This is probably my favorite Thing so far. These tools are SO COOL! Because I'm at currently at school and I don't have access to any fun pictures, I decided to use an image generator that didn't need photos, so I created a map of countries that I've visited. The countries I visited are in pink, and the rest of the world (waiting to be visited!) is in tan.
I used the Map Maker generator at the Big Huge Labs website. Here's the link:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/
These tools allow you to make calendars, create photo cubes and image collages, all kinds of cool things. I'm thinking of making a calendar with personal photos to use at home. I love these generators! If I use more at home, I'll blog about my experiences. These tools have lots of possibilities for use in the library and displays, as well, which is great.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Week #4, Thing #9: RSS Feeds and my Google Reader
After I blogged yesterday, I decided that maybe I was being too closed-minded about my personal possibilities with RSS feeds. Although I haven't been an avid blog reader in the past, maybe my Google Reader is just the thing I need to keep me going on the path to Web 2.0, so I decided that I would wait a few days to see how much I might use my Google Reader and check the RSS feeds now streaming into that one place.
Ok, I admit it: the first thing I did today was check my Reader. I was excited at the prospect of reading updates, seeing the new winners of the SJL Battle of the Kids' Books, reading about new tech gadgets. At first, I found it hard to find feeds that I might want to read. I explored the channels suggested by SLL Web 2.0 but I didn't find much. It wasn't until I remembered A Fuse #8 Production blog from SLJ that I went to the mag's site and found a plethora of great blogs that interested me! Jackpot! I am now subscribing to RSS feeds from a few personal favorite blogs and three from School Library Journal, and I'm loving it! Being able to see the updates all in one place is convenient. I honestly think that the hardest part of the whole process was that I didn't already have favorite blogs with an RSS feed to add, I had to find some...but overall, I am very excited.
Ok, I admit it: the first thing I did today was check my Reader. I was excited at the prospect of reading updates, seeing the new winners of the SJL Battle of the Kids' Books, reading about new tech gadgets. At first, I found it hard to find feeds that I might want to read. I explored the channels suggested by SLL Web 2.0 but I didn't find much. It wasn't until I remembered A Fuse #8 Production blog from SLJ that I went to the mag's site and found a plethora of great blogs that interested me! Jackpot! I am now subscribing to RSS feeds from a few personal favorite blogs and three from School Library Journal, and I'm loving it! Being able to see the updates all in one place is convenient. I honestly think that the hardest part of the whole process was that I didn't already have favorite blogs with an RSS feed to add, I had to find some...but overall, I am very excited.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Week #4, Thing #8: RSS Feeds and my Google Reader
I will be honest--until I read this week's post, I was clueless about RSS feeds. When I first started exploring, I was still a bit clueless, and I must admit that I'm not exactly feeling like an expert at this point, but I am definitely more knowledgable than I once was!
I love the fact that I now have a blog, a Flickr account, and a Google reader account with various RSS subscriptions, but I think that I will use my Google reader the least of any of these neat new tools. While I'm an avid web explorer, I don't have very many favorite blogs or sites that I visit daily or even weekly, so I do not see myself using this tool often in my personal (or professional) life. Since I visit two or three blogs a week, it's not time-consuming or difficult to simply visit each site seperately. I don't feel the overwhelming need to get all my updates in one fast visit to my Google reader. I think it's a very cool idea and certainly a time-saver for frequent blog-readers, but this Punky Librarian is not sold yet.
I love the fact that I now have a blog, a Flickr account, and a Google reader account with various RSS subscriptions, but I think that I will use my Google reader the least of any of these neat new tools. While I'm an avid web explorer, I don't have very many favorite blogs or sites that I visit daily or even weekly, so I do not see myself using this tool often in my personal (or professional) life. Since I visit two or three blogs a week, it's not time-consuming or difficult to simply visit each site seperately. I don't feel the overwhelming need to get all my updates in one fast visit to my Google reader. I think it's a very cool idea and certainly a time-saver for frequent blog-readers, but this Punky Librarian is not sold yet.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Week #3, Thing #7: Photos and Images (Technology Tidbits)
What interests me about technology this week? As much as I hate to admit it, my new fascination is video games. When I was a little kid, I was a huge gamer. My little brother and I were Nintendo royalty, and king and queen of Mario and the many lands in which he lived. When we advanced to a new system, we had a lot of Disney games: the Lion King, Aladdin, etc. Again, I was pretty darn good. Then I reached high school and my interest in video games all but disappeared. It wasn't until just recently that my boyfriend reintroduced me to the world of gaming by means of PS3 and Call of Duty. Don't get me wrong--I don't play CoD, nor do I really enjoy watching him play. There is far too much violence and loud noise (much of which is coming from the man on the couch!). With that in mind, let me say that the technology involved with created these games absolutely blows my mind.
