Thing 16 -- Student 2.0 Tools

03/14/2008
Assignment Calculators -- a GREAT idea! I've previously looked at the UofM's Assignment Calculator and I had already downloaded the OS code in order to customize it for our library ... just another of those "time" things! I think that this could be a very useful tool for our students ... especially considering so many students come to our college with little or no concept of how to do research or write a paper ... the timelines and helpful hints could be lifesavers for them.

Thing 15 -- Online Games

03/14/2008
So this thing is "games" ... I tried out the Puzzle Pirates and now be known as "Bloodkin" ... I thot I be aptly named as a descendant of the real Captain Blood! But kin or not I had to start out by pumping bilge ... agghh 'tis noth'n like hard labor on a priate ship in the www (wet web world)! Okay, I plead writer's license.....

Second Life -- I've signed up for an account but now just waiting for my confirmation e-mail so I can jump into the world & try it out .... my 2nd life name is georgie Aaron .... more later!
03/21/2008 UPDATE -- I still have not rec'd my confirmation e-mail so I have not been able to try out Second Life -- bummer! I'll see if I can connect w/them via "help".

Thing 14 -- LibraryThing

03/12/2008

LibraryThing -- okay, I'm hooked! I had looked at this before and wondered hmmm, would I use it? So now with the assignment to add a few books I did so ... then I added a few more ... now I'm trying to remember all the books I've read over the years .... agghhh!!! :))) Okay back to Earth ... I'll just try to keep up with what I'm reading now and add as I go ... and IF I happen to remember a title from back when then I'll add that too.

So off to the right you should be able to view "Book Titles in My LibraryThing" ... a few random covers should appear. And there should be a link to my catalog otherwise just click here on my catalog.

Here's an example of LibraryThing in use that came across a listserv e-mail this morning from the U of MN libraries. One thing I wish it could do is link directly to their catalog as an option vs. only to Amazon.com.

Thing 13 -- Online Productivity Tools

03/12/2008
Customized homepages -- I hate to sound like a broken record (okay I'm old enough to know this cliche!) but this is another thing on my to-do list ... hmm, maybe I should try one of those online to-do list tools! Anyway, I've looked at both iGoogle and PageFlakes prior and had not yet implimented one into use. I have also looked at and considered Netvibes. After looking at each I'm still unsure as to which I think I'd really like since a lot of the customization tools are similar. An option for me is to try one out for a week or two, then switch to another and then switch to the last. Then decide which I overall find more pleasing and useful.

Calendars -- Good idea but I think I'll stick with coordinating my schedule at work & home via my e-mail system. Maybe this would be more useful for groups of people?

Lists -- I'm not sure I'd use this type of feature. So far my brain is an information soak for my to-dos and I still love real paper sticky notes. Maybe the day will come that my brain won't have the remembering capacity but then I might not remember to add something to the online list or I might not remember that I added it to the list or I might not remember that I have an online list .... hmmm, I'll wait and see.

Backpack -- Again I'm not sure this would be useful to me ... at least not at this point in time. But it does look like a very useful tool especially for people who travel for work and give presentations. Maybe it will be come useful to me once I'm in grad school (if accepted!).