Thing #17

I found the Zoho writer very easy to use and very easy to sign in on. I especially like all the bookmarks available in plain view to use in the documents which make it easy to insert in the document you are preparing. I did not print anything out, but imagine that a document would be just as simple to do that as well.

Thing #16

I read and looked at all the sandbox wikis and found it very interesting. I especially like how the subject matter is categorized for easy placement of information. However, I became very frustrated trying to upload my picture to the generator image page where I felt my image was best suited. I was never able to get it transferred, so I just kept it on my desktop and will try later. I also went back to myspace and tried to set up an account again, but still get the 'technical error' message after four attempts. Something is wrong, so I will get outside help to get this solved.

Thing #15

This was a very insightful exercise all about wikis. It is basically a site that emphasizes collaboration between students, teachers, or any groups of people in any kind of setting. It seems the most user friendly of all sites we have studied and is the only one that can be modified by each user, so everyone has an opinion and can express it if dedired. It includes a broad range of people so can be used quite effectively in connecting the community to the library. Within the library, it could be used as a great source to enhance the online catalog as a subject guide by the patrons or even post reviews by the users. In the classroom, students could collaborate with each other quite effectively and teachers could use this as an excellent source to eliminate that never ending lost homework excuse. Reaching out to the community by posting newsworthy information to the people via wiki would be a real asset to the library's reputation as well.
I think this is a very viable tool for a large population of people.

Thing # 14

I read three articles, but my favorite two were Away fron Icebergs and Librarians 2.0 Manifesto. Away from Icebergs gave the three points that we will need to let go of in this century if we are to succeed as librarians. First, is the 'just in case collection'. That would eliminate the pack rats among us that can't stand to part with anything because 'you never know...' Our collection is becoming too easily accessible to attain to keep and store anymore in the traditional sense. Next, we need to eliminate the barriers that exist between the patron and the information they need ~ not bore them with extensive research methods. Our next challenge is to place our library services and the content in the user's preferred environment ~ go to them, not wait for them to come to us because the web is too easily attainable to not be utilized. Finally, he concludes by saying that we need to be ready to adapt if we are going to face the challenges before us because we are in real danger if we refuse to do so.
The other article I liked was the Librarians 2.0 Manifesto which was really just an optimistic list of reminders for the librarian affirming the changing times of the library and how we must adapt and be flexible to these changes. Our attitude must be openminded, creative, supportive, professional and positive. I was amazed at the responses to this article from all over the world ~ Denmark, South America, etc. Excellent reminder of what we need to strive for everyday in our profession.

Thing #13

I was never able to download the Del.icio.us podcast tutorial after four attempts. However, I did watch the Furl and Ma.gnolia social bookmarking sites. I am just amazed at anything and everything you can find out there if you search and spend enough time researching. It really doesn't matter what subject matter or what idea you might have, someone will have an opinion or an experience about that and make reference to it ~ it is overwhelming. The subject matter is endless both personally and as educators. This is truly a community of assistants when you need them for anything you need !!

Thing # 12

I have tried unsuccessfully three times to open up a myspace account. I keep getting the message that a technical error has occurred and it will be reported to technical services, so I am going to continue my assignments and come back to see if this can be resolved at a later date.

Thing # 11

This exercise was very interesting in that it dealt directly with books and people who loves reading. I found it particularly refreshing to see such a site that connects the two and will love to spend more time searching books I find intriguing and see how others feel about them as well. The website I came up with is http://www.librarything.com/widget.php.