Week 16--Wrap-up Webinar

I was not able to participate in either of the live webinars, so I had to login to the archived version. It was nice how the presenters went through each week's lesson and highlighted different projects that various participants had created. It was also nice so hear that others had similar questions or problems to those I encountered along the way.

The experience was wonderful overall. I enjoyed learning about the various tools that are available for free and experimenting with each one. My favorite tool is Facebook. I had already started using it before the class started. It is really neat to be able to stay connected with friends and family online.

My favorite new tool is Jing. Now that I've figured out how to use it and how to get the microphone to work, I can see a lot of places where I could use this tool, especially in a library setting. I also enjoyed the creative aspects of blogging. My blog started out pretty plain, but as the class progressed I was able to add more and more to my blog--everything from widgets to pictures to videos. It's been great!

I want to say thank you to all the wonderful people who created lessons and helped us out along the way.

Week 12--Screen Casting--Jing

Well, I loved and hated this one. Downloading Jing was easy, but learning how to use it was more difficult. I had to figure out how to get the exact section of the screen I wanted and how to get my microphone to work. Once I got those things figured out, I was able to get the assignment done fairly quickly.

I chose to explain how to do searches on the Destiny Online Catalog, which is the program we have on our computers at school. I used the public library's website for my example because the school's catalog is not available to the public--it's only available on the network at school.

All in all, the experience was a good one.

http://www.screencast.com/users/ruthmusic/folders/Jing/media/c4e69d61-91a2-4ce5-82c6-037d82db2f8d

Week 15--Wikis

I had done a little bit with wikis for a college class, but there's still a lot for me to learn. For this lesson, I created an account on Wikipedia--and promptly forgot my password. And, of course, I hadn't included an email account so I couldn't retrieve it or set a new one. So I had to create a new account.

On Wikipedia I edited the page about the Marais des Cygnes River. I added a link to the La Cygne, KS website that has pictures of the Flood of 2007. I thought this was appropriate since the page talks about Floods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marais_des_Cygnes_River#Floods

Then I went to the 23 Things Kansas wiki and added my page there. In spite of the specific instruction to SAVE your page, I managed to exit out without saving it the first time, so had to redo it also. That's what I get for waiting until the last minute and trying to hurry.

http://23thingskansas.wetpaint.com/page/Ruth+Reynolds

Week 14--Library Thing--Shelfari

When I created my blog, I was looking for ways to make it look neat. I took a look at some of the blogs created by other students in the class. If I saw something I liked, I added it to my blog. One of the features I really liked with the bookshelf on Shelfari. I didn't realize at the time that this would be related to a future assignment for 23 Things Kansas.

I signed up for Shelfari and added my bookshelf to my blog. Since then, I have gone in and edited it to add more books and to rate the books. I haven't done a lot with the other features, but I really like the fact that if you click on the cover of one of the books on the shelf it takes you to a site where there are reviews of the books.

Week 13--Slide Sharing--Animoto

In the past, I have created several slide shows on PowerPoint and recently experimented with Windows Movie Maker. But I had never tried any of the web-based slide sharing software.

I chose to use Animoto. Setting up an account in Animoto was simple. The first thing I did was import some photos that I had uploaded to Facebook. This feature was nice because I did not have to take time to upload anything from my computer and the process was fairly quick. Since I was using the free version of Animoto and you are limited to videos that are 30 seconds, I had to narrow down the number of pictures I was using--I just used the delete feature.

Next, I added music. Animoto has a selection of song clips that you can choose from. Finally, I added a title slide and a credits slide, clicked finish, and waited for my video to be processed.

Then, I wanted to add my slide show to my blog. I finally figured out how to do this, and there is a link to the video below.

I found that the free version of Animoto is very limited as to what you can do with it. If I were to create slide shows in the future, I would probably opt to continue using PowerPoint or Movie Maker as I have access to the full features of both and would not have to pay a subscription fee.

Wildflowers

Week 10--Video on the Web--YouTube

It was easy to sign up for an account on YouTube. Since I already had a login on Google, I could just use it. The user name was a little harder. The one I usually use was already taken by someone else, so I had to come up with a different one. I finally settled on ruthmusic81.

Figuring out what to take a video of was a little difficult. Since I work in a school library and can't just shoot a video of my students and post it, I had to come up with something unrelated to school or libraries. My nephew was kind enough to let me videotape him playing his drums. Actually uploading the video to YouTube was easy. It just took several minutes to upload due to the slow speed of our internet service.

I did not attempt to edit anything on the video and it was already in a format that was YouTube friendly, so I didn't have to worry about that. I used my Sony Cyber-Shot DSC F828 to shoot the video. Although I've had the camera for several years, this was the first time I used the video feature.

I've uploaded a copy of the video below or you can view it on YouTube at the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ6KWDi8N8s

Week 9--Instant Messaging--AIM, Facebook Chat

Since I have used Instant Messaging many times in the past, this lesson was an easy one for me. I started out using AOL Instant Message. We use this program in our school district as a way of sharing info between staff members. Until recently, we didn't have phones in the classrooms, so this was a good way to stay in touch with other teachers or the office, especially in the event of a discipline problem. Also, our schools were on separate phone companies and a call was long distance, so AIM was a good way to send communication between buildings and not run up the phone bill.

While I was working on my master's, I used Yahoo Messenger a lot. All of the courses were online and for one particular class I had to work with a partner who lived in Topeka. Phone calls were too expensive and emails too slow, so we used the messenger program for the majority of our communication. It worked great. Even if I wasn't online, if she sent a message, it would pop up the next time I got online.

More recently, I have used the chat feature on Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. I chatted with a fellow 23 Things Kansas student to finalize our plans for the Cloud Computing lesson. My sister also set up an account for me on MSN Messenger, but I very seldom use it.

I also signed in on the IRC channel for 23thingsks. At first I couldn't type anything, but eventually the box appeared and I was able to talk briefly to Sharon. Not sure what the problem was.