#14 Technorati, or how to make my head implode

Maybe it's because it is Friday, but I am on web 2.0 overload. Too much to look at here...

So there are 1,208 posts tagged with "learning 2.0", and 1,014 blogs, none of which I felt like reading, so I skimmed. I can save surfing the 2.0 stuff another time. Right now, as I am working on my Ocean County Homeschooling blog I am searching "home schooling and finding some other fine blogs and posts to compare. Then I went into "Portrait Painting" to explore folks that share my other profession. I can certainly kill a lot of time here, searching out other postes, blogs, photos, etc. In all honesty, I will probably use this for homeschooling, art and kids literature more than I will use if for 2.0. But I had not known about Technorati before this. When I am less busy, I will certainly play around with this more.

#13 Del.icio.us

My favorite aspect of de.icio.us is that it is an easier way to access my favorites than just bookmarking. I began a del.icio.us account this past summer during my web. 2.0 class and find it is easier to use than just using my "favorites" button which is about a mile long now and I am very bad about sorting things into folders. This king of tagging allows for easier access and organization. I had not thought to use it at work, but now I am opening another account (I have had to create a list of all these new accounts with my usernames and passwords - keeping technologically up-to-date has demanded I improve my organizational skills!).

I really appreciate seeing how libraries are using this tool, especially for reading lists (Stafford's Southern Regional Middle School. Looking for a particular book and then having a direct link to the record is a great idea, convenient and quick. And a bit of serendipity for me was discovering that the TCNJ link you provided was for Italian studies - a language I have been trying to learn for years. Molto grazie!

As I progress through these exercises, I am eager to see how our library begins to use these web 2.0 tools as a system.

#12 NetLibrary

I signed up for NetLibrary and after striking out looking for a few authors, I lucked out with a search under "Scotland". Since I am taking a trip there in June I am trying to immerse myself in Scottish culture, both through fiction and non-fiction. This kind of site is a great idea, but personally, I don't think I will be using it much considering its content. I found NetLibrary a bit clumsy to navigate (or am I the clumsy one?). I am a browser by nature, and I think you really need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for unless you wish to browse endlessly through their 3,400+ books.

I also checked out eBooks, love the idea, but probably not pay for downloads.

WorldCat is a such a helpful source, I used it while at Rutgers - I did the advanced search on the blog for fun and found that 28 other libraries own Ocean County: Four Centuries in the Making.

#11 Library Thing

I have just reunited with my Library Thing! I forgot what a useful tool this is for keeping track of my reads. This will make my life SO much easier as a children's librarian. Here I have been wasting my time with boring Excel spread sheets to keep track of my books when I have this attractive tool at my disposal. I need to get busy tagging now.

As I check out the other library sites recommended (SF Public, Seattle Public) I love the use of tags to help you find what you need. Re-discovering Library Thing (among other aspects of 2.0)makes me realize I am not using these sites to my advantage.

#10 -Technology and time management or how does one find time to blog when I don't have time to floss???

I know web 2.0 technology is nothing less than amazing. I love the fact that we can email, text, blog, post, etc. at any time, all at our fingertips. But I find there is so much of it that I really need to be prudent in deciding which aspects of technology work best for me. I don't have time for all this convenience!

With the magic of web 2.0, I have not been given the gift of a 48 hour day. How does everyone do it? Perhaps it is that I am a web 2.0 "immigrant" as opposed to being a "web 2.0 native", one who has been raised with technology and understands it as easy as one's mother tongue? As much as I love technology, it does not come easy for me. I have to think carefully about my posts, check spelling and grammar (please don't laugh). I need to make sure I am sending a post privately as opposed to a listserv (again, don't laugh, I have done that as well). Since I don't use all this technology enough to commit it to memory, I have to reread notes when I am working with flickr, doing a podcast, etc.

If I am to do my job, spend a bit of time with my family, maybe see a friend or two (in person, not online), exercise, get enough sleep and floss, I really have to be careful - it is so easy to be sucked into the vortex of technology - reading blogs, posts, chatting, etc. For now I will stick with only my favorite blog feeds, my flickr account, writing my own blogs, subscribing to just a few listservs, a few of my favorite social bookmarking sites....

...something is going to have to go... :)

Oops...

I seemed to have forgotten to blog about the 71/2 habits of a lifelong learner!

I have the say, that going back to grad school to earn my graduate degree at my age (the "middle years") confirmed in me that I actually possess all the habits needed to be a lifelong learner.
The easiest: beginnining with the end in mind and accepting responsibility for my own learning. I never want to stop educating myself - it keeps me young.

The hardest: honestly, Habit 7 1/2. Even though I play as part of my job as a children's librarian, I need to constantly remind myself to play as an adult. Somewhere along the journey I became a bit serious. Life does that to you. So I need to remind myself of this and practice it!

When did playing become so hard? :)

Things 8 and 9

I have had a bloglines account that has been unattended for some time, so doing this exercise was yet another refresher for me in web 2.0. I now have my accounts better organized into playlists, something I had never done before (art, children's literature, home schooling). I have deleted all the feeds I had used in grad school. Now when I check new feeds, it will only be topics that are relevant and interesting for me. This was a good exercise in virtual weeding!

As you can see, most of the blogs I subscribe to pertain to library topics, particularly children's literature. But I have my favorite art info blogs to keep up with my "other" life, as well as some good vegan ones. While it may not reflect it when you click on the link on the blog roll link to the left, I have them all organized into playlists...although I think I need to sort them by folders when I have time.

Thank you, Jill, for your timely appearance today to help me through the glitches! :)