lutefisk23

THING 47: Evaluation

2009-05-28T10:07:00.001-07:00

This was another great round of "Things" that we learned about. I enjoyed the process of learning something new. I also enjoyed working on some of the things with my coworkers. It was nice to have someone to discuss the things that weren't working quite right or that I didn't understand. Together we were usually able to figure things out. There was also a little of the competition thing going on which helped us to stay motivated. I sincerely hope that more things are added in the future. My favorite things were probably digital photography and music online.
My least favorite was RSS feeds! Thanks again for a great learning experience.

THING 46: WJMN

2009-05-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

I registered on WebJunction Minnesota. I also found a friend and I'm waiting to hear from that person. I checked out the Community Calendar of Events. The most useful items to me would probably be the courses available online. It's not always possible to get to all the courses or workshops that you would like to attend.
I checked the two discussion groups, but didn't find anything I wanted to join in.
Some of the discussions are school related, of course, and not as much of interest
to a public librarian. I will recommend WebJunction to a friend who has just become a school librarian. She has to learn the barcoding software this summer. She may find help on WebJunction.

THING 45: Cloud Computing

2009-05-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

I investigated many of the sites listed to learn about cloud computing. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are some of the major cloud computing service providers.
Everyone who uses the internet probably uses these providers for something. It was interesting for me to read that the term cloud computing probably originated in the telecom industry with the term telecom cloud. I'll have to ask my husband about this as he works in the telephone industry. Some days he wishes all the problems would float away in a cloud!
I think the idea of accessing your personalized desktop from anywhere should be of great interest to a lot of people. They could access their information from anywhere that they happened to be. Backing up data is always important and no method seems to be foolproof. Maybe it's not the methods but the humans that can't be made foolproof.
Sometimes it seems scarey that all this information is out there for anyone who finds a way to access it.

THING 44: The Economy

2009-05-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

This "Thing" is very timely. I explored many of the sites including Feed the Pig(humorous), fuel economy.gov (my car is not very fuel efficient!), erideshare.com (no rides available in our rural area), and Frugal Dad (No. 56 says to rediscover a local library!).
I decided to dig a little deeper into Craigslist and Minnesota Gardening. Craigslist seems to be my son's favorite site. He lives in Minneapolis and uses it all the time. He has bought and sold many items on this site, including a great leather sofa that he just purchased. He has also rented out his duplex by posting it on this site. In exploring Craigslist, it became evident that you need to explore metro areas to find anything. I explored the St. Cloud area and found many items for sale. I didn't explore the relationship area of Craigslist. The news seems to highlight any crimes connected to Craigslist and there have been some shocking ones!
I enjoyed the Minnesota gardening site and signed up on the garden web - Twitter.
It's nice to explore a gardening site that is specifically for Minnesota. Now I know more about the grubs that are killing our lawn! I also looked into perennials which I keep saying I need more of so I don't buy so many annuals every year.

THING 43: Online TV and Video

2009-05-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

Online TV and Video was another very fun thing to explore. I was already familiar with Hulu so had done some viewing on it before. I did try Joost also, but think I prefer Hulu. I watched several things - a trailer for the new movie, Taken; Paula's Home Cooking show (only clips available, not the whole show)and some episodes on the Home and Garden channel. I created a log-in on Hulu and set up a queue of items for viewing at a later date. The queue was for TV shows and I tried to add a movie in the queue but couldn't figure out how to do that. I recommended a movie through the link to Facebook (Romancing the Stone).
These were fun sites to explore, but I don't think it will change my viewing habits much. There aren't many shows on TV that I follow on a weekly basis. I much prefer to READ in my free time. The TV is usually on but my husband controls the remote!
As far as watching movies, I don't like to watch them on the computer screen. I like going to movies at the theater or checking them out from my library! I know the younger generation is used to doing everything online and I watch my sons watching shows online. This could cause an economic problem for broadcast and cable TV. Everyone is looking for ways to do things for free!

THING 42: Music 2.0

2009-05-13T21:17:00.000-07:00

Internet Radio is fabulous! I loved Pandora! You could select any artist and create a playlist with their music and similar music. I created several different radio stations (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, The Association, Celine Dion and Reba McIntyre). I used radio-locator to find stations in my area. Our local stations were not available to listen to on-line, so I checked Minneapolis and found many to listen to. I listened to public radio, Christian Contemporary and Hip Hop!
I then added a widget from 365live. Thanks for introducing me to Internet Radio!

THING 42: Music 2.0

2009-05-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

THING 41: Mashup Your Life

2009-05-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

I set up an account with FriendFeed and added some of my Web 2.0 sites. So far, I don't have any friends who are registered with FriendFeed. I looked at some random people, but didn't add anyone. I don't think this will be a great tool for me as I only randomly check Facebook and Twitter. My college son told me to quit creeping around Facebook to check on him! Those who are on these sites alot should find this a useful tool.

