I love Delicious! One of the reasons is that right now I am in the process of moving everything to a new computer. My old computer was infected with a virus that attacked the antivirus software, and we received the dreaded black screen. After purchasing a new computer, it proceeded to completely die that week, and we were told that we must have received a bad powerboard and they have to order and deliver a new HP board. So, I have had to transfer all of my bookmarks twice, which has become quite a hassle. I didn't add the buttons or import all my bookmarks, but will do so as soon as I get a real working computer. Wish me luck. So, finding out about Delicious is perfect timing.
I will definitely start using Delicious for bookmarking sites, and I love the idea that I can share these sites. It makes it much easier, especially with teachers and other librarians. I have a list of sites, but if we could all share them then we wouldn't have to type them in every time. I added three sites to Delicious that I like to use with my students and recommended for the summer. My link is http://delicious.com/LovetoRead67 . I hope you enjoy them!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thing 13: Tagging
I've used tagging before in an informal way to link to a web site I've created or a picture I've posted. I think that, like most things, it can be beneficial if used correctly. I have definitely seen tags used incorrectly, as when I do a search and end up on a site that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic I was searching, but includes a popular tag just to attract people. I understand that their is not a "tagging police" functionality to the Internet, so this practice will continue. Sigh.....
As far as the library is concerned, as was mentioned in the description, free form tagging can seem like chaos to a librarian who has been trained to use subject headings and search the Library of Congress for the correct headings. I think that there is a place for tagging in the library, but that it should complement rather than replace subject headings. There is a place for each. Adding appropriate user tags to book descriptions might help students find books on subjects that might not be obvious, but I think there needs to be some guidelines. If students add tags to internal books within an OPAC system, then the tags should be approved, much like approving student written book reviews before posting them. Then, let the tagging begin.
As far as the library is concerned, as was mentioned in the description, free form tagging can seem like chaos to a librarian who has been trained to use subject headings and search the Library of Congress for the correct headings. I think that there is a place for tagging in the library, but that it should complement rather than replace subject headings. There is a place for each. Adding appropriate user tags to book descriptions might help students find books on subjects that might not be obvious, but I think there needs to be some guidelines. If students add tags to internal books within an OPAC system, then the tags should be approved, much like approving student written book reviews before posting them. Then, let the tagging begin.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thing 12: Twitter
I think that you would have to live under a rock to have not heard about Twitter. It is mentioned everywhere, from the news anchors telling you that you can follow them on Twitter to late night television. There are mentions in magazines of Twitter accounts to follow and celebrities are always touting their Twitter accounts. I created a Twitter account and played around with it, but I don't think I will use it as much as Facebook. There are so many hashtags, that it seems that anyone can create one. I experimented with a few, and enjoyed #quote, which is used for people to post quotes.
Last night on the news, there was an interview of a sports celebrity and they were asking his opinion of Facebook versus Twitter. His response was that he definitely was a Facebook guy all the way, and I tend to agree. His comment was that he really didn't have the time to keep up with people on Twitter, and didn't really need to know that someone was now brushing their teeth, etc. I think I might use Twitter to follow certain organizations rather than specific people. I don't see me using it on a daily basis; however, I'm glad that I signed up and now understand more about it.
Last night on the news, there was an interview of a sports celebrity and they were asking his opinion of Facebook versus Twitter. His response was that he definitely was a Facebook guy all the way, and I tend to agree. His comment was that he really didn't have the time to keep up with people on Twitter, and didn't really need to know that someone was now brushing their teeth, etc. I think I might use Twitter to follow certain organizations rather than specific people. I don't see me using it on a daily basis; however, I'm glad that I signed up and now understand more about it.
