Thing 13

Exploring the social bookmarking websites was very interesting. I have never heard of these before, and I can definitely appreciate their usefulness. I have always hated how my bookmarks could never travel with me to new or different computers, and now I don't have to worry about it! When I talked to my librarians about this, they both use Magnolia and said it was very easy. I also like that you can see other people's bookmarks and this could be very useful in the library profession. Social bookmarking would be very helpful for both teachers and students alike as they research. Being able to instantly access the research they have already found from any computer not only saves times but also potentially saves other resources as well. What a great idea for bookmarking!

Schwab

Thing 12

In reading about posting to a blog, two of the thoughts I found interesting were deciding whether or not to use an alias when blogging, and the importance of responding to blogs and being less of a lurker. I never really thought about these issues before. And I believe I am guilty of lurking as I never think I have anything relevant to say.

I made comments on the following Library2Play blogs:

Becoming Mary Poppins (Thing 11)

Flower Power (Thing 12)

Nalepa's Notes (Thing 9)

Now what am I supposed to be doing? (Thing 19)

Bloggin' with Ogden (Thing 7)

As a soon-to-be-owner of a rescued Great Pyrenees dog, I searched for blogs connected to this breed. I left comments on The National Pyr Blog and Great Pyrenees 360. I was surprised to find only a handful of blogs about this breed, but these two blogs seem very informative and useful. I was also surprised that one of the blogs required a name and email before it would let me post a comment. Very interesting is the world of blogs!

Schwab

Thing 11

Library Thing would be a very useful tool in keeping up with books and selecting books for the library. I could "visit" other's libraries and get reviews on books, even be a reviewer myself and tell others what I think! Also, making a list of books and creating an account was very easy to do. The book list would be very helpful for the library and keeping track of various books since you can create different categories for them. I will definitely use this tool once I am a librarian!

I did check out some of the groups, and I would definitely join a few, like Read YA Lit, Early Reviewers, Book Talk, Non-Fiction Readers, and Crime, Thriller & Mystery, to name a few! I added the Library Thing blog to my reader!

Schwab

Thing 10

Very cool! I went on Comic Sign Generator (http://www.customsigngenerator.com/) and made this custom sign! I saw this sign in a store the other day, and it made me laugh and I thought I could use it for my desk at school! Wouldn't that be funny? I also tried some other ones, like the Trading Card Maker, which was fun. I love how it takes a photo and animates it! I am already a big fan of Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/), and I have used that for students handouts and in my work as an SLC team leader at school. It is too bad that Wordle does not have a search capability so you can find other ones that have been made about the subject you are looking for. This was a fun exercise that I really enjoyed!

Schwab

Thing 9

I tried several of the blog search tools, and added a few blogs to my reader. My favorite one was Edublog. I found it the easiest to use and it was relevant to my career as a teacher and librarian. I added "Creating life-long Learners," and "Hey Jude." I spent the most time here and would like to go back and spend some more. The most difficult tools to use were Suprglu and Syndic8, as I couldn't get either one of them to work. Syndic8 has a bug that the webmaster is aware of and is trying to work out. Topix was a bit too newsy for my needs. I didn't get on Atomic Learning because of the necessary passwords I didn't have. I also liked Technorati, and added another blog from here to my reader, called "Langwitches." This is a totally new world for me, one which I need to explore more in detail in the future. Pretty interesting!

Schwab

Thing 8

I found some pretty cool library/book blogs to follow. What a handy tool to put your fav blogs on and look at them all in one spot! That will save a huge chunk of time! I can use this both at school and in my personal life. At school, I can organize blogs by titles, such as books, library help, etc., and just look for what I need in a given situation. At home, I can keep up with blogs and opinions that interest me, and also, any local news information I choose to know. This would be a great tool for any teacher and administrator to find blogs that pertain to their interest or subject matter, and teachers could have their students keep up with certain blogs, and maybe incorporate that into class discussions and/or lessons. What a great tool for all!


I also made a public page for my starred items!


Schwab

Thing 7

I already use iGoogle for my home page for Pinky, my personal laptop computer. It is very handy because it is personalized for me and the area in which I live. Local news, TV listings, and you even get to pick what type of info. you want to be told about. The link is
http://www.google.com/ig?brand=SNNT&bmod=SNNT


I have also used Google Earth many times before. It is so cool to see exact places, houses, businesses, etc. You really get a bird's eye view. It is great if you are looking for something, or trying to show a location to students. I have looked up old places where I have lived and places I am looking for like shops and businesses. What a great tool!


Schwab