Week 4: RSS Feeds and Newsreaders

Thing #8: Learn about RSS feeds and set up your own Bloglines newsreader account.

I have been using RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication) in several online applications and my favorite these days is Google Reader. Google Reader allows me to pick and choose a variety of online sources, e.g., blogs, wikis, news, and reference sources to preview as soon as they are available via the Internet. I still have not discovered how to keep current with my assortment of RSS feeds and often find myself skimming large quantities at odd hours of the early morning when I cannot sleep. :) I would appreciate any feedback from my fellow peers as to their methods for keeping up with this additional information treasure trove!

Thing #9: Locate a few useful library related blogs and/or news feeds.

Here is my list of useful library related, news, and/or reference RSS feeds from my Google Reader account.
Enjoy surfing!
Lisa

• 2 Cents Worth - David Warlick
• ALA TechSource
• Alice in InfoLand - Alice Yucht
• Dangerously Irrelevant - Scott Mcleod
• The Blue Skunk Blog - Doug Johnson
• Edublogs - Ewan McIntosh
• Infomancy - Christopher Harris
• Infosearcher - Pam Berger
  
• Information Wants to Be Free - Meredith Farkas
• Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch
• NeverEndingSearch - Joyce Valenza's Blog on School Library Journal
• November Learning - Alan November
• pixie stix kids pix - Kristen McLean
  
• Stephen's Lighthouse - Stephen Abram

Library Humor

• Library Videos - the best of...
• Unshelved, the library comic strip - Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
• Warrior Librