I explored the pirate game wiki and all of the videos and other resources for Second Life (SL). SL gets my vote for this Thing.
Doug Johnson's "The One-Afternoon SecondLife Tour" has highlighted the sites I'll visit with a guide. SL's 3D virtual world is a learning hothouse. Because there are no limits on what can be included in an experience, learning comes with breathing the SL space. How can you not love that possibility? Discovery is no longer held prisoner in bricks and mortar - or budget cuts!
There is certainly a role for libraries in SL...InfoIsland is already showing the way. Education (school and public libraries) are on the forefront, but the rest of us are on the way to collaborate, conference, and network in SL. Collections, databases, classes on how to use them...all there.
How soon will SLA offer an SL conference?
bweldon
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Thing #14: LibraryThing
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/barbwel
Not sure how my little catalog of ten items will show up when I publish this post, but I tried! The titles reveal my current eclectic reading and are the ten that were within arm's reach of my computer as I was exploring LibraryThing.
LibraryThingforLibraries offers some possibilities for add-ons to my work library catalog which is hosted by EOS. Or I could create a new LibraryThing account for work use where I add and delete books to advertise what's new. The "shelf look" and the Amazon look would have certain age-appeal. It would be fun to attach a changing "shelf look" to my home page.
I currently create book lists (bibliographies) from my EOS catalog for employees looking for resources according to their needs. A book list with a great new look would get attention.
But, I think the real treat of LibraryThing is the sharing of personal libraries, recs and unrecs, reviews, links to people who love books and read what you read, and links to events appealing to us.
bweldon
Not sure how my little catalog of ten items will show up when I publish this post, but I tried! The titles reveal my current eclectic reading and are the ten that were within arm's reach of my computer as I was exploring LibraryThing.
LibraryThingforLibraries offers some possibilities for add-ons to my work library catalog which is hosted by EOS. Or I could create a new LibraryThing account for work use where I add and delete books to advertise what's new. The "shelf look" and the Amazon look would have certain age-appeal. It would be fun to attach a changing "shelf look" to my home page.
I currently create book lists (bibliographies) from my EOS catalog for employees looking for resources according to their needs. A book list with a great new look would get attention.
But, I think the real treat of LibraryThing is the sharing of personal libraries, recs and unrecs, reviews, links to people who love books and read what you read, and links to events appealing to us.
bweldon
Friday, April 4, 2008
Thing #13: Online Productivity Tools
Thing 13 drove me to (finally) deal with MyYahoo which I've used for (junk) email for years. I'd never taken the time to configure and customize MyYahoo home page since 99% of my computer work is done on the job with MSOutlook and our corporate intranet.
This activity got me thinking that MyYahoo could be a very useful home page, especially if I populated it with the Yahoo calendar, the list maker, bookmarks, my favorite headline sources, and started adding RSS feeds. What if I left this job tomorrow? MyYahoo now enhanced with calendar, newsfeeds, etc., would look pretty good then!
TinyURL is unique - I'd recommend it to conquer impossibly long URLs as well as to disguise them when necessary. Lifehacker is great - I added it to Bloglines and MyYahoo and had a hard time ripping myself away from it. I can't wait to find a particular kind of fruit suggested to freeze in ice cubes to flavor glasses of water - great tip for a non-soda drinker. I've also bookmarked pdfonfly.com as a conversion tool for PDFs at home.
Of all the other tools suggested, the one I want to pursue in depth is Backpack as a business organizer and team-sharing tool. It's very task- and calendar-driven. As I followed the Backpack tutorial, I kept thinking about the Common Craft video about the wiki from Thing 10. Then I found the Backpack testimonial confirming it's "all the fun of a Wiki without any of the learning curve."
I think online to-do lists are useful if they're attached to a tool you're already using, not just another separate service. I'm really a hand-written-to-do-list-in-the-purse kind of person. If I have a list on the computer, I'll print it out and it'll just be a bigger piece of paper in my purse. I still maintain a Franklin (Covey) Planner so you know where I'm coming from!
bweldon
This activity got me thinking that MyYahoo could be a very useful home page, especially if I populated it with the Yahoo calendar, the list maker, bookmarks, my favorite headline sources, and started adding RSS feeds. What if I left this job tomorrow? MyYahoo now enhanced with calendar, newsfeeds, etc., would look pretty good then!
TinyURL is unique - I'd recommend it to conquer impossibly long URLs as well as to disguise them when necessary. Lifehacker is great - I added it to Bloglines and MyYahoo and had a hard time ripping myself away from it. I can't wait to find a particular kind of fruit suggested to freeze in ice cubes to flavor glasses of water - great tip for a non-soda drinker. I've also bookmarked pdfonfly.com as a conversion tool for PDFs at home.
Of all the other tools suggested, the one I want to pursue in depth is Backpack as a business organizer and team-sharing tool. It's very task- and calendar-driven. As I followed the Backpack tutorial, I kept thinking about the Common Craft video about the wiki from Thing 10. Then I found the Backpack testimonial confirming it's "all the fun of a Wiki without any of the learning curve."
I think online to-do lists are useful if they're attached to a tool you're already using, not just another separate service. I'm really a hand-written-to-do-list-in-the-purse kind of person. If I have a list on the computer, I'll print it out and it'll just be a bigger piece of paper in my purse. I still maintain a Franklin (Covey) Planner so you know where I'm coming from!
bweldon
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thing #12: Do You Digg?
Not sure I dig them all, but an interesting concept! Voting for the news, categorizing it, commenting on it...who knew I'd ever want to do any of it?
I shared a story in Mixx and was surprised not to have to join to do it. Digg and Reddit wanted a registration first. I registered at Newsvine, and shared a story there because it's the one of four I'm most likely to return to. I am a news hound - aren't we all? I like the idea of the whole AP wire without intervention. I like the page layout, the vote-up feature, and the user instructions on Newsvine.
I'll use these tools as another web source for news. When I read an item that really stirs me, I'll either vote it up if I've found it in Newsvine or seed it there. Honestly, at work where the nature of my job is rarely news-driven, these tools might be a productivity detractor, but at home they will be an enhancer if I'm on the hunt for a news item.
Yes, as of today, I've read MANY stories as a result of seeing them on on these sites!
bweldon
I shared a story in Mixx and was surprised not to have to join to do it. Digg and Reddit wanted a registration first. I registered at Newsvine, and shared a story there because it's the one of four I'm most likely to return to. I am a news hound - aren't we all? I like the idea of the whole AP wire without intervention. I like the page layout, the vote-up feature, and the user instructions on Newsvine.
I'll use these tools as another web source for news. When I read an item that really stirs me, I'll either vote it up if I've found it in Newsvine or seed it there. Honestly, at work where the nature of my job is rarely news-driven, these tools might be a productivity detractor, but at home they will be an enhancer if I'm on the hunt for a news item.
Yes, as of today, I've read MANY stories as a result of seeing them on on these sites!
bweldon
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Thing #11 - Tagging and Del.icio.us
Del.icio.us has potential for research assistance AND is a great way to access your bookmarks from any computer. And it has potential as a builder of communities around shared interests. It's also a fascinating social study to peek into the additional bookmarks saved by Del.icio.us subscribers.
All of the listed libraries in Thing #11 appear to be using Del.icio.us as a tool for users to find links to library-recommended websites by topic. San Mateo has interesting bundles by Dewey class and Manasha has bundles by subject. I could also create a useful list of bookmarks for my library website. I plan to demonstrate the unique searchability of Del.icio.us in my tours and brown bag seminars.
Tag clouds are very intriguing. In one I was drawn around in a circle of eye movement from engineering to SantaBarbara. The serendipity nature of this type of search reminds me of someone who eschews the online catalog and just wants to browse the shelves of the library.
That's the delicious nature of Del.icio.us...very targeted, yet very random.
bweldon
All of the listed libraries in Thing #11 appear to be using Del.icio.us as a tool for users to find links to library-recommended websites by topic. San Mateo has interesting bundles by Dewey class and Manasha has bundles by subject. I could also create a useful list of bookmarks for my library website. I plan to demonstrate the unique searchability of Del.icio.us in my tours and brown bag seminars.
Tag clouds are very intriguing. In one I was drawn around in a circle of eye movement from engineering to SantaBarbara. The serendipity nature of this type of search reminds me of someone who eschews the online catalog and just wants to browse the shelves of the library.