The fact that he can sit at home on the couch and play this game with other team members who are sitting on couches in Las Vegas, Portland, Albany, and Miami is just amazing to me. He can use his Bluetooth to chat to his friend Adam, another CoD player, about where the other team members are hiding while at the same time making plans for the weekend. He can move around the battle fields and war zones with the perspective of actually seeing through the eyes of his character, and seeing blood splatter when he's made a kill.
Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER be involved in playing Call of Duty. But it sure is amazing to watch.
The fact that he can sit at home on the couch and play this game with other team members who are sitting on couches in Las Vegas, Portland, Albany, and Miami is just amazing to me. He can use his Bluetooth to chat to his friend Adam, another CoD player, about where the other team members are hiding while at the same time making plans for the weekend. He can move around the battle fields and war zones with the perspective of actually seeing through the eyes of his character, and seeing blood splatter when he's made a kill.
Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER be involved in playing Call of Duty. But it sure is amazing to watch.
Week #3, Thing #6: Photos and Images (Flickr mashups)
Well...Flickr mashups. So many cool things, so much time to waste. Maybe I just don't spend enough time "wasting time" online, but I think that most of these tools, while very fun, are things that I could use for about 2.4 minutes and then think, "You're wasting time. Be more productive." Now, it is true that the concept of wasting time is unique to one's perspective. I'm sure that many people could spend several hours on Mappr or Montagr and have a thoroughly enjoyable time, but I often have a hard time spending more than a few minutes using a tool unless there is a reason behind it.
I did, however, find a third party app with my name written all over it: Yahoo! Travel Trip Planner is allowing me to plan a glorious trip back to jolly old England. After my trip, I can come home and upload all my trip photos to a set on Flickr that connects to my trip done on Trip Planner. This is what I'm talking about! While the mashups are certainly quirky and enjoyable, I don't see myself using them much unless I can justify the time that I'm putting in. Thank you, Yahoo! Trip Planner, for exposing me to a third party Flickr app that allows me to "waste time" in a constructive way. I can almost taste the warm scones with clotted cream and see the beautiful city photos on Flickr right now.
I did, however, find a third party app with my name written all over it: Yahoo! Travel Trip Planner is allowing me to plan a glorious trip back to jolly old England. After my trip, I can come home and upload all my trip photos to a set on Flickr that connects to my trip done on Trip Planner. This is what I'm talking about! While the mashups are certainly quirky and enjoyable, I don't see myself using them much unless I can justify the time that I'm putting in. Thank you, Yahoo! Trip Planner, for exposing me to a third party Flickr app that allows me to "waste time" in a constructive way. I can almost taste the warm scones with clotted cream and see the beautiful city photos on Flickr right now.
Week #3, Thing #5: Photos and Images
For this week's discovery exercise, I decided to do all I can to learn about Flickr, so I created an account. You can view my Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepunkylibrarian/.
The photos in my STMS Library set on the right are in chronological order from newest to oldest, but I haven't figured out how to do something very basic--change the order of photos in my stream once they are uploaded. Ahhh, technology. I need to keep playing and I'm sure that I will figure it out, but so far I have learned that Flickr is much easier to use than I originally anticipated. Uploaded, editing, and doing tasks such as tagging and creating sets are straightforward and I am having tons of fun exploring the groups option. I had no idea that so many different groups existed! Before yesterday, I assumed that Flickr was simply a photosharing site for family and friends, but it is possible to join groups, send messages, comment on photos, and really explore the world through other people's pictures. I found tons of groups dedicated to sharing pictures of craft show displays and set-ups, one of my current loves/frustrations. This group helped my brain start moving with ideas!
As I grow older (currently at the ripe old age of 26!), I am finding that sites such as MySpace seem to cater toward a younger group of users; Flickr would be a great place for me to continue photo communication with my friends and family around the country.
