Thing 34: Is This Our Competion? Online Answer Sites

Online Reference Sites
http://www.distancedegrees.com/2008/lose-your-wikipedia-crutch-100-places-to-go-for-good-answers-online/

"The role of the 2.0 librarian is no longer just that of information professional, but also that of someone who is going to make the customer’s experience a good one. It doesn’t matter whether that “experience” is real or virtual—they combine good information skills with those of a caring ambassador. Additionally, the 2.0 librarian recognizes that things change, are changing and will continue to change." Laura Solomon, Cleveland Public Library


Stephen Abram Quotes - "Evolution to Revolution to Chaos?
Reference in Transition" article, Sept 08
http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/sep08/Abram.shtml

"We need to understand, and understand deeply, the role of the library in our end-users’ lives, work, research, and play. This is critical to our long-term success, and failure is not an option...."
"Now we just have to reintroduce ourselves into every aspect of the virtual world. That means focusing our staffing balance from the backroom to the front room; investing our technology decisions in ones which meet the needs of the end user."
" Can we partner with all providers in the information space to create a one-stop solution? Will we offer a one-stop solution of computing help, training, social interaction, circulation, education, and research in the reference space?...Can we elegantly blend the physical commons with the virtual commons?"
"This scenario depends on understanding the potential in personal devices — laptops, smartphones, PDAs — to dominate as the device. When this happens (if it doesn’t already in your environment), every user becomes a distance user and every user should potentially have all the information and help they may require in their pocket. Can we be there too? Such emerging service technologies such as micro-blogging, Twitter, text messaging, social networking, tagging, and digital phones with advanced web features offer great opportunities for us to be at the point of every user’s need. Check out the Seattle Public Library’s beam-me-up devices!"
"Librarians 2.0 are those who understand the wisdom of crowds and the real roles and impacts of the blogosphere, web syndicasphere, and wikisphere. Librarians 2.0 understand that the magic sauce of Amazon lies in its recommendations and the social interactions of readers."
"Wisdom of crowds - mine behavioral touchstones to determine how best to predict user needs, as well as to allow end users and cardholders to share their experiences and patterns."
"Those of us who prepare for an emerging new world balance of personal service — virtual, in-person, and computer-mediated — will be better prepared than those who wait and see."
"The best way to discover our future is to invent it ourselves."

QUESTION AND ANSWER SITES
Question and answer (Q&A) sites such as Yahoo! Answers are places where users ask questions and others answer them.

The most-visited website in the Questions and Answers category is Yahoo Answers (answers.yahoo.com).

“The popularity of user-generated media has helped to establish a category for social knowledge where consumers can obtain answers from a single aggregated source developed through others’ asking similar questions.”
http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/question-answer-site-visits-up-118-yahoo-answers-is-clear-leader-3891/hitwise-question-answer-sites-top-5-march-2008jpg/

Predictors of answer quality in online Q&A sites
A Q&A site's community of users contributes to its success. Yahoo! Answers, a Q&A site where anybody can answer questions, outperformed sites that depend on specific individuals to answer questions, such as library reference services.
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1357054.1357191

Slam the Boards - Librarians--Ask Us, We Answer!
Librarians invade the various Web answer board sites such as Yahoo! Answers, Amazon’s Askville, The Wikipedia Reference Desk, and others—answering as many questions as they can using authoritative sources.

Blog Prompt
Why are these sites so popular? There is quick response time and they are anonymous.

Thing 33: Travel 2.0

"The main theme of Travel 2.0 sites are the ability to not only find a flight, hotel, vacation, etc. but to also find out more information about the destination to which you are headed from other people who've been there."

TripAdvisor.com "real stories from real travelers," "fresh, up-to-date information that you can't get from a guidebook," " fully interactive and expands via user-generated content."

"More sophisticated online users are looking to take control and identify the perfect trip. Along with the rise in popularity of social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook, and the virtual-reality site Second Life, the travel industry is spawning a slew of 2.0 websites specifically designed for travel discussion forums and information exchange." And " established air, car and hotel vendors are opening up their websites to customer participation."

And if conversing with other travelers online isn't enough to satisfy your social needs, you can even join an online matching community such as Flight Club, Tripmates or AirTroductions where you can search for the perfect seat mate on your next flight, a travel companion on an upcoming journey or more.

