Week 15: Wikis

Okay - I am a slowpoke on this one! The idea of editing and possibly creating Wikipedia articles was very intriguing to me. I would like to create an entire article, which slowed me down immensely since we are winding things up at the end of the school year and I didn't have much time to dedicate to that enormous task. So... I finally put that goal aside for the time being and found an article to edit with some additional information that related to Fort Leavenworth which is located in my county. I discovered a bit of information in a book from our Kansas Room at Leavenworth Public Library about Chief Joseph being taken here with about 400 of his tribal members and held in a makeshift prison camp for an eight month stay. The survivors of that ordeal were then transported to a reservation in Oklahoma for ten years where many died of disease. The remaining Nez Perce were finally returned to their native home in Idaho. Here is a link to the article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph My edit is in the second half of the first paragraph in the section titled: Aftermath.

Week 14: Library Thing, Etc.

Shelfari this week. Very cool tool... especially for librarians!! Here is my personal book shelf for you to browse. Enjoy!

http://www.shelfari.com/o1514532950

Week 13: Slide Sharing

Hi there! Another fantastic and FREE tool that we can use via the web, how awesome!! Great potential for this one too!

Leavenworth Public Library Resources PowerPoint

http://www.slideshare.net/cindyhesser/leavenworth-public-library-resources

Week 12: Screencasting

Wow!! I love screencasting!! Well, I love the potential of screencasting... I am still working on a smooth production. I created one that explains how Kansas residents can access Consumer Reports articles via the State Library site, kslib.info We often have patrons come to the library looking for articles before making a major purchase. They are usually delighted to learn how to access the articles free of charge at home. Here is a link to my screencast:

Consumer Reports access through General One File database on http://kslib.info -

http://www.screencast.com/t/ZDg4NmVkMT

Week Seven: Microblogging

I have joined the Twitter circle. Here is a link so that you can all 'Tweet' me if you like -

http://twitter.com/hessercj

I fished for Twitter pages to follow and found eight so far. Leavenworth and Johnson County Libraries, some friends from Leavenworth Public Library, like Debby and Diana, 23 Things (of course!), Google Books, Borders, and Gwen Bartlett had a nice link to register to win a computer lab - Thanks, btw!

Twitter is no doubt a great way to quickly stay current in people's lives and keep people abreast of events at libraries. I think I am too verbose to use twitter on a regular basis, but who knows... I may learn to abbreviate my communications to fit the confines of a Tweet!

Week Ten: Video on the Web

Wow! Another FUN project!! Here is a link to a cool video about a library's mobile website that can be used easily with iphones, etc:

Intro to the UNC Library Mobile Site

And here is a link to one that I have posted of our Thanksgiving entertainment at my daughter's house. Her husband, Brad, is an auctioneer and played guitar/sang the Auctioneer song:

Auctioneer, Brad Noll

To his left sits Wanetta, a full-blooded Cherokee and honored guest that day. After my brother offered a Christian prayer before our meal, she offered a Cherokee prayer. Awesome day!

Week Nine: Instant Messaging

This was a fun lesson!
Tell us what you think of Instant Messaging; It is a fast way to connect with one or more people and has many advantages. One being there is no disturbing sound in an otherwise quiet environment like a library. Another is you can be chatting while working on other projects on the computer. You can look for answers in another Window. You can also ask other librarians for tips or advice while working on the projects.
Do you like it? I love chatting via IM!!!
What concerns do you have using a tool like Instant Messaging? Well, I do find that it is easier to be misunderstood on occasion - since messages tend to be abbreviated, some of the meaning is at risk of being lost or misconstrued.
Has it changed the way you work at all? YES - see above.

Week Eight: Cloud Computing

Hi, For this week's 23 Things Kansas (23 techie things) assignment, I created a dropbox account and placed a document into my online dropbox. I am to share a link to this with others, like yourself. Here is a link to the document I created last year of my daughter Carissa's communications about her study abroad adventures and sight seeing in London:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5106795/London%20with%20Carissa.doc

Let me know if it doesn't work, please. Thank you!

Cynthia Hesser

Week Six: Tagging and Social Bookmarking

This week I started a Delicious bookmarking account and imported my bookmarks. Here is a link in case you would like to see my favorites sites:
http://delicious.com/hesser

I think this will be very useful as I travel from school job to public library job to home. I will be able to access my favorites and check the other emails wherever I am. Cool site!

Week Five: RSS and Feed Readers

Hello Reader!
I selected Bloglines as my RSS feed machine. It was recommended when I attended a Podcasting workshop. My subscriptions include: Abstract Art; Librarian.net; Library Stuff; ResourceShelf; Shifted Librarian; and National Podcasting Radio

Week 4 - Photo Sharing

I LOVE photo sharing! I have actually been sharing my family photos online for quite awhile now using Picasa - here is a link: Cynthia's Pics of Art, Ancestors and Family

This week I also created a Flickr account and uploaded some digital photos I took of our Leavenworth Public Library - here is a link: Leavenworth Public Library Pics

Week 3 - Online Meetings

I have participated in online meetings several times at Leavenworth Public Library. We use this technology whenever the personnel needs inservice and instruction on new software, etc. Most recently we had one in our meeting room with a digital projector, laptop and telephone connection regarding our new Time Management system. I was not able to bring up the video to listen to it at Leavenworth Library, as our sound is muted while at work computers. Our school has blocked these technologies, so I hope my previous experience will suffice for this part of 23 Things.

Week 2 - Online Communties

• What Online Community did you choose? FACEBOOK
  
• What do you like most about it? Hmmm difficult to decide. I love being able to see at a glance what's going on in the lives of family and friends. But I really enjoy being able to play Lexulous (Scrabble type game) with friends from afar and chat with them at the same time.
  
• How have you used this Community? I have posted some of my educational and work experience background along with some biographical highlights in case someone in cyberspace is interested in contacting me for networking or just as a friend. I have also connected with many friends from the past, lots of cousins, and several current friends.
  
• How do you see yourself using it in the future? Probably more of the same as above.
  
• Can you see your library using this Online Community? Well, my primary job is as a school librarian and our school (as many others) have blocked access to Facebook and other social networks. So, I doubt if I could use it in that setting. I did help set up a Facebook account at Leavenworth Public Library however. How? It is used to increase public awareness of our library services, programs, resources and location.
  
• Add a link to your blog to your Online Community profile so others can find you... Cindy Hesser on Facebook
  

What are your favorite books?

Picking out just a few of my favorite books is a difficult task - there are so many that I have enjoyed reading. I am posting a few below. What are yours?

Little Women Little Men David Copperfield Wuthering Heights Cheaper By the Dozen Harry Potter Angela's Ashes Tis' Poisonwood Bible Adventures of Tom Sawyer Huck Finn Holes Great Gilly Hopkins DaVinci Code Chicken Soup books

Useful Online Resources for Research

I have been gathering useful websites that our students might find useful during the research process for completing assignments at Basehor-Linwood Middle School in Linwood, Kansas. I have a list of interactive links on one of my school webpages -

Online Reference Tools

Do you have any others to suggest that you think students could use? If so, please post them, thanks!