THING 40: Mashup the Web

2009-05-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

I explored many of the Mashup sites listed. They were all interesting. The ones I explored included Crime Reports (no crimes lately in our area!), Lunchbox (nothing to eat in our area), BookTour (I couldn't find the authors I knew were coming to Minnesota soon), Lazy Library and Interestingness. I added a Flickr mashup to my blog to spell some words. That's always fun. I tried to add random photos from Flickr in Interestingness to Twitter which should show on my blog. I'm not sure if that worked or not.
In searching the web for more mashups I found five listed that were mashups between Flickr and Twitter. They were Flittr, InfiniteComic, SayTweet (this we looked at in Twitter), flick.to.twitt and flickr2twitter. I can see applications for all of them.
I tried several of the sites to create a "custom" mashup and embed it in my blog.
My computer banned Bubblr (don't know why). I tried adding a greeting card from Phreetings. Creating the card was simple but I could only added the httl to my blog.
I played with BigHugelabs for quite a while and made a mosaic of Carnegie library pictures which I was able to embed into my blog, but had to register for the service first. That's maybe what I was lacking with the greeting card.
There would be immeasurable uses for these mashups both at the library and at home.
Once again, they all take time to figure out but would get easier with use.

Carnegie Libraries

2009-05-13T15:03:00.001-07:00

Carnegie Libraries,
originally uploaded by lanelson23.

I used BigHugeLabs to create this mosaic of Carnegie Libraries with pictures from Flickr.

THING 40: Mashup

2009-05-13T12:49:00.000-07:00

http://phreetings.com/4jvzvxrf

THING 40: Mashup the Web

2009-05-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

THING 39: Digital Storytelling

2009-05-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Digital Storytelling went a lot smoother than Screencasting. Probably because I have used Snapfish in the past to create a digital scrapbook. I had pictures on Flickr which I imported into a scrapbook page using Scrapblog. I tried Smilebox first but they needed a credit card for a trial offer. Scrapblog was free! I tried different backgrounds and when I imbedded my page into my blog it included all the backgrounds I had tried. The last view is the actual library pictures that I imported. I can definitely see lots of uses for these services both at home and at the library.
The digital scrapbook I made on Snapfish was a free offer from the Oprah show.
I made a scrapbook for my sisters and myself of our summer road trip. I love to scrapbook both online and the old fashioned way. We could use some of these great backgrounds to add to our library pictures also. I do wonder about using pictures of children that I have taken on the internet. That is why my scrapbook page does not include any people.

THING 39: Digital Storytelling

2009-05-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

object width="420" height="312" >

THING 38: Screencasting

2009-05-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Screencasting was a challenge! I tried Jing, ScreenToaster and finally Screencast-o-Matic. I couldn't get Jing to download and I couldn't figure out ScreenToaster.
Screencast-0-Matic let me capture my picture easily, but I didn't have a microphone to add audio. I then had problems embedding it into my blog. On the third attempt I succeeded, sort of! There isn't really anything happening on the screen.
I don't thing I will be using this, but it was interesting to see the process.

THING 38

2009-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

THING 38: Screencasting

2009-05-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cQhlYFeJ0

THING 38: Screencasting

2009-05-12T20:11:00.001-07:00

India Today

2009-05-11T20:17:00.001-07:00

Erik Nelson's trip to India in Feb. 2009

THING 37: Photo Tales

2009-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I did this! And it didn't take me long either. I used Animoto to create a video with music. It was exciting to actually make it work. There were three steps: Images, Music and Finalize. I already had the pictures on my computer from my son's trip to India. It took me a while to find the right music and that was it! I would definitely like to do this again. Music adds so much. This would be a fun way to publicize the library!

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-11T19:14:00.001-07:00

I have been using generators to add things to my blog. Some have been added easily and some have not. A couple of them have added only the code instead of the feature.
I'm not sure why that happens. Image Chef and Newspaper Front Page were fun. Glass Giant wanted me to become a member. I couldn't figure out how to imbed the little paper clip guy from ImageGenerator or the Braille words from the Braille Generator.
All in all, these are lots of fun and add interest to by blog. Visuals are always a great addition to any presentation. They would be great for a library website also.
I shared a library-related comic on my blog from ToonDoo. I also created an account with ToonDoo and created my own comic. I know I will not be hired to continue with this pursuit! It took a little time to figure out how to add and delete items from my comic. I read the comic strip, Unshelved, just about every day. It makes fun of lots of library issues that I can relate to. We all need to see the humor in our daily lives!

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

2009-05-07T19:49:00.001-07:00

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-07T19:38:00.001-07:00

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

THING 36: Comic Relief

2009-05-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

http://services.nexodyne.com/email/icon/WTPi8GQi5AM%3D/2JhLODE%3D/WWFob28%3D/0/image.png

THING 35: Books 2.0

2009-05-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Books are still my favorite things about libraries! One of the articles said: "You don't have to spend anything to read a book if you have a library card". As a children's librarian, I have seen the decline in reading by children. One year our summer readers read over 1800 hours total and the next year it was only 800! I used to have many children taking large stacks of books home. I don't see this much anymore. I feel there are so many other activities and distractions available for children, that reading isn't always a priority. Of course, the parents have the greatest impact on their children's reading habits. I have had many parents help their children pick out movies. When the child wants to take out a book also they will say, "no books today". I think this is so sad that they would discourage a child's interest in taking out a book from the library. Couldn't the book be returned at the same time that the movie is returned?
I think the Book 2.0 tools should enhance one's reading experience. It's a great way to connect with others with similar interests. I didn't realize how many tools were available. I visited many of the tools including Library Thing, Books in My Phone, Reading Trails, Overbooked, Booksprouts, Librivox, Swap Tree, Book Browse, Just One More Book, Bookswim, and Visual Bookshelf. I explored Reading Trails further and added a widget to my blog. However, the widget doesn't work. Suggestions? This is a great site for those patrons who want a series similar to another one they have read or something they liked about a book for whatever reason.
I also added GoodreadsBooks to my Facebook account. I looked at BookCrossing, but didn't have a book that I wanted to part with right now!
All of these sites have good uses, but I still wonder about the personal connections that we could be missing. How about recommending a book to your neighbor or your hair dresser. My hair dresser recommends The Shack!

Reading Trails

2009-05-07T09:32:00.001-07:00

Reading Trailsgreat free widgetsWidgetbox

THING 34: Is This Our Competition - Online Answer Sites

2009-05-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

The articles on the future of reference were very informative. Some words that kept coming up were: interact with users, service philosophy, personal connections, team activity, personal service, and marketing. In other words, reference service has to adapt to a changing world. Personal service today is totally different from yesterday and will be changing again tomorrow. Librarians must try to meet the needs of the people, whatever they will be. The only thing that is certain is that things will change! This is hard for those of us that like things the way they are!
I looked at all of the online answer sites. I think the appeal is anonymity. You never feel stupid or foolish for asking a question. There is also the time factor if you receive an answer quickly.
I found the following questions at the sites I looked at:
Who is the biggest loser?
A princess some soup and a spool of thread?
What does it mean when a mobile says "userbusy" when I try and phone someone?
Have you ever wondered who buys the 72oz. super big gulp from 7-11?
What is one photo that defines the year 1963?
I believe that any kind of question can be directed to a library. Some of these questions do not appear to be serious questions. (I have wondered who buys the super big gulp!) We, however, as librarians should not be judgmental as far as whose question deserves an answer. I do remember one child who asked for the book the Real Santa Claus. I know she was trying to figure out for herself whether or not Santa Claus was real. I think she found the book on our card catalog.
I think the Slam the Boards events are worthwhile for self-promotion and marketing.

THING 33: Travel 2.0

2009-05-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Travel 2.0 was really interesting to me. I looked at many of the sites listed including Cranky Flier, Trip Advisor, Vcarious, Green Routes, Boo.com and Mapness.
I think Trip Advisor was my favorite. They have something called Trip Watch where you can sign up for a free weekly newsletter with up-to-the-minute reviews and deals for your favorite destinations. I signed up for Port Elizabeth, South Africa. My son will be studying abroad there next year and hopefully these newsletters will help me to become familiar with his destination. I will also send the newsletters on to him. This sounds like a great way to scope out a place you are planning to travel to. Anticipation is often one of the best parts of a trip!
Most of these sites would be useful to our library patrons. I like the reviews posted by travellers to give you a heads up on what to expect at a certain hotel or resort. Travel information is a very important use of the internet for most people.

THING #32: Google Maps

2009-05-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

View amana colonies in a larger map

This is a map with directions from Bellingham, MN, to the Amana Colonies in Iowa.
I would like to visit the Amana Colonies.

Google Maps are very versatile. I was interested in many of the mashups. Cheap hotels was of interest to me because I'm always looking for a bargain. Place in the middle was interesting because I would like to meet my sister for a get together this summer and this gave many suggestions on where to meet in the middle. Wines and times showed all the wineries that can be toured. The uses are endless. I have used Mapquest quite a bit, but not Google Maps. I will definitely use them in the future. I will also be able to assist patrons looking for various maps and locations.

THING 31: More Twitter

2009-05-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

I have been discovering more about twitter. I started out by trying to find more people to follow. Oberstar was the only Congressman listed for Minnesota to follow. The White House link wouldn't work. Barack Obama is no longer twittering since his election.(Too busy?) Oprah is at the top for the number of people who follow her. I am following some of my fellow librarians who are doing 23 things.
I had to give one of them a hard time for telling me she was hiccupping one day.
I tried out many of the fun things including twitstamp, twopulr and twitterfall.
Twitterfall is a great way to keep on top of current interests of the day.
I added my name to the Tweeter Directory under Education - Librarians. What a great way to be in touch with librarians around the world!
In the stages of Twitter I am between 2 and 3. I have a presence on Twitter and am starting to use it more. You definitely hear more and more about twittering on all the news broadcasts. I think Twitter is an easel for your thoughts, but I'm not sure how many people are really interested in my thoughts!

