Thing #13 - Tagging, Del.icio.us

Earlier today I could not imagine that I would be writing these words, but I have found that I actually like Del.icio.us! I explored all the suggested resources that were available (the "highly recommended" video tutorial is still disabled) and then looked around the site, checking out various bookmarks , the tag cloud, etc. I decided that I would like to set up a personal Del.icio.us account and this is where the trouble and frustration began. I was determined to add the Del.icio.us button to my browser toolbar. I followed the directions on the site (several times) and, each time, it would say that the button had been successfully installed. Wrong! It did not appear on my toolbar. I finally gave up and went shopping! Later, much later, this evening I approached the site again and realized that the directions I had been following were for Internet Explorer while my current browser is MSN. I do have Explorer on the computer and when I opened it, there was the Del.icio.us button right where it was supposed to be. JOY!! I then spent some time trying to get it moved or copied to my MSN browser and eventually found some FAQs on the site that noted that it is not currently possible to add the Del.icio.us button to the MSN browser. So much for that.
I had fun adding some bookmarks (including HCPL passport) and tags to my Del.icio.us favorites. I imagine that I will return to the site if I want to see what other users have bookmarked for a certain tag. It seems to me that this would be a wonderful site to use if I were still doing research, writing papers, etc. It would be a much easier way to organize materials and sub-topics than the old (really old) index card system.

Thing #12 - Rollyo

Rollyo was a new concept to me. I explored the site, examined the suggested search rolls, and browsed through many others that seemed of interest. I created my own search roll of online shopping sites that I have used with positive results. I can't really see that I will use this tool too often as I usually know which site has the item or items that I am interested in. However, I do see the value in using some of the already-created search rolls such as reference, news, etc. to find lists of reliable online resources.
Here is the link to my Online Shopping search roll.
http://rollyo.com/bobbjohn/online_shopping/

Thing #11 - Library Thing

I really like Library Thing. This is a great site. I quickly added about 14 titles including a mixture of books from my home library and recent reads from HCPL. It is interesting to click on the titles, see how many other Library Thing users have the book, and then see what other titles the Recommendations Machine comes up with. The Unsuggestor was funny: Plato, Camus, Dostoyevsky, and Karl Marx are not likely to be found in a personal library of those who enjoy Janet Evanovich!
Here, I hope, is the link to my Library Thing catalog.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=bobbjon&shelf=shelf

Thing #10 - Online Image Generators

I see that image generators are fun and that time (a lot of it!) passes very quickly when one is exploring them. I have come up with an avatar of myself (hah!) at the beach at sunset, my favorite time to be there. I have on my cheetah swimsuit as I have a group of friends who call ourselves the Cheetahs. The only thing missing is a book in my hand. Evidently the Meez characters don't read!

Thing #9 - MERLIN

I became acquainted with MERLIN, visiting and exploring the site and subscribing to its feed. I also clicked on each of the suggested search tools for finding feeds of interest (Feedster, Topix, Syndic8, and Technorati). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Topix site allowed me to easily create feeds based on news from my hometown, Delta, PA and my vacation hometown, Ocean City, NJ. I had tried to find an RSS feed for Ocean City while working on Thing #8 but was unable to find a civic website that offered a feed. Delta is such a small town that I was amazed at the news that was delivered through the Topix feed. I played around with Blogline's search tool. I especially liked the "Matching Feeds" lists that appeared on the right side of the page for some of my searches.

Thing #8 - RSS

RSS has now been added to my vocabulary, and, through an afternoon of exploration, I feel that I have some familiarity with feeds and newsreaders. I worked through the suggested Discovery resources and then set up my Bloglines account and began adding newsfeeds. I chose a variety of topics of personal interest, suggested library-related feeds, and blogs of friends. One pesky feed has popped up that doesn't make much sense. So far I have attempted to unsuscribe to it twice, but it stubbornly remains on my list.

Thing #7 - Creating a Blog Post

Hmmm, my thoughts about technology...Technology can be great and amazing, but it can also be a real pain! During my teaching career there were many, many technological changes and advances. Our first computer (one machine for the entire school) was basically a glorified workbook, showing a smiley face on the screen if a student answered a math problem correctly. At that early stage of development, we teachers were taking courses that taught us such things as writing programs that made our names scroll endlessly down the screen. The students, meanwhile, were learning the Logo program at the third-grade level. Neither of these activities proved to be very useful in the long run. As time went on, we received more computers - and a computer lab. We teachers then spent a great deal of time mastering word processing and desktop publishing programs. The students were busy using CD-Roms such as SIM City, Reader Rabbit, etc. to engage in interactive learning activities. When our building finally became wired for the Internet, the potential uses of computers expanded immensely.
I have always enjoyed keeping up with technological advances, but, as I said, at times trying to do things in new ways can be quite frustrating. I would be determined that I was going to do something (such as, oh say, make up a schedule for parent/teacher conferences using a word precessing program) and would end up spending much more time than if I had simply done the schedule with pencil and paper. Also, the language involved when dealing with computer-related matters such as installation, trouble-shooting, etc. is not easy to understand. Those Fatal Error messages are still scary!
I do realize that technology involves much more than computers. I am enjoying using my digital camera, and it is fun to explore the many avenues , such as Flickr, Kodak Easy Share, etc., for organizing and sharing these photos. Likewise, it's hard to remember a time before the instant communication provided by cell phones and answering machines.
I thought that I was semi-proficient in technology, but, as I look over the 23 Things, I see many terms that are totally unfamiliar to me. Hopefully, the fun will outweigh the frustrations as I explore them!