Thing #15 Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the Future of Libraries

In the article "To a Temporary Place in Time" by Wendy Schultz I found a very intriguing viewpoint of libraries in the future. (http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/6.htm)

She begins the article by making the very true point that libraries have gone from being "in the community" to "being the community".

Throughout the article she discusses what the various historical and future phases of the library look like starting in Library 1.0 (the past), continuing to Library 2.0 (the present), and finishing with Library 3.0 and 4.0 (the future).

I found her ideas of what the Library must and will morph into to be spot on. I have to agree, many of these things will happen. It is kind of freaky and weird. But when you think about it, look at the things we are doing today that would have been strange ideas 10-20 years ago, example: most everyone having mp3 players, computers, and cell phones and even owning instruments that combine all three.

Schultz is predicting that the next phase transition, we arrive at virtual collections in the 3D world, where books themselves may have avatars and online personalities.
Uh...as I look at the paperback novel I'm reading that sounds crazy, but hey, I just created an avatar for my online blog, so why not?

I think this article does a great job of expanding a librarian's mind and preparing him/her for what is likely to come in the future.

The article "Away from the Icebergs" by Rick Anderson lists potential pitfalls today's library can fall into and how to avoid them.(http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/2.htm)

I really enjoyed reading this article as it also pushes one to think about what our information world is really going to look like in the future and how we can best serve our patrons.

Anderson points out that circulation is dropping and other services are rising in the library. We need to focus less on keeping "just in case" and out-dated print items on hand and more on boosting our other information services.

In order to serve our patrons, we need to be ready to teach these quickly growing and changing technologies. Before the internet information age, libraries had a monopoly on information. If one was not wealthy enough to keep expensive up-to-date research sources such as books, encyclopedias and other reference materials in their home (which is the majority of the population), they went to the library. Such is not the case anymore; patrons can find the information they are looking for in many other ways these days.

So how do we keep our libraries current and alive?

Anderson notes that as librarians "we have to be a bit more humble in the current environment, and find new ways to bring our services to patrons rather than insisting that they come to us—whether physically or virtually. At a minimum, this means placing library services and content in the user’s preferred environment (i.e., the Web); even better, it means integrating our services into their daily patterns of work, study and play."

Thing #14 Technorati

Technorati has not been my favorite tool so far. In an earlier week, it was better in comparison to other blog-searching sites, but for this exercise I found myself quite frustrated. When searching for "School Library Learning 2.0" in the blogosphere I didn't find very helpful results. Most of them were about mash-ups. I couldn't figure out where else to search for tags, or what the difference in searching for blog posts or the blog directory was. Those were some confusing directions. I wonder if technorati has changed its layout since this assignment was written...

I also searched around the top 100 tags today. That was pretty neat to see the words that are most often tagged right now. I clicked on the word "love" and several little love stories and songs popped up. Of course, half of the sites that popped up were not very pertinent.

I think that if I am looking for a particular blog someday this site will be useful. The chances are it won't be saved under my delicious bookmarks though.

Thing #13- Delicious: Social Bookmarking

Today I signed up for Delicious bookmarks at http://www.delicious.com/. It is similar to “Favorites” on Internet Explorer, only it is web-based so you can access your bookmarks from any computer. Delicious also contains expanded options for organization and creating tags. It can be used just as a tool for accessing bookmarks from everywhere, or it can be used in many more elaborate ways.


