Week 6/Thing 14: Technorati

I'd never heard of Technorati, and it seems like a nice alternative to traditional sources of information, news, and entertainment. I searched "school library learning 2.0" (in quotes - exact phrase) and there were only about 20 hits in blog posts, 7 in tags (I entered the phrase without spaces for that search) and 10 items in the blog directory. Nice, manageable numbers... but kind of small and I wonder if I did something wrong?

I was surprised to see that the Huffington Post was the most popular blog based on authority (which in Technorati world means it has the most other sites linking to it). I enjoy reading clips from that post and it makes me wonder if the blog world is a pretty liberal one? I have always had the impression that Arianna Huffington is pretty far left...

I also peeked at Boing Boing, which touts itself as the world's most popular blog. I didn't get what was so special or spectacular about it, even after poking through some of the archives. Hmmmm. 3759 fans can't be wrong, so it must be me!

I really liked the Technorati directory - I clicked into the parenting section and was shocked to find Scribbit - a parenting blog by a lady in Alaska - to be fourth on the list. (I stumbled upon this one a few weeks back when I was looking for Alaska-related feeds for the RSS assignment.) For me the directory seems to be a good way to stumble across some informative and interesting stuff.

I decided not to "claim" my blog - they wanted a lot of information and the line about my user name being set in stone was a little intimidating. I am trying to copy the tagging code at the end of this post - with the tag set to "library2.0" so we'll see what happens.

As for tagging, I think I'm going to have to get used to it! I am pretty tied to the folder hierarchy so it will take time - I'm very linear so folders work well for me. I think it's why I prefer Outlook to gmail and Ofoto to Flickr. But tagging is clearly the way of the future, so I'd better get with the program! Even the Technorati help menu used tags instead of categories! I think the biggest benefit of tags is being able to search through mountains of information, emails, bookmarks, photos, etc. I just need to be careful and consistent when creating tags - writing "house" one week and "home" the next could result in only half the results when I'm searching for something down the road (path, street... you get the idea). Seems like synonyms could be an issue in the tagging world!

" rel="tag>library2.0

Week 6/Thing 13: Del.icio.us

I first read about Del.icio.us in School Library Journal a year or two ago (along with Furl and a few other social bookmarking sites). My library assistant and I both registered for a few of the services to check them out before spreading the word to teachers. I remember being very frustrated because I couldn't organize my bookmarks into traditional folders... I didn't have a real grasp of "tags" yet and the long list of sites was overwhelming. Now that I understand the power of tags I am going to give this another try. I opened another del.icio.us account (my first was promptly deleted!) and have started adding and tagging.

A few questions that came up along the way: is there a way to import all my Firefox bookmarks automatically? The answer turned out to be yes, and it's very easy. But my other question remains unanswered: my husband and I both use the same computer, so does this mean we share the same del.icio.us account? I'm sure we could open two separate accounts, but since we don't have separate logins to the computer how will the del.icio.us browser buttons work? When we click the "tag" button, whose del.icio.us account will it go to? Looks like we might need to open an account for him and just see what happens...

FYI: The link for the Otter Group tutorial (in the discovery exercises) is not working, nor is the "Seven Habits of Wildly Successful Del.icio.us Users." I did find a great social bookmarking tutorial by Lee Lefever that focuses on de.licio.us. His videos are great!



Del.icio.us (man that is a pain to type with the dots in weird places!) has so many uses in a school and library. I created webliographies on my library web page for various teachers, so when students came to the library for a particular project they were directed to those resources. The only problem was that whenever students or teachers came up with new sites to add I was the only one with access to update the list of URL's. If the webliography was stored in del.icio.us instead (with tags and bundles to organize different units) then everyone in the class would have the ability to upload and manage the resource list.

Week 5/Thing 12: Voice Thread

My parents are going to LOVE you for showing this to us! Now they will get to actually hear the kids talk, and it was so easy to set up! Our first attempt can be found at http://voicethread.com/share/162592/. I really like that you can share the voice thread without requiring people to create their own accounts too. (Many inevitably will, but I don't like sites that mandate it... I always think of my poor mother-in-law who fumbles through the simplest of technology tasks!) I also like that the public settings can be blocked from searches & the Voice Thread browse - basically, they are only "public" to people who get the link from me.