THING 30: More Ways to Use RSS and Delicious

2009-04-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have had a terrible time trying to learn new things about RSS and Delicious. I have spent a lot of time on these two things and feel like I've been spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I did not have any problems setting up my RSS reader and bookmarking on Delicious in the first 23 Things, but I don't seem to be able to go any further.
I must confess that I haven't been using either of them regularly and don't think that I will in the future!

College of DuPage Press: Targeting the Ages

2009-04-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

College of DuPage Press: Targeting the Ages

Be Creative at Your Library | Theme Song_Summer Library Reading Program 2009 | Free Resource | By Billy Gorilly

2009-04-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Be Creative at Your Library | Theme Song_Summer Library Reading Program 2009 | Free Resource | By Billy Gorilly

Hauling wood down the road.

2009-03-20T15:45:00.001-07:00

Hauling wood down the road.,
originally uploaded by bobbyeriknelson.

Women leveling the ground at a construction site.

2009-03-20T15:44:00.001-07:00

Women leveling the ground at a construction site.,
originally uploaded by bobbyeriknelson.

Family transportation.

2009-03-20T15:43:00.001-07:00

Family transportation.,
originally uploaded by bobbyeriknelson.

IN BETWEEN THINGS!

2009-03-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to import my son's pictures from his India trip. Wish me luck!

THING 29: Google Tools

2009-02-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

Google Tools were fun to try. I explored Google News, including the archives.
I researched Carnegie Libraries and got to read some of the news articles from the time when Carnegie was donating his millions to libraries. I set up a Google Alert on autism because I have a family member with autism and I'm interested in the latest ideas. I also worked on a personalized news page, rearranging the categories that were of interest to me.
Goog 411 sounds like a great productivity tool. I will try it next time I need a phone number. I watched the video on Google sites. I can see where this would be a great way to have several people sharing information. Perhaps a teen book club site?

THING #28: Customized Home Pages

2009-02-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Customizing a home page was fun to do. I did not make it my home page because I am using the computer at work, but will try and do that at home. I chose NetVibes to create the home page. It was extremely easy and fun. I named it lutefisk23 which is the name of my blog and it automatically added my blog. I also added weather, a calendar, google news, facebook, flickr photos, and twitter. Facebook, Flickr and Twitter wanted me to access my accounts, which I haven't done yet, but can see how it would make it easy if you were already logged in to these accounts.
It seemed to be slow to load and change categories. It might have been because I had too many selected. I also customized the settings and added a books theme.
All in all, it was easy and convenient. You would be able to access all your accounts from one page.

Maud Hart Lovelace

2009-02-12T09:37:00.001-08:00

Maud Hart Lovelace 038,
originally uploaded by odokey.

Madison Library had a visit from Maud Hart Lovelace on Saturday, Feb. 7. She is a history player from the Minnesota History Center who portrays Maud and she discusses her writings, including the Betsy Tacy series. Everyone enjoyed her program and we would highly recommend you invite her to your library.

THINGS # 27: Twitter

2009-02-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

I signed up for a twitter account and did lots of reading about twitter. My user name is lutefisk23. I added mnmorethings to my twitter list and several others.
So far, I can't say as I really see too many practical uses for me. I'm trying to keep an open mind. I don't really care when someone is eating or going some where!
I added Al Gore and John McCain, so maybe I'll be impressed with their twittering!
The twitter badge was easy to add. So far, I haven't found much about twitter that
interests me. Stay tuned for further updates.

THING #26: Join the 23 Things On a Stick Ning

2009-02-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

I joined the Ning in Round 1. It was fun to see who had joined. I joined the Pioneerland Library System group and was happy to see that our group is the largest in the Ning! Dedicated aren't we! I added some comments to the ning this time and will make an effort to follow it more often. I also watched a video of the gadget workshop in Redwood Falls. I didn't get to the workshop, but heard a lot about it.
I'm still not sure of uses for our library, but will keep an open mind.

THING #25: Bloggers' Toolkit

2009-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

I tried several different widgets/gadgets that looked like fun. Freefoto was very easy to add. Apture was very difficult and I never did get it to my blog. Adding a clock did not work either. I spent quite a lot of time trying to make these gadgets work (over an hour) and gave up. Today I tried again and just went into the gadgets on Blogger - piece of cake! I added Things to Ponder, the Newsreel and National Geographic Photos all in a short time. It's always more fun when it comes easily.

THING #24: Refresh Your Blog

2009-01-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

I refreshed my blog today. I must admit I was rather attached to my old blog, but I did change the template and colors and added gadgets. I also added information to my profile and changed my display name to list my full name. I am less reluctant to give personal information on my blog than I was before. Changing my avatar was great fun. She is ready for Valentine's Day!
I have not blogged since finishing the 23 Things on a Stick, despite promises to do so. I would much rather read others' blogs than write in my own! I do not usually comment on others' blogs, but will try to do more of that this time around.