TRAVEL BLOGS
http://mykugelhopf.ch/ Food and travel

http://windowseatblog.com/ Travelocity's blog

TRAVEL REVIEWS
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ Most popular (Expedia)

I have used TripAdvisor in the past - it was invaluable!

I think you could really make classroom lessons more meaningful by taking virtual trips here and there - to places you have been studying in class. For example, you could plan a trip to the Gettysburg battle field after a Civil War unit!

Thing 32: Google Maps & Mashups

It is amazing how many uses there are for Google Maps - from mapping the weather and news to mapping things like paintings or magazines. Trip planning would be a great use! Map journeys of people's lives! Biking and walking maps! Creating a personalized map from scratch with embedded video!

I did not create a map at this time - I did watch the "My Map" video!

There would be so many uses for this tool in a school curriculum -current events, history, geography, literature...fantastic!

Antwerp Train Station Dance

Thing 31: More Twitter

What is Twitter? Good definition: http://www.jbspartners.com/blog/new-media/is-twitter-for-the-birds-a-tweet-tweet-tutorial

I'll put Twitter in my social tool box when necessary. I am glad I know it is there just in case... however:

"Which of my Twitter updates make people follow me or leave me??" the website asks. In other words I want to make myself so socially attractive that I can have as big a following as possible. I consider myself a leader, but I just don't have that big of a head. And I would rather save my time for more meaningful things than being distracted by other people's two cents. I am sure there are a few gems that come out this voyeuristic hobby, Twittering - but I have to believe it is mostly a giant waste of time. Perhaps if I were in the business world or politics...it just seems like you would feel "your phone is ringing off the hook" with a continual barage of triteness.

Twitter gives you the chance to publish your thoughts quickly?? Am I so important that my thoughts should be published - often before I have given them a healthy second thought? THIS IS SO "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME" MENTALITY.

"Real life happens between blog posts and email!" - therefore... I better Twitter (share) about all those in between times just so people can stay caught up with ME!! because it is, after all, all about me. I watched the YouTube video called Twitter Whore - totally confirmed what I have written above.

I like the idea of CrisisWire - aggregate in one place many takes on the same event.
http://go.crisiswire.com/about/

Thing 30: More Ways to Use RRS & Delicious

RSS
I did establish a Google Reader with the first 23 things. I have never used it.

I think it is interesting that all these Internet products are supposedly created to make our lives more efficient but in the end more products are needed to just help with the overwhelming number of "voices" that are coming at us from all sides. Voices that say "answer me" now and give us guilt trips when we don't.

Products that filter RRS feeds! Products that help you read through your news feeds faster! Products that are viral marketing tool that say "Buy, buy, buy!" Yikes! Being connected electronically all the time because why? Staying socially connected? Politically informed? Getting the best deal? I think it is a lot about voyeurism - peeking in the window of other people's lives and minds on an incessant basis. Where is the peace and self-contentedness in all of this?

I spend hours each day reading email, School Library Journal professional articles and book reviews, and the daily print newspaper delivered to my door. I also have homework each week for two Bible studies I do with my church. I choose to fill my life with these things. In my spare time and when I exercise I read or listen to new juvenile fiction so I can recommend books to the kids at school.

No more voices! No RSS feeds!

Delicious
The tastiest bookmarks on the web! I liked this tool from the very beginning! It is so useful!

Good tips on using delicious - http://www.bizzia.com/slackermanager/the_several_hab/
I like knowing about the "settings" section where I can edit my tags.

Thing 29: Google Tools

• Alerts - I don't see any need personally for these alerts at the present time. My K-5 library - probably not - nothing is ever that critical. But who knows...one day...

I did let my son know about Google Alerts (he probably knows already!) as he has some very popular websites he has developed where he has problems with people copying his content.

• News - I can see setting up this kind of new service if I ever want to follow a particular new story over any length of time.

•SearchWiki - This is way too advanced for any of my needs. I just type in my term, visit my search results and move on. I cannot imagine spending any time customizing my Google search results! Seems like it might be a ploy for Google to improve their own way of analyzing search results??

•Web History
I don't need my web searching history saved - I like to start fresh, with no history getting in the way of searching any given topic. But, alas, it seems like Google is and has been keeping track of my searching along!

