LibWorm

I didn't feel very successful using LibWorm, but maybe I was being too specific in my search. Although I didn't find anything on lessons to use in an elementary library, I did find a lot of other information. I found a lot of book reviews. I also found some thoughts about Smartboards. I was surprised because I saw more interesting results when I searched by categories and subjects than by phrases. The tag search was interesting in that it allowed you to see which topics were popular. I did not get any results from typing in the name of my school as a phrase search.

LibraryThing

I liked LibraryThing. This might be nice to organize a small collection, if you had the time! I liked how I could see others that had the same books as me. I also liked the recommendations that are listed for a user based on his or her collection.
The tags are also a great way to organize a personal collection.

From reading ThingLang, ISBN Check, and MARCThing, I didn't quite understand the technical aspect of it, but it did make me realize that this site is always trying to upgrade itself and that the people at this site know their library lingo. Thus, I would say that this site is trying to prove their credibility.

I found the group, Librarians who LibraryThing, and I loved it. I read a couple of the posts, and I was laughing out loud. One discussion was about being able to call yourself a librarian, regarding do you have the degree. It was so funny. One person said that whether she has the title or not, her paycheck shows that she does not. Someone replied to it that while she has the title her paycheck does not show it! In the posts, you could tell there was some lightheartedness, but it also had some intellectual conversation as well. I had trouble finding the group, I See Dead People's Books. I looked at the different groups and even sorted them alphabetically.

Digg

I really liked looking at Digg. Automatically, I thought that this would be the perfect site for my husband. He likes to go to FARK and read about things. While I think this is great for my husband, I don't know if I will use it or not. I did like the site. While I was looking at the site, I came across the Diet Coke and Mentos "trick". I saw a short video of a kid trying it out, and someone had put up David Letterman putting Mentos in Diet Coke. It was interesting, as I did not know what it was really about. Now, I do, but did I really need to know this? :)
---Unfortunately, my nine year old saw it with me, and he now wants to do his own experiment!

Delicious

This was my first time to use delicious, but it was pretty easy considering that for years I have used another bookmarking site. Actually, I prefer delicious to the other site that I was using because of the organization of it that is provided by the tags. This is very nice. I looked at sites that had been bookmarked by others, and I added some of my favorite sites to delicious that pertained to library lessons.

The link to my site is http://delicious.com/DyannC

Tags

I think that tagging in the library is sort of like using Wikipedia. While some will say, "No way," others will say to use it, integrate it, but teach about authoritative sources. I think that tagging is similar. Anybody can pick the tag they want so it does not seem like there is a lot of consistency in this. On the other hand, if everybody is working on accessing information, maybe I might be able to find that elusive bit of information that I couldn't find before without that tag.

Today is about making sure that librarianship is not left behind as our users move forward into using new technologies. Thus, I don't think that tags can replace subject headings, but I do think they serve a purpose that can be helpful. . .just use them with the understanding that they are not always a sure thing.

Twitter

I thought Twitter was O.K. I think that I just need to get use to it, and find more friends and become a follower of more things. I did become a follower of E! My name is DyannC on Twitter. To get a little more accustom to it, I did watch the video on Twitter's help screen. I do agree with the description that it is a lot like Facebook. It just seems set up with more famous people, but I could be wrong.

The last time that I heard about Twitter was when Kevin Spacey was on the David Letterman Show the other night. He made a big production about his tweets, and he showed Dave how easy it was to use Twitter.

Instant Messaging

I'm using the http://webmessenger.msn.com/ for instant messaging, and my name is Dyann Campbell. I already had this account for years that I used for e-mail. What a surprise that I could also go through this to instant message. I didn't know that I could use this account for IM, so this "thing" has taught me to not get used to your accounts. Instead, grow with them as they grow. I think I get used to using something for just the purpose that I think that I need it for at that one particular time. I don't always force myself to see all the options something has to offer.

While I have not instant messaged a lot in the past, I have used IM two years ago when I was working on a grad. school assignment with a partner that was in a different city. Between e-mails and IM, our project turned out to be a true collaboration. I also have used IM inside of Facebook with one of my friends, before this module. I agree with others. It is nice, but I'm not on-line enough to make the most of it. It reminds me of Skype, where we are always calling my in-laws on the land line to tell them to get on their computer so they can talk and see their grandchildren.

Ning

While I like a few aspects of Ning, I prefer Facebook. At first, I felt like some of the Ning pages appeared to be just a hodge podge of things put on a page, but as I looked at it more, I got accustom to it. I do like the different tabs on the Ning pages, where one can share videos, blogs, pictures, etc... I did explore and become a member of Texas School Librarians, and I also looked at the ALA page. While I don't think that I will become someone who uses Ning that much, it is nice to know that it is a tool that is out there.

More Facebook

While I've been on Facebook for a while, I have not joined any groups so this "thing" got me to venture out more into Facebook. The three groups that I joined are Elmentary School Librarians, Twilight, and the American Association of School Librarians. I also joined an organization called Coupons because I like finding great deals, even though I don't always have the time to get to them!

In regards to Facebook and finding people, it has been a great experience. I got back in touch with one of my college roommates that I thought I would never hear from again. We even have plans to meet this summer! In regards to co-workers, I'm very surprised by the large number that are members of Facebook---young, old, and in between. It's not just the teachers that have graduated from college in the last 5 years that are on Facebook. One of my coworkers is on Facebook and has taught for over 30 years. Then, in regards to family, this weekend I found my dad's first cousin on Facebook. She is now my "friend", and it will be great getting to touch base with her. We even talked about the history of kidney stones in our family, as I just had an attack and her brother suffers from them. What a great way to keep in touch with people that we might only see every ten or twenty years at family reunions.