Video Voices Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfwqldrCNXo

Linl to youtube for the kids project......

Oh my, how time flies. We had a psycho month at work in May, and all the way thru the 12th of June. Now summer programs begin for real tomorrow.So glad we got our summer person. And really glad the V>V>project is over, at least our part. This weekend was dedicated to ZERO activity. I feel much better now.

shoe contest

shoe contest
Originally uploaded by Vons View

My Tween Book Club read Eve Bunting's Nasty,Stinky Sneakers in April and we ended with a stinky shoe contest. Trust me...these kids can generate some kind of stink!

Well,it has been a couple of weeks and I have already broken my resolution....not on purpose! We have just been so busy ay work that I have had no time to do much else. Today I am alone at work, like really alone, because everyone is either at FLA or off. So I figured it was a good time to see if I remembered how to do things that I learned on 23 Things, like Flickr. I remembered how to get on my page, I just didn't have any new pictures to upload. I also learned from my DIGG box that Dom DeLuise died. He was so funny. I don't think 75 is all that old.
Maybe I will try a new Mash up or something now, just for practice, of course!
Oh, and I did receive my new flash drive gift!

Thing 23-I am Done!!!!!

Yea for me....I finished on time! It is Monday the 13th and 2 days ahead of my deadline! Congratulations everyone!

Thing 22-Staying Current

Wow, I made it. I cannot believe it's almost over. After a few glitches, like ending up with 2 blogs under the same name, getting rid of the bogus one & then finding out the url was now spelled wrong, workmates blogs not being accounted for, etc,we finally got it together. Have we learned a bunch? You bet! Was it things we never would have learned otherwise? For certain! Are we going to use any of this in the future? I do believe we will try!
I know personally that I am going to go back to the beginning and review some of this stuff, refresh the almost 40 year old brain, and try to use several applications in different places. And the coolest part is that now when I come up on a new application, I am not going to be as hesitant to try it. As long as my computer is not smoking,I will try to figure it out. I would like to see us do a workshop on all the student friendly applications and study tools before the next school year begins.

"I hereby resolve to maintain my blog, use the tools I know, keep up with new tools, and apply them in my library. I will also make every effort to allow a few minutes a day to learn something new for myself, for my job, and just for fun!"

Thing 21-Student Tools

The RPC looks incredibly cool. I think back to my school days and what I had to go through to write a term paper or thesis. Research was definitely more time consuming, notes were hand written, outlines were sketched and redone several times. Our biggest worry was doublespacing as we used the old Smith Corona. But now everything is technologically driven and kids want their assignments done fast and in a hurry. I think that teaching students how to plan a project and how to manage their time wisely is an essential skill. Teaching how to discern whether a site or resource is reliable is necessary too. All of the PDF materials in the Teacher Section are great...a whole handbook ready to go. While I can't think of any immediate uses for the library, I can see possible uses for individual projects with a deadline. It would keep me on track! And I know for sure it's going to get used at home for my 8th Grader!

Thing 20- Books 2.0

I love books....I like the real thing:the hard copy. Am I against a book in any other form? This is a hard one.
BooksinmyPhone & txt2ph would not be my style. Cell phones are distracting enough without trying to read a novel on one.
DailyLit looks like it would be fairly cool, short installments by RSS or email...if you check your reader or email everyday than I can see using this. But I would also say "Just pick up the book". Twitterlit looks silly, and they may be just what some people need to get them interested in a book...I mean,come on, if the opening line to the book teaser was "I've got the biggest knickers in Australia" wouldn't you at least giggle to yourself & wonder what book it came from?

Reading Trails looks neat if not time consuming. If I decide to become more of a 'sharer' I would try something like this. All of the other reader's advisory sites may be handy somewhere along the line, but nothing beats book browsing at the library or book store or especially the thrift store!