There are so many times that I have to write out a description of a picture I'm sending, and just talking through it is so much easier. It also gives it a human touch. I am having trouble embedding the actual Voice Thread (rather than just the link) into this blog, though. (Edited: weird... the voice thread didn't show up in this blog until I hit publish. Hmmmm. And a disclaimer that the kids were just sitting on their bikes and pedaling in place... which is why they don't have their helmets on!!)

I could use this tool in my library in several creative ways. I could add the threads (via links?) to the library web page to give virtual "tours" or show clips of library activities. It would be a great promotional tool and showcase the modern-day library. You could take pictures of students with books, and let them record a mini-review or booktalk. I think the students would absolutely love it!

Have I said lately how much I am loving this class?!?!

Week 5/Thing 11: Web 2.0 Awards List

What an impressive list... I am forwarding the entire thing on to several friends! (Me... who never forwards anything!) There were some familiar sites but most of them were new to me.

I was most interested and excited about the organizational sites, so I checked out Backpack, Zoho, and Wufoo. Many of these sites are geared for businesses, but I thought it could also work perfectly for our family. A shared calendar and centralized place for a "to do" list is exactly what we need! Wufoo wasn't what I was looking for at all - it's more of a forms generator. Zoho looked okay... lots to offer in the way of online collaboration but I didn't find a calendar function. (But it does look like they could give MS Office and also Google Docs a run for their money.)

Backpack, on the other hands, was AMAZING. There is a clear reason that it won first place in this category. After watching 4 or 5 of the tutorials, browsing through screenshots, and getting downright giddy about this gold mine I decided to sign up for an account. I was crushed! It's not all free!!!!! There is a free option that allows you to create shared pages (to-do lists, upload files, etc.) but you don't get the calendar with the free account. The cheapest paid plan is $7 a month.

There are several uses for this tool in a library. The calendar is good enough that I would use it to schedule classes. Teachers would have the ability to write detailed notes about what they need, upload relevant handouts, and I could automatically send reminders. I'm not sure how we could/would limit the amount of classes since I can't play around with the calendar for free. Within a library staff, we could create working to-do lists and store shared documents that we all need access to.

In my despair, I registered at Zoho. It does look impressive, but without the calendar option I don't think I'd use it as an organizer.

I am part of the ASD Librarians Ning that Ann created, but I hadn't visited it in ages. I A) found it again, and then B) signed in and poked around for a while. Someone left a comment for me in October 2007 that I just saw (oops!) but in my defense I have been on a leave of absence, right? I was a little surprised to see the top ad that said "Pimp Your Profile" and didn't like that it displayed to everyone that I was online. I'm not surprised that the district would put this site in the blocked category, but it's such a useful tool when used properly. (I could see classroom discussions with this format - if the entire 8th grade is reading a certain book, kids from all teams could discuss it instead of just within a single classroom.)

The Traveler IQ game was really fun, but I am terrible at geography. I stuck to the US game and only made it to level 4 with an IQ of 97. It's hard to get too precise when you are trying to click so fast, and those eastern states are all so close together! (Excuses, excuses!)

Another great trivia toy I've found is FunTrivia.com. You can set up daily tournaments for a group of people here.

Week 5/Thing 10: Image Generators

Why didn't someone warn me that this assignment would give me nightmares?!

This is from the computer science department at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. According to the site: "You can use the Perception Laboratory's Face Transformer to change the age, race or sex of a facial image, to transform it to the style of a famous artist, to make an exagerated caricature or even make an ape of yourself!"

(I was a little put off by the spelling errors, but it does seem to be a legitimate link on the university's main site. At any rate, here is the link: http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Transformer/ )

Here is my original picture and normal self:



Here is my transformation into a male:



(Yes, I am scared!!!!!!)

Here is my transformation into the subject of an Amedeo Modigliani painting:



I actually think this option (to morph yourself into the subject of a famous painter) is a really cool avatar option.

The site does allow you to become a real Manga cartoon if you wish to create a more traditional avatar, but I wasn't as impressed (or maybe I just wasn't flattered... ha!)

That's all I saved for now, as the other images were quite frankly too disturbing to share!

I also played around with the License Plate Creator on the Generator Blog (there are soooo many fun things on that blog!)

Overall, I would have to say that this was a

(That was made at http://wigflip.com/screedbot/)

Week 4/Thing 9: Part 2

I just found a bunch of RSS Feeds produced by the Alaska State Library - good stuff! They are available here.