1-800-GOOG-411: Google's 411 service - free information service from anywhere! I want my pizza delivered that fast!

•GMail - I already have two email accounts. I choose not to set up a GMail account at the present time - but I like it and could one day make a switch.

•Google Calendar - I can see its usefulness in group-wide activities, but not for me personally yet. I make little paper to-do lists and write on my paper calendar. Remember I am the one who carries a cell phone turned off in my purse - but I like it there for rainy day emergencies.

Thing 28: Customized Home Pages

What is this?
These are personalized start pages -- also known as Web desktops or customizable portals - the convenience factor being the main appeal. "Instead of visiting 10 sites every morning, you just load your browser."

This start page combines all the web service pages I use to one access page or feed aggregator - which becomes MY HOMEPAGE! - it's a one stop solution to corralling all my activities on the Internet, i.e. where I can view content from many feeds in one location.

I chose Netvibes because it seemed to get the best reviews. It is very customizable and provides social functionality by being able to share modules with others.

Personal comments:
O.K. That was fun. I got my home page all set up. It looks pretty and is pretty functional. I named it "Karen's What's Up Page." I especially like the box where I can make notes to myself. I also like the fact that I can check both my email accounts from the same place!'

I can see where this type of re-mixing web pages all in the same location would be real handy for any group of people working together on the same thing - like staff or classroom projects.

Thing 27: Twitter

I will not get a Twitter account at the present time.

For a person who keeps her cell phone turned off in her purse and rarely makes an outgoing call - maybe every other month - Twitter does not interest me.

I reluctantly joined Facebook. I only go on it when someone asks to be my friend.

I am feeling the same way I did during the first 23 things on a stick - only more so. Our world has become sooooooooo "It's all about me." In the name of socializing we have our noses in our handheld devices all day long - our hardware - and not looking into the eyes of the flesh and blood people around us.

I thought blogging was so "it's all about me!" now we have microblogging that answers the question, "What are you doing?" for all the inbetween times when we're not blogging! How arrogant! For all the gems that come out of Twittering there a truck loads of time-wasting refuse.

I love my family and friends. I have a husband, children, neighbors, colleagues, church friends - but I pick up the phone when I want to say something socially - and that is not very often. I can email when I want to say something - but that is not very often. I am a private person who likes to live a quiet life with the least "noise" possible. I listen to music and audiobooks, watch little TV, and I read, read, read professionally and recreationally. I leave email to Monday to Friday and don't care to check it over the weekends.

I read all the intros and viewed all the videos for this "thing."
I go the most out of David Lee King's "10 ways for librarians to use Twitter."
http://www.davidleeking.com/2007/03/10/twtter-explained-for-librarians-or-10-ways-to-use-twitter/

I understand what he is saying- I am just not interested. Maybe someday, if I glean it to be professionally useful or to be part of a life-important network - but I will certainly not use it socially.

Thing 26: Ning-a-Ning-a-Ning

I had already joined the "23 things ning" last spring. So today I participated in a discussion that was going on in the School Librarians and Media Specialists group about what our favorite "thing" is that we have used in our library media centers.

I mentioned the blog I had recently created for my grades 2-5 students to use to study the Dromedary camel. Here it is: www.ourcamelblog.blogspot.com.

I hadn't ever used the ning professionally before - sharing about what I'm doing in my job. I can see using it to ask around about things that interest me or put up something I think others could be interested in.

Thing 25: Bloggers' Toolkit

I read the article "Twenty usability tips for your blog." Informative but I am just not there yet with blogging. I will try to add more visuals, however.

Every Google gadget I tried to add today said the URL had an error in its script.?? I had added the Blinkx widget the other day and it worked but it was way too busy for me to have here - after all. So I just got rid of the post and started over again and now I can't get any widgets to add??

But I have learned how to add photos, a search bar, and a response system - cool!

I spent probably 2 hours on this thing. I wish I had someone next to me to help me when I get stuck - it can be VERY frustrating!

I have been to Tuscany, below!

Thing 24: Refreshing My Blog

O.K. I am back.

I have done nothing with this blog since I finished it last spring. I did update my profile a bit today and changed some font colors. I like this layout look best - so I kept it the same as last spring.

I read the Blog Slideshow and had no idea how many uses blogs have. Wow! I have new respect for blogging of all kinds.