Online book communities are not my style, but I can say that many of my Facebook pals are using it, so I may be tempted myself. I'm not a fan of book reviews for the most part only because I don't want to be told any spoilers. They are good for knowing a books' contents in case you have to recommend it to someone w/o reading it first.
I will be using the Book Group Resources more often now, as I find myself in charge of a tween book club and will always need good ideas. Book swaps are an environmentally friendly idea, but again it's a privacy thing...I don't do any business online.
BookCrossing looks wild...I went ahead and got an account, although I don't know if I want to buy a starter kit...it seems like they should let you just print your own label and bar code if it's so earth friendly.But I will look for books in my area.

LookyBook has closed its site due to lack of resources. I love the Flickr Vintage childrens' books just because I love picture books.

So back to the question at hand....is a book in any form still considered a good read? If a book on tape/cd/online/ipod/smoke signal is the only way for someone to enjoy a good book, then I would say be my guest. If you are someone that travels and cannot carry several books with you, than a Kindle may be convenient for you. But after looking at almost all of the sites, I am still convinced that there is nothing like a real, hand held book.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO BURN BOOKS TO DESTROY A CULTURE. JUST GET PEOPLE TO STOP READING THEM." RAY BRADBURY

Thing 18 Comparison of MySpace vs. Facebook

MySpace Facebook

-messy -tidy
-young - mature(r)
-commercial - friendly
-contest like atmosphere -nostalgic
-hookup alley - serene
-TMI (too much information) - privacy included


I originally activated a MySpace acct. because my friends' business was there and I could keep up with his activities. I actually don't use it that much, but still upload pics and stuff for some friends that use it & not Facebook. I do not seem to use MySpace with much ease, for some reason I get aggravated trying to find/do certains actions. When I did add an application it looked random and messy to me, and then I would never make use of it. It feels like a coloring book to me, an outline but filled with any color imaginable whether it looks good or not.
Facebook, on the other hand, appears neater and cleaner to me. I guess this appeals to an older generation of users, yet we still can add the fun stuff and it's an organized chaos instead of allout pandemonium. Facebook is the Museum Art compared to coloring Book art. Now,I absolutely love to color, but let's face it, my stuff is not going to hang in a frame!
My only yuch factor w/Facebook is that they like to make changes! This makes me fell out of sorts, like I am too old to change! I like the status quo!!!! But I will adjust........

Thing 19-OTHER!!!!Social Networks

I cannot possibly do another social networking site! I will say that if I did anything else, Webjunction would be it. It's one I already know about,it's educational, it's easy to use. It's good for job development.

I already use about.com forum (Home school) and Circle of Moms on Facebook.That's about as good as it gets for me, and I cannot begin to tell you the last time I logged on! I am not really a big 'networker', I don't have a real vested interest in any politics, economics, social issues, debates or special interest groups, so I cannot see where Ning or Gather would work for me.

I already used Project Playlist from another "Thing", but have very little intention of sharing my lists w/anyone socially.

Thing 18- Facebook & MySpace

I have had both of these accounts for awhile. I really only use MySpace occasionally, it's not my favorite. I was also informed recently at a workshop that it is no longer the top-rated social networking site. I don't know about that. I also thinks it's dangerous for younger kids to use. ( Check out Kevin Farnham 's book-MySpace Safety"51 Tips for Teens and Parents ) It used to be that they avoided FaceBook,I think they thought it was for old people. I have started to use FaceBook alot more since 23Things started. I like it because of being able to catch up w/friends from school. (I don't like some of their new changes.)
Do I like the idea of these apps for the Library? I am not quite sure how well this would work here in our area. In the bigger library regions/university towns this may work as advertisement.I wouldn't want to have to be the one to approve or deny any comments that came in. On one of the listed My Space Library pages, it reminds me of a commercial, not too personal.
I did go ahead and add FLA to my FaceBook Groups. Maybe I will be better informed this way, because I have a tendency to not keep up w/stuff. I forget to look at my Reader and find myself catching up on 14 or 15 Blah Blahs at a time. If I'm inspired later I will compare the 2 later.