THINGS #23: Final Thoughts

2008-04-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

In a way, I am sad that this experience has come to an end. I plan to continue on with the blogging, in order to share thoughts and ideas with others. When I first learned about Library 2.0 and this course, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to do. Once I got into, it was exciting to learn new things and to share some of them with others. My favorite Things included Setting up the Blog and Avatar, Flickr, Sharing Creations, and Library Thing. All of these Things introduced me to new Things that I wasn't familiar with, but that I really enjoyed. Reading over my blog from the beginning, I can see my learning progress and I can see which Things really impressed me. I think it surprised me how much I actually enjoyed many of the Things and how I would brag to family members and friends of my accomplishments. I connected with others by reading their blogs and comments. It was always good to know if others were having the same problems. I also connected on Facebook and with other staff members at my library.
I can't think of any ways to improve on the program's content, but I did get tired of trying to find my spot on the 23 things blog. I'm sure there are ways I could have saved my spot that I am probably not aware of. I would definitely take a 23 More Things On a Stick course.
Thank you to all who contributed to this large educational undertaking in Minnesota. Library 2.0 - WOW!

THING #22: What Did I Learn Today

2008-04-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am making a resolution to continue my blog! In it, I will ask the question, "What Did I Learn Today?" This could include anything that I learned for the day, not only technology. I have added ALA TechSource and NeverEnding Search to my RSS aggregator, Google Reader. I have also taken more time to explore WebJunction-Minnesota. These sites will help me to stay focused in my quest for learning. This course has really opened up some areas that I have not explored on my own. It has taught me to take a chunk of time each day to learn something new. We can all learn from each other. I know that I learn things from other staff members and also from patrons of the library. Now I can add other librarians as educators in the online sites I have learned about. I think the key is to not worry about looking "stupid" and focusing on how we can help each other to grow. I have really enjoyed reading the blogs of other participants in 23 things. I hope that other courses of this type will be added in the future.

THING #22: What Did I Learn Today

2008-04-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Apr 12, 2008 2:39 AMBill Vaughan
from Quotes of the Day
"We learn something every day, and lots of times it's that what we learned the day before was wrong."

THINGS #21: Beyond MySpace: Other Social Networks

2008-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

This was another fun "Thing" to do. The Web Junction article on Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library was very informative as to how to go about doing this for your library. Every new idea has to start out with baby steps. You will never know until you try it.
I had already joined the 23 Things on a Stick Ning by invitation. I left some comments for the Pioneerland Library group, which doesn't have very many members yet.
I also added some Ning badges and widgets to my blog.
I explored some of the other social networking sites, including craftster and good reads. Dogster looked like a fun site to recommend to my dog-loving friends and family.
I have been receiving some responses to my invitations in Face Book. My college-age son even said I could be his friend! He made sure that it stated I was his mother. Not to be confused with a peer. It was fun to see how it all works, but I can't say that I will keep it up. I think it will be more interesting to check out the special interest sites such as the ones we discovered in this "Thing".

THINGS #21: 23 Things on a Stick Ning

2008-04-13T19:50:00.001-07:00

View my page on 23 Things on a Stick

THINGS #21: 23 Things on a Stick Ning

2008-04-13T19:48:00.001-07:00

Visit 23 Things on a Stick

THING #21: Other Social Networking Sites

2008-04-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Visit 23 Things on a Stick

THING #20: Libraries and Social Networks

2008-04-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

I registered on Facebook. It was very easy to do. I found three people I knew on Facebook. I have sent them messages asking them to be my friends! Sounds pitiful, doesn't it. I found one high school classmate listed but didn't recognize her name so didn't ask her to be my friend. I did get tired of typing in the security words. I couldn't quite figure out what that was for. I joined the Librarians and Facebook group - instant acceptance! I posted a notice on their wall and found a notice there from a fellow participant of 23 things, so I asked her to be my friend too. I will check back and see if anyone wants to be my friend. I am not sure why Facebook is the fastest growing social network. I know it was easy to register and that might be part of it. I will ask my son who has a Facebook account why he thinks it is growing so fast. I like the idea that you have to ask someone to be your friend. It helps to preserve your privacy. I am not excited about putting lots of personal information out on the web.
I read some articles on MySpace concerning libraries. It was interesting to see the MySpace page for Hennepin County Library. That is something we could all do in our libraries in order to attract teenage library users. This would be a great way to tell them about what the library has to offer.

THING #19: Podcasts

2008-04-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

I listened to podcasts on Minnesota Public Radio. I looked at St. Cloud State University and On the Road with Minitex also. I added Garrison Keillor to my blog reader account, Google Reader. I enjoy him and have seen him in person. I added it to my blog because I would recommend it. I tried to download the podcasts from On the Road with Minitex, but was unable to get them to work. I was assuming that you could just click on the podcast the same way we click on videos in YouTube. It doesn't seem to work that way and that you must use other software such as Google Reader in order to listen to them.

