Thing 18 - YouTube

Thing 17 - ELM

I have used ELM with some of my classes, but it was great to find new ways to use this tool. On GALE , it took me awhile to remember how to do my alerts, and also to find the NPR news feed on Children's Health, but I finally got it! I also tried making a web page on ProQuest. This was totally new to me! I had no idea I could make a page, email it and save it. Web 2.0 continues to amaze me!

I have used Kid Info Bits, and also the Junior Reference Collection with my students, although it's something I need to improve on and get into even more. The more I can introduce them to now, the better they will be at using it when they get to Junior and Senior High School.

Thing 16 - Research Calculators

Both of these calculators are wonderful tools for guiding students through a research project - especially those who have no idea where to begin. The teacher's guide for the RPC does a very nice job of having things matched up with what the student sees when they are online, and how you can help guide them through the process. Once again, I didn't spend too much time on this Thing as it is aimed for an older student than I am working with at the present time. Just reading through the steps, however, can help show students even in upper elementary the process that should happen when taking on a research project.

Thing 15 - Online Games

I had fun playing a little bit of pirates. Didn't have a lot of communication going, but maybe part of that was due to being at an entry level. I know this game will not have any use in my media center, as you have to be 13 to play, and our students are 12 and under. I looked a little bit at Second Life, but again, it's not for my students so I didn't want to spend too much time there.

Truthfully, I didn't see any reason to have Pirates at any library. Is it just to bring them in so they at least get through the door? I don't really want to see libraries become a place just to play games - people get enough of that without us. I can see much more use for something like Second Life, especially the Infoisland, but again, that will be for a different group than I am currently working with.

Thing 14 - LibraryThing

How cool is this! This site is so easy to use - it found the titles quickly and easily. This would be a great way to advertise new titles, themes, Maud Hart Lovelace nominees, etc. on my media page. One of the books I listed only had ten other listings, but another had over 1100. It's fascinating to see what other people are reading! I'm really hoping to get my husband to list his books on here, as he collects a multitude of "old" books. It would be helpful when he's looking for new ones to help him remember what he already has.

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

I chose to set up an iGoogle page since I already have an account with them. I found it very simple to set up and rearrange. It was great fun to look through some of the widgets and add a couple of them to my web page. I stuck with google for the calendar, and also used the Remember the Milk list, which was easy to add to my iGoogle page.

We might be able to use one of the calendars as a media group to help set up our meetings. One of the biggest issues for me is to remember to go online to check my calendar. I'm still pretty tied to my paper one, and don't have to have internet access to check my schedule. I'll have to play with it some more to see how valuable it will be for me.

Thing 12 - Social Websites

I can see where these sites could be addicting! One of the things I found interesting in looking at the four sites was that there was very little that was duplicated. Maybe certain types of people use each of the websites? Not sure.

This is another one of the "things" I found fascinating to learn about, but doubt that I will use much in either my personal or professional life. It does help me know what those little "digg" icons are whenever I'm reading an article! Again, it was amazing to see how easy it is to share an article - just a click away.