Thing 17-Podcasts

First of all I have to say again that I Love Common Craft Videos.

Secondly I have to admit that I never knew that PODcast stood for Personal On Demand Casting. Duh. I knew what they were essentially, I just never realized it had an acronym attached to it.I'm not sure what I thought the "pod" meant! Anyways, I checked out the reource list. Other than not really liking Yahoo's, I'm not sure which is better/efficient, but I think you can pretty much find a podcast for anything easily enough. Now if someone could tell me WHY I NEVER thought to use these for my Homeschool I would be eternally grateful! I looked up Math tutors, and I think this would make my life a little easier! For example, Mathgrad.com discusses math applications in every day use. My son would so much rather listen to a teacher than have to read a lesson from the textbook.
Workwise? Well, I looked at something called Storytime with Miss Lynney-the Podcast Grandmother! Not that it was stellar, but the idea might one day work for us. Maybe a podcast link on the webpage...we could do a short story and then an invitation to storytimes!Hmmmmm...I like it!
My husband put iTunes on our home PC, and we use it for music once in awhile. But I see that they have added iTunesU which could provide some college class lectures that might be interesting.
I think I am really liking the storytime podcast idea..........

Google Video-the rest of thing 16

Okay, every video I picked on Google Video linked me to a YouTube video anyways! I looked up children's books and there was a few cute looking things. Unfortunately the network was having problems, so I couldn't treat you all to The Reading Rainbow Theme clip.

Grover @ the Library

Thing 16-YouTube

YouTube Rocks....but just like everything else, you need to choose wisely 'cause there is aaaalllooottttt of junk out there. But if you are specific enough & know how to avoid the garbage (that's going to be pronounced "gar-Bahj" because I went a classy post!) you can entertain yourself forever. We are currently using YouTube as part of a Book Review contest in our Library. The tweens that won the privelege are pretty excited because, unlike the rest of the adolescent world, they have not yet uploaded a video to YouTube themselves. I am posting a YouTube video of Grover at the Library simply because we all need a little Grover in our lives! But because I use YouTube I am going to try to use a Google Video later on. Enjoy the Grover break........

Thing 15-Rollyo,not to be mistaken for the candy,Rolos.....darn.

Tried Rollyo.....again,the verdict is still out. My link/searchbox is pretty dorky looking.But aesthetics aside, I can see some use in this application. It would centralize the most used sites. If we could get a working model for all of Sheila's Craft sites or our Bulletin Board ideas, etc. it may prove useful. But conversely, we still would find ourselves looking at other sites because there is always something new out there, and we would feel compelled to add to our lists all the time. I think what all of these things boil down to is putting the time and effort into setup, and then maybe they would earn their keep as a time saver. Not sure.

Select Search Engine...Preschool StorytimesSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

Thing 14-Part 2 Productivity

The to-do lists are cute and I would try to use them. Try, you ask? Try, I answer. Because I would use it and do great, and print out lists and lists, then the affair would be over and it would be an idle and unused app on my page. That's just how I am.
Same idea with the calendars, I like the concept, I just don't know how convenient it would be for me to open a calendar and check it everyday.....that's what the tangible extra large desk calendar is for, right?
I did however add Sticky notes to my page just because.
There are way to many applications and gadgets in the name of organization....this goes back to the question I posted awhile ago...just how organized do I need to be? I don't like my life micromanaged, but I can see some useful ideas here. Backpack looks like it could be useful, I especially had the light bulb go on with the page of frequently needed forms.This would be a great resource for my home education group, and at work. ( Volunteer forms, applications, job descriptions, groups/clubs forms....)
And I still definitely want the PDF converter.

