picitup/match_start.jsp , simply because I thought it would be funny to see what happened. I put in my picture and a few of the people the site said I looked like are: Jorja Fox, Diane Lane, and Amy Adams....HAHAHAHAHA!!! I then input my husband's picture and it said he looked like: Josh Duhamel, Ryan Reynolds, Paul Walker, and Billy Crudup. The Billy Crudup thing I saw from the picture they had of him....but it was too funny....good for a laugh, but no real purpose to it (however, we all need to laugh several times a day...it's good for the soul!)

Well, I had way too much fun with this assignment...hehe