The photos in my STMS Library set on the right are in chronological order from newest to oldest, but I haven't figured out how to do something very basic--change the order of photos in my stream once they are uploaded. Ahhh, technology. I need to keep playing and I'm sure that I will figure it out, but so far I have learned that Flickr is much easier to use than I originally anticipated. Uploaded, editing, and doing tasks such as tagging and creating sets are straightforward and I am having tons of fun exploring the groups option. I had no idea that so many different groups existed! Before yesterday, I assumed that Flickr was simply a photosharing site for family and friends, but it is possible to join groups, send messages, comment on photos, and really explore the world through other people's pictures. I found tons of groups dedicated to sharing pictures of craft show displays and set-ups, one of my current loves/frustrations. This group helped my brain start moving with ideas!
As I grow older (currently at the ripe old age of 26!), I am finding that sites such as MySpace seem to cater toward a younger group of users; Flickr would be a great place for me to continue photo communication with my friends and family around the country.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Week #1 and 2, Things #1-4: Blogging (7 1/2 Habits)
I think that this online tutorial was a wonderful way to begin learning the 23 Things of Library 2.0. I liked the various aspects of the tutorial, including the fact that there was a slide, sound, and text, so I could "rewind" the tutorial as I needed to review different points.
I am happy to report that, much to my surprise, I seem to embody the profile of a lifelong learner! Of the 7 1/2 Habits, there were only one or two that didn't immediately remind me of an aspect of my personal life and the way that I respond to learning or new learning situations.
The easiest habit for me is Habit #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I love to learn and am considering going back to school to work on a second Masters degree, but I find myslef learning new things everyday if less formal settings. The various aspects of this habit, including taking training or classes, being an active participant, reading, and asking questions, seem to be second nature to me. I am baffled by the amount of "useless" and highly useful knowledge I have acquired by reading; I find that there is no more empowering or englightening activity than choosing a book and reading to discover new lands, new characters, and new information. Being an active participant and asking questions are characteristics of many of my most diligent students. Rather than sitting back and letting knowledge come to them, they take charge of their own learning by volunteering opinions, facts, and asking questions, and I am happy to say that these are my own habits, as well.
The most difficult habit for me is possibly Habit #1: Begin with an end in mind. While I understand that this is probably a logical step, as illustrated in the example of learning to speak Spanish, I don't agree that a highly specific end is always neccessary. I began this course as a way to learn new technology and new tools that would allow me to be a better school librarian and a more informed person. This is fairly general. I have not set an end such as "Learn how to create podcasts and use them in my lessons." If this is an end result of my goal, wonderful! If I learn other tools instead, wonderful! I suppose that I do begin with an end in mind, but it's usually not as specific as the tutorial would seem to want from someone with the 7 1/2 Habits.
I am looking forward to learning more in Thing #2!
I am happy to report that, much to my surprise, I seem to embody the profile of a lifelong learner! Of the 7 1/2 Habits, there were only one or two that didn't immediately remind me of an aspect of my personal life and the way that I respond to learning or new learning situations.
The easiest habit for me is Habit #2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I love to learn and am considering going back to school to work on a second Masters degree, but I find myslef learning new things everyday if less formal settings. The various aspects of this habit, including taking training or classes, being an active participant, reading, and asking questions, seem to be second nature to me. I am baffled by the amount of "useless" and highly useful knowledge I have acquired by reading; I find that there is no more empowering or englightening activity than choosing a book and reading to discover new lands, new characters, and new information. Being an active participant and asking questions are characteristics of many of my most diligent students. Rather than sitting back and letting knowledge come to them, they take charge of their own learning by volunteering opinions, facts, and asking questions, and I am happy to say that these are my own habits, as well.
The most difficult habit for me is possibly Habit #1: Begin with an end in mind. While I understand that this is probably a logical step, as illustrated in the example of learning to speak Spanish, I don't agree that a highly specific end is always neccessary. I began this course as a way to learn new technology and new tools that would allow me to be a better school librarian and a more informed person. This is fairly general. I have not set an end such as "Learn how to create podcasts and use them in my lessons." If this is an end result of my goal, wonderful! If I learn other tools instead, wonderful! I suppose that I do begin with an end in mind, but it's usually not as specific as the tutorial would seem to want from someone with the 7 1/2 Habits.
I am looking forward to learning more in Thing #2!
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