Thing 14 Part One-Productivity

I have had an iGoogle for awhile...I have all kinds of neat things on there-Spanish Word of the Day, a cool game, CNN, calendar, cute kitten themed border, Educator's Calendar from teachervision,the weather, my inbox and youtube. So, why do I absolutely NEVER sign into this account? Because if I had this as my homepage at work,my productivity would plummet! So at work it's the plain old Google search bar, no frills/fuss/distractions. Now, when I can manage the time and effort, I would like to 'conglomerate' all of these accounts, feeds, widgets, etc. onto one main page like this. Maybe I could keep better track of things that way? I am interested in trying a to do list & see how I like it. I also will be trying the PDF converter. I'm thinking this could come in really handy. I may need Amber's help though, because it looks confusing.

15 minutes of what?

Okay, after a very unofficial poll.......everyone asked agrees that there is no way we are spending ONLY 15 minutes a day on these things! I have heard anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours!!!!!

Thing 13--counting down

Thing 13 is LibraryThing. The verdict is still out. I guess it's okay, as far as sites go. I think what it boils down to is that I am not a big sharer. I love my books, don't get me wrong, but I don't necessarily feel the need to recommend my choices to others. Everyone has their own personal taste.
There was a brief discussion on one of my choices, which I was surprised with, since it is an older book and sort of obscure. However, as a running list or new book recommendation that's posted on the library site, this would be cool.

LibraryThing

Thing 12-Wikiwhat?

How can these things possibly be safe? On a recent episode of 30Rock, the staff is able to fool Jenna(who's not hard to fool) into believing 'facts' about Janis Joplin by getting her to read a Wiki, and of course, they have already gone into wiki and edited the information & added totally bogus stuff. They explained to her that because people can add and edit information at any time, the 'facts' are always updated and more cool stuff can be learned about the person! See where I'm going? How do we know what's true or not? I cannot see that "Anyone (registered or unregistered, if unrestricted) can add, edit or delete content." is a benefit. I guess it's good that they are tracking tools, but honestly, who's really gonna' check those out every time?
Now after checking out the Library Staff Wiki from Albany, I can understand where something like this may be handy, IF it was kept within staff control and not available anywhere else. I am just not comfortable with the Wiki Concept.I edited Neflin's 23 things wiki by adding some color.I didn't have anything else to add! And I couldn't see any box on there that mentioned rec'ing updates, so now I will probably get 456,998 updates.

Thing 11

I am newspaper reader from way back...I need 2 Sunday papers! I also check CNN everyday, sometimes twice. So I do like me some news! Do I need other people's (persons?) ideas of what is newsworthy? Not so sure. If the news items that are submitted are from legitimate sources, I'm good with that.The not having an editor over the site is kind of scary. I had the wikipedia concept run thru my mind,where items can be changed at anytime. I joined Digg at any rate, and when I was going to submit an article from the Wash.Post,it was already there! That was a good sign at least, since I read the article from a legit source, it meant others did too. I am thinking along the lines of productivity distraction though, just because there is too much news available. I can see having a link on the Library Web Page, maybe, but not on our actual station computers.

Thing 10-Tagging/Delicious

Okay..I get the tagging thing. But this Delicious thing looks like more trouble than it's worth.

A) I can't keep track of all of these accounts.
B) Why can't I just look up the site I need ? If I am on someone else's computer, obviously it won't be a permanent thing, so why should I access yet another account, just to find something that I could easily google?
C) I don't think I need to "peer into someone else's folders". (1984 anyone?)
D) Isn't this what Favorites is for? Bookmarks?
E) I don't even like the name!

I think searching someone else's tags for "research" is sort of cheating, especially for kids. They need to do their own research.Several Habits of Wildly.....article said"You can't really overdo it, so there's no reason not to do it." I think you can overdo it, just how much information is enough? Sometimes I think we have information overload.
And just exactly how organized do we need to be? Folders, subfolders,bookmarks, bookmarklets? Micro bookmarklet? Nano-folders?

Can it be used within the Library? Probably. Why? Because Librarians are busy folks who could use a shortcut on finding & delivering information to patrons, and because patrons can be impatient when info is not forthcoming. And there would be tags for more information that we may not have known about. I can see where teachers may like it as well.