THINGS #19: Podcasts

2008-04-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Garrison Keillor: Lake Woebegone

http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/podcasts/xml/prairie_home_companion/news_from_lake_wobegon.xml

THING #18: You Tube & Other Online Video

2008-04-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

You Tube is very popular at our library. I see kids watching videos on it everyday.
I chose Funny Kids for my video. I started out searching the subject Reading a Book and it morphed into funny kids. I enjoy watching Funniest Home Videos and this is similar. This was an extremely easy "Thing" to do and very fun to watch the videos.
We could use video You Tube on our library web site just to add something "fun".

THINGS #18: You Tube- "Funny Kids"

2008-04-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

THING #17: ELM Productivity Tools

2008-04-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

Information available through ELM seems to be very extensive. I did some searches and tried some of the activities listed. I tried to create a search alert in
InfoTrac Student Edition. I was not able to set up an RSS feed to Google Reader.
I tried many times and it always said, Oops, try again in a little while! While reading comments on this tool, I discovered I wasn't alone in this problem. I also was unable to view the videos either at work or at home. I also tried to set up a web page in EBSCO. I was able to save articles to my folder, but wasn't quite sure how to import them to my web page. After all my efforts, I think I need to take a course specifically on ELM in order to feel comfortable suggesting it to our patrons.
I have used it in the past just to search for information and I feel it could be a very valuable tool for many people.

SPELL WITH FLICKR

2008-04-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

SPELL WITH FLICKR

2008-04-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

THINGS #16: Assignment Calculator & the Research Project

2008-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

I browsed the steps of the Assignment Calculator and the Research Project Calculator.
They seem to be great tools for conducting a research project. They would give students a step by step guide for doing a project. Two of the downloadable handouts that I thought would be helpful to have in the public library are: What's My Angle?
Generating Topics and Research Questions and Generate a Research Question based on
Personal Interests. I feel that selecting a topic is one of the most difficult parts of a research project. Any project is manageable when broken down into doable parts. We could have used the Research Project Calculator to do 23 Things on a Stick!

THING#15: Online Games and Libraries

2008-04-07T21:50:00.001-07:00

I was finally successful in downloading Puzzle Pirates. I tried Bilging, Carpentry and Navigating. I was a neophyte in the first two and didn't have enough experience to be the navigator. I also tried sailing but someone was already at that post.
My captain seemed to be pretty patient with me, but did keep telling me to leave the ship! I don't think I made a very good pirate!

THINGS #15: Online Games and Libraries

2008-04-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

So far, I have not been able to download Puzzle Pirates. I am not a gaming fan so I do not feel too bad about this. I was willing to give it a try, however. I just checked again and it is 28% downloaded so we will see if it completes.
I did watch the video on Second Life. I do watch the kids that do gaming at our library. Some of them are very involved. We also have a Tween Center that has
X-Box and Wii games available for fifth through eighth graders. So far, it has not been extremely popular. I think it will take off more in the summer time when we have much more traffic in the children's area. Puzzle Pirates is now 62% downloaded, so I will check back when I have had a chance to play it.

THING#14: LibraryThing

2008-04-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

LibraryThings has been one of my favorite "things" so far. It was really
interesting to add books to My Library and put it on my blog. I added books from the series that I have been reading lately. I also went into some of the groups listed that were of interest to me. The books from My Library were not extremely
popular, compared to some well-known authors. There were a few reviews about the books I put in My Library.
LibraryThing could be used in many ways in our library. We could add our new books to our website. It's alway interesting to see the book covers rather than just a listing of new material. Since I am a Children's Librarian, I am interested in ways of using this site for children. Recently, I was asked by a student why we didn't have a summer reading program for her age (junior high). Perhaps we could do something with LibraryThing. We could create a library account and the students could add their favorite books. They could read each other's reviews. It would be an online book club that could be accessed from the library or from any other computer. They could earn rewards or prizes for putting their reviews online.
I use Amazon a lot in looking for books that are about to be published. Patrons are always asking for the latest book by a favorite author. LibraryThing would be another great site to recommend. It would also be a way for individuals to keep track of what they have already read.

THING#14: Library Thing

2008-04-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

THINGS #13: Online Productivity Tools

2008-04-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

I chose igoogle for my home page. I like the features it had. It will probably not stay as my permanent home page at home as my husband has the Wall Street Journal as the home page. We will see who wins out! I added the countdown feature to my blog, but couldn't get it to countdown! I noticed from comments that others had this problem also. I did it twice and had the problem both times. Any suggestions?
I also added a calendar from Spongecell to my blog. I can see where that would be a nice website for keeping others up to speed on things happening or coming up.
I tried Remember the Milk and added something to remember. Apparently, you can send this to your e-mail to remind you or check the site itself. I wasn't too impressed.
I think that many of these online productivity tools could be useful if you spend all your time on the computer! I don't think a lot of them will be applicable for me at this time. I did take the Backpack Tour and checked out many of the other sites. I think if you stuck to one site that you found helpful, you would become very familiar with it and it could be useful. I don't enjoy registering at all these sites in order to try them out. Maybe, I am just getting overwhelmed with all that is out there. I'm sure we will all pick and choose the sites that apply to our jobs and lives.