Blogging is a great way to journal one's thoughts and activities and share them with others in a nice, readable format. I recently used a blog for my grades 2-5 research project on the Dromedary camel. I posted information for my students to use to do a drawing of a camel which included 16 special physical features of the camel.
www.ourcamelblog.blogspot.com

I do not read or post on others blogs much - I will try to change that.

I need to update my avatar - but I kinda like her as she is.

Stick 23: Final Thoughts

Thoughts
I feel much more informed about the Web 2.0 tools - not just head knowledge but also practical knowledge from hands-on experience.

I start to understand that these tools cannot be ignored. They are the tools of the future in some way, shape or form. Where before I thought I could stay oblivious to many of these tools - not any more.

Favorites
Making the blog and posting on the blog was a great experience. Making the avatar was not something I enjoyed initially but now I see its use and would probably spend more time making another one someday. YouTube is something I wasn’t all that familiar with and now see great potential for its use in an educational setting.

Connecting
I told a lot of people I was doing this “23 things” thing. Everyone was so impressed with what I was learning - and awed by the amount of time I spent participating in this tutorial.

It was good for me to be forced to join some of the social networking sites. I am by nature not needing to socialize much, but I can see its importance in keeping up professionally in this new era of Internet sharing.

Unexpected outcomes
I am amazed at the depth of activity going on on the Internet. It is truly the way people get together and share EVERYTHING! Not to keep up would be social and professional suicide.

Do differently
These have been great exercises - just too many in a short amount of time. Having this tutorial in my life has taken over everything else. How about one a month? :-)

Future participation
Yes, for sure - but see above comment!

Short description of my learning experience with the 23 things
Hooray for me, I did it! - because it was such a huge personal challenge!


I liked Meredith Farkas' ideas on her post "If I had just 15 minutes a day " to keep up...
Fifteen minutes seems doable. I can visit one of the blogs mentioned in her post.
http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2007/04/26/if-i-just-had-15-minutes-each-day/

Stick 22: What did I learn today?

Keeping Up
I have learned many new things. They have been challenging and exciting. There have been many trials and tribulations as I have tried to learn theses new tools. I have struggled a lot – to the point of wanting to scream or cry or just give up. But so many times I just persisted and what do you know – I figured it out. Miraculously. I think I do have more confidence with new technologies and less fear, but it has come with a cost - a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

I do admit I can see educational uses for many of these tools. Yes, Web 2.0 is not a static environment. I am glad for the initial exposure to many of these tools and I hope I will use and enjoy these tools as they are continually changed and enhanced. I know I need to stay informed about what people, kids specifically, are using, talking about and asking for help with. I feel a strong desire to be a guide in their lives when it comes to using these new tools.

I RESOLVE TO KEEP ON LEARNING. I RESOLVE TO GIVE EACH NEW TOOL A CHANCE – TO SPEND THE TIME TO LEARN IT AND APPLY IT. I RESOLVE TO BE A LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST WHO IS WILLING TO TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW AND SHARE WHAT I HAVE LEARNED.

My blog will be a good place to keep “journal entries” for whatever new tool I am investigating and sharing. I definitely have the blogging part down!

Practical Ways of Keeping Up
I already had Doug Johnson’s Blue Skunk Blog in my aggregator. I have streamed several College of DuPage teleconferences on library trends. I am signed up for a Minitex webinar in May to continue learning more about Web 2.0 tools. I read School Library Journal cover to cover each month. I will keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities to keep up…

Thing 21: Other Social Networks

I spent some time on Gather and read each feature as the yellow tab moved across the top of the home page from one “Gather Essential” to another (i.e.. food, health, politics). I found a great lamb recipe and printed it! There is a lot going on here!

Minnesota Reader is a “groupspace” where you can “chat about what you are reading” or join the Midmorning Book Club. Maybe this summer…
I looked at some of the nature images on Minnesota Life. Nice “groupspace” to share all things Minnesota. There were a lot of members (139) in the “Back to the Basics” group – those who want to get back to the basics in everyday life. I should join to find out what that really means??

I have wondered what WebJunction is. Now I know – it’s a national online community for library staff for resources and courses. I thought it was just a Minnesota thing! I went to the Minnesota partner page and looked up the difference between Metronet and Minitex.
Metronet – “Metronet serves all types of libraries in the 7-county Twin Cities metro area. As a multitype library system Metronet does more than facilitate discussion around news and events—they actively engage librarians by advancing professional issues, highlighting best practices, and advocating for libraries.”
Minitex – “The MINITEX Library Information Network (MINITEX) is a publicly supported network of academic, public, state government, and special libraries working cooperatively to improve library service for their users. The MINITEX program is funded by the Minnesota Legislature."


Ning is an online service where you can create, customize, and share your own social network.

I joined the "23 things on a stick" group on Ning. I finally figured out how to get my avatar from Yahoo! to my picture setting in the "23 things" group. That was quite an accomplishment!
I left a comment on Randi Madisen's wall.

I visited the other social networking sites: yelp.com, linkedin.com, mashable.com, dogster.com (and catster.com!), grouprecipes.com and the 50plus digital.com site. Take your pick!

I tried to use the EBSCO Researcher Database to find the article, “Myspace for book,” in “Publisher’s Weekly.” I couldn’t find it - I am embarrassed to say. I tried many different ways of searching for it??
I read “Building a Social Networking Environment at the Library,” by Steve Campion at the WebJunction website.
http://www.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=17981
I like his reminder that “the social web is much richer than MySpace alone… it represents a cultural shift towards expression, collaboration, and interaction. Internet users are not satisfied with simply reading web pages. They are beginning to expect the opportunity to interact online with their bank, retailer, and (why not?) their library.”

I am impressed with the potential to involve the people in and even outside one’s library community in so many activities initiating from the library. There is time involved in the set up and the maintaining of these online forums of communication but it is becoming more and more where people “live.” Like Campion said, “The library is already a community space. Let's make the social web a new meeting room…”

The “43 Things” network looks like a good place for people to get encouragement to get going on things they keep putting off.

Thing 20: Social Networking and Libraries

I looked at both MySpace and Facebook to see how they compared. Facebook was a more simple interface with no advertising! MySpace had several flashy, colorful ads going on - just a busier interface than FaceBook. The initial interface of Facebook was a more "get down to business" and start networking page.

I joined Facebook with a short profile. I also made a library fan club for my library – “CCS Library Fan Club.” I will think about how I might be able to use that in the future. I made this “club” under the group app but now I see I could have done it under “places.” The trouble is I cannot find the “places” app??

I looked at several FaceBook applications, Books iRead and the MN Twins Fan Clubs – but did not join any at this time. I think joining up with Scrabulous players sounds fun. It is cool to see people designing their own apps.

Believe it or not, I set up my whole Facebook account and profile before I watched the "How to use Facebook" video series. Dumb. Now I know what the wall is. It's where people post notes and messages to each other - you can write on each other's wall. Like unwanted grafitti it's a good thing there is a delete button handy at the wall.

I really liked the Denver Public Library Teens profile. It was a really fun place to visit with lots of great things to join and play with. The YouTube video for last summer’s reading promotion was super cute and well done. I think I will play it for my students right before summer vacation!

Thing 19: Podcasts

I have listened to all the MEMO podcasts out of St. Cloud University. They have been a bit poor in audio quality but I have managed to understand and get something out of each one.

I listened to part of the Minnesota Public Radio podcast called “Musicheads” from April 1 ’08. They were reviewing a band called “The Kills” which I would also agreed with one of the podcast panelist was pretty poor….

Podcast Directories
I had a hard time using the Podcast.com directory. I couldn’t get the “Family” folder to open. Finally I clicked in the right place somehow and I got to choose a PetDoctor podcast. I chose one on cat care and listened for awhile. There were several minutes of commercials which was annoying.

Podcastalley.com had no directory so I didn’t stay.

When I used Yahoo Podcasts I typed in “kids and pets” and it took me to a YouTube video??

I found the Education Podcast Network easy to use. I wanted to share a podcast with my students at school this week. I found a great one at the faithcomesbyhearing.com website. I listened to Episode 140 of the Kidz Audio Bible on “Jesus enters Jerusalem.” It was fantastic!

I want to try to do a podcast with my students next week!

Thing 18: YouTube

YouTube definition: Internet video-sharing which enables a two minute clip to be viewed millions of times. YouTube is a free service that hosts videos posted by users.

I watched the three videos recommended from the list of YouTube “Award Winners from 2007.” I commented on “A vision of students” video a coupe of “things” ago.