But personally, I guess I am just NOT that social! I don't want everyone sharing my "stuff".
And I don't want any more buttons added to my bar.

Thing 10 is not my favorite.

Thing 9-Sharing

I have used Big Huge Labs and Picture Trail already this week, and I really like them both. You can give permission to Flickr to use your Big Huge Lab account, and upload to your Flickr Photostream. I really love the apps that are quick to upload to your blog, without 1000 steps. I cannot stand the buyme ads!
For the last few summers we have used some more technology in our programs; music, interactive games, and animated backgrounds in conjunction with our storytimes. I have my wheels turning about how to use some of these slide shows and graphic generators this summer. I will need more practice I guess! Tsk tsk.....the price I pay for good programs! :)

MyWarhol JHC PopArt

MyWarhol JHC PopArt
Originally uploaded by Vons View

Thing 9 is too much fun.

Thing 8 OchoOctemAchtHuitNaneShe'mone Communication- Web 2.0 Style

Communication-Web 2.0 Style

Way back when I was a kid......no, really, I spent almost every weekend on my friends' farm in central NY. There we had a wall unit landline, and somewhat like Morse Code, we had our own ring. If the phone rang once, no one made a move, because we had to wait until it rang again. If it rang in 2 short bursts,it was not our call. If it rang one long, one short, then it was okay to pick up. The only okay thing was that the one long,two shorts was my adopted "Aunt Katies" house, about 4 miles away, and she didn't mind if you listened in on her calls! It became incredibly confusing, however; when 2 more lines were added to the "party"...we basically just stopped answering the phone, because we were always confused. Soon after Ma Bell did away with the party line & all was normal.
Enter 2.0!
Do I now feel as confused as I was then? Cell phones,e-mails, IM, SMS....smoke signals. There is alot to learn about these things. I have used IM on Facebook, and I do like it. It really allows me to multitask at home, and lately I have been 'chatting' with friends I hadn't heard from in 20 years.
I am not a real telephone person, I talk when I have to, and to only a few people. I love my answering machine! Yes, I screen calls. I pay the bills, so I figure it's my perogative to answer or not. IM'ing feels different, maybe less intimate than voice communication, but conversely, more intimate, because you are free-er to write things you may not say out loud. (and yes,I understand the ramifications of that too)
I do not like texting by phone, as far as teens are concerned, I think it should be blocked from their phones. I believe it to be dangerous on many levels. And I cannot really abide by the abbreviations, because they creep into every day usage.
Using IM for library services.....hmmm.I am not sure how convenient this would be, you would have to have a multinetwork available, because not everyone uses the same communication services. It would probably work for reference questions,I think you could get more details out of a person if they could put their thoughts in writing, so to speak. And it would be relevant to a whole new generation of library users.
And finally.......Web Conferencing. I have not had a Webjunction webinar yet, but I do actually look forward to them. I have a few brief forays into online classes (audit) and this method was used. It's all a matter of making the time to do it without distractions. And my mind does tend to wander.

Skip to my Lou....

Yes, I realize that i skipped a Thing, but you see, I was so enamored of the photo cube on Tiffany's Awesome Blog that I just had to do one myself. (Thing 9) I promise not to forget Thing # 8. I have come to appreciate any application that has an immediate response to code embedding. It causes so much less confusion.

Filmstrip Thing 9

Having problems with my blog...I recently realized that there were 2 blogs with my name, and not everyone was seeing the same things I was! Hopefully the problem has been repaired thanks to our young technological wizard Tiffany! If y'all do not see a Hedgehog on my page,please let me know!

Thing 7

I played around with Thing 7 again, not being too happy with my practice run. The cartoon maker (Toon Doo) was okay, but I wanted something quicker. Image Chef is really easy, and has an automatic posting to your blog. (The candy hearts picture that I 'made' took about 5 seconds).I also gave The Generator Blog a look-see....mmmmm...so-so.I did pick the Old-Style Photo to try,it just looks like something from a newspaper. I can see using the image generators in the future, maybe if we develop more of a tween-teen area on the library's web page?