THINGS #13: Calendar

2008-04-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

<a href='http://www.spongecell.com'>Powered by Spongecell</a><a href='http://spongecell.com/boxed_calendar/4451'>View Calendar</a>

THING #13: Countdown

2008-04-05T19:22:00.001-07:00

THINGS #12: Do You Digg

2008-04-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

I registered on the news media site, Newsvine. I chose an article from the New York Times on the neglect of newborns. It was easy to post the article on Newsvine by copying and pasting the URL. You also could add tags and summarize the article.
I then searched the subject to see where my post went. My article was in a list of sites about newborn neglect and it had my name as part of the address! Way cool!
I can see uses for this tool in the library and at home. If you are sharing information with someone on a certain topic, you could recommend articles for them to read this way. You can add them as a friend so they can view your site. Students doing a research paper together would find it helpful.
I feel these sites could either enhance productivity or detract from it. It is
easy to get sidetracked with all the articles listed. Oh, this sounds interesting and pretty soon you're reading it. If you stuck to your original subject, you probably could enhance your productivity by only reading those articles that are applicable.

THING #11: Tagging and Del.icio.us

2008-04-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Thing #11 was another fun thing because it is just another way of searching for information you are interested in and managing the information that you find.
I can definitely see the potential of this tool for research assistance. Instead of maintaining files of information you might need, you can bookmark the information and go back to it later as needed. This eliminates tedious copying and filing.
You can add all the tags you want as a cross reference. Del.icio.us makes it possible to access this information from anywhere. You do not need to bring all your files along for research. You can access it from any computer.
I am not sure how our library could take advantage of tagging and del.icio.us.
It looks as if other libraries have used it to bookmark articles that they feel would be of interest to the patrons in their library.
I did have trouble with tagging or labeling in our blog. It turns out my computer was blocking it. Once I figured out how to remove that block, it worked just fine.

THING #10: Wikis

2008-04-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

This was a fun and easy thing. I enjoyed posting a new comment to the 23 things wiki
and reading the comments by others. Some of the images were huge! I thought the article "using wikis to create online communities" was especially helpful.
I do think the possibilities are endless. My comment on the 23 things wiki was to establish a library wiki which could be an anonymous suggestion box for the public.
Of course, you would have to introduce them to the wiki and what they could do with it. It seems like more and more people are willing to do things online, such as renewing materials or requesting materials. They like the convenience of doing it from home. A wiki could be the means to improve library service by those wanting to make suggestions, but not if they have to publicly state their suggestion.
I can understand why many teachers ban Wikipedia as a source. Perhaps it could be allowed as long as it isn't your only source. Reliability increases with the number of sources giving similar information. I mentioned earlier in my blog how my son added to wikipedia with some humorous information about a friend. His comments didn't add any "reliable information" to wikipedia.

THING #9 Online Collaboration Tools

2008-04-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I was unable to edit the 13 colonies document in Google Docs. It said the requested URL could not be retrieved. In reading other blogs, I am not the only one who has
not been able to do this. I did enjoy reading the editing that had already been done(very creative). I did register on Google Docs but was still unable to retrieve that document. Any suggestions? I played around on the site and listened to the video. It gives many suggestions for applications. It could be a real time saver for those editing documents and sending them back and forth in emails. I even tried to upload my blog to Google Docs, but was unable to do that also. The Founding Fathers would be astounded if they could see the way we write documents today.

lutefisk23

2008-04-01T22:21:00.001-07:00

THING #8 Share Your Creations

2008-04-01T21:55:00.001-07:00

Sharing photo creations was really fun. I used Picture Trail to add a picture to my blog that zooms in and out. I originally tried to upload five photos. I did it three times and nothing was saved. I finally uploaded one picture and that worked!
This is a very fun site for me as I am interested in doing photo albums online.
I scrapbook in regular albums and would like to try scrapbooking online. This site gave me ideas for possibilities. This site was easy to use except for my uploading problem. This would be a good site for photo fun for library websites also.
I would definitely recommend it to others.

THING #8 Share Your Creations

2008-04-01T21:48:00.001-07:00

THING #7 - Web Tools Continued

2008-04-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

I used instant messaging at work today to talk to one of my coworkers who is also doing 23 things on a stick. This is the first time that I have used it. I don't think it will become something I will do a lot of. I can't foresee that it will be a well used reference tool, but I may be wrong. The librarian would have to sit on his or her computer all day in order to be able to use it.