I decided to set it up as a tool for my students to access when they want to retrieve online unit studies or find important websites that contain study guides and documents we use in class. I first made my bookmark page public. Then, I bookmarked several pages that I use with my students throughout the year. First, I bookmarked E4, our district’s Blackboard page. Students can click on this page and access our School’s happening and then go to my “teacher” page where they can download documents, handouts, and notes I use in my class. I gave it a few tags: Frick, E4, Seabrook_Intermediate, etc. Also, I bookmarked a unit study we do on Shakespeare, a Heroes Study of Greek Mythology, and access to a Persuasive Writing Project graphic organizer and rubric. I fully plan use this tool as a resource to give my students to go to for accessing units that we complete in class and work they are assigned out of class.
Check out what I have done so far:
http://delicious.com/raf0917

Thing #12 Creating Community Through Commenting

I have found that I am much more likely to comment on my friend's blogs than someone I don't know well or an unpersonal informational blog. I guess that must be my "shy" side coming through. I know my close friends know me and will love me no matter what goofy thing I write, but I don't want to "offend" or "weird out" a stranger. That may be backwards thinking. This exercise is forcing me out of my comfort zone and commenting where I normally wouldn't.

The blog that debated commenters alias vs. real name was interesting. Even though I used my real name for this blog, when I debate it, I would rather use an alias for blog commenting. First of all, Rachel is such a common name that someone could easily be confused by my identity if they have any other Rachels in their life. Secondly, even though it is an opposite reason in a different setting, I may want to keep my identity private in a community I am not familiar with.

I also clued in to Blue Skunk's comment " But I have been thinking about Levin's statement in relationship to a unique characteristic of blogging - that it can be more dialog than sermon." More dialog than sermon. Hmmm. I guess it depends on the purpose you want for your blog. In most circumstances I would much rather have a dialogue with my blog than preach with no interaction. The feedback and communication encourages me to keep writing and sharing ideas too.

Thing #11 LibraryThing

This is a neat tool for librarians. I created an account and listed the last five books I've read. In exploring the site, I found that it is almost exactly the same as another web site I'm a member of - Shelfari. I signed up on Shelfari several years ago and have been using it to document each book I read. I am also apart of interest groups (just like I see is available on LibraryThing). For me, I like to keep up with Young Adult Literature, Literature for Grades 6-8, Christian Literature, Historical Fiction, and Romantic Comedies. The sites can be helpful for librarians who want to hear other's opinions on books they are interested in recommending or purchasing. Librarians may also want to recommend groups to students who have a passion for a certain genre of literature. I know I will continue using this tool in the future.

Thing #10 - Using Online Image Generators

This was a fun little task. I tried several different online image generators and came up with a couple of favorites. The first one is the Glitterizer. This is like WordArt to the hundreth. There are all kinds of different flashy, artful, and glittered templates to choose from. I chose to use a line from a Garfield poster I have in my classroom. Read: It's the Bright Thing. Click on it to see it enlarged. I found this type of image generator at http://www.glitterizer.com/. This could be used in the classroom or library as help with sprucing the titles of student's projects.

The second favorite image generator of mine was http://www.bighugelabs.com/. This web site has all kinds of fun image generators included. I chose the motivator at http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php. As you can see, here I made fun of my silly dancing picture through a motivational poster. Students can be taught how to use these for a creative outlet or art. These activities can also be used for a prewriting activity or an enhancement to a project in any content area.

Thing #9 - Useful Library-Related Blogs and News Feeds

Topix and Technorati were both fairly easy search tools to use in trying to find blogs. Syndic8 was more confusing and less user friendly to use as a blog search tool.

From Topix I added my hometown's news: "Friendswood News" to my RSS feed. I already added several library-related blogs from working through Thing#8 so from Technorati I added two pages of my hobby realted interests. The first one is Crshare's "House and Home" which has home design tips and the other is Chron.com's "Outdoors" which gives the outdoor report for the greater Houston area including the fishing reports in the area.
Check out my feed again now:
http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en#stream/user%2F12728279506268239740%2Fstate%2Fcom.google%2Freading-list

Thing #8 - RSS Feeds

This was a great activity. I have heard a friend talk about how much she loves using her RSS but I had never tried to use one myself before. I love the fact that all of the sites I normally open individually and read can be condensed into one long page for me to scour over. It saves time and effort of opening individual sites. I ended up subscribing to several of my friends blogs and two blog sites for librarians.

