Gracias

Thank you one and all for making this such a worthwhile and fun experience.
I shall have a margarita or two in your honor.
Here's to a job well done, on your part and mine!

Week 9, Thing 23

1. My favorite discoveries were LibraryThing and the Flickr mash-ups.
2. The entire process encourages me to continue to explore and learn about the new technologies and resources. I will also share much of what I learned with my colleagues and students.
3. The ease of blogging (and most of the other activities) was a pleasant surprise, as was the sheer number of tools and resources available for free.
4. Perhaps a bit more feedback and encouragement would be helpful for those who may not be as comfortable with technology or who become frustrated with some of the more difficult activites.
5. If a similar program is offered in the future, I will definitely participate.
6. To describe the experience in one word, I would have to say "enlightening". The program gave me a reason to play and explore online and to discover some incredible tools and resources that I would otherwise not have taken the time to find.

Week 9, Thing 22

Anything that encourages people to read and enjoy books is OK with me. Ebooks and audiobooks are just two more tools in our toolbox to encourage our patrons to become lifelong readers and learners. They both make books more accessible. With an Internet connection or the appropriate audio equipment, one can enjoy a good book even when no where near a library or bookstore, or while in the car, train, ship, or plane, or when busy with other tasks that prevent the turning of the pages of a book. These book formats are also helpful for language learners and special needs patrons. Just this past year I purchased a few Playaway Digital Audiobooks from Follett, and they are already quite popular with our students. As our budget permits, I will probably purchase more. I applaud those individuals and organizations that are making more and more books available online and in audio form.

Week 9, Thing 21

Podcasts are not really new technology, but they can still be effective tools. As technology advances, I think Vlogs and other video creations will probably become more popular than the audio-only podcasts. On the other hand, just about everybody has an ipod or similar device.
Being a devoted Prairie Home Companion fan, one of my favorite podcasts is Garrison Keillor's The Writers Almanac. (See link below.) You can also find this in my "RSS Google Reader Shared Items" list on this blog.

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510101

Week 9, Thing 20

What can you say about YouTube?! Just about anything imaginable, and somethings I would never have imagined, can be found on this hugely popular, and just plain huge, site. YouTube is a great PR tool to promote your library and special programs. It is also useful for locating video footage for research projects. I already played with YouTube during Week 5, Thing 11, but here is another library video I enjoyed. This one is for all of us who do way more than just shelve books . . .

Week 8, Thing 19

I absolutely love LibraryThing!!! What a brilliant concept. It is quite possibly my favorite resource thus far. I can think of so many ways to use it professionally, with students, and personally. I opened an account and quickly entered a few of my favorite books. I can't wait to take more time to investigate LibraryThing more thoroughly, and to monitor the popularity and discussion of my titles and authors. What fun!

Here is a link to my library:

Week 8, Thing 18

I explored Zoho Writer and found it to be very user friendly with great integration with other online tools and applications. I particularly like how easy it is to post one's work to a blog. I will probably not use Zoho Writer myself, because I have been using Google Docs and I am quite comfortable with it and pleased with its functions, but it is nevertheless a very useful tool.
Personally, my family uses Google Docs to collaborate on our geneology research. It is so easy to share stories, new leads, and discoveries with the entire family.
My students could also use Google Docs to complete a team research project. Each team of four students will be expected to collaborate, organize, and write their group reports through their Google Docs accounts. It will be especially useful for our students since we are a private school with students from many parts of the area. Since they are so geographically spread out, they often find it difficult to physically meet outside the school day and work together on projects. Using Google Docs can solve this problem.