vikingp23things

Thing 47 Evaluation

2009-06-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed working on More Things on a Stick. The only issue I see with the program is that there is so much information out there on these subjects that it is hard to absorb it all. However, just knowing a little bit about these tools helps staying current on new technology a little easier. Thank you for the learning opportunity.

Thing 46. WebJunction Minnesota

2009-06-18T09:03:00.001-07:00

I think the most useful section of WJMN is the courses. As technology and software changes I feel we tend to have a just working knowledge of it. It helps to go a little m ore in depth and find out what you can actually do with it. I think it would be great to see more networking opportunities available and more active discussion groups.

Thing 45. Cloud Computing

2009-06-18T08:03:00.001-07:00

The idea of accessing all of your information from any computer at anytime is great. Not having to worry about where certain information is stored is great. Overall I think things like GoogleDocs and Zoho do improve productivity. However, I do think it can lead to being overloaded. Sometimes I think we are too caught up in our online lives instead of living life.

Thing 44 The Economy

2009-06-18T07:40:00.001-07:00

Sites like ClearCheckbook seem like they have a lot great features to help you save money. I am questioning though whether or not that information should really be in another place on the web. For now I will stick to online banking through the bank. I have used Craiglist and Freecycle before and find them to be great resources for finding used items. The weekend treasure site is a wonderful idea but the Craigslist listing it pulled was not in the same city that it pinpointed on the map.

Thing 43. Online TV and Video

2009-06-17T13:31:00.001-07:00

I watched a couple of clips from the Today Show. I enjoyed watching these in that format because I hate waiting and waiting for a particular story they are promoting to come on. However, I don’t think sites like Hulu will change my viewing behavior. I view most things through our DVR. So most of what I want to watch is already on demand. I can see using it for a few things like old TV shows or if we traveling. I am sure that having free on demand video on the internet will replace cable and satellite TV in some households.

Thing 42. Music 2.0

2009-06-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

I had never used a service like Pandora or Last.fm before. I think I’m hooked. What an awesome thing. I tired Last.fm and I am hooked. Their recommendations were right on. It’s great to have a station tailored to my specific music tastes. I will defiantly continue to use my Last.fm account.

I don’t think that broadcast radio is in danger of being replaced by internet radio just yet. At least not until technology has progressed enough that cars can access the internet. Also, people still get a lot of local news from broadcast radio. Also, severe weather information is at times only available by broadcast radio.

Thing 41. Mashup Your Life

2009-06-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

I am not sure if these services make “life” easier but they do make your “online life” easier to maintain. However, I am not sure these are really productivity boosters either. It encourages creating more profiles on sites that one might not create if these mashups didn’t exist. That is not all bad. I’m guessing though, that one will end up spending more time checking this site then if they one maintained only one or two profiles. I know I will. I do really like having everything one place and only having one password to remember.

I choose to use Lifestream which has some other streams like eBay auctions you are following and your Amazon wish list. Those are really nice to have there without logging on to those sites. I will try to use this over the next few weeks and see if I like it.

Thing 40. Mashup the Web

2009-06-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

My creation,
originally uploaded by vikingp_2000.

I briefly explored LibWorm, Visual Headlines, and Interestingness. LibWorm would be a great tool for librarians and library staff to find information on certain topics in the library world. Most of the other mashups seem like they would be most useful for marketing purposes. Mashups like Lunchbox or Wheel of lunch might be useful when the public would like local food suggestions. All of the mashups would be great for quick fun family projects or trip planning.

I thought about creating a Travelr mashup but I do not have any trip photos uploaded into my Flickr account. So I opted to create a Big Huge Lab mashup. The photo is of the Stave Kirke in Moorhead.

Thing 39. Digital Storytelling

2009-06-16T14:04:00.001-07:00

I used Voice Thread to create a slideshow of an author visit we had in February. This would be very useful for sharing our event photos with others and to promote the next event. It would also be a great to get feedback from people who attended the event. The show is embedded at the bottom of the page.