That's the delicious nature of Del.icio.us...very targeted, yet very random.
bweldon
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Thing #10 - Wikis
Wikis are websites that are collaborative. My library website could be a Wiki if I could limit the editing privilege to one, and it might be a whole lot easier to edit than the FrontPage site I have! But there's a language to learn to set up a Wiki, so I need to invest time to learn it. I'm going back to my corporate IT dept when I've finished the 23 Things to see if there is an approved Wiki for internal use. I need to know how the Wiki fits in with our corporate security and firewalls.
Good applications within schools and libraries: lists, procedures, time-sensitive info such as assignments or handbooks, technical updates, links, etc. Really, everything on a library website can be put on a wiki with some limits of security, authorship.
The use of Wikipedia for student research is a foregone conclusion. There is no sense in banning it. Just make it one of, say, ten resources to use and maybe only four of the ten can be web resources. Students should be expected to use AND evaluate Wikipedia. Limiting information by format? Ok, to some extent...see previous sentence. Forbidding information by format? Impossible.
I edited the 23 Things on a Stick wiki which I signed (4/1/08 bjw). I had a problem trying to add an image which appeared far too big for the wiki edit page. For further exploration: Is a wiki registered as a website is? Or is the host the registrar? Initial set-up/structure of the wiki (pbwiki advertised as 30 seconds to your own wiki)...they haven't met me!
bweldon
Good applications within schools and libraries: lists, procedures, time-sensitive info such as assignments or handbooks, technical updates, links, etc. Really, everything on a library website can be put on a wiki with some limits of security, authorship.
The use of Wikipedia for student research is a foregone conclusion. There is no sense in banning it. Just make it one of, say, ten resources to use and maybe only four of the ten can be web resources. Students should be expected to use AND evaluate Wikipedia. Limiting information by format? Ok, to some extent...see previous sentence. Forbidding information by format? Impossible.
I edited the 23 Things on a Stick wiki which I signed (4/1/08 bjw). I had a problem trying to add an image which appeared far too big for the wiki edit page. For further exploration: Is a wiki registered as a website is? Or is the host the registrar? Initial set-up/structure of the wiki (pbwiki advertised as 30 seconds to your own wiki)...they haven't met me!
bweldon
Thing #9: Online Collaboration Tools
It's quite unfair to judge Zoho Writer and GoogleDocs on my first go at them. After reading "How to Become a GoogleDocs Power User," I know there are those for whom collaboration tools like this are nirvana. And I think the more you use and adopt the features of one, the more dependent you become on that one.
In my cursory usage of them, I thought Zoho Writer was easier to use. It showed me a clean beginning document, was easy to alter, had more features - or they were easier to see on the template, really felt more like a word processor to me than GoogleDocs.
The document on GoogleDocs was a mess when I got it. I had no clue what the original document looked like, and I would find it very difficult to collaborate without a side-by-side comparison with the original. The advertising for both referred to easy reverting to earlier editions, but I didn't find that feature with the sample document. And it seems that if you were using GoogleDocs with a number of collaborators, you'd have to set some ground rules for revision notation.
The Founding Fathers - my vision of them is from "1776" - would love the concept. Think of the travel it would've saved, and some were in very poor health and/or elderly. But the vivid oratory would've been lost! Much of what they created in person exists in the document because of great passionate speeches and debate. Some of that you just can't do with a word processor.
bweldon
In my cursory usage of them, I thought Zoho Writer was easier to use. It showed me a clean beginning document, was easy to alter, had more features - or they were easier to see on the template, really felt more like a word processor to me than GoogleDocs.
The document on GoogleDocs was a mess when I got it. I had no clue what the original document looked like, and I would find it very difficult to collaborate without a side-by-side comparison with the original. The advertising for both referred to easy reverting to earlier editions, but I didn't find that feature with the sample document. And it seems that if you were using GoogleDocs with a number of collaborators, you'd have to set some ground rules for revision notation.
The Founding Fathers - my vision of them is from "1776" - would love the concept. Think of the travel it would've saved, and some were in very poor health and/or elderly. But the vivid oratory would've been lost! Much of what they created in person exists in the document because of great passionate speeches and debate. Some of that you just can't do with a word processor.
bweldon
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