Suzanne Collins second book in her post-apocolyptic, fantasy series was just released yesterday. The second in the "Hunger Games" series is called Catching Fire. This series is sure to be a hit with young adults and adults alike. In Hunger Games, 24 children are selected to compete to the death before a live audience. At the end of this first in the series, two competitors remain and this is where yesterday's release, Catching Fire, picks up. Collins is about two-thirds done with the third and final book in the trilogy. It remains to be seen if this series will attain the popularity of Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series but it seems to be a good bet as foreign translations and movie rights are in the works.
There's a flickr of hope for those individuals, organizations, and libraries who want to share their photos with others on the internet. The sharing of photos can be a wonderful way to let others know what is happening, either in one's personal life or in an organization. For libraries, sharing photos can serve many purposes. It can be a method for promoting services, programs, activities, and events. It can be a way to introduce your staff and board to the public. It can be a repository where photos can be kept for historical archival purposes. The website is Flickr.com. Flickr is one of the earliest Web 2.0 applications created as a site where users can share photographs. Flickr accounts are very easy to set up, and very easy to use. One of the neatest things is the ability to tag (label) each photograph which aids in the organizational and retrieval process. Users can create sets (or albums) of photographs organized on a certain theme. A photo can belong to one or many sets. There are free accounts available as well as pro accounts which offer unlimited storage space for a very reasonable $25 a year. There is a very comprehensive description of Flickr on Wikipedia. Many, many libraries are using Flickr, from the largest library in the nation, the Library of Congress, to small libraries such as Riverdale, Illinois and Chicago Ridge, Illinois. Visiting these sites will give new Flickr users insipiration and hopefully ideas to use on their own sites.
I admit it. I'm a newbie to the World of Wikis. In the past, my only experience was going to Wikipedia when I needed quick information (wiki is Hawaiian for "quick"). Didn't know how the info got there, just that it was there, waiting for me and a million others to access. After a little education on my part, I've learned that wikis are an interactive medium which allows users to collaborate, read, and edit common information stored in one spot in a simple and easy manner. Think of the possibilities. What a great tool for organizing an event, activity, reunion, anniversary, or trip. What about a course-centered wiki for teachers and instructors? Perhaps students working on a major project could set up a project wiki. No more sending emails back and forth to all parties involved. No more meetings in person unless absolutely necessary. Now that I've learned the process, I am quite taken with the possibilities and uses of wikis in both my personal and professional life. It's pretty easy to set up and even easier to use, as simple as sending an email! There are many providers who offer free wikis. Google has a product called Google sites which is basically a free wiki (they don't call it a wiki but it operates the same). Another provider is pbwiki. If you want to shop around for a wiki that has features that are just right for you go to wikimatrix where you can compare providers and what they offer. I'm excited to start out on the quickie, wiki road.
Online video sharing is fantastic! Podcasting is also great but as far as "fun and entertainment" goes, video sharing is tops. With regard to the educational aspects and uses of YouTube and podcasting, each method may appeal to individuals for a variety of reasons. We all have different learning styles and podcasting may be the preferred method for those who are audio or aural learners. For visual learners or for demonstrating technique or method, YouTube might be preferred. YouTube is perfect for demonstrating a golf swing, showing how to bone a chicken, or how to lay ceramic tile. This past Christmas I had the grand idea of making sausage rolls, an appetizer that the older members of my family always make at family gatherings and holidays. I wasn't sure exactly how to roll and shape the pastry. Voila! YouTube! I found several videos demonstrating this. I was pleasantly surpised and pleased. This almost eliminates the need for a cookbook.
Podcasting is great for imparting knowledge such as audio guided tours through museums or galleries, listening to a college lecture , listening to stories, or listening to the latest review of newly published books. You would be amazed at the variety of podcasts available. There is no excuse for ignorance in this day and age. Many colleges and universities have course lectures as podcasts. I believe a person could get the equivalent of a college education through podcasts. Here is a list of college and universities that offer podcasting. Interested in learning a foreign language? How about Dutch, Bulgarian, Danish, Norwegian, just to name a few. Podcasts have the potential to be one of the finest educational uses of technology and Web 2.0.
Between podcasting and YouTube, sign me up for Team YouTube. I could spend hours browsing the videos. Here's one I particularly liked. Check out this video. It is a clip from the Lawrence Welk show (you young ones won't remember him) where he pays homage to our very own south suburban town of Flossmoor.
There's a nifty little tool that allows users to create their own customized search engines. That tool is Rollyo. The concept is simple: A user creates a "search roll" on a desired topic or subject. by choosing and adding websites of his choice to a search roll which he names. One search roll will accomodate up to 25 sites, or url's. If the owner wishes to share it, he marks it public. If not, he marks it private. It's now ready for others (or the owner) to search and find targeted results based on the websites that were included.
I can see educators using Rollyo as a learning tool. Teachers can create search roll(s) based on the curriculum being taught. They would include websites that contain content the students will find valuable and relative to the class and/or assignments. Conversely, students can create subject-based search rolls to share with their class, use in group projects, or use in research papers. Tags (keywords) can be added to search rolls so that others in the community can find them.
As for me, I experimented and created a search roll that I will probably use in the future. One of my job responsibilities is to order audiobooks and I like to read reviews occasionally before I decide what to purchase. My search roll is Listen Up - Audiobooks and I loaded it with sites that I think will be valuable to me. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted as I create new search rolls.
I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem. You love to read and you read many books during the course of a year. You get suggestions of great books from friends and family, the book section of the neswpaper, or listening to the radio or televsion. You jot down the name of that book while your driving. You rip out the article from the book section of the Sunday paper. You're having lunch with a friend and you write down the name of the book your friend suggests on the back of your cash station receipt. Pretty soon you've got dozens of bits of paper floating around, none of which you can find when you need to! Wouldn't it be nice to keep an organized list of what you want to read and what you've already read? Wouldn't it be nice to find similar books to the ones you really loved? Would you like to connect with others who have similar reading tastes as you? Library Thing is just the site for you. You can do all that I've mentioned and more. Would you like to get free books? If you sign up to be a reviewer you have an opportunity to receive free books before they are published. Free books, just for the price of a review. Not a bad deal.
I've just learned all about RSSing. It's quite a unique tool and I can see how it can be addicting, especially for librarians as we are addicted to the world of information already as it is. The most important advantage of feeds or aggregators is that once the user has subscribed, the information or news is delivered TO YOU, rather than the user going to find the information himself via bookmarks. The variety of blogs is astounding. There are so many that it is virtually impossible to NOT find one of interest.
Speaking of feeds, try reading Feed by M.T. Anderson. This young adult book tells about a futuristic world where individuals are implanted with a "feed" chip in their brain at birth which continually provides them a source of incoming information. Do you think this could be a real possiblility for our future?
