Welcome to Vermont’s 23 Things – The Trustee Edition!

Vermont’s 23 Things – The Trustee Edition is a hands-on, learning program that provides an opportunity to explore Web 2.0 tools and the impact these tools are having on libraries & library service. All participants are encouraged to use the program as an opportunity to check out 2.0 technologies and think about ways in which our libraries can use these tools to deliver innovative library services.

It is with sadness that I post about this last week of Vermont’s 23 Things. On a lighter note, we get to guiltlessly watch videos on YouTube and listen to podcasts.

Week 11: Video & Podcasts
21. Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.
22. Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts.
23. Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog.

For those of you who would like continuing education credit for your participation, please e-mail me.

For those of you who aren’t up to Week 11 yet, have no fear, the website isn’t going anywhere and you have plenty of time to finish.

And for all of you, thank you so very much for participating. Your enthusiasm is inspiring.

Welcome to Week 10!

So, to take your mind off the winter wonderland outside, why not sit down with some hot chocolate and have a look at a few new Things? This week the adventure is about free web-based online productivity applications (word processing, spreadsheets, calendars, presentations, project management, and web conferencing) and the most recent Web 2.0 Awards list.

19. Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.
20. Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.

Welcome to the wonderful world of wikis! This week we’ll be turning our attention to a great web-based tool for multiple-participant projects. Plus we get to see another Common Craft video!

For this week:

17. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.
18. Create a wiki or add an entry to a Vermont’s 23 Things sandbox wiki.

This week we’ll be looking more closely at del.icio.us and Technorati, two Web 2.0 applications that take serious advantage of tagging (we’ve already looked at a few -Flickr, LibraryThing, and blogs all use tags). Tagging allows you to associate keywords with online content – webpages, pictures, posts, etc. It is considered a folksonomy – an unstructured categorization scheme. We’ll also be reading and blogging about a few perspectives on Library 2.0.

Hello all you followers of Vermont’s 23 Things!

I hope you are feeling refreshed after the Catch-up Week.

Did you enjoy playing with photos and images in Week 3? Then you’ll enjoy this week’s exploration of more image-related tools with Thing 12: Play around with an online image generator.

Do you love books? Thing 13: Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your books. Don’t forget to take a look at http://www.librarything.com/wiki.index.php/Help_in_Haiku

For those of you who have just stumbled on this program: it’s still not too late to participate. Spend some time with the first few things, create a blog to record your Vermont’s 23 Things thoughts and adventures, and send me (mara.siegel@mail.dol.state.vt.us) the link to have it added to the still growing list on the Participant Blogs page.

As you might have noticed, Week 6 has no Things (though it does have a Common Craft video! See below). It’s Catch-up Time! Take some time and breathe a little. Catch-up, revisit an old 2.0 friend you didn’t have enough time with, discover a new one.

Come back ready for Play Week!

By now you’ve probably figured out all how much I love the Common Craft videos. What you might not know is that I love ice cream even more. Here’s a video that combines both!

and

Strip published Monday, October 20, 2008

Week 5 of Vermont’s 23 Things is all about exploring social networks, including Facebook and MySpace. Thing 11 has you setting up a Facebook or MySpace account. For those of you who would prefer not to, there is an alternate exercise. There have also been several questions about creating pseudonymous identities. If that makes you more comfortable, who are we to stand in your way? Enjoy the week!

Week 5: Social Networks
10. Explore Social Networks
11. Set up a Facebook or MySpace page

The October issue of School Library Journal has an article by the fabulous Helen Blowers, creator of the original 23 Things. Ten Tips About 23 Things: How to make the most of the famed online 2.0 tutorial from the program’s creator

While the tips are helpful for people organizing a 23 Things program, they are also insights into the philosophy of the project.

There’s also a Google map of many of the 23 Things programs worldwide.

My thanks to the participant who let me know about the article.

This week Vermont’s 23 Things is all about RSS . The lesson is filled with jargon and tech talk and depending on your preferred learning style, you might like watch the videos, jump in and try out an RSS reader (or two), and read about it afterwards. Looking over other 23 Things programs, this seems to be one of the harder ‘things’ to conquer. Some have also said it’s the biggest thrill. Judging from your blogs, you will take on Week 4 with curiosity and perseverance!