Thing 38. Screencasting

2009-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

I choose to use Jing for this thing because I have used other TechSmith products and found them very easy to use. Jing was also very easy and intuitive and it would fit well with our use of SnagIt. Jing could be used to make many tutorials in our library. What an awesome tool. However, I was not able to upload the video into my blog. I tried using Jing's help but was unable to find an answer. I will keep working on this.

Thing 37. Photo Tales

2009-06-16T12:38:00.001-07:00

I created a slideshow in One True Media and a mosaic in Image Mosaic Generator.
Both were very quick and easy to use. One True Media would be great to use for short slide shows at work and many different occasions at home. The Image Mosaic Generator was fun but I don’t see using it too much for work.

Thing 36. Comic Relief: Generate Some Fun

2009-06-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I love online generators. They can be very useful and also a great waste of time. The pdf generators seemed most useful to me. There have been several occasions when I have been using a computer without adobe writer when I really needed it. It is nice to know that there are sites out there that will convert your files for you. We have used the READ poster generator in our library to create read posters of our faculty. We are also planning a READ poster display of our library faculty and staff for this fall when students return.

The comic generating sites were fun. I could see using them for marketing purposes. I wasn’t feeling witty today so I did not create one of my own, but I will probably try my hand at this before students come back . This would be a great new way to combat inappropriate food and drink as well as cell phone usage.

Thing 35. Books 2.0

2009-06-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Most of the book 2.0 tools seem to promote reading the actual book as opposed to reading the book online. I don’t think the book will ever die. Reading online is fine for short stories or articles, but online reading doesn’t work well for reading a novel. However, it is fun to see what other people are reading and what their perceptions of those books are. The online book communities enhance people connections to books and help them better communicate their feeling about the books.

The literacy debate article made a good point when it suggested that even though teens seem to be reading fewer books, at least they are reading online. I don’t believe that reading online is the same thing as reading book but, as the article suggests, they are not watching TV either. I think teens do a lot of reading and writing online without even realizing it. I will be interesting to see how this affects the workplace in next few years.

Thing 34. Is this Our Competition? Online Answer Sites

2009-06-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

I think people like to use online answer sites because they are quick and easy. I also think, to a certain degree, people use these sites because they want answers from people who have experience with the subject. I realize that this is no true for all of the questions but in many cases “real life” advice can be more helpful. For example, if I have a parenting, gardening, or pet questions, I will look it up in a book; but the answer may not work the way the books says it should. Then I would go online and talk to people about how they handled those situations.

Many of the questions being asked on these sites would be better suited for a reference librarian. My feeling is that people may not realize what sort of online reference sources are out there. They use the sites that are heavily advertised instead of sites where they could receive higher quality information. Libraries have a great web presence and online services but often do not have the money to advertise these services. It seems to me that libraries will need to start aggressively marketing their online services in order to stay competitive. The Slam the boards events are a great example of this.

Thing 33. Travel 2.0

2009-06-12T10:09:00.001-07:00

I must say that after completing thing 33 I’m in the mood to plan a trip. I enjoyed reading about others trips and found some great tips on the review sites. These sites could be a great resource for some of our language courses where they have to plan a trip. They would also be great for students researching study abroad options or maybe just a spring break trip.

Thing 32. Google Maps and Mashups

2009-06-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

I created a driving map from Fargo to my hometown with points of interest along the way. The driving maps are always a good idea. I also enjoyed looking at the “If I dig a deep hole” and “public restroom” mashups.

Thing 31. More Twitter

2009-06-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

My Twitter page says that I am still a little leery about Twitter in general. I may eventually get used to Twitter, but I am not there yet. I would defiantly say that I am in the “Presence” stage of Twitter. Right now I have very few friends on Twitter and I am only following a handful of people. Actually I am mostly following news organizations. I tried to set up a Twilert account but the website must be down. Twilert sounds like the most useful application for finding fellow twitterers that I would like to follow. I will have to come back and try again as I have not spent a lot time seeking out others on Twitter. I am still hooked on Facebook for now.

