Summary

The most important thing I learned in the course I would have to say is becoming aware of the wide variety of tools available for free and I am sure we have just barely scratched the surface as to what is out there. For those of us who work in libraries it is a challenge to keep abreast of the latest technology so when a course likes this becomes available its a treat.

The most challenging part of the course was finding the time to do the tasks because of all the summer activities that were occurring in my life. I will return at a later date and spend some time investigating some of the tools that I found particularly interesting, i.e. LibraryThing. I still am having trouble posting a widget in my library blog from LibraryThing, so if anyone out there can post a comment on that, it would much appreciated.

I have taken online courses before and this is the way to go for me. I like being able to work on assignments when I choose to, and from the comforts of home.

I took this course in hopes of finding new technology that I could apply to my work in a secondary school library. I think a school library blog would be fun and a great way to communicate with staff and students. I plan to discuss this with my co-workers about starting a library blog and what content we may want to include. I love Library/Thing which I know I will use for my own use but also to use as a review tool for books that we may want to purchase for the library.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning to blog. The instructions were clear, easy-to-follow and help was readily available from the Library Lady.

Thanks Library Lady for a great learning experience!

Book Organization--Library/Thing

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/macpaige1



I love Library/Thing, I am always looking for book reviews but what I really like about this tool is the ability to keep track of what I have read. It is also great to read comments by others on books I have read. I definitely will be going back to check out more on Library/Thing. What a jewel!!


This is my Widget. Hope I did it correctly.
http://www.librarything.com/widget.php?shareID=w5d7107589caf354f09846576ae80b5aa&sharefrom=macpaige1

Feeding Time! RSS Feeds

I have used RSS feeds through EBSCOHost but I did add some through Google Reader. The RSS feeds I subscribed to are:
School Library Journal
Toronto Star
Macleans.ca
Epicurious.com
I did find Google Reader easy to use and I will continue to use the aggregator.

Wikis

The dish I will bring to the family meal is a fruit tray.

How was your PBWorks experience? Well it was informative, I had never used a wiki before except for reading Wikipedia. After watching the instructional video on wikis, it was easy to follow on how to edit a document and it clearly illustrated the use of wikis for organizing group collaboration.

Do I have any use for my own wiki? Not at this moment but I can see its potential if I am every in the situation where I need group input on a document.

Funny Cooking Story

 
Entertaining with George

 

This is a story about our Himalayan cat, George who liked to eat anything he could get his mouth into.  One evening my husband and I were having a dinner party.  We had invited good friends of ours, (thank goodness it was not my husband's boss) and we had just finished the main course.  For dessert we were going to have Strawberry Shortcake.  I had spent the afternoon baking shortbread to go with the fresh strawberries I had bought at the farmers market.  The shortbread turned out great and the strawberries tasted delicious.  I was sure this dessert was going to be a hit.  While we were resting at the dinner table between courses, enjoying some great conversation, I happened to glance over towards the kitchen.  There much to my horror, George was on the kitchen table with his face in the shortcake enjoying ever piece of shortcake he could devour.   When I jumped up from the dinner table and yelled, "George --No" he looked over at me with a look on his face as if he had just caught the biggest catch of his life.  It was too late, I had this big hole in the middle of the shortcake.  Well needless to say we did not have the shortcake with those delicious strawberries that evening but I bet George went to bed that night with a full tummy, purring himself to sleep. 

 

 

Picasa Web Album

I searched for photos on Shih Tzus since I am a proud owner of one, I am always interested in seeing other people's dogs. There sooooo cute! The only tag assigned to this photo was, "Report Abuse".
I thought Picasa was pretty cool. I can see it being used by students who may be looking for photos/images for assignments or for their powerpoint presentations.
I probably won't use Picasa since I can use Facebook for this purpose.

Facebook

I have an account with Facebook which I use to communicate with other library technicians, to share photos with relatives and friends, and also so other people can communicate with me. For instance, I recently had an elementary school friend contact me who I have not heard from in many years.
I do have concerns for children who share personal information which may put them at risk for predators and also for young people who are job hunting. I understand that some employers use social networking sites in their background checks. This is unfortunate for a young person who may have inappropriate photos or comments attached to their name.
I will continue to use Facebook but with caution, making sure not share too much personal information and screening those people who contact me.