In the future I may plan to separate my personal life from my work life by creating one RSS feed with my friends’ personal blogs and another RSS feed with education and librarian centered information. This will help me save time with opening individual work and personal emails. It will give me extra time to actually read through the information, articles, blogs, etc. instead of hurriedly skimming each site. As a librarian, I plan to share this feature with teachers and administrators too so they can keep up-to-date on educational information in a more efficient manner.

I also completed the optional task and made my Google Reader page public. You can check it out at: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/12728279506268239740?hl=en

Thing #7 Cool Google Tools

I didn't realize we could use Google in so many ways. Every nine-weeks I create calendars for my students to follow. I used to use my school's email application to do this electronically, but last year the calendar component fizzled out. Now I know I can go to Google Calendar to create these and share them electronically instead of handwriting a blank calendar like I ended up doing the last semester of last year. Here is the link to the calendar I created for my family to know what days are online and what are face-to-face for my night class the next couple of weeks:

http://www.google.com/calendar/render?gsessionid=OfekxO0qGTsrDbq4bvNRHg

Google Earth is really exciting. I downloaded the application and then zeroed in on my home's street. I could even see my car in the driveway. It is just a hair away from being disturbing; knowing that at any given moment something from far above is taking pictures of us little people below.
My cooking group uses Google Docs to communicate meal duties once a week. I am out for a while with my night class, and I updated our Google spreadsheet to show what days I would be out and when I would start cooking again. Here is our online doc through Google:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ptLdpswNagUyB2tNI9bspRg&hl=en

Thing #6 - Mashups and More

So I've learned that "mashups" literally are two programs mashed up into one. Flickr is used commonly with mashups because many other programs can use Flickr images. In the library I think I will be using many of these programs to show my students how to amp up their projects.

In Language Arts at my intermediate school, many teachers use PhotoStory software for a narrative project they assign each year. Flickr and and Flickr Color Picker will be great apps. to show the students and teachers so that the presentations can incorporate better quality images.

Also, Mappr will be a helpful tool for me to show the social studies, science, and math teachers. They can use this tool for interactive geographic lessons and for data visualization.

Finally, as you can see, I played with the Trading Card Maker. Yes, I know I am silly! :p

Thing #5 - Flickr

It will be a rare occasion for me to go back to Google Images again. I absolutely love the organization of Flickr images. Best of all, there are no worries about copyright infringements. What a librarian's dream!

In the Creative Commons I did several searches for images related to authors and literature themes I use in my 8th grade Language Arts classes. There are so many quality images I can bring to the classroom in the future. My favorite is this image of a painting that involves a plethora of scenes from the great Shakespeare plays. Check it out above.

Thing 3: Blogging and Avatars

The blogging process has been easy for me. I already have a free blog with xanga.com that I use for journal entries and pictures during my travels. I really like how easy Blogger.com is to use and interact with.

This is the first time I have made an avatar. Avatars are so much fun! I had a blast looking through different outfits and settings to create my character.

The only problem I came upon was copying html code from my avatar to the blog. I ended up downloading it as a picture and then uploading it on my blog site to work.

Thing 2: Thoughts on the 7 and 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners

The easiest habit of successful lifelong learners for me to follow is the directive to PLAY! I am really good at playing. I like to bring fun to my learning. I have built my career and life choices around the fact that I enjoy learning and have fun with it!

Another easy habit for me to follow is to teach or mentor others. I am a teacher! I spend the majority of my working hours teaching. I love it and it comes naturally to me. Therefore, lifelong learning is what I want to pass on to my students!

The hardest habit for me to follow would be viewing problems as challenges. This habit states that when a problem comes up a lifelong learner should not look at it as a crisis, but as a challenge to learn from. Often, I get become frustrated very easily when problems arise. I could use some practice at patiently refocusing my mind to calmly accept problematic situations and learn how to solve them and prevent them from happening in the future.

Lifelong learning is usually natural for those who are continually teaching. These habits can help us become more effective!