Thing 30. More Ways to Use RSS and Delicious

2009-06-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have only been using my RSS reader for feeds that I know I will read on a regular basis. Otherwise, the overload of stuff would get to me. I know that there are a lot of interesting things out there, but if I add them all to my RSS reader I will end up getting burnt out and never read anything. I suppose I could create more than one reader for the other “stuff” that I do not want to read regularly. This maybe something I do in the future.

I have not found myself using Delicious very much. Most of the sites I have bookmarked I use often enough that I end up just typing them in. I should use it more often and get used to adding sites. Right now I just don’t think about it. I know Delicious has a lot of possibilities; I just need to devote some time to exploring them further.

Thing 29. Google Tools

2009-04-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I set up a couple of Google alerts and I have to say that it was incredibly easy. I am not sure how useful it would be for the library as a whole but it would be useful for individuals trying to keep up on a specific topic. It would be great for students doing large projects where they would have an extended period of time for research. It may also be useful for an institution’s archives. They would be able to keep track of any information about them that is put out on the web. I thought that the article about using Google alerts to check for plagiarism was very interesting. What a creative way to use this tool.

Thing 28. Customized Home Pages

2009-04-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am using MyYahoo for my customized homepage. I had already set up My Yahoo page during the last round of 23 things. The first time I set up the page I added widgets that were more fun rather than useful. Because of this I have not used the page that often. This time around I deleted those things that I very rarely look at and added widgets for Facebook, Flickr, and various news sources that I enjoy. I also changed the layout to make more sense. Overall, I feel that My Yahoo is very easy to use and very easily altered.

Thing 27 Twitter

2009-02-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

I played around a little bit with Twitter and it seemed like it could be an extremely useful tool. I could see Twitter being used in our library in a variety of ways. Twitter could be used to advertise events going on in the library, share information about new (or old) resources that are available, and provide important information about the technology in the library. A group for our student workers may also be helpful. We could send them payroll reminders; alert them to any changes to the manual, or any information that may be important for them to know right away. Twitter would be a great place to share a variety of information with our users. However, I also think that it is a tool that could very easily be over done and eventually become annoying. I feel as though one should be selective about what they are putting up there. If you were to update too often and have only minimal content I think people would start to feel bothered by the updates and begin ignoring them. I doubt that I would use it too much personally but that could change in the future. Right now most people I communicate with in this manner use Facebook for updating. If you would like to follow me my username vikingp.

Thing 26 Join the 23 Things On a Stick Ning

2009-02-19T07:54:00.001-08:00

I joined the 23 Things On a Stick Ning during round 1. I was not overly impressed at that point and I have to say I am still not a big fan. I feel like MySpace and Facebook are much more ingrained in our culture that if people are going to look for library information on a social networking site, they will look there first. Also, I do not think that Ning is as intuitive as Facebook. This is the first time since round 1 that I have even gone into Ning. I joined the NLLN group this time around. It didn't seem like too many other people had used Ning much since round 1 either. I believe the last post in the group was from April. I guess Ning is just not my thing.

Thing 25. Bloggers' Toolkit

2009-02-19T07:28:00.000-08:00

For thing 25 I decided to add widgets for Outbrain, Clustermap, a search box, and Meebo. I choose Outbrain because I thought it would be interesting to see how people would rate my posts. I also thought that it's recommendations for other blogs may be enlightening. Clustermap just seemed like something fun. I enjoy looking at maps on other blogs so I thought I would add it to mine. A search box just seemed like a good idea and the Meebo widget is a great way to be in contact with blog readers.

I chose to stay away from any widgets that involved pictures. I realize that these are more visually pleasing but I didn't feel like spending the time on them. The 4 widgets I added to my blog were fast and easy and did not take much time at all.

Thing 24. Refresh Your Blog

2009-01-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

Obviously I have not been blogging since finishing the first round of 23 Things. I also have not found myself following blogs religiously. I will on occasion skim through a blog but I very rarely read the entire thing and I almost never leave comments. I am not sure why that is because I do enjoy reading other peoples comments. Maybe I just need to get out of my comfort zone and join the conversation.

