Thing #7 Google, not just for searching anymore

Google is amazing. I wish I had bought stock in it! I just finished a Picasa Web Album of our library. I took photos of the outside of the high school, the entry, and pictures inside the library. It was fairly easy to upload the photos and create the album. If you would like to see the slide show or the individual pictures, click MHS Library.

Thing #6 Flickr Mashups

Flickr mashups have been the most interesting of all the "23 Things" so far. I couldn't get into Mappr, but I did look at Flickr Color Pickr which is great for finding coordinating color photos for signs we use in the library. I can definitely use this. The Mosaic Maker was the most fun. I could use this on our library web site to post students' pictures. Spell with Flickr was great to play with!

Thing #5 Discover Flickr

Wow! Flickr has so much to explore and learn about. What a great site! At first I was going to use my own pictures from school to post on my blog, but after reading about "photo posting etiquette" I realized it wouldn't work. My photos all had students in them, and it would involve a lot of parent permission letters. So, I just did a fun photo instead.

The Great Barrier Reef

cleaning station
Originally uploaded by Tobi and Bea

After a long day at the library, I like to escape to my dream vacation...scuba diving off the coast of Australia. Someday I'll be there! I loved ALL the beautiful pictures on Flickr. It was hard to select the one I liked best.

Thing #3 Create a blog, post, and add an avatar

So far everything has been fun! My biggest obstacle is not being able to type well because I injured by index finger on my right hand (caught it in the car door) and I must "hunt and peck" everything! I'm looking forward to all the "things" yet to come.

Thing #4 Register your blog

I can use a blog with my library program in many ways:

• a reflective blog of collaborative teaching experiences
• a list of book reviews
• a library newsletter
• a book club blog - a calendar of events, book reviews, pictures of club activities, etc.
• book club members (or officers) can create their own library blog

Thing #1 and Thing #2 Learning 2.0

It was fun and easy to set up a blog...at least so far! The hardest thing was deciding on a blog name. The directions were easy to follow, and it was nice knowing Mary and Debbie were there to answer any questions.

The easiest of the 7 1/2 habits is #3 "View Problems as a Challenge" since that's how I always operate. Problems are much more fun to solve if you look at them as challenges. The hardest habit is #5 "Create your own learning toolbox" because gathering books, sites, contacting people, etc, not only takes lots of time but it is critical for success.