The sweet smell of a summary completed!!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I love a good treasure hunt. The Web 2.0 activities have been like a fun treasure hunt using technology and tools.

Overall, I loved the content, pace, and quality of this project's resources and activities. I feel like this class should be a class that new library students, versus taking it later in their course study. There were many tools that would have helped me better plan, prepare, research, and organize, a number of tasks and assignments I did in library school 2 years ago. I detest writing citations, but had I had citation helpers (like Zotero) my life would have been much more enjoyable for other classes. If I had known more about plug ins, I could have shaved time off many projects by downloading free software that would take some of the workload off my desk. I feel that all librarians should consciously and continuously look for ways to help make their patrons information goals easier to achieve. These activities have made me fully realize this
concept as I have found ways to share, communicate, and work more efficiently and easily with other classmates and professionals by using skills learned in this class such as Google Tools and Lync.

I enjoy and find it meaningful to use tools that are helpful to me professionally and for possible patrons. As an MLS who is hoping to earn her school library media certification, I would like to have explored more options and strategies that will specifically help children use and appreciate web 2.0. I think that adding activities to the Learning 2.0 site that targets educators would be very useful.


Another way I would improve these activities would be to encourage more discussion among classmates as to how they use these technologies, their practical purposes, and discuss actual good and bad applications of these tools. I felt like many of these tools were explored in a sort of bubble. Some of them I may have even been using incorrectly or not to their most useful extent. However, I would not know this because I too worked in my own bubble, despite visiting several classmates blogs a week. The readings and activities were useful, but I am not sure if I have mastered all the skills I had to learn.

Although I was familiar with some of tools we learned about for this class, it was overall a useful and valuable experience to take part in the web 2.0 process. I was able to revisit and sharpen skills using familiar gadgets and see how they may have been improved and upgraded. I was also able to learn and explore new tools that I may choose to incorporate into future library instruction or lessons. I would recommend this activity for future students!

Discovering Tools to Keep in my Library Tool Belt

I am on a treasure hunt....searching for some of the best Web 2.0 tools out there. For this class I have uncovered some real treasures. I think in order to find tools that really fit your needs, you have to look far and wide just as if you were on a real treasure hunt. You have to talk to friends and colleagues, read reviews, sign up for free trial offers, check out blogs - you know, dig deep. Based on the Best Web 2.0 Tools found at SEOmoz , I found some great tools that will help me manage my personal and professional life.

As I am learning about code (for web design) and building databases, I am very curious about forms and tools that can make creating forms easier. This one I found at Wufoo.
Tadah - It's an Online form builder! It allows you to gather information for surveys, for example, and then you can organize the data. You can create simple or complex forms to meet your needs. It does have a cost, but it just maybe worth it.This could be used in a library to evaluate resources, programs, and services. All the data would be kept in one place and no one would have to return forms or remember to use a #2 pencil. And....the librarian would not have to create the database. This is a time and aggravation saver for sure.

I visit several sites to find out what is going on in the area I live. One great event planning site mentioned on SEOmoz is Upcoming.org . The site is powered by Yahoo and is pretty comprehensive. On my first try, I found several events going on within a 30 min. drive from my house. I was able to log in with my Yahoo account and shazam..........I was off and event planning. Schools, churches, community centers, & sports arenas can all use this site to solicit visitors to their events. It is a keen social networking tool for adults who want to find out more about the area where they live and play. I found out about a music showcase that is coming up and it's only 5 minutes from my house. I can make my own calendar and add events for others to see. I am curious to see how I can use this site and if I can recommend it to friends and maybe help them learn to use it? It has a lot of options and you can even browse by events or distance. The Sabres and the Buffalo Bills are both connected to this site. Very cool indeed!

So many tools, so little time. I am really turned on by all this great new Web 2.0 technology! I would love to offer workshops in my school (future school ) to introduce teachers to tools that might interest them. The more helpful and relevant my library remains, the more important my library will continue to be. Sometimes people just need a little direction as to where to go to look for new tools. This is a great list I will be sure to refer to in the future.

To Infinity....and Beyond...I Chose to NOT Reinvent the Wheel and Will Embrace Web 2.0

When I reflect and consider Web 2.0 technologies this is the phrase that comes to mind. Buzz Lightyear's powerful phrase, "to infinity and beyond!", which he used to encourage and cheer on his fellow toys in Walt Disney's Toy Story Movies, is how I feel when I consider how useful, meaningful, and important certain web 2.0 technologies can be for libraries and educators. If we can seek out, practice, and effecitively use web 2.0 tools that enhance our teaching skills and lessons, I think everyone in the classroom will benefit.

After reading about Web 2.0 tools at the OCLCs online newsletter forum, three big ideas jumped out at me: libraries are like idea labs, everyone online can literally be connected, and that the web can use these connections for greater communication, researching, and networking. As a professional, you would be exhausted seeking out and using these tools all at once. There are just too many. However, it would be helpful to attend workshops about these tools, seek them out yourself, and say abreast with discussions and literature about tools that can really work in your schools. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and scared regarding Web 2.0 technology I chose to be curious, selective, helpful and positive.

I definitely see libraries as mind gyms, a mind spas, and dynamic, interactive social and academic realms. Libraries serve many unique functions in addition to storing and organizing data, helping with data retrieval, and providing reference for research inquiries. Libraries are Masters of Information and I think we should embrace this title with confidence and eagerness. Having the right attitude about what services a library can offer helps open people's minds and eyes about the potential usefulness of all libraries. We no longer are helping people manage the resources in our libraries, but we're helping people understand and use data that lies in The Cloud, on their Kindles, and pretty much everywhere!

Understanding this daunting task should make librarians eager to stay connected with other professionals and enthusiasts. Web 2.0 technology allows us to be connected easier, faster, and in formats that change and develop everyday. Being a part of online web conferences, downloading podcasts, bookmarking sites on a shared bookmarking service, blogging, and even Skyping open up our classrooms to be part of new learning opportunities. I think we need to be cautious and knoweledgable about the technology we use, but practice may make perfect. I hate writing citations, so when I get library of my own, i'll be sure to offer citation help help with Zotero, for example.

Because the web truly does connect most of the world, it provides a great base for networking, researching, and communicating. When I was completing my undergrad studies for social studies education, I was always reinventing the wheel. I 'd do everything from scratch. It was exhausting. I didn't always see the usefulness of borrowing and adapting others ideas. Five years later, I see how much extra work I made for myself. One great tool I use to avoid reinventing the wheel is subscribing to new librarian blogs, RSS feeds from schools and library organizations, and reading a concise digest from the listerv LM_Net. I feel like I can stay in the loop and still get the scoop about what is going on in the library world. I can pick and choose what I feel is important and read it at my leisure. I can also ask questions, post comments, and seek out answers that will return fast and accurate answers, unlike my undergrad days.

My pledge after graduation will be, "I promise to never reinvent the wheel. I may improve the invention, but I will embrace Web 2.0 technology so that even learning more about making new wheels will be effective and done with ease."

The OCLc articles and brief and to the point, some being more helpful than others.

From Zotero to Fifty in ....a couple minutes?

One of the most tedious tasks that all good writers must master is citation. I dislike it immensely. I can days writing an outstanding paper on creating the most perfect library program only to have a professor cut down my grade because of citation issues. It stinks. My work is high quality, but my citations may have a comma or spacing issue and I lose points. "Stop the Insanity!" In my undergrad days, I lugged around accordion type folders filled with papers, bibliographies, articles, writing style guides - UGH! Now, these can all be bookmarked with web 2.0 technology located In The Cloud and I work on whatever project I would like from where ever I like. Any tool that makes storage and editing easier I am all for. The citation tool Zotero helps with this task. My Zotero library is growing at here. Zotero is going to help me create a bibliography for a paper I am doing on the author Katherine Paterson. I will find articles and web pages about the author and then create a citation immediately using Zotero. I am going to need to watch a tutorial about generating the citation which I hope is quick and painless. So far, I've found lots of guides on the sites, and few simple answers.

I love using Diigo to bookmark pages on the Net, but it just does not have the citation tools of Zotero. In order to appreciate Zotero, one needs to appreciate Firefox and its many plug - in capabilities. It works with lots of free software to transfer data and make it more useable. In this case, it will take the work out of making a citation. This is a video to show how to make this happen.




Web 2.0 tools can so helpful if they have plug - in and they work all the time.
I hope this new tool can help me quickly make a citation list for my last paper of library school

Thank Goodness for Google

Google has saved my life more than once. It's a unique wiki and I LOVE IT! While I was student teaching, I forgot my jump drive. I was pretty emberessed about it, but because of my misfortune, I explored Google Docs. I has used it before to work on a group project, but not much after that one class...until this day. I dusted off my account and immediately put it to good use. What I really liked was that I could do work on documents anywhere, anytime, and it saved my work for me. My work drifted away into the cloud until my next visit, upon which I could easily retrieve it. This concept really worked for this sometimes scatter-brained, but well intentioned librarian. I never lost my work and I could share it easily with my professors and colleagues. Each semester, I travelled to UB for 1 class, so meeting up with groups meant an added 3 hour trip. With Google docs, I could work on group projects, communicate easily, add notes to the work, and have ONE document to work with...Ka-Ching!!


I had only a few issues with Google Docs. For starters, I was concerned that if I could access these documents so easily so could students at a school. For better or worse, communication of this nature is monitored at schools and I was not sure what kind of outcomes this could bring, such as: sharing test questions and answers, sharing homework, gossiping, inappropriate messenging that would disrupt the school day, etc. Despite its usefulness was so much more rewarding, as a I teacher I had to consider these scenarios. As an adult and professional, my mind was filled with 'what if' scenarios. I love that wikis allow for the immediate exchanges of ideas and information, but I guess I also strongly feel that it somehow needs to be regulated when children and students are concerned. Once I can get past this, I can dream up so great lessons involving digital, international pen-pals and writing cross-country book trailers by my library students.

