Friday, June 27, 2008

Thing 6


This is an area in which we have had a little more experience (not to mention a lot of fun).  The trading card came from HugeLab (with pic from Simpsonize.com), as did the pixellated bookshelf.  The biker is from The Generator Blog.  A little imagination in Media Center signage, decor, web postings, etc., can be very inspiring, especially for reluctant readers.


Thing 5, continued


warholizer
Originally uploaded by lesley_hendrickson
As suggested, it is possible to have way too much fun with this application. One can think of all kinds of signage opportunities (Flickr Spell)

Thing 5

L i B R A Pastry Cutter R Bead Letter Y

Aren't we all?


Originally uploaded by Roadsidepictures
Thing 4

One can certainly spend a lot of time perusing others' holiday snaps.  Miss Shelved finds it more useful to already have something to look for (the URL of a cousin's wedding, or the snaps of little Lilly's dance recital, for example).  Otherwise, the tags seem awfully broad.  What some of those pictures had to do with librarians is anybody's guess.

One would not feel comfortable recommending such a site for research purposes.  Some of the content is questionable for elementary eyes, and one cannot assume that all holiday snaps were correctly labeled (how many whale watchers could correctly identify the species weeks after the cruise, for example?) 

No photo service is currently on Miss Shelved's bookmark bar, but the offer of a safe haven is not to be scoffed at.  This is something she will need to rectify, and soon.

As to the public availability, choose wisely, or never run for public office.

We did check out the Picnik feature, and it was useful, though it did not offer much more than one might have already applied in iPhoto before uploading.  

Thing 3 -- and a jolly good time was had by all

This assignment certainly got the juices flowing!  Miss Shelved spent many hours and  visited some fascinating sites.  Who knew librarians were warriors?  or avengers?  or "shifted"?  It seems everyone has a good deal to say.  Again, the prompts are as good a way as any to get one's thoughts in order.
  • What does Miss Shelved like about RSS and newsreaders?  The Vienna newsreader has been on our dock for a while now, but little effort had been made to personal the datastream -- which makes it rather useless.  This assignment was a nice little push.  We tried Google Reader to make a change (though Vienna is rather easy to update as well). Time will tell how essential it may become, but the key is finding the right inputs.
  • How might we use this? Once anyone finds the right sources for news, views, tips & tricks -- which is to say, finds the right community (what Web 2.0 is about, after all?) RSS feeds have to be the way to go.  In fact, during her peregrinations, Miss Shelved found a wonderful site for children's book bloggers, called "Jacketflap" -- and was most annoyed to find that it did not offer an RSS feed.  We may need to put a bee in that webmaster's bonnet.
  • Which search tool was easiest?  Familiarity is always soothing.  Google searches certainly provide that.  Clearly there are some drawbacks to accessing all one's services at one point, but there are navigational advantages as well.
  • Other ways to locate feeds?  One's fellow 23 thing bloggers had some lovely ideas.
  •  With all the postings from ALA going on at the moment, it is difficult to tell which sites have ongoing substance.  One of the worldwide websites that looked intriguing turned out to be defunct, no new posts for over a year.  Miss Shelved will try to nod in frequently on her current selections and comment again in a few weeks. 

Thing 2

Fascinating reading/viewing.  The times they are a-changing, indeed.  To sort her thoughts, Miss Shelved will respond to prompt questions as offered.
  • Where will one find the time?  Miss Shelved is among those lucky creatures (finally) to be in a position to take summers off. A perfect time  . . . yet it has taken until late June to complete Thing 2.  Hmmm.
  • Why participate?  Even elementary students are rapidly becoming involved in on-line communal activities.  The elementary Media Specialist is frequently called upon to be the guardian of security, voice of reason, and academic arbiter of web activity. One has to keep up just to keep the little darlings out of trouble.  And just maybe we would actually like to be in on the fun sometimes.
  • The web has revolutionized the way this reader uses public libraries.  Online catalogs and reservation allows one to do all the browsing over morning coffee.  Browsing can include checking new titles lists, readers' blogs, and librarian recommendations.  **It has also made book ordering a breeze:  vender on-line catalogs connect to the same reviews, allow one to see the cover (and often contents) before purchase. **This Media Specialist has a true appreciation for Wikipedia:  it is the finest source for "common knowledge" that is often anything but common.  Where else can one find the meaning of an obscure reference like "Jenny Hanniver" (see Philip Reeves's "Darkling Plain" series) or check the history behind the new film "Mongol"?  As a reference maven, one must still urge students to use it as an overview and introduction --and to exploit its bibliographies--rather than rely on Wikipedia as holy writ.  Miss Shelved is aware that she treads on dangerous ground here. **As an avocational  theatre artist, web research has been an huge boon.  One used to hunt fruitlessly for costume plates in public libraries, often to find the books gone or the pictures razored out. Now amazing visual materials are all on-line.  And don't even ask about the sea change now that musical scores can be accessed digitally.  ** Lastly, while hardly putting a dent in the long list of digital resources Miss Shelved has enjoyed in recent years, there is Sudoku, which has probably had the greatest impact on use of time...
  • Where is Miss Shelved in terms of Web 2.0 knowledge?  Baby steps!  But toddling as fast as she can, and definitely well ahead of the typical user of her library.  Some staff are still getting used to on-line catalogs. Shared staff calendars were the big breakthrough this academic year. As for students, most have deep experience but only in a narrow area, say an MMPRG or two, and honestly haven't a clue how to find actual information on line.
  •  What are we looking forward to?  Having audibly sniffed at one's younger relatives' time-wasting in on-line fantasy role-playing, Miss Shelved has her own fantasies of kicking necromancer butt as a buff young avatar.  All in the name of research, of course.