Thing 23 One Last Thing

I just completed the survey and am excited to have completed all 23 Things On A Stick. As a mature employee I have enjoyed learning to use the Web 2.0 tools and will continue to use some of them. I plan on revisiting some of the "Things" to become more proficient. Now, when someone talks about FaceBook, Flickr and MySpace, I can say yes, I have been out to those sites.

Thanks you to those who developed this program for us. There are several of us within my region who are participating so it is fun to compare notes with them.

THE END!!!!!

Thing 22: Staying Current

I plan on using several of the new tools I have learned especially using Bloglines and RSS Feeds along with participating in various Webinars. I will be going back and reviewing some of the tools that I tried but didn't master.

Things 21 Beyond My Space: Other Social Networks

Here is the badge from Ning.

I joined the Knit Pik group which is a group of knitters.



Visit 23 Things on a Stick

Thing 20 Facebook and MySpace

I explored both Facebook and MySpace. I created an account in Facebook and posted to my wall. I also explored MySpace and went to the Denver Public Library. I like the book reviews that others have posted.
I probably won't do anything else with either of these sites but I can understand why teenagers spend so much time on these sites.

Thing 19 Pod Casts

I listened to several pod casts. The ones I especially liked were This American Life on NPR titled The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar. I also listened to Libaries Become Temporary Refuge for Homeless. I found the Yahoo podcast directory very easy to use. I also tried some of the other directories and they are all pretty easy to use. As of today's date I have not been inspired to create a podcast, maybe at a later date.

Thing 18 You tube

I explored the various videos on You Tube. I could spend alot of time amusing myself by watching the various videos on different topics. Since it is Easter, I did a search on Easter videos and found several very entertaining ones to watch. I enjoyed the Grand March of the Librarians and here is a link to it.

Thing 17 ELM Productivity Tools

I explored the use of these tools. Since I am not a librarian, rather an HR person. I won't make much use of these ELM tools. I have participated in Webinar's for the past couple of years. SHRM (a HR organization I belong to) has used these for training.

Thing 16 Research Project Calculator

I explored both the Research Project Calculator and the Teacher Guide. I liked the Teacher Guide the best as it broke the project down into smaller segments. Often the hardest part of starting a large project is just deciding how to break the project down into steps.

It would have been helpful when I was a student to have had a tool like this available. The library should put together a flyer informing both teachers and students about these tools and distribute them to patrons.

Thing 15 Libraries and Games

I watched the video and took the tour for Second Life. I also explored the Piriate game. This is not something that I personally will want to get involved with. It is good to be aware of the games and is something teens will enjoy.

Thing 14 Library Thing

I completed the tour of Library Thing and set up my own accout.

Here is a link to one of my books. http://www.librarything.com/blog/

This is a fun way to discover new books to read.

Thing 13 Online Productivity Tools

I have explored the various tools. One I did think was fun was the countdown. I used it to countdown to Christmas. My grandchildren will think this is a great tool. I also customized my 1google page to include items of interest to me.

I am a list maker but probably won't use this tool as a sheet of paper works fine for me.

Things 12 Digg, Reddit and others

I went in and explored these sites. I think you could spend alot of time just exploring and clicking on links. I did go to the BBC news site and shared an article I found of interest.

I don't see that I would use this in my work, but may play around with it some more from my home computer.

Thing 11 Tagging

I watch the video on del.icio.us and this appears to be a handy tool. I went in and signed up for a del.icio.us account. At work I couldn't add the button to the tool bar but I plan on doing this on my home computer.

I did go in and add a tag to my Thing 6 blog.

Thing 10 Wikis

I watched the video explanation of wikis and how they can simplify planning between several individuals. A wiki could be used for event planning I tried to edit the 23Things on a Stick wiki but when I used the invite key of multitypes it rejected and wouldn't let me access the wiki.

A wiki is not a good tool for research because anyone can add information to a wiki and it may just be opinion not based on facts.

Thing 9 Online Collaboration Tools

I explored both Zoho Writer and Google doc. I think Google will be easier to use. I imported a word document into Google doc. and then made changes. We often have managers at several locations working of policy and procedure changes. This is a much more efficient way to have more than one person reviewing the editing.

The "Founding Fathers" would be totally amazed at the technology that is available now.

Thing 8 Share your Creation

Here is a picture using Picture Trail.

I have explored all the different ways of using these tools. In the past I have used power point when making presentations. I think using Zoho to create presentations will be a much better way to go.

Thing 7 Communication Tools

I have used e-mail as a communication tool for several years. I currently have 3 e-mail accounts: 1 for work, 1 for personal communication which I don't use when signing up for anything because I want to keep it spam free as much as possible and the 3rd I use for shopping and signing up for offers etc. and it gets alot of spam.

At work, since we have 13 branch libraries and 10 LINK sites spread over a 7 county area I use it to communicate within our region. The use of e-mail enhances my productivity since I don't have to communicate by snail mail or telephone.

I have an IM account set up for my personal e-mail and have a small group that I communicate with. I am not an active user of text messaging because my cell phone company charges extra for any text message either received or sent.

I have participated in webinars. I have my PHR certification from SHRM and have to obtain 60 hrs of recertification credits every three years. SHRM holds webinars pertaining to human resource topics thoughout the year and I often participate in them. They have both "live" webinars and also archive them so you can watch whenever you have time.

Thing 6 Image Generator

This is a fu This is a fun site. You could spend hours playing with this.

http://cdnll.users1.imagechef.com/ic/flowers/images/flower17.swf" flashvars="myVar1=http://cdnll.users1.imagechef.com/ic/stored/users_153/766646/samp7dd75b80e37a6271.jpg" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="380" height="266" name="flower-animated" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />
ImageChef.com Flower Textn site to play with.

Thing 5 more Flickr

This is something that would be fun to do for my grandchildren who love to put puzzles together.

The Flickr toys are fun to play with. At first I was confused with how to upload the end product into my blog. It helped to look and see what others have done for Thing 5.

Thing 4 Photo sharing with Flickr

This is a picture I downloaded that was a sample already on my work computer. I don't have any other pictures on my computer and wasn't able to figure out how to download pictures from the flickr page.

Here is the URL to a picture on Flickr posted by Gailatlarge.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gailontheweb/6221881/


I did a tag search for cats and love the picture posted by gail. See above link. Hopefully you will also be able to enjoy the picture of the cat.

I found it much easier to upload the picture using the URL.

I think Flickr will be a great tool to use with my personal photos and to share with friends and family but I will make them as private.

Thing 3 Set up an RSS Account

This activity was easy for me because awhile ago I set up an RSS Account and use it for HR related updates and general news. It really is a time saver because just like the video clip indicated, you don't have to go to each favorite site to see if anything new is posted. The new information comes to you.

Thing 2 What is Library 2.0

I watched the video clip by Stephan Abram of Murdoch University. His comment about we need to make the choice to learn and if this is our choice, then we will find the time necessary to participate in the 23 Things on a Stick. As a baby boomer, all of these tools are not something I grew up using and so I am excited to be able to explore all of the various tools and learn how to incorporate some of them into both my work and home life.

Thing 1 Create my Blog

The directions to create my own blog were very easy to follow. The instructions were correct though, the most difficult was finding a blog name that wasn't already used. I look forward to doing the next 22 things.