Thing 20 : Libraries and Social Networks

Meredith Farkas says in "Libraries in Social Networking Software" : "I think there is a big difference between “being where our patrons are” and “being USEFUL to our patrons where they are.” I think some of the libraries in MySpace and Facebook have put a profile up, but they have not tried to make it useful to their patrons at all. Just putting up a profile does not make the library seem cool, nor does it make the library more visible."

What makes a library cool? She says one reason for a library to create a MySpace profile is to gather feedback from teens in a place they feel comfortable.
She also says a library's profile on MySpace might make it easier for its teen patrons to find the library's web page.

I like her explanation on why we should be involved with social networking. Its more than just going where they are.

Thing 19 : Podcasts

I would have to agree with one of my media specialist colleagues in our districtl that podcasting would seem to have some barriers to cross in order to be applied in the school setting.

However, podcasting could provide a way to link to important events or special topics that could be listened to at home. Also, I don't see why an educational podcast couldn't be played on computers by students at school, especially if provided head-phones.

Thing 18 : YouTube and Online Video

From one of my earlier blogs:

Our staff watched a video called: You Need to Know 2.0. It is posted on YouTube. I think the video ties in well with what 23 Things On a Stick is trying to emphasize. I encourage my fellow 23TOASers to take a look. Just click on the link above.

I'd like to recommend a Saturday Night Live skit by Jerry Seinfeld that people in our building have looked at for the purpose of starting a discussion on classroom management and our school's efforts with positive behavior interventions. An online video resource is definitely a convenient tool to spark discussion.

Thing 17 : ELM Productivity Tools

Do I disqualify myself from truly completing 23things? I was unable to set-up the RSS Feed using our school's subscription to ELM resources. I've done something similar in the past so the idea of a search alert is not a new thing to me. Currently I do not see a need for an RSS feed for our school's research purposes, but it is a good reminder to look for the RSS feature. Oh well.

Thing 16 : Research Project Calculator

The Research Project Calculator has been something I've been meaning to look at and I am glad that 23TOAS had on the list. I would like to recommend to my colleagues that are following my blog to look at the site. It has some good resources and handouts to use with research assignments.

Thing 15 : Libraries and Games

I set up an account in Second Life, but I experienced trouble teleporting to Info Island. I couldn't teleport at all for that matter, so I left my initial experience with Second life a little frustrated.

I listened to part of Sirsi Dynix Institute's podcast on "Teen Second Life: Library Services in a 3D World" with Kelly Czarnecki. Some points from this podcast that stood out to me:

-Adults that want to work with students in Teen Second Lifewhich is separate from the adult Second Life have to have a background check and have to pay a fee.

-3D environments like Teen Second Life can possibly help teens with their developmental needs for building relationships, participating, and creating.

-Claims that Teens monitor other teens behavior in Teen Second Life

Do we need to be involved with Teen Second Life because "that's where the teens are?" I don't know how many of our teens are there (yet). I'm not sure I'm ready to start developing my avatar persona as another way for me to reach out to teens. Besides, aren't they really going there to meet other teens and not adults?

I am impressed that TSL hosted A Festival of Authors on Feb. 2nd and that several authors made appearances (through their avatars). What a terrific opportunity for teenagers to talk to authors!

Thing 14 : LibraryThing

A colleague informed me of a similar site called Shelfari. It seems to have a smaller community and I like the layout/navigation of the site better than LibraryThing. I wasn't that sure how to go about finding members that focus on Middle School lit. with either Shelfari or LibraryThing. Tags may be a way to organize Web 2.0 sites, but I haven't been overly impressed with this system yet. To me, tags seem to lead to more tangents than a quality list of results I was searching for.

I looked at LibraryThing a few weeks ago. Along the 23Things journey I ran into the tidbit about Thomas Jefferson being a member of LibraryThing.

Thing 13 : Online Productivity Tools

I was wondering if I would ever revisit Google Docs and my Google RSS Reader account. With an iGoogle page I can see another way some of these Web 2.0 pieces can fit together. Will my iGoogle page help tame the growing list of accounts and tools we have used? Maybe, but for now I do like the addition of my iGoogle page.

Thing 12 : Do You Digg? (Social Media Sites)

To me it is interesting that all of these sites (Digg, Newsvine, Mixx, Reddit) had the same favorite news story linked today: "Does Anyone Care about Big Brother Anymore? (not the TV Show)."

(The Time article discusses the American public's apparent lack of interest with the issue of our civil liberties being taken away vs. the trade-off of improved national security. With news stories such as possible gov't violations of the terms of the Patriot Act to the stripping of authority of a Whitehouse civilian oversight board, the article laments our lack of concern over the truth about whether or not our civil liberties have been violated.)

I'm not surprised that social media sites like Digg, Mixx, Newsvine, Reddit have this as one of their top rated articles. Noticing what these sites give attention to compared with my daily print newspaper may make me curious enough to take a glance once in a while. I only say a "glance," however. I can't justify a lot of time devoted to looking at them everyday unlike those who apparently can.

Thing 11 : Tagging & De.li.cious

I would like to encourage those following my blog to go to the following site to take a look at the video about De.li.cious--Video on using De.li.cious-

I think De.li.cious might be a way for me to organize and share my bookmarks easily with others. I never really got into making pathfinders for students to search with on the Internet but this may be a way to accomplish the same thing.

I'll post my de.li.cious page later.

Thing 10 : Wikis

"Email is not good at coordinating a group's input." - Wikis in Plain English at Common Craft

A wiki is a web page that a group can edit and coordinate together. Wikis can be made public, but a group can require a key code reserving the ability to edit to just selected members.

I've set up a wiki at PBwiki.com. It will take awhile to get the wiki going, but I'm including information on some of the resources we've been using for 23Things to start a wiki about Web 2.0 resources our staff might be interested in. I may possibly use it for a future staff dev. class. I've got it set for public viewing and if you would like a key to be able to edit, just post a comment below or get in contact with me. The Beautiful Corner wiki is at: beautifulcorner.pbwiki.com.


Just from passing conversations with my fellow staff members I sense curiosity about Web 2.0 is growing. Our 6th grade is doing research projects on World History for the first time. We thought a wiki might be a good way to update a list of good topics to recommend to our students.

Thing 9 : Collaboration (Google Docs & ZoHo)

Thing 9 is about collaborating with others in creating documents, presentations, spreadsheets online so everyone in the project group can have access and edit the project via the web:

I like the idea of using Google Docs or Zoho for working on a project that requires input from other committee or dept. members. I guess the hard part would be to get everyone on board, but after that it looks pretty easy. I wonder how disagreements on substance and style are settled on.