How about making a COMMENT?

Ooops I missed Thing 07 while working through the 23 Things. I'm glad I went back to it at Jason's request. I read the 'code of conduct' for commenting (how obvious), looked at the techniques for encouraging comments (ProBlogger) and discovered why people don't bother commenting. Comments are good should the blog require a response, a compliment or if controversial you may wish to get in on the argument. I've commented on 'kimbo says' for her pic from flickr and Alternatives blog about vodcasts and the useful link was worth a thank you. I also went to the staff 23 Things and made an encouraging comment on John Collins Weblog. While I was on the task I've created RSS feeds to these blogs. I've now listed these three blogs in my blog list. (can you see it...just over to the right>>>>>)

Hooray! 23 Things Completed

Firstly, thank you Jason for your great work on this project. I liked the self paced learning style and you packaged the exercises well.

I will use some keywords to describe my feelings about the 23 Things.
scary DISCOVERY *fun* interesting CHALLENGING inspiring confusion REWARDING
I believe libraries need to embrace new web technologies. Our business is to disseminate information and the www is rapidly becoming a major element for information retrieval. Knowing how to best apply some of these products will be the challenge. In my experience with Chisholm students, many of them find the web daunting. But, I guess there are an awful lot out there who are very experienced with the web. They're the ones who don't ask for help. So, maybe we could introduce workshops on basic/advanced use of Flickr, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Docs etc. Or schedule a roving librarian to demonstrate these tools. Rotate these staff across campuses so that the staff member and the student gets a wide variety of experiences. Some other virtual services could include a wiki for student and staff suggestions, a blog alerting students what the peers in their subject area are reading. Podcast library/web services. It would be great if we could do something digitally with our Reference collections. I believe they are sadly under used. All the best to the library team in your quest to find suitable "things" which can be applied to the library. I hope that working as a casual staff member I can keep my IT knowledge current and keep up with you all!

Library 2.0

I have read a number of articles and will continue to review more. This 22nd Thing has raised an awareness of where libraries may be heading. It looks very much like our future and in the words of Edna Mole (The Incredibles)...........

"be distinct, or be extinct".

iGoogle

Handy place to keep the 23 Things. Google is a massive and powerful tool. I have so much more to learn. However what I have learned so far has been fairly simple. Just hope I remember again in the future. I am a fan of Google. It's a great way to connect with the world! If I had more time in my life I'd like to play around more with Google and other web technologies.

Google Books

Another option for discovering books and finding resources both in business and personally.

Google Documents

My family uses the Kris Kringle system at Christmas. For years we have used a spreadsheet to keep track of whose had whom etc. I uploaded this file into Google docs then shared the document with the family so that the list could be worked on for Christmas 2008. This is great. Not only am I sharing, I'm also hand balling work.

Google Maps and more.....

Getting directions is so fast. I asked Google maps to find directions from my home to Rosebud campus. Google directed me precisely the way I take anyway. It's not the most scenic route, but it is the quickest. Very smart! I've included directions from Rosebud campus to Frankston campus just in case I forget.

View Larger Map

I've heard some funny stories about streetview. Some people have taken it so seriously and many are sadly misinformed. It has been reported that local councils have had calls from disgruntled residents thinking their council have been responsible for the pictures.

Thing 17 - MySpace

Set up an account. Played around with my profile. Went searching for (or spying on) people. Found the Denver Public Library MySpace for teens plus many other library MySpace pages. As this is "social networking" I'm not sure that libraries need to use this "space" to grab attention.

YouBeaut.....YouTube

Already accustomed to using YouTube. I was first introduced to it at a digital story workshop by Marco Torres. Go to http://homepage.mac.com/torres21 Marco is a Social Studies teacher from the US who uses the power of multimedia as a learning tool.

I've attached a 30 second interview with Marco on what schools should be doing for students.


On a less serious side watch this its very funny.

RSS Feeds

Remarkable! Now I don't need to check myself for updates, latest webpages, new stories etc. When I subscribe to a RSS feed it all happens for me. (Can't wait for the day when all my housework just happens for me)

Fabulous FLICKR

Great tool. I had used Flickr previously only for the free photos. I was unaware of its other features. Like organising photo sets, editing, adding notes, making stuff. I'm impressed that the program permits photos to be freely available or kept private. The guest pass feature for special access, including an expiry date, is a bonus. I very easily created an account, uploaded photos and started organising them. Although ,I found because I keep my photos on a high resoultion, they were slow to load.

The photo I have uploaded from Flickr is of a French Bulldog. Why? Well because I am about to embark on a five week puppy sitting venture. My son will leave us with his French Bulldog, Tully, while in Europe.

Del.icio.us

Great way to manage web pages I want to remember and share. I really like the tagging system. I have this habit and mindset of always filing things in folders. Adding tags seems so much more efficient. I'm shocked to discover that social bookmarking has been around for years. I thought I was keeping up with technology until I embarked on the 23 Things!

Note: cute photo. I found it legitimately from openphoto.net

Library Thing

Click on the link to check out my list of great books I've read.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/grahaml

Podcasting

Great new skill to have. While it's not entirely library related, I've downloaded some free relaxation podcasts to my M4 player. http://www.themeditationpodcast.com/ I also found that
Parks Victoria provide podcasts about walks in Victoria. You can download them and hear about the walk before you go or download them to your player and listen while you you walk.
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1podcasts.cfm
Maybe we could integrate podcasts as part of our service. Perhaps by advertising events, or promoting resources.

Thing 14 - Tame Technorati

Seems very involved. I found it confusing, but perhaps I am suffering information overload. I agree with BigCol "useful for the serious blogger". I'm going to go back to this thing at a later stage when I have time to get my head around it.

Plugins

I've now been inspired to improve the functionality of my browsers. They seem worthwhile and could improve productivity.

Image Generators

Now I know how people personalise images! Could be fun to use for library displays and its a freebie too.

Wow Wiki's

I have set up a wiki for a book club I run. What a smarter way to co-ordinate our meetings.

Perhaps the library could set up a Wiki for student and staff suggestions.

23 Things - Running late

I am well behind schedule with completing the 23 Things. However I've put my running shoes on and I'll give it my best shot at trying to get through the tasks before end of August.

PS. Congratulations and well done Jason. The 23 Things look fanatastic.

Blog Learner

This is a new experience which I am not managing very well!