Thing 15--Gaming

I hate it when I sound like a stick-in-the-mud.  I read through a lot of blogs to see if there were others out there like me.    I am so relieved that I am not the only one of the 23 Things participants who doesn't personally like online games!  I tried to care, spent time on the Puzzle Pirates, even tried to slog through Doug Johnson's suggestions about SecondLife.  But I zoom right past bored to IRRITATED.  I have never been a fan of digital games, from pac-man on.  I have tried many times, read reviews of supposedly well-planned, interesting, HOTs-building games.  But they just don't hold my interest for even a few minutes.  It is great to make available to those who are interested.  To each her own.  The Wii games remind me of the Japanese game shows--how silly are you willing to look in public?  I don't mind if you want to,  just please don't make me.

Thing 14: Library Thing

I know I missed the deadline, but I am going to keep going to the end of the 23 things anyway. It is so interesting to see what is avaliable online!

I have been waiting to get to #14, LibraryThing. I have seen it on other's blogs, and enjoy seeing their selected books and reading their comments. Since I am behind, I am going to move on with only 4 books on my LibraryThing shelf. But hope to return and share more great reads!

Thing 13 Online Productivity Tools

I added a countdown gadget to my blog, counting down to the last day of school. I could just have well counted down to official golf season! I am always amazed at how quickly the last couple of months slip by.

I have fallen somewhat behind, so am going to move on to #14, LibraryThing. I've been waiting to see that it is all about.

Thing 12 Do You Digg?

These sites were new to me. After exploring web 2.0 for several weeks now, I was not surprised to see services like them. A very democratic way of receiving and commenting on news. I spent a couple of hours visiting Mixx, Digg, Newsvine, and Reddit. I kept thinking that I just don't have time! For the same reason I don't tune it to the 24-hour news shows on TV. I don't need to know everything going on in every corner of the world. These would definitely be productivity detractors for me personally. But would they have a use in my work as a Library Media Specialist? Not at the elementary level, even middle school is questionable. There is a huge range of quality of writing, reliability of sources, and many of the comments left by readers tended to be more in the category of opinion (even ranting) rather than furthering the news value of the story. The best uses I see would be as an example of the democratic right to express your opinion, examining comments for bias, and discussion of how to craft your own comment to show a well thought out argument that might actually sway others to your point of view. At the high school and post secondary level these sites would be a way of staying current on popular stories and trends.

On to 13!

Thing 11 Social Media, Tagging

OK, Del.icio.us is great. I like the man-in-the-street flavor of the tags. Now we can search for cars and not have to remember that the official subject is automobiles. Finally! But--what about that PAGEKEEPER?! Is that the coolest ever? No ads! Free! Geared to teachers and students! Really? Just for us? Who knew we had a fairy godmother (or godfather) all this time? I am going to be building something there!

Thing 10 Wikis

I have had a wiki for about a year, but haven't done much with it yet. I started it to collaborate with my sister who lives 1,000 miles away on a writing project. She wasn't as interested in the project as I was, so I reworked the site. I started creating a site where students could share and find favorite books. This also was disappointing with the district ban on student accounts.

I like the idea of sharing information and projects on wikis. I draw the line at recommending them as authoritative sites for research. Because of the opportunity for anyone to edit the information on a wiki, I warn students of the possibility of inaccurate information. I suggest that if they plan to use information they find on a wiki site they confirm that information on a site that has been written by experts. Too often students still assume that if they read something it must be true. Wikis provide a good opportunity to show how easy it is to falsify information and to discuss ethical online behavior.

I visited the 23 Things wiki and commented. It looked so much like my own wiki page that I felt right at home!

Thing 9 Online Collaboration

Google Docs is amazing! I have not seen this before, but can see great applications for use in group projects. Collaborating with colleagues and use with students would be so easy. The ability to comment without changing the original document and the login and date stamping improve higher order thinking skills and accountability.

On to Thing 10!