Other than the fact that I had a great deal of difficulty getting my act together and getting things done on time, this course has been really great.  I especially enjoyed using Google Reader.   It is right on my iGoogle page, so rather than having a bunch of different “gadgets” on my page with news sources (like I did before), I’ve consolidated to one place that I can easily manage.  The podcasting was also helpful because it’s an area I’ve never really explored.  I don’t really know why.  I think partly because there is so much technology out there that I’ve had to select what types I’d learn about…it’s overwhelming to take it all on without the structure of a course like this. 

So, I thought at first that I would try to find some really cool library posting on you tube….but I figured “what the heck.”  I’m posting a link to one of the funniest movies in the history of the universe!   

shelfari

Originally uploaded by moonpool

So, I’m happy to create a librarything or goodreads account if necessary, but I love shelfari. I don’t have any friends on it, other than the middle school librarian in the district I work at, but I still use it to enter titles that I want to read (you can have “is planning to read” when you add books). So, it’s a portable reminder of what I want to read. If you’d like to see what I’ve added here is the link.

I enjoyed wiki-ing (is that what you call it?) and social networking this week.  I realize (FOR ONCE) that I’m a little ahead with the social networking, but it was easy because I already had a facebook account.  You’ll see my long rambling post to the SEMLS 2.0 group about social networking, so I won’t repeat it all here. 

 I am excited to get back to school next week and talk to the middle school librarian about us using wikis in the future.  We are currently working on a LSTA grant application, and it has been so hard emailing back and forth the most recent changes.  A wiki would eliminate all that work.  I need to look into a few more things though.  Like, I know some wikis aren’t open for anyone to edit, but can you have one that can’t be seen by everyone too?  I guess I’m a little hesitant about putting things like my LSTA grant application out there for anyone to see…

So, I’m enjoying my new google reader account. I had already been using iGoogle (which I highly recommend), but I had so many news interests that my iGoogle page sometimes got too overwhelming. Now, I’ve streamlined some of the news feeds into one place, and integrated it with some great library feeds. Nice! If only I can find the time to read it all!

So, I haven’t posted in a little while, and I feel badly about that. Things at work have been CRAZY because of course every teacher wants to start a project at the same time. Although, it has been refreshing to see so frequently the impact of what I’m doing. I’ve seen students in my databases, using my catalog and even going to the public library web site to use their resources…although this sounds simple to most of you I’m sure, it’s great to see when you’ve worked so hard to steer them in that direction.

I will be catching up on whatever coursework I’ve missed either tonight, or through the weekend…thank goodness for February vacation!

So, I’m curious about how often technorati updates.  I had searched for posts with the tag semls20, and my previous posting wasn’t showing up.  So, I double checked, and I had tagged it incorrectly (semls, not semls20).  I fixed it, and technorati still hasn’t picked it up.  It’s funny because I assumed it would grab it right away, but if technorati is like Google, then it probably doesn’t.  I believe Google (and correct me if I’m wrong about this) uses web crawlers to pick up links, keywords, sites, etc, so maybe my updated posting hasn’t been picked up yet?  I guess my only point here is that even in this information age, things don’t happen instantly like most people (including myself) assume they do…

librarian13

Originally uploaded by Shambles Work & Play

Okay, so I just liked this picture. It doesn’t have anything to do with LIbrary 2.0 EXCEPT that in order for us to keep blinding people with Library Science we need to be sure we are staying on the cutting edge of technology as well! Balance!

So, I tagged my own blog in del.icio.us.  Although I’m still not sure if I think del.icio.us is going to have any long term use, it is fun to fiddle around with.  I don’t particularly like the interface though….it seems clunky, cold and unfriendly.  And, it doesn’t seem to give users the same control & fun that other social networking sites such as facebook allow.  For instance, I can’t change the way my page looks or anything.  Users these days want that control.  You can see that in how both facebook & myspace have had to modify their settings to compete with each other.  I guess I’ll save my major comentary on all that until we get to the week that covers social networking sites, but I’ve got LOTS to say! 

 I also had some fun subscribing to tags (library2.0 and web2.0) as well as seeing what Kathy had tagged.  I don’t really get how the networks work yet though.  Maybe I’m thinking like a facebook user though…who knows!  Anyway, I’ll keep using del.icio.us and see how it works!