Week 4/Thing 9: Blog Searches

I have spent (dare I say "wasted" with no offense to this course - it's my own fault!) the past few hours clicking in circles on my laptop. I really should have stuck to the recommended feed locaters, because I ended up finding some pretty awful stuff! It all started innocently enough at Blogdigger (which looks a lot like Google) and I was intrigued by their "local" search. "How many people in Anchorage are blogging?" I wondered. Well, according to Blogdigger, the only Anchorage bloggers are actually in Kentucky. So I went to the real Google and typed a few key words and suddenly there were over a million hits. (Obviously I didn't type enough key words!) I ended up at http://www.ringsurf.com/ring/alaskablogs/ and - voila! - I can read the rants of countless Alaskan scribes. They ranged from folks posting amazing photography to the chronicles of Baby Kira's every new accomplishment. My favorite title was "Bicycles and Icicles: a blog about riding bikes in Alaska."

I must say, the whole blog thing is a little odd to me. I'm surprised at how many people have their online journals exposed to the entire world. I can see wanting to share with friends or family, but the public at large is another thing. If someone is trying to make a living doing it, or is an aspiring writer, or is putting together some sort of public service... that all makes sense. I remember the story about the lady who is now a rich and famous blogger/author because of her post selling a used baseball on eBay. (And yes, I found her blog too and it can be read here: Because I Said So!) But folks in those categories seem to be a very, very small percentage of the bloggers out there.

I think it must all be somehow related to the swift shift we are making to online communities, in addition to (please don't let it be in place of) real life communities. I guess blogs are an important part of the online world and a way for people to meet and get to know one another. In reality, I'm a little overwhelmed at keeping up with my fleshy friends that I don't think I'll spend too much time reading personal blogs just yet. (Tonight being the exception!) I think I'll limit my Google Reader to the professional development sites and news feeds for now.

Okay... that's it... no more blogs for me tonight!

Week 4/Thing 8: RSS

Wow - they don't call RSS "really simple" for nothin'! I've seen the icon and heard of the acronym, but never once gave it an ounce of brain power... not even to wonder what it was. Now I'm so glad that I know! I loved the Blip TV video (I watched his clip about wikis too - very well done!) and found it so easy to get my own reader set up. I looked at Bloglines, but ultimately decided to go with the Google Reader since I already have a Google account. Maybe it isn't wise to put all my eggs in one electronic basket... but if the point of all this is to save time, then I'd prefer to keep things as consolidated as possible.

I can't even tell you how many times I've stumbled across a blog and thought "hmmm... I should check this out more regularly" only to forget about it, lose the address, or run out of time. It's so easy to add and delete subscriptions to the Google Reader that I can use this tool to preview and explore various sources, and hopefully within time I will have a manageable list (ha!) of favorites. It's crazy to see all the things you can subscribe to... from blogs to news services to Flickr tags! Amazing!

To view my public Google Reader page, click here.

I'm sure it will be in a constant state of change, but at least I have one now. I'm very grateful to have learned about this tool... thanks!

Week 3/Thing 7: Thoughts About Technology

As with everything in life, I think the important thing about technology is to find a sense of balance. To recognize the good and bad, and use it accordingly. Three examples...

Information vs. misinformation: I love how the Internet gives us many alternatives to the traditional network news, and especially hope it will be a catalyst for change in parts of the world with oppressive governments. Knowledge is power (eventually), right? But I detest all the mistakes and outright lies that float around out there too. So many people think printed words (even on a screen) = truth. If only snopes.com was a prerequisite to sending (or should I saw forwarding) an e-mail... there would be a lot less hatred in the world. (Not to go all political, but if I get one more e-mail about Barack Obama being a terrorist I am going to go through the roof!!!!)

Time saved vs. time wasted: It would take me weeks to create a comprehensive list of all the things we do online that save us time: banking, renewing library books, looking up phone numbers, creating maps, printing postage... you get the idea. But it's also true that a person can waste inordinate amounts of time online as well. I participate in a forum with thousands of mothers from all around the world; I learn a lot from this resource, but it's easy to get caught up reading debate threads that really serve no purpose. I may as well be reading the Enquirer! The time it takes to keep current with technology is also an issue for me. Case in point: yesterday I literally spent hours trying to convert text into readable graphic headers to upload to a web page. Hours. And NO... I didn't figure it out yet!!!!!!!