Thing 11: Instant Messenging
I am already on Yahoo and IM some of my friends, so I decided to just sign in using my Yahoo! Messenger account. My user name is just my email, julratliff@att.net. I will admit that I am not a big fan of Instant Messenging, because sometimes someone will want to start sending messages back and forth right when I am in the middle of sending a long email to someone else. I don't want to ignore my friend who wants to instant message, but I have to finish what I'm currently working on. I know my kids and their friends IM back and forth, and my teenager got an I-Phone for his 16th birthday, and IM's from everywhere using that.
I work in an elementary school library, and we communicate quickly using district email. It is always up on our computers, so if a teacher needs a book or has a question, they can just email me and I get the request immediately. It is very similar to instant messaging, so it would just be an addition to that. I have used instant messaging to ask some of the other librarians in the district questions at night on their home computers. However, many times I need to ask a question and the person is offline so I end up calling anyway. As for the dictionary, I know a few of the basics, but it takes me longer to look something up than to just type it out. I think it is fun, though. JMO. B4N.
I work in an elementary school library, and we communicate quickly using district email. It is always up on our computers, so if a teacher needs a book or has a question, they can just email me and I get the request immediately. It is very similar to instant messaging, so it would just be an addition to that. I have used instant messaging to ask some of the other librarians in the district questions at night on their home computers. However, many times I need to ask a question and the person is offline so I end up calling anyway. As for the dictionary, I know a few of the basics, but it takes me longer to look something up than to just type it out. I think it is fun, though. JMO. B4N.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Thing 10: Ning
I can honestly say that I had never even heard of Ning before this. I watched the video, and then went back to the site. I do love being able to view the networks and the posts without having to join a specific one. It is much easier to make a decision about a network if you can spend some time in it and decide if it is of interest. It seems that it is more of a social networking site that is geared toward more professional groups than Facebook. The number of participants in some of the sites was very small - with 20 or so members.
I decided to join Ning so that I could really see what it is all about. There were quite a few questions. I then went back to the networks and decided to join Library 2.0, since it pertained directly to what we were learning in this class. I read some of the posts, and it seemed that this network would be useful and allow me to bounce some ideas off fellow librarians interested in new technology.
This is one of the networks that has to approve your membership before you can join, so I had to enter the location and type of librarian position that I held. Then I had to wait for a response. It took a full day, but then I received an approval email and was able to go back to the site and introduce myself. There were fifteen other new members, so I imagine others thought this would be a good network to join as well. All in all, I don't think I will invest a lot of time on my Ning profile at this point, but I'm glad I know how it works and will check back with my Library 2.0 members.
I decided to join Ning so that I could really see what it is all about. There were quite a few questions. I then went back to the networks and decided to join Library 2.0, since it pertained directly to what we were learning in this class. I read some of the posts, and it seemed that this network would be useful and allow me to bounce some ideas off fellow librarians interested in new technology.
This is one of the networks that has to approve your membership before you can join, so I had to enter the location and type of librarian position that I held. Then I had to wait for a response. It took a full day, but then I received an approval email and was able to go back to the site and introduce myself. There were fifteen other new members, so I imagine others thought this would be a good network to join as well. All in all, I don't think I will invest a lot of time on my Ning profile at this point, but I'm glad I know how it works and will check back with my Library 2.0 members.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Thing 9: More Facebook
I joined Facebook and set up my Profile yesterday, and logged back in to finish today. Lo and behold - I have a Friend! One of my best friends from junior high and high school that lives in Boston put in a Friend request. So, I now officially have one Friend. This is actually much like high school, in that you want to be liked. I feel very funny with only one Friend. I added my son and husband (they have to be my friends - it's the family rule). My university has 40,000 students attending in any one year, so I decided not to start there. I did add my aunt and cousin, which then enabled me to find a few other relatives.
My high school friend suggested I try our old high school, so that was fun. My high school was ginormous as well, and my graduating class had close to a 1000 people. There are over 300 of them on Facebook. I picked a couple that I would love to reconnect with, and then I'll tackle the remaining couple hundred later. I don't even recognize many of the names. I'll have to drag out the old yearbook.