I read Christopher Conway’s article, “YouTube and the Cultural Studies Classroom,” which was about the value video clips can serve in the educational setting (his being the university).

I certainly can see a place for using YouTube video clips in the classroom to bring in “video realia” to accompany the students’ textbooks.

I wish I could have accessed the “Seven things you should know about YouTube.” I just couldn’t get the list no matter what I clicked on!

The MakeUseOf.com website is huge with its lists, recommendation and tips. I liked the documentaries recommendations and the support that gives to using YouTube in the classroom, too.

It is cool how the public libraries are using YouTube to get people in the door and promote themselves!

Thing 17: ELM Productivity Tools

I have used and taught ELM to my students since the year it came out (1999 or 2000?). I just taught it to my 2nd-5th graders about a month ago – modeling a pretend search in a curricular area where they were currently studying (i.e. 5th grade, Civil War – battles).

Gale/InfoTrac
I managed to set an RSS feed to my Google Reader from the Student Edition of InfoTrac on the topic of “youth smoking.” I tried several times to get the Minitex instructional video to play but it just wouldn’t load.

I like the multimedia aspect of the ELM databases. I usually show my students an example of some multimedia on the topic at hand, such as a video or sound byte – many of which I found in Kids InfoBits.

EBSCO
I created a webpage using the “Page composer” tool and utilities. I finally learned I had to click on the “Preview” button to see what the page looked like. Pretty slick – but someone please tell me when I would use such a page??

Proquest Newsstand
O.K. I just went to Proquest and found 3 articles on “social networking” in the Washington Post in 2007 and emailed them to myself. It is interesting that Proquest is creating an html file (a web page) to be emailed.

BY THE WAY, THIS “STICK” IS HARD WORK!!

NetLibrary (eBooks)
“NetLibrary provides access to your library’s eContent collection. eContent is the digital version of books, journals, and database content. You can access your library’s eContent 24 hours a days, seven days a week.”
From the homepage of NewLibrary website, http://www.netlibrary.com.

I created an account in NetLibrary.

I did the search on the book, 101 ways to promote your web site, and used the utility to find out about branding and made a few notes for later reference. This is a very rich site for ebook information! I had never used it before.

BY THE WAY, NONE OF THE MINITEX VIDEOS LOADED!! I learned this stuff all by myself!

ELM – "Authentic, valid information at your fingertips!"

Thing 16: Student Web 2.0 Tools

I discovered the Research Project Calculator last year. I played around with it some then- created a pretend project for myself and had emails sent to remind me of due dates. I do not teach big independent research units in my K-5 program but I did inform our middle school staff and principal about it with access information. It is a wonderful tool!

So much to think about - so much to learn!
I watched the YouTube video, “A Vision of K-12 Students Today,” and I was impressed with how fast the old ways are going out and the new ways are taking over. Kids today truly are digital learners – their teachers can’t forget that and need to do their best to keep up.

The YouTube video, “(Re)Visions of Students Today” was unsettling. Kids are being educated under very different conditions today than just 5 years ago! The pace of change is so fast – the diversity in the changes is so great – and so many young people are being left behind. The comment, “I’m one of the lucky ones,” really got me. I want all kids to be the “lucky ones.”

I read the article written by Josh Catone, “The Web 2.0 Backpack.” He agrees with me that face to face learning is best, but the host of web apps available to students today can really facilitate their learning. Web apps that sub for Microsoft Office, web apps that help for note-taking, charting, researching, bookmarking and collaboration are all at students’ fingertips and are constantly “evolving in amazing ways.”

Using wikis as a study tool or note-taking tool is a fascinating concept.

I typed in a question on Yahoo! Answers, “How much Vitamin A is dangerous?” and was sent out to several good websites to find the answer. That was cool how it worked.


Comments
This “23 things on a stick” tutorial has really been a challenge for me, but have been really glad for it. I hate to say it, but I think we need one of these every year – for at least the rest of our professional lives.

I do want to help and encourage my students living in the Web 2.0 world. Something I have wanted for many years is a web-based library automation system with a homepage interface where I could post links to their school curricular needs – a “one-stop shop” page that would have many of the tools/links they would find handy for their school work.

I like the idea of encouraging the use of their friend – the library media teacher.