LATI - Tips

Week 7 - WIKIS

2007-07-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

Honore here: Wikis are fun and growing everyday in their capabilities - from just posting to using them for all sorts of collaborative ventures. They aren't so fun when they get spammed - as I so aptly discovered yesterday. However, that is in the past and a flag to me to remember that the world is made up of two kinds of people, as my mother was so fond of saying: "those with good will and those without."

As I did the discovery tour for Thing 16, I really enjoyed seeing all the various ways wikis are being used. I especially liked Bull Run(VA) Library's wiki's offerings; two links I found of interest and think you might like to pursue:
1- What song was number one on the day you were born? Mine was 'White Christmas."
2 - "Best Free Reference Websites for 2006." Since we're beginning to look at information resources, you might find this source pertinent.
You can check out both of the above on Bull Run's Wiki.

Be sure to play in the sandbox - Thing 17 - perhaps your LCN might want to set up its own sandbox. A thought...

Have fun!
Cheers~

23 Things - Week 6

2007-07-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Honore here: Lots of good "fun" this week. I like Del.icio.us tho' the syllabication drives me batty. I was a great fan of Amazon's beta search tool - A.9 - and Del.icio.us reminds me of it, tho' I don't know why. I really like the idea of flat hierarchies - read about it on Beeler's space. I wish there were a way to organize my files using tags - I invariably forget where I "filed" a document and FH (my shorthand for flat hierarchies) seems to be the ticket for rescuing my memory. I also like the fact that Del.icio.us replaces bookmarks - I never refer to them. My Del.icio.us buttons didn't install - be sure to read the Note at the bottom of Thing 13 before you try to install the buttons, if you sign up for Del.icio.us. I'm going to try again...

Technorati - Thing 14 - is a cool blog search tool - I could do without the ads, but they are a minor distraction. The tool gives you lots of information about blogs and ways to search aspects of them. Tags are an essential aspect of the tool and when all else fails, the tool resorted to doing a keyword search in blog posts for my "tag terms." I like that feature. This is an easy to use search tool.

Hope you watched the video in Thing 15 - it was posted on this blog at the begining of our journey. It's pretty clever. I read the two posts on NextSpace: Into a new world of librarianship - it has some great tips for thinking about your customers as you continue to work on your project; and To a temporary place in time. I love the idea of a knowledge spa. Both posts resurrected VIVO and Whole New World for me.

I'm hoping this next week to catch up on several by-gone weeks; been looking for an avatar with mouse ears...
Cheers~

2007-07-10T17:18:00.000-04:00

A Note to Everyone about A Blogger Glitch!

Notice - no Title for this Blog Post! That is because Blogger is having a minor glitch that may interfere with you typing into the Title Field... Not to panic, there is a work-around... and of course, it can be found on a Blogger blog

Basically, you have to "futz" with your mouse a little until you get that vertical bar insertion thingy... then you'll see that you can type. I'm sure they'll get this corrected. It's been funky since Friday.

What to Eat???

2007-06-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

Honore here: You've checked out the buffet and the menu. Lots there to eat but just what do you want? Way too many choices. Decisions. RSS feeds for blogs and news simplify the process of making that decison, on a daily basis, for you. So, I hope you have have an easier time than I do in making the initial selection. With so much information coming at you, it's nice to have it all gathered and queued up for you - when you're ready to access it!
Oops, here comes the server - guess I'd best make up my mind. To be continued...

Cheers~

PS. Oops - forgot to post my post! {discovered 7/3/07}

Flick, Flick, FLICKR ...

2007-06-21T06:19:00.000-04:00

Honore here: Flickr! What fun! What a fabulous, ingenious, delightfully creative and inspiring stop on our "23 Things" learning journey. As I indicated in my weekly email, I am smitten. Photographer I am not; however, I'm eager to play around with these Flicker toys: a trading card, specifically a LATC - aka a library associate's trading card. This year,several LAs in the earlier LATI groups made LATCs by hand, me included. I'm planning on converting my analog LATC to a digital one. Stay tuned.

The other toy that caught my eye was the create a calendar mashup. Besides helping me stay on track, I think calendars are a really fun way to express one's creativity - and I'm challenged by the CD Jewel Case instructions. Wouldn't that make a fun gift, or better yet, a cool LATI Portfolio. Uhmm-any wheels turning?

Speaking of portfolios, I was also intrigued with Yahoo's Trip Planner Seems to me there are possibilities there, too, for a LATI portfolio...

I also browsed among the library groups and found to my surprise, my picture from the conference I attended in early May; second row, second from the left.
So, there it is: my first take on Flickr! Eager to see what gold you discover. Enjoy!
Cheers~

PS. Our blogroll is growing...

Blogs!

2007-06-14T07:22:00.000-04:00

Honore here: When I first encoutered blogs, there was only a handful, couple thousand. Today, easily several million, give or take...and the number grows everyday. There are blogs on absolutely every subject imaginable - as you will soon find out. One of the first blogs I ever read, in about 2002, was/is "rebecca's pocket" Take a look at it when you get time and look at her links in upper right of the page: /Portal/Books/

This week you set up your blog! What fun and a super learning adventure. Blogger's help file is pretty good and the behind-the-scenes Template makes customizing your blog really easy. So, go for it...and Enjoy! Can't wait to read your blogs!

Cheers~

Welcome to 23 Things

2007-06-04T16:13:00.000-04:00

Honore here: I am so excited that LATI is participating in the statewide Maryland Libraries Learning 2.0 - 23 Things project. We begin our 23 Things learning journey Thursday, June 7 and continue through September 6, 2007.
In the past couple years, web 2.0 read/write/talk sites - YouTube, Flickr, My Space, blogs, to mention a few -have sprouted up - and there's no end in sight. The video "Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing Us" (below - keep scrolling down) helps to explain the webolution that is taking place. Click on the PLAY arrow and watch away!

Getting Started
Since you're already registered with LATI, there's no need to register for 23 Things. However, if you have also registered with your system, please let me know. I will need to coordinate your participation with your system's liaison. So, please send me an email; thanks.

Incentives
When you complete this project, you will receive an incentive and a surprise. Watch the blog for an announcement.

Questions?
Please contact me, your liaison, about the project. Remember, I am not the instructor; we are all learning. You are encouraged to visit each other's blogs for ideas, tips and help with the web 2.0 technologies.

Thing 4 Details
Next Week - Week 2 - you'll set up your own blog. To complete Thing #4, you'll need to send me your blog address. Your blog is one way we'll track your progress - plus, your blog will also be added to the LATI Participants' blog list. Remember that your blog can be anonymous (to the public).

LATI Blog List
As you send in your blog addresses, I'll post them on this blog. Check this blog for the list of your LATI colleagues' blogs. To check out the blogs of your system colleagues, click on the Particpants link [on the right] and then select your system.

One Last Thought
Years ago, when I first started using a computer with a gui - graphical user interface - I, like everyone else, had to learn to manipulate the mouse. Stop and think back to your first few times using a mouse: remember how you always ran out of room on the mouse pad and/or lost the cursor? Well, I had a friend who'd gone to DisneyLand and she brought me a souvenir - a Mickey Mouse Hat. One day I decided that I would put on that hat everytime I sat at the computer and attempted to make that mouse move where I wanted it to go. It worked! Soon after I adopted my new strategy, I got the hang of moving the mouse. Now, I can't say that wearing the hat had anything to do with my success - however, I can tell you that I had a lot of fun in the process. And that is what I challenge you to do: Have Fun with 23 Things !

So, are you ready? Great. Fasten your seatbelts, click on the About link and let's take this exciting side-trip.

Cheers~