I took a peak at the blogger templates on third party sites. I was completely overwhelmed by the choices. It was tempting to pick something ridiculous like the I Luv Zac Efron template, but I decided that I liked my dots and I wanted to keep them. I guess there is just something about that comfort zone...

Thing 23. Final Thoughts

2008-03-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed learning about all of the things. I had already used several of them but had never looked at them close enough to see what they could really do. Now I can see so many new possibilities for both private and professional uses. My favorite discoveries were the Flickr tools because there are so many options for marketing library events or creating displays. I am looking forward to putting Flickr to use. I would defiantly participate in another 23 Things program. This program has opened my eyes to how much is really out there. Thank You!

Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

2008-03-24T09:22:00.001-07:00

I plan to continue exploring a few of the tools we went through in 23 Things so that I will have had enough practice when a practical use for them comes up. I have so many ideas already and I am excited to put them to work. I will keep an eye out for new tools that pop up and make the effort to try them and work my way through them and not just have somebody show me how.

Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

2008-03-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

I joined the 23 Things Group on Ning and it seems to be a good way to communicate with others but I do not think that it would be my first choice for a social networking site. I do not think I will use Ning in the future. I do have a Flixster account from awhile ago that I have not looked at for a long time. I never did much with the account so maybe it is time to go back in and take a second look. That is the type of information that I would be interested in receiving anyway. I like to look at what other movies or books other people have recommended. I can usually get a good idea about whether or not I will like something based on other people’s recommendations.

Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

2008-03-24T08:19:00.001-07:00

I do not completely understand why Facebook is so popular. I agree that that it is fun to see what your friends are doing and that it is a great way to share photos, send out event information etc. I especially like the event notification because I end up being notified of events that I otherwise might not know about. I think that this feature would be a great tool for library events. However, I just don’t get spending so much time on it. It seems like time might be better spent actually talking to or doing something with friends. I have had a Facebook account for awhile and I look at it every now and then but not everyday. Maybe part of it is that the friends that I would enjoy communicating in this manner with do not have a Facebook profile yet. We’ll see what happens as more and more people join.

Thing 19. Podcasts

2008-03-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

I listened to a podcast from a Swedish radio station. It is pretty cool that one can connect with current events in other countries so easily. I found this podcast through Podcast.com which seemed very easy to use. At this point I do not think that I will subscribe to a podcast to listen to regularly. However, I wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

Thing 18. YouTube & Other Online Video

2008-03-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

I selected this video because it is from my hometown of Jerome, Idaho. Both the public and the high school libraries were willed a fairly large sum of money by a member of the community to make improvements. They have come a long way since I left. While I was in high school the public library was more like a facility to hold meetings or a place for small ensembles to perform at. This video was produced by YAC, which I believe stands for Youth Advisory Committee. It is great to see that teens are working to promote the public library. Judging by the high school's website YAC is a deceit sized group. It looks like about 10 - 15 people belong, which is pretty good for Jerome.

Thing 17. ELM Productivity Tools

2008-03-20T06:53:00.001-07:00

I do not usually have the need to look at databases in my particular job so all of these database tools were new to me. These tools are very cool and working on this thing was exciting. All of these tools would be useful to our faculty and students. The RSS feeds would be a great way to keep up to date on a specific topic. Saving information in a webpage would and easy way to keep information all in one spot. I think that if faculty were shown some of these tools, most of them would be very excited. Next time I do have a need to use these databases for work I will defiantly be using these tools. I may even look up a few things I’m interested in just for fun.

Thing 16. Student 2.0 Tools

2008-03-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

RPC and Assignment Calculator is an easy way keep to assignments on track. It gives the student a clear plan to complete the assignment on time without it becoming overwhelming. RPC could also be a great way to stay on top of library projects as well. If we need to create a presentation or planning some other event, RPC could help keep everyone on schedule.

Thing 15. Online Games and Libraries

2008-03-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

I played puzzle pirates. I found it difficult to talk to other pirates and do the job I was supposed to be doing. If I tried to talk to anyone I would fall behind on the job and the other pirates would get upset. Maybe I am antisocial when it comes to online gaming but I would rather just the play game and not worry about trying to chat at the same time.