I've gotta learn to scrutinize new web tools without being afraid. Not afraid to say this is cool but not useful (at least for my library) and not afraid to try something new (after I've done my research). I'm gonna continue to give wikis a try and seek out meanringful ways they can used in my library and in the other classroom in middle/high school grade levels.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
I'm off to explore these sites:
Best Educational Wikis
Best uses for Wikis in Education
Teachers at Work - Blog

A Wide World of Wikis

I've been working with Wikis for about three years now. I'm trying to see how they can be useful to me as an educator and how I'd like them to be different to fit my personal and professional needs. My first impression of them was pretty negative, but the more I learn about them the more I believe that wikis, like podcasts, RSS feeds, and other web 2.0 technology, has many niches to fill. I still prefer using a webpage, but I"m open to exploring new wikis.

I tutored a student in 2009 in Social Studies. He was very reluctant to do much work, but he loved computers and web 2.0 technology. This was my first wiki, but really it wasn't too bad, except that my student didn't want to work on the wiki or any work for that matter. It bummed me out doing all this work, but, it was great practice in learning about wikis and learning how to create one. Another wiki in the making I created was for my professional teaching portfolio. This wiki can be viewed by the public, if they are invited. People cannot edit my wiki, they can only view it. It contains my teaching portfolio including: lesson plans, field placements, examples of my writing and research, book reviews, program ideas, newsletters, and other pieces that showcase my work and talents as an LIS student. It can be found at http://liztheloquaciouslibraianportfolio.wikispaces.com/



The wiki for our class that I visited for the St. Joseph's County Library at http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page I think it is great that the library has this. It's actually quite organized and worthwhile. If I were from St. Joseph's area, I know just where to go to find out about my family history and genealogy. However, some other links are not as great quality as the genealogy link, such as resources on gardens.

So here I blog about my love & hate relationships with wikis. The bottom line is that I have high expectations for a wiki. I want it to have: organization, good quality information, all links working, easy navigation from page to page, consistent content coverage for all subjects and sub topics, and a useful scope. Maybe by a wikis nature, it can't have all these qualities, but I think it should. When wikis came onto the scene a few years back, people questioned their quality and reliability. I know, as a teacher, I did. But, I like that as wikis have evolved, new features have been added. I like that not everyone can instantly change the information, and that only certain people can access and edit a page. I LOVE that templates for wiki sites are efficient, user friendly, and organized. I also love that wikis are made in different formats that can be useful to a small business, note taker for a class, or a personal collection on materials, just to name a few. Since I created my professional portfolio wiki, even more wiki engines and free wiki spaces on the web have developed.


I think libraries can use wikis in many useful ways to generate excitement about their resources and programs. I think another very useful use of a wiki would be for publishing book, periodical, website, and web 2.0 technology reviews for teens, adults, parents and seniors. A local 'what's happening' page in the wiki would allow people to post events that are upcoming and it would be free advertisement. I think many people go to the library for 'how-to' help and a page on 'how-to' advice might be helpful and interesting. Aesthetically, a wiki can help give people of a community a sense of ownership and pride. If they are monitored and maintained, a public library wiki can be darn right interesting. The one mentioned above may not have the look of a library website, but its eclectic contents and contributions from the local community was pretty neat.

I know I should not simply say website or wiki, but I can do what I want. I still love the sleek look, organization, and design of websites. But, wikis can be useful too. I am sure to visit this topic at a later date.

Why I Need my High School Library

I remember the first time I'd heard of YouTube. I was working on my second Bachelor's Degree for Social Studies Education at Fredonia State and I was involved in a great discussion on the Global Economy. Our teacher routinely showed us videos made by his professor friends at UCLA. One day as he's ready to show us a video, he talks about pirating videos and how his friend doesn't want his video to be stolen and put on YouTube. I had no idea what YouTube was. I was a meager college student, without cable or Internet, and most of my time was dedicated to working, studying, and trying to have a social and professional life. I raised my hand to ask about YouTube and people actually laughed at me. Well, I've come a long way baby. As an self-described information junkie or 'infomaniac' , I love to search the web for topics as they pop into my head. This includes: 'I wonder how George Washington died?', 'Does anyone else remember the cartoon Jem?', 'Did the Buffalo Bills make the playoffs in the last ten years?'....it goes on and on. Well, I actually needed a clip for a class I was teaching. I wanted School House Rock. Low and behold, it was just a couple clicks away and I could show the class 'how a bill becomes a law'.

Whether it is for research, school, or fun, video sharing is pretty cool. Yes, yes, yes I am aware of copyright issues. I took a class all about it. I never, ever, watch pirated videos, movies, etc. I am strongly against that. Seriously, I am. However, I can still use lots of great free videos on the Internet from video sharing sites that will benefit students in my library and school. There's alot of original book talks, lessons, and other educational videos I can use to make my library a better learning center. There's also of junk, which I can teach my students and fellow staff members to avoid. (That's a whole other blog post.) The bottom line is that video sharing has great uses and it's users and producers need to be responsible.

I love this video because its a student created video about how great high school libraries are now and forever. It's quirky, original, and fun. Yayy for students who did this and yayy to ALA for recognizing their talents.