Sunday, March 30, 2008

Thing 11 - Tagging and del.icio.us

If I had known about del.icio.us before starting my Masters, it would've been a lot easier to bookmark pages I used for research. I think this is an efficient tool! It's just another way to manage your bookmarks.

I think that del.icio.us could be very beneficial in libraries. Instead of students becoming frustrated while trying to conduct research by searching various websites, they could access a list of relevant sites through a del.icio.us account.

Thing 8 - Sharing Photos

I used Picturetrail to create the "Acrobat Cube." I have seen many of these photosharing tools on MySpace and other personal areas of my life. I have not encountered these tools in my professional life, such as in the library.

I explored the different tools, and felt that Picturetrail was the most user-friendly... you just upload your photos, and then you can choose from a wealth of different ways to customize those photos. There were cool borders, backgrounds, graphics, etc. I would definitely recommend the Picturetrail program to others. It was also very easy to select where I wanted the Acrobat Cube posted. You can select many different areas (blogspot, gmail, myspace, etc.) Just enter your username and password for that account and it posts automatically.


Thursday, March 6, 2008

Thing 6 - My Trading Card Creation


Thing 6 - My Trading Card Creation
Originally uploaded by jeannemariebaker

I could see my students getting enjoyment out of making their own trading card. I think that this would be a fun activity for Media Specialists to do with students. I wish that there were more capabilities for customization (unless I'm unaware of them). I was hoping to be able to format the font and size of the text, but wasn't able to.

Thing 5 - More Fun with Flickr!


Sisters poster
Originally uploaded by jeannemariebaker

I absolutely LOVE all of the fun stuff you can do with these fun Flickr tools! I could spend hours modifying pictures. These are great ideas for gifts as well! I found out extremely easy to make cool things out of my photos. I made this motivational poster on the site "Big Huge Labs." These tools would be great to use for posters, projects, newsletters, myspace/facebook, etc. I enjoyed exploring the "Big Huge Labs" and "Spell With Flickr" sites best. I felt that they were the most useful and user-friendly.

Thing 3 - RSS

Adding the RSS through my Google account was a little confusing at first, but eventually it all came together. I like the idea that I can stay updated with news feeds or colleagues blogs. I'm hoping to add more great sites to my Reader as I find them. I looking forward to seeing if there are some sites or professional blogs that I can use to enhance my teaching that I might benefit from placing on my reader.

Thing 4 - Trying out the picnik program!


Cami Pigtails
Originally uploaded by jeannemariebaker

Well... I have successfully tried out some of the flickr/picnik program options. I used little Cami as my guinea pig! I like the program. Some of the premium options are cool! But you have to pay for them :(

Monday, March 3, 2008

Leaping Into Library 2.0

I guess this is really the first time I've encountered the term "Library 2.0." After learning more about it, I feel that it doesn't really matter what you call it, but libraries are changing. They are becoming more of the Central Nervous System of a school, college, etc., versus an added part of an education community where you go when you need something to read for entertainment or research. I feel like Media Specialists (Librarians) are people to be treasured in my profession. They are much more valuable than they have been portrayed in generations past. They are helping to lead all of us into a new Technological Era. Lead the way!