Flying to France

I had been on Google Earth awhile back, but hadn't loaded it on my new computer (another long, boring story involving my satellite high speed limitations), so this was great. I went to my house first, then flew from my house to my sister's house in France. Wow -- it really got me pumped up for next week, when I will be flying there for real!

Of course, there are endless possibilities for this type of tool, and some were mentioned in this week's lesson (travel planning, researching locations before a move, etc.). As a teacher, I can think of dozens of ways this could be used in the classroom. Having access to this type of technology could really bring social studies and history alive for students, and I'm sure it is doing the same for many library customers. Just another way for the library to bring the world to our patrons.

P.S. My postings are out of order because when I went to create my avatar for last week's lesson, Meez.com was down for an upgrade. You will meet my virtual self next time!

Handy Dandy Web Apps

I really like having the option to use these web applications. Having your documents available from any computer is such a practical idea -- I can see many uses for this type of tool. Think of all the time saved when working collaboratively on a document! This would have been a real time-saver when I was getting my teaching certificate -- every course required group projects and these web applications would have made that whole process so much easier. I will definitely keep them in mind for future group projects.

(This post was created and published using ZohoWriter.)

Gentlemen, Search Your Engines!

Yes, I always use Google. It was good for me to break out of my box and try these different search engines. The first search I did was for an item I want to purchase for a program craft project. Each search engine gave me the same sites. More importantly, they each also gave me the article whose link I have provided below:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/pipe_cleaners_googly_eyes_cut_from

As much as I would love a search engine that only gave me exactly what I thought I wanted, I'm kind of glad that they still lead me to things I wasn't looking for, but nontheless enjoy immensely (see article above).

I tried another search for a different type of site -- I am looking for sites that have good databases of genre fiction. For this search, Rollyo gave me the best results, although I must confess that I was rooting for Mamma simply because of its complete name, Mamma: The Mother of All Search Engines. You've gotta love it. :)

Attack of the Killer Podcasts

The only podcasts I had listened to before this lesson were our own Sno-Isle online story podcasts performed by my fellow children's services staffers. (If you haven't heard any of these, be sure to check them out on our website -- they are wonderful!) I quite enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to exploring the whole wide world of podcasts. I subscribed to the Pierce County Library's book review podcast and Nancy Keene's Booktalks Quick & Simple podcast, as well as a movie review podcast called Filmspotting that I found through Podcast Alley.

I was very impressed with the number and breadth of the podcast selections -- you could subscribe to podcasts for every possible interest, if you had the time and the inclination to listen to all of them! I like that the Pierce County Library's book review podcast was mostly nonfiction -- I will have to look for a children's book review podcast. The booktalks podcast was very helpful (I had actually visited this site before, but hadn't listened to the podcasts). All in all, there are many opportunities out there for libraries and booklovers alike to take advantage of podcasting.

"Get Out of Work Free" Card

These online image generators are quite fun, and I truly felt like I was slacking as I explored them. I did have a little trouble when I tried to do a magazine cover, but the Monopoly Card Generator worked fine, as did the License Plate Generator (see at right). I can envision many ways I could use this in the library -- particularly for displays and children's programs.