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!
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