Thing 7-Generators

Thing 6 Redo

After quite a number of tries, I finally figured out how to do this code embedding thing. Not all applications are created equal, I have found. I was okay with the photos or items that simply offered me the " blog this" choice, but I actually had to google the question " How do I embed codes on blogger.com?" I obviously was not the only one! Someone did answer much more concisely how to do it, and there ya' go, I did it.
I told y'all I was old school, so many of these activities take me far longer than 15 minutes to do. On the plus side, I have been able to play around with some of this stuff, and now my blog is getting loaded with applications! I can see where some of these would be very fun to use as far teen /tween activities at the library. The verdict is still out on the Flickr usage.

Thing 6 Redo-Flickr Mashups

www.flickr.com Go to Vons View's photostream

Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vonsview/

Big Read Video

http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/local/local_story_037123313.html

Thing 7-practice first!

http://www.toondoo.com/

Still playing with the Flickr! And I am very grateful for catch-up week, because I am so behind!

BigReadKickOffFeb5th09 044

BigReadKickOffFeb5th09 044
Originally uploaded by Vons View

I tried it again. Hmmmm.....

Thing 6

Thing 6- Flickr Mashups

Eeeek. This has been the worst so far & I feel like a doofus. Adding widgets to Facebook is a cinch compared to these.....maybe I just had a long weekend....I will try again later.

Trying out the Flickr..

My pal Noah and I went horseback riding. It had been 20 years since I had done this!

Thing 5 addendum

I guess I should have said that I am a little concerned about the public-ness of the photo sharing. (I know,that's not a word) But marking them all private would sort of negate the whole idea, right? And I have reservations about getting contacts from my other e- mail lists as well...we'll just skip that part for now!

Thing 5? Yeah..thing 5.Flickr!!!!

Okay...got the Flickr going. Chose random photos from my personal stash and a few work related ones from last year, just til I figured out how it all worked. Someone please tell me if it worked! When I have seen sharing sites like this I always liked the odd styling of the tag boxes...kind of cool.It was relatively easy to set up,now I have to figure out the details...editing and such.At this point I will probably use Flickr for family & friends,since many are out of state. Unless my boss tells me otherwise, then you will be seeing work photos as well! :) Did anyone see how many libraries there are on the Groups page? On to the next task....

Thing 4-RSS

RSS-Really Simple Syndication. Of course I'm thinking 'really simple,stupid' because I finally found something I could understand and do with NO problems! RSS is like having access to a magazine rack in your living room, updates and new articles at your fingertips,w/o having to search through tons of junk mail. I subscribed to 3 of the suggested sites/blogs. It was very easy. I think the dude on the video was right tho, it could be addicting, so I am limiting myself to work related information only! (for now :) )

Thing 3-Search Tools

Thing 3 is about search tools. I am a googler by nature, so as long as I can just google sites if I were to look for a specific blog I'm good. I do often use About.com for lots of stuff, so I would probably choose its blog directory,only because I'm a slave to habit. I don't know why but Technorati intimidates me!

Thing 2-What is 2.0?

I thought we were going to have a hard time getting set up, but it all seems okay now. I think 15 minutes a day is definitely doable, even if I have to do it before bed! I have some (as in a teeny bit) of Myspace/Facebook experience, but I realize that the direction of not just the library system, but life in general, is only going upward in the Tech department, so there is more to learn than those 2 things.
I will admit that last week I did have to research what 2.0 even meant! Never knew there was a 1.0! So yes, I am definitely "old school".
I am not sure that I would label this whole concept as a Movement, but I do agree that it is totally relevant for the library & community. I think that developing more interlibrary cooperation would be pretty cool too.

THING 1-SETTING UP EL BLOGO

Finally! We are cooking with gas now.......this should prove interesting.