I joined the Berkner Happy Hour, which is my high school group. It has over 300 members. It is a way to find out about local get togethers and reunions. I also joined the Texas A&M Former Students Association, which is thousands strong. My husband and I are both Aggies, and my son is named after the football field (Kyle Field). He is a junior in high school, so I imagine we'll have another Aggie in the family soon. The last group I joined was a School Librarians group that looked interesting. Rather than focus on all the technical aspects of librarianship, it is more of a marketplace for exchanging fun ideas and discussing books. I do like the Group option in Facebook, and plan to spend time in each of these groups. There were many groups that I definitely shied away from. Yikes! It will be interesting to see what groups others suggest so that I can perhaps add some more that look intriguing.
My high school friend suggested I try our old high school, so that was fun. My high school was ginormous as well, and my graduating class had close to a 1000 people. There are over 300 of them on Facebook. I picked a couple that I would love to reconnect with, and then I'll tackle the remaining couple hundred later. I don't even recognize many of the names. I'll have to drag out the old yearbook.
I joined the Berkner Happy Hour, which is my high school group. It has over 300 members. It is a way to find out about local get togethers and reunions. I also joined the Texas A&M Former Students Association, which is thousands strong. My husband and I are both Aggies, and my son is named after the football field (Kyle Field). He is a junior in high school, so I imagine we'll have another Aggie in the family soon. The last group I joined was a School Librarians group that looked interesting. Rather than focus on all the technical aspects of librarianship, it is more of a marketplace for exchanging fun ideas and discussing books. I do like the Group option in Facebook, and plan to spend time in each of these groups. There were many groups that I definitely shied away from. Yikes! It will be interesting to see what groups others suggest so that I can perhaps add some more that look intriguing.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Thing 8 : Facebook
I had kind of hoped to avoid Facebook for a while because I have heard from friends how much time it can take up. Time is one thing I am short of right now. My sixteen year-old son has a Facebook account, as does my aunt, who emailed me a couple of weeks ago wondering if I was getting one. She mentioned using it to talk my cousin, and I can definitely see the value of checking up on my teenager. I'm not sure he would want to be my friend, but I don't think I would give him a choice. Especially if he wants to borrow the car.
Facebook was easy to set up; however, I was having problems entering my Profile information. My computer in the library at school blocked the site, as well as most everything connected with 23 Things. My home computer froze up several times and kicked me out of Facebook, so I will actually have to go back in and finish tomorrow. I took the tutorials, but there are so many layers to Facebook, that it would take a while to really do it right and have a wonderful page. It is like updating my Home Page at school. I have to go in and make sure the links are fresh and the information is updated frequently for it to be of much use.
I am uncomfortable with the privacy issue. I am more of a private person, and sharing my information is a little unsettling. I know there are privacy controls that only let friends see your info, but I'm still on the fence about it all. I can see the social networking and marketing value in spades. I haven't seen my high school friends since our 20th reunion, and getting contacts in different areas of the country would be useful. I guess, like most things, Facebook will take some time getting used to. I'll certainly give it the old college try.
Facebook was easy to set up; however, I was having problems entering my Profile information. My computer in the library at school blocked the site, as well as most everything connected with 23 Things. My home computer froze up several times and kicked me out of Facebook, so I will actually have to go back in and finish tomorrow. I took the tutorials, but there are so many layers to Facebook, that it would take a while to really do it right and have a wonderful page. It is like updating my Home Page at school. I have to go in and make sure the links are fresh and the information is updated frequently for it to be of much use.
I am uncomfortable with the privacy issue. I am more of a private person, and sharing my information is a little unsettling. I know there are privacy controls that only let friends see your info, but I'm still on the fence about it all. I can see the social networking and marketing value in spades. I haven't seen my high school friends since our 20th reunion, and getting contacts in different areas of the country would be useful. I guess, like most things, Facebook will take some time getting used to. I'll certainly give it the old college try.
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