Thing 14. LibraryThing

2008-03-18T12:33:00.001-07:00

LibraryThing could be used to create list of staff recommendations. I do not see too many other ways we would use it in our library at the present time, however, it will definitely be something we should keep in mind in case something comes up. Right now we have created a recommended reading list using Shelfari and we have used Flickr in the past as well. We like Shelfari because it still looks like a book display even though it is online. LibraryThing could maybe be something we use in the future for our recommended reading lists. Here is the link to my LibraryThing catalog http://www.librarything.com/catalog/vikingp_2000 I used books from a series that I really enjoy reading.

Thing 13. Online Productivity Tools

2008-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Start Page
I chose to use My Yahoo as my start page. I chose My Yahoo because I use Yahoo for my personal email. It was fun personalizing the page but I am not sure if I will like using it as my start page. I will give it a go for awhile and see what happens from there.

Calendars
I looked a little at Yahoo calendars. They seem to be very similar to Google Calendars which our library currently uses for room scheduling. These calendars would also be very good for staff scheduling which our library does some of on Google Calendars as well. However, I do not think that I will use these for personal things. I seem to remember things a lot better when I physically write them down on a piece of paper. So I think that I will stick to my paper copy.

To-do lists
The to-do list sites, for me, would be helpful for things that I would be doing around the computer. Like things that I need to get done at work or maybe things that need to be done around the house before company visits. For things that I need to get at the store I think it would be easier for me to just write it down on a piece of paper.

Thing 12. Do You Digg?

2008-03-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have always wondered what the point of these tools was and, to be honest I am still wondering. This seems to be a huge productivity detractor to me. I do not know why I would want to go to another site to read articles just to find out what other people have to say about it when most of these same websites have comments sections on their pages. It just seems like an extra step that doesn’t really get me where useful.

Thing 11. Tagging and Del.icio.us

2008-03-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Del.icio.us is obviously a wonderful resource for people who are using multiple computers. It is nice having your bookmarks accessible on every computer you may be working. I can see that this may be useful for research purposes providing the sites are tagged in ways our library patrons are able to find them. For example, I added a Norwegian newspaper to my list and tagged it Norway news. There are 536 other people who have tagged this site and none of them did it the same way I did. Tags that make perfect sense to me may not make sense to other people at all.

Thing 10. Wikis

2008-03-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

I think that wikis, if they are kept up and monitored, are fantastic tools. This would be a great way of keeping track of everyday work issues like a departmental manual and figuring out shifts for our student workers. It would be great if library users could add comments about materials or services to a wiki. They are a simple easy tool to use. I edited the wiki sandbox and had no problem. However, I can also see the drawbacks of wikis. There is always a chance of somebody adding incorrect or inappropriate content to them. For this reason, it is understandable to the teachers/faculty would not want their students to Wikipedia as a source.

Thing 9. Online Collaboration Tools

2008-02-27T12:50:00.001-08:00

Online collaboration tools would be great for a group of people to edit a document without worrying about if everyone has the right software on their machines. Once I received permission to edit the documents, it was easy to edit. Goggle Docs will be something that I keep in mind the next time the need for something like this comes along.

Thing 8. Share Your Creations

2008-02-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

These tools have a lot of possibilities for library and personal use. The PictureTrial presentations and other slideshow programs are a fun way of showing photos from library events and/or an additional tool for marketing upcoming events. These presentations paired with the database makers would be a great way to do online book displays and staff recommendations. Both PictureTrial and Lazybase were very easy to use. Here is the link to my very short movie database http://lazybase.com/dbhome?a=212447786

Thing 7. Web 2.0 Communication Tools

2008-02-15T13:31:00.001-08:00

Email

I love email. As our library’s secretary do a lot of room scheduling, supply ordering, sending work orders to the physical plant, and anything else that a staff member or patron might need. Email is quick way for me to receive information about these needs and usually the best and easiest way for me to respond to them. However, I agree with most of the productivity hints. I like to deal with the quick, easy to answer emails right away and get them off my plate. I do not like to write long emails so unless I need to inform several people about something I will usually just go and talk to the person or call. I personally like to have my auto check look for messages frequently. I believe that I am pretty good at determining if a message is important enough that it would need an immediate response. If it doesn’t I will just ignore it until I am able to look it.