THING#7 Web 2.0 Communication Tools

2008-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our library uses e-mail through the circulation system, Millenium. Patrons can choose to be notified of holds, overdues, etc. through e-mail instead of regular mail. This is a nice option for those who use e-mail. We also use e-mail to deliver messages or information to fellow staff members. It is a fast, convenient method.
I have tried text messaging, but I am not a user of instant messaging. I attempted to use my son's MSN account.(Son is away at college) It said I need to install an update which I tried and failed. I then tried to install it independent of his account which seems to have clogged up my computer as it has not installed and
my computer refuses to go places quickly as a result. I will finish this blog and then try again to install MSN. I do not think I will be a regular user, but I want to say I tried it.
I was unable to join a web conference as the ones I checked were not in session at this time. There are some coming up that I may be able to join. I think these will be very good learning opportunities.

THING #6 - A.P.I.

2008-03-31T11:41:00.000-07:00

I added two more images to my blog from Image Generator. It was fun and easy!
I can see lots of applications for that site in the library. It really would add a lot to signs, posters, etc.

lutefisk23

2008-03-31T11:39:00.001-07:00

lutefisk23

2008-03-31T11:01:00.001-07:00

THINGS #6 Application Programming Interface

2008-03-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

I think I need a course on how to import pictures to your blog! Somehow I selected the wrong document. I will try this again. I did have fun creating the trading card and I can see practical applications in the library. We could use this for the summer reading program when the children register. Each child could have a card that shows they are participating in the reading program. The cards could be punched each time they attend an event.

THINGS #5 - More Flickr

2008-03-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Spell with flickr: lutefisk23

I had fun spelling with the photos from flickr. I did have trouble importing it to my blog. I still have not been able to import the actual word, only the site to click on. I'm sure if I had a teenager available, they would be able to show me the
correct procedure!

THING#4 Flickr

2008-03-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have successfully added two pictures of my library to my blog. It was not an easy process! I'm sure with experience it would become easier. This is a great tool for adding pictures to a blog or web site. We have a library website that we have pictures on through flickr. Now I know how it is done! It's a great way to share what's going on in your library.

THING#4 Flickr

2008-03-30T12:27:00.001-07:00

P1000094,
originally uploaded by lanelson23.

I will add another picture to see if I remember how to do this!

THING#4 Flickr

2008-03-30T12:11:00.001-07:00

P1000096,
originally uploaded by lanelson23.

I am hoping to add this picture to my blog. It is the circulation desk in the children's area where I work.

Flickr: Photos from lanelson23

2008-03-30T12:07:00.000-07:00

Flickr: Photos from lanelson23: "23"

THING#3 LEARN ABOUT RSS

2008-03-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

I have learned about RSS and have subscribed to Google Reader. It will be fun to see what kinds of e-mail I get. I subscribed to quite a few and may want to unsubscribe which I am not sure how to do. I am also wondering how to put RSS feeds on my blog. I will do some more exploring on this issue. I do already have a few
feeds to my e-mail account which I subscribed to while on their sites. I did it without realizing I was using RSS.

THING #2 What is Library 2.0

2008-03-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

We all seem to find the time to do the things we really want to do. We need to remember that learning new things is interesting and challenging and worthwhile in the long run. Life is a continuous learning process. Therefore, I will find the time to do 23 Things on a Stick.
I am participating in 23 Things on a Stick at the encouragement of our head librarian
who is a technojunkie. I hope to learn about lots of new technologies that could be useful in the library. I also hope to understand what the young people seem to learn by osmosis. If I need to know something on the computer, I ask my sons or another teenager and they usually can answer my question. They have grown up with computers and it is part of their daily lives. They aren't afraid to try new technologies in order to see what they can do with them. We all need to have that mindset.
I love the internet because so much knowledge is available quickly. We find in our library that reference books are hardly used anymore when it's easier just to google something. We do not get the reference questions that we used to get because the majority of people are aware of the knowledge available on the internet. One of the skills we can teach others is how to determine the reliability of the sources that are available. Wikipedia, the internet encyclopedia, is an example of this. My son created an entry on Wikipedia which is part fact and part humorous ribbing of a friend of his. Is everyone aware that Wikipedia may or may not be a reliable source?
I am a beginner in the use of Web 2.0 tools, but I hope to soon become more knowledgeable. I am looking forward to introducing pictures and videos to my blog
in order to see how that process works.

THING #1 - Avatar Creating

2008-02-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

It was fun to create the avatar for my blog. There were lots of choices. however, it was difficult to go back and forth from directions to the avatar page. I finally printed out the directions on how to import to my blog and that seemed to help. I'm not very good at using multiple screens at one time.

2008-02-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

Thing #1 is creating this blog. This I have accomplished as I just checked! On to thing #2.

THING #1 - First Time Blogger

2008-02-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is my first time setting up a blog. I know I will be learning lots of new things. I don't know how creative my entries will be, but I will do my best. Hopefully, we can all learn from each other. Technology can be challenging and if it's something you don't use everyday, it soon slips away. Time to get on with it!