MySpace/ Facebook/Social Networking

I have had a MySpace profile set up for several years and and account on Facebook for about a year. I am more familiar with MySpace and use it more often as I write blogs on there and read others blogs, keep up with friends and have added several new authors on my friends list. I haven't uses Facebook much but do keep up with friends there too usually with just one or two line comments. My children say they like Facebook better.
I have seen how these social networking sites are very beneficial but like anything else can be abused, with cyber bullying, fake profiles etc. However, on the positive side it is a great way to network. Think about the recent election. Each candidate had a MySpace profile. Information about the candidate was on their profile and it could be accessed by millions of people as they stayed in touch with family and friends. New authors can find people on MySpace who might be interested in their books, librarians or teachers. It is like going to a giant party to make contacts and shaking a few hands, passing out business cards, and getting acquainted.
There is a wide range of use for these social networking sites. In fact a person could get tangled up in them and spend hours. It just depends on how social you are.

Google DOCs

Google Docs can be very valuable. I have had frustrating experiences with trying to figure out how to save a document in one place and download it somewhere else. Without a flash drive a document can be writeen and saved in Google and accessed from any computer any where. This is particularly helpful in our school setting. We have students who will type a document at home on a Word version newer than the school version, save it to a flash drive only to discover it will not open on the school computer. Imagine the frustration! I have typed something at school and want to edit at home and usually I will e-mail the document to myself. This is what students do sometimes but, since they are not supposed to access e-mail at school this presents a dilema for them. First they have to get permission to access e-mail then copy and paste document, etc. I am glad that this lesson was next on the list, because I learned a lot from this.
Just this week we found a lost kitty. I had a picture on my computer of the cat but no printer. My husbands computer had a printer but no picture, so instead of using e-mail, I typed the lost poster in Google, inserting the picture, and then accessed it on my husband's computer to print. It worked like a charm. The kitty is still with us, I think we will adopt him since no one claimed him.

Video

Videos--How can they be used.? I experienced that just a few weeks ago in observing a class. The teacher used You Tube to play clips from Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech as a prompt for a writing assignment.
I sent this YouTube video about homelessness in our city to several teachers who are responsible for our annual food drive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNwyk_bVlsg

What a great tool to use for clips of shows, news, speeches, etc.
I realize this tool can be used in a derogatory way and because of this YouTube is blocked from some places but for us it works well.

I will have to think how to use this tool in the library.

Podcasts

http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Feeds/NPR_Hourly_News_Summary

Podcasts have already become part of our family at home and I could see a real benefit of them in helping patrons at a library. I work at a school, and the use of media devices by students is discouraged during the school day. However, links, web-sites etc could be used in reports, to enhance presentations both by teachers and students. I spend time researching and give infomation to the teachers about new books and media so, I could also find podcasts to support curriculum such as presidential speeches, news reports, culture, etc. I could see a benefit using podcasts this way.

Lesson 4 was all about Flickr. I had no idea there were so many things out there to do. It is no wonder these time saving devices take up so much of our time! I think it won't be long before people are taking vacations and just exploring the virtual world.
As I looked at some of the things that could be done I saw so much potential for use in a library. How fun to make READ posters, or motivational posters using your own images. How fun to make trading cards of your friends, sharing photos much like we used to do in grade school on picture day, cutting out our small pictures and giving them to friends with a message on the back. Do you have anyone famous in your drawer of pictures?
After viewing a lot of those things I am exhausted and so will quit for now. Suffice it to say, there is a lot that can be used in the library when it comes to Flicker apps!