IM

Our librarians here have an IM reference service. It seems to go well for them. I do not use IM at work but I do use it home on occasion. I used it a lot more when I was in college. I guess the novelty of IMing the person across hall has worn off.

Text Messaging

I do text message some with my teenage nieces and nephews. It is a great way to stay in touch with them. It is much easier to text them then to get them to talk to their aunt or uncle on the phone. While I know what I am doing when I text, I am always amazed at how fast my nieces and nephews can type away and send their message. In the time it takes me to send one message they have sent five.

I spent a semester in Norway about 5 years ago. Texting is king there. Their cell phones are basically purchased for texting purposes. On any form of public transportation you would see people, young and old, texting. It was very rare to see someone actually talk on their cell phone. This is because all of their cell phones are prepaid and it uses less minutes to text than to talk.

Texting is already important in everyday life of college and high school students. I can see how text messaging reference service may become something that is very important to library users.

Web Conference

I have attended several webinars for training in the different ALEPH modules. While I think that these are a wonderful tool and it is great to not have to travel somewhere to attend training, webinars are not favorite. I have a hard time focusing on what is being discussed. This may just be that I am more of a hands on learner.

Thing 6. Online Image Generators

2008-02-15T08:23:00.001-08:00

My creation,
originally uploaded by vikingp_2000.

In the past, our library has handed reminder cards to patrons who have brought in meals (mostly pizza) or whose noise level is out of control. The cards simply remind them that their actions need to be respectful of other library patrons and library materials. We could maybe recreate these cards in a fun way using the trading card feature.

Thing 5. More Flickr Fun

2008-02-15T07:01:00.001-08:00

My creation,
originally uploaded by vikingp_2000.

Wow, the warning is correct; it is very easy to spend a lot of time playing with the many different features in Flickr. Our library could probably use the movie poster and trading cards to advertise events. We might possibly use a few other applications as a creative way to show photos from prior events or creating any temporary signage needed around library.

Thing 4. Photosharing with Flickr

2008-02-01T13:50:00.001-08:00

Pay it Forward photos 002,
originally uploaded by vikingp_2000.

This is a photo of a display that is up in our library. Our library already uses Flickr for online book displays and I have used Flickr for personal use on several occasions. My husband and I live far away from most of our family so Flickr has been a good way to share photos with them. I think photos that are put on Flickr for the library are okay being marked public. I would assume that most photos a library would put up would be for marketing proposes so you would want people to look at them. However, for personal use I almost always mark them private.

Thing 3. Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds

2008-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

I have often considered setting up a RSS reader but have not ventured outside of my comfort zone to do it. I think that I will enjoy only going to one place instead of looking at several sites. The difficult part will be not adding so many websites that I end up getting overloaded with stuff that I don’t really care about. I really liked the “Sub with Bloglines” feature. If I find site that I would like to add all I have to do is click on the “Sub with Bloglines” button in my favorites and it adds the feed. It’s great!

Thing 2. What is Library 2.0?

2008-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am looking forward to learning how to use Web 2.0 tools more effectively. I believe that I have a general knowledge of most of things, or at the very least, heard of them. However, I just have not taken the time to truly explore what they can do. I know that these tools can be applied in a variety of different ways in our library. More specifically, they can be used in the way we market events, new resources, and anything else we may want to advertise.

I will find the time to work on 23 things between projects or during those times when I just need to work on something different for few minutes.

Thing 1. Set Up Your Blog

2008-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Setting up the blog was fun. Creating the blog itself was simple but the "important " things like, choosing a background and dressing my avatar proved to more difficult. Sometimes there are just too many choices. I can see how how a blog could be useful in a vareity of situations. For me, a blog may be a good way to communicate with our student workers.