23 Things: Thing #12

1. I found the points made in these particular posts were quite helpful. I agree that people need to add something substantial to a post rather than just say "good job", etc- although sometimes that is what they want to say. I liked the fact that the articles encouraged commenting as well as reply comments from the bloggers. It provides a community of discussion rather than someone preaching.

I also thought it was good to know about negative comments and some steps in how to handle them. As a new blogger, one is not comfortable with his/her abilities. I think it is only fair to comment in as pleasant and helpful way as possible rather than cutting some down to shreds.

2. Blogs that I posted comments to include:
- Ginny's Blog: http://ginnyscontemplations.blogspot.com/
You have a wonderful blog. I hope you get the opportunity to complete the 23 Things, as you seem to have a good grasp of what you have accomplished so far.
- No Shushing Action Included: http://noshushingaction.blogspot.com/
I love the name of your blog. There were so many Google tools. I spent many hours pouring through them myself. I am going to check out duckduckgo.com, as I have not heard of that one. Have fun with all the other "things." :)
- The Candy Wrapper: http://wellreadbearcat.blogspot.com/
Too true. As librarians, we are forever molding ourselves & our libraries to the current trends & trying to keep up with the changing times. At least in theory that is what all librarians do. :) I think without online classes such as 23 Things... available for free, we would become "old" in our way of thinking! On a side note- I am soooo impressed by your summer reading list. I didn't read nearly that many titles. Guess I took a vacation from reading, too! :)
- Logical Lori: http://www.logicallori.blogspot.com/
What an awesome podcast. You definitely get the idea without the sound. I am impressed that you are persevering without AC. I do NOTHING without AC in the summer. ha ha LOVE the picture of the day from National Geographic!
- Sassy Librarian: http://sassylibrarian2.blogspot.com/

3. Blogs I enjoy:
I really like the Boys Rule Boys Read! blog because all of the information is directed to boys and reading. Since I have 3 boys, I like to stay abreast of the latest information. There was even a link to a trailer for The Lightning Thief, which is my youngest son's favorite series. Yay!

23 Things: Thing #11

LibraryThing is a fun site. There is so much to do, and it is very easy to add books. There are so many different groups that represent our varied reading interests. It took only a couple of minutes to join the site and add 5 books. I love the lists that are added on the right side of my home page, which sparks more reading interest. I also added a widget to my blog.

I think I will use this site to find out which books are popular, especially among young adult readers. I can also recommend it to my students who are voracious readers. This site would help them to expand their reading horizons. Fun, fun, fun!! :)

23 Things: Thing #10

I had a lot of fun with the image generators. There are so many uses for the classroom and libraries. I thought Wordle would be great for introducing a lesson or new vocabulary. The possibilities are endless. I think Glogster would be great for creating posters for the library about new books. The students could even get in on creating these. I think teachers would enjoy Glogster for poetry or the kids could create posters about content they had learned- Great site!

My favorite was the comic strip generator- as you can see above. I know the students would love this tool! I plan to use some of these new tools to create fun and interesting additions to my library.

23 Things: Thing #9

This thing could send you into the Internet for many hours...
It was great to find some sites that assist in the search for RSS feeds. I liked Cool Cat Teacher and Edublog's award winners. And, of course, Google Blog Search was easy to use.
I didn't like Atomic Learning or Technorati. (Maybe I was just Internet tired at that point...)

I found Cathy Nelson's Professional Thoughts, Boys Rule Boys Read! and
Monarch's Librarian Blog.
Looking forward to the next thing!!

23 Things: Thing #8

I really enjoyed learning about RSS, and I am thrilled to finally know how to access this information. I had been trying to do this for about 6 months off and on with no luck.
1. I like that RSS allows us to access the information we seek without having to go through all the other information that can be distracting or just cause longer search times.

2. I can definitely use this technology in the library to access helpful information for improving my skills in the library and to stay abreast of current trends. In my personal life, I can stay informed about current events and in areas that interest me. I am very excited about this!

3. Libraries/teachers/administrators can take advantage of this by sharing articles that are pertenient to their patrons or causes. This can extend classroom learning experiences, which encourages continued learning- a major goal of education.

I have included my shared RSS feeds in the right side column of my blog, or you may also access this information via http://www.google.com/reader/shared/06960053778803059744

23 Things: Thing #7

I LOVED the Cool Google Tools!!! There were so many that would be applicable to high school students. One I think they would greatly benefit from is Google Scholar. It is a nice back up when our databases lack the information they seek or if they cannot access the databases from home for some reason.

I loved iGoogle. I created a page. What fun gadgets that are available to customize one's page. I also enjoyed viewing some celebrity pages- too fun!!!

I also played around with Google Calendar because I loved the idea of anyone in my family being able to access it without me having to send them individual updates. It is great, but it doesn't allow you to color coordinate each person on the calendar as I can in Outlook. You can send the information to various people in their own color, but not place different colors within one calendar. Each person in my family has their own color so I know immediately who the activity/appt. is for on that particular day without looking at the details. For now, I will stick with Outlook, but I had a blast playing with all the Cool Google Tools today!!!

23 Things: Thing #6

I really enjoyed the activities in this thing. I had fun creating a librarian trading card- they are too cute! My favorite mashup is FD's Flickr Toys. There are so many ways this site can be used in the library. I can see students creating movie posters or mosaics for their favorite books. I think the teachers would like the trading cards and magazine covers.

I have included my librarian trading card and a mosaic of my youngest son.