Reconnecting vs. Disconnecting. I cannot image living this far from my family if it wasn't for a digital camera and e-mail. Just think... I'd call my parents and say, "Great news! We just had the baby! I'll take the film to a one-hour photo lab and hopefully you'll get the prints by next Monday!" As if it isn't hard enough... geesh! Even sharing video clips has become a breeze thanks to YouTube, Photobucket, Google, and countless other hosting services. WebCams give you live contact, even from thousands of miles away. It's baffling! On the other hand, you hear nightmare stories of marriages falling apart because of online affairs. Or people disappearing into Second Life and forgetting they have a first one. Technology can be a bit intrusive... laptops in the living room, cell phones on the hip, pagers in the pocket... no wonder it's so hard for people to find uninterrupted time with the live people who mean the most!

So there's my ramble. I came here thinking I'd post about web development stuff (finding a host, software, etc.) but I am feeling so disgusted with myself for wasting an entire day trying to make an appealing heading for a web page I'm building (why can't I just be happy with the "web safe" fonts???) that this is what came out instead. I guess I needed to reassure myself that technology is a good thing, too!

Week 3/Thing 6: Fun With Flickr

The tools were fun! It doesn't seem like you need a Flickr account to use most of them... I just uploaded existing images from my hard drive straight to the Big Huge Labs web site and went from there. I really wanted to make a montage, but I didn't have the patience to upload that many pictures right now. I successfully made a jigsaw puzzle and even considered ordering one as a gift for my puzzle-loving mother-in-law... until I saw that they charge $40 for a 252 piece puzzle. Yowser!

What I did complete instead is a new header for this blog (see above) with the tool at Big Huge Labs. I used the picture I took for the Thing 5 assignment. The only problem was the header text was not legible in front of the photo (no matter what color I changed it to) so I had to tweak the picture a bit in my favorite photo editing application, Paint Shop Pro. I cropped out the funky edges and added a text box with white background that had my blog title. Voila! I like it much better!

There were lots of new terms for me in this assignment: API's, mashups... I am so glad I am taking this course!

Further thoughts on Flickr: I like it as a tool for research, enjoy its fun extras, and can see how some enjoy the community. I really like the map feature - what a fabulous resource when you're planning a vacation! But when it comes to storing, organizing, and sharing my images I still prefer Ofoto. I'm not comfortable with the public share feature of Flickr (although I know it can be set to private). There are so many tools that make it easy to enhance digital photos and turn them into amazing projects - and it seems like you can use them with or without a Flickr account. I noticed that Big Huge Labs has tabs for Photobucket users as well, which I've used for years. I'd say I will use Flickr more as a result of this class, but probably won't be transferring my own pix to their site.

Week 3/Thing 5: Exploring Flickr

our little library
Originally uploaded by huskersak

Since the entire Clark Middle School library is living in boxes for a few years, I took a snapshot of our personal library instead. (Well, a portion of it anyway!) This is the current rotation that's housed in our living room and contains most of the current favorite bedtime stories. Life is good!

I uploaded this image via Flickr using the "blog this" button and it was easy enough. I didn't have an updated Yahoo Flickr account until now, but was vaguely familiar with the site because I have friends who post and share photos there.

I have to be honest: I am not a Flickr fan! I think my brain is too linear for it or something... I am really more of an Ofoto gal. (Okay, Kodak Gallery... but I still think of the site by its original name!) I don't think Ofoto qualifies as a Web 2.0 tool so I must be old-school at the ripe old age of 36!

I will say that I like the "search" function at Flickr. It's pretty slick to be able to search for photos with the tags. I often use the site when I'm looking for ideas... for example, if I'm baking my darling boy a train birthday cake, then I like to use Flickr for ideas of what other people created. It's also very "smart" software, automatically importing the camera you used, date you took the photo, date you uploaded it, etc. Almost scary.

I'm just not crazy about the organization and share tools. Maybe it's just that I'm not as familiar with it, but I really prefer the "albums" I can create on Ofoto as opposed to the photostreams, sets, batches, etc. on Flickr. When friends and family share slideshows from Snapfish or Ofoto I prefer those to viewing on Flickr as well... go figure!

If someone can point out what I'm missing, just let me know. Maybe I'll become a convert when I move on to Thing #6!