Thing 28 - A Place to Call Home

It was wonderfully fun to revisit the organization of my iGoogle homepage. Having a personal homepage suits me; I like having so many of my favorite web resources in one place. Because I rely upon my Google Calendar, I didn't want to change to another service. (TBH, I may not have wanted to change, but I do like my Google Calendar.) Anyway, reading the articles gave me some new ideas for homepage design. Adding a TwitterGadget and Delicious feed to my front page seems to save time and hopefully keeps me from falling into the Twitter Time Twap. I can glance at the gadget, check links and move on...I hope. I also wanted to explore Google Reader, so moved my favorite librarian feeds on over to Google. For now, I'm keeping my Bloglines account. Change is a process.

I like the eSchool News widgets available from their website. They offer three options, Top News, Technology and Funding News. The link to customize size and color also allows one to select summaries and/or images in the widget. I found only the Top News stories available through the iGoogle add stuff feature. This widget has a bit more color and class than your regular feed.

Thing 27 - No, Not Twitter!

I was ready to take David Lee King's advise in Twitter Explained for Librarians, "With emerging trends, you really should play with the stuff you’re interested in, and let others mess with things that don’t interest you. But then - and this is important - SHARE. So with Twitter, I’ll watch twitter and tell you if I find something useful for libraries. You go watch something else, and report back, too - that’s how the blogosphere works! Make sense?"

I was ready to watch something else. After spending a couple hours watching the videos and reading the articles, I had not been able to convince myself to pursue this avenue of communication.

Then, a friend stepped in.

I have a Twitter account. I have been convinced to linger longer with Twitter. I am moving on with the Things, but I will check in with Twitter and withhold my judgement for now.

Thing 26 - 23 Things Ning

I should know better by now than to sit down and think I will spend a few minutes on a "Thing." Over two hours later, I am definitely Ninged out. However, it was an interesting journey. Participating in Ning felt far more productive for me this time around, as I explored the comments of others who do what I do on a daily basis. As social networking sites go, I think I'll call this one home for awhile.

While visiting our Ning, I joined the School Librarians and Media Specialists group, joined a discussion, Technology, Libraries and the School Environment, updated my profile and extended a friend invitation. I also uploaded my avatar, with far more difficulty than the endeavor deserved. Even now, the quality of the upload is poor. It appears that others may have had the same difficulty.

Many of us look forward to the MEMO Conference in the fall to connect with other media specialists. Here we find another opportunity, available daily.

Thing 24 - Back to Blogging

Let's browse, not blog! Granted, it would be highly difficult to track my Web 2.0 adventures, but would better suit my style. However, for the opportunity to participate in More Things on a Stick, I'll gather my keyboard, shake out my fingers and begin blogging again. I continue to follow David Warlick in my Bloglines account and recently added The Swiss Army Librarian. Though blogging has not been my focus, I have continued to explore and enjoy the vast resources that abound online.

Thing 23 - Final Thoughts

Hurrah, I am done! 23 Things was a journey well worth making! It provided an organized pathway through a whirlwind information and avenues of access. Please keep it available as a resource; there are many things I would like to revisit. If a second 23 Things was offered, I would follow once again. This world will continue to evolve and a few more Things to guide the way would be welcome. It was a great idea to have a deadline, a date to work toward, so as not to get lost along the way. Thank you.

Thing 22 - What Did I Learn Today

My Bloglines account, my Google homepage and my Del.icio.us account have become a part of my Web 2.0 life. I use them daily. I have carefully refined the feeds on my Bloglines account and added news headlines to my iGoogle. As I move on from the 23 Things, I believe this process of evaluating how best to access and communicate information will continue. Each time a teacher approaches me with an idea or project, I will stop and consider the options. When I have something I wish to share with students, I will not assume it would be best to "plop" it on a webpage. 23 Things has presented limitless resources in the Web 2.o world. I love the tools that bring information to me; particularly RSS feeds, news alerts, and widgets. Though our students are tech savvy, there is much for them to learn. I will assist them, as best I can.

Thing 21 - Beyond My Space

The Teacher Librarian Ning, Webjunction and Shelfari are social networking sites that I will explore further. Some of book in the forums in TeacherLibrarian included Books for Boys, Middle School Media Specialists and YA Lit in School Libraries. With the September 15th deadline looming right in front of me, I believe I will finish 23 Things before exploring these further! As others have said, the time just flies while exploring web 2.0. I found that nearly an hour flew by as I enrolled in and explored the 23 Things on a Stick group in Ning, carefully considering what I did, and didn't want to share. I wanted to explore Gather, but had trouble pulling it up today. It just wouldn't load. I'll have to return to it another day.