Diigo

       There are some very interesting aspects about Diigo that I would like to further explore.  This is a website that would be very helpful to anyone doing a research paper.  All the information that is found during research can be stored easily on this website.  With all the information on the web, a person can access it through a number of electronically devices.  So for example, if I did some research through my personal computer, I could later access if from my Tablet, or from a computer at school the next day.  This way I could always access it anywhere and anytime and I would not have to worry about a computer crash.  After installing the Diigo bar on the screen, it is very easy to bookmark an article, tag it, and organize it under any specific file I would need to create.  I would be able to highlight important parts of the article and even add a ‘sticky note’, a comment box I could add particular thoughts on that specific highlight.  Another interesting aspect is the use of Social Media.  Through Diigo one is able to connect with other people and groups have similar tags, thus connecting the researcher with more people who have created similar bookmarks that could provide additional helpful information in the search. 

            As already stated in our assignment, as a librarian this would be a great tool to create lists of links on certain topics and make them available to your users on your blog or wiki.  This website could also be an invaluable tool to high school students on the college track.  The librarian could teach and direct these students to the researching techniques, highlighting, and sticky note tools available on this website.  

My 'Technorati' Experience

Technorati is a website that is especially tailored for blogs.  This website indexes blogs and puts them into categories.  A person can look for a specific type of blog, or they can search for information on the

“blog posting” search box.  Technorati has a top 100 blog list, indicating which blogs are visited the most.  This list is constantly changing depending on how many visits these blogs get. 

On looking over the blog directory, there were certain categories that were better represented than others.  The entertainment, technology, and living categories seemed to have more blogs.  The sports, science, and green categories did not have as many.  The categories were very broad, and the sub categories were a little less general.  There were a few sub-categories I did not see such as education, vacations, news, gardening, soccer, and outdoor recreation. 

There were several categories that I could not find in the blog listings, but had better luck with the blog postings.  When I typed in ‘library’, I had no luck with the blog listings, but found out some interesting information in the postings.  One post mentioned a wedding performed in a library, and another post mentioned a New York Library having a book returned that was overdue for almost 55 years.  I did not find any blogs about ‘gardening’, yet when I searched through the blog posts I came across several interesting finds, such as building a ‘Walipini’, or underground greenhouse which produces food year round.  I had better luck when I searched ‘books’ in the listings, I came across a variety of blogs such as one for comic books and another for London’s best reads.  When I searched in the blog posts, I had random comments about books. 

Would I use this website as a librarian?  I do not know yet.  I could use it to claim a personal blog I would create for my school community or one specifically for librarians. Perhaps this site would be helpful to see how many visits a blog was getting to determine its authority number which could be an indicator on how trustworthy the blog may be.  I was disappointed that I did not find any librarian blogs.  It could just be that I am in the wrong website, or maybe I still have more to learn about the site.  

Search Engine

Library Thing

It was fun exploring Library Thing and finding out the many ways a person could benefit and learn from it. As a librarian this website could be useful for your library in quite a number of ways. For example:
-I could create an account with the new books that have come into the library and place a widget with already made brief explanations of the books on my wiki. This could be easily updated on a monthly basis and a fun way to display the books. A librarian could even display books consisting of a certain genre or theme.
 -Through thousands of readers, Library Thing collects much data and is able to create many ratings. With these ratings a librarian can tell what books are being read the most. It also can let a librarian see which books and authors have the best ratings, all created by thousands of its readers who have a registered account. It also shows what authors had the lowest ratings. Many reviews written by the readers are available for all to see. All this information could be very helpful when selecting new books for the library.
 -Another helpful aspect of Library Thing are the recommendations for future books based on what you have read in the past. I wonder if these recommendations take personal reviews into account. For example if I read a book and am not thoroughly impressed, will Library Thing be able to recognize that I do not want similar books such as that one?
 -As a librarian this would be a good place to write personal reviews about the books I am reading and return to this site when I need to remember why I liked or did not like a book. -Library Thing also connects the reader to other readers with similar tastes. They are able to communicate back and forth to get ideas and discuss certain books. Many readers are always looking for a good book to read, and this could be very useful.
This website has so many fun and useful applications that I believe most librarians would appreciate what a site like this has to offer.

Library Thing

Quote about Books

How to use Skype in your school

For our last assignment I was able to install Skype and video-chat with a few of my classmates online. It was really fun!  Through my readings I was able to get some fun ideas on how to use Skype in the library and classroom.  Many of these ideas came from the article 50 Ways to Skype your Classroom by Jillian Terry with the website TEACHING DEGREE.  

Skyping an author seemed to be my favorite.  This is where an author comes into the classroom via Skype and the author gets to speak to the students and the students get to ask questions.  With authors being so busy and schools not having very much money, this seemed like a wonderful solution to both problems.  It allows the authors to talk to the students within the comforts of their home or office and the author visit fee could potentially be much less.  This could be a win-win situation for both parties. 

Another idea that appealed to me was students video chatting with students located in other communities, states, and areas around the world.  A teacher could incorporate many language art requirements in writing letters and such through pen pals and include a couple of visits on Skype as well. 

I also liked the idea where students could present their projects not only to their classmates, but to a parent on-line.  I wonder if this would give an added incentive for the students to do better and give them and chance to 'shine' and let the parents know what wonderful things are going on in the classroom.  

There were many other ideas, yet I feel that seeing and visiting with other people in the same room is much more preferable than video chatting. If video chatting was the only way to make something happen, then Skype is definitely a wonderful alternative.

As a librarian I could introduce these and other ideas to the faculty and make sure the school community had the technology to make it happen.  I view a librarian’s job as one who encourages, directs, and guides the other faculty members to know of and explore the many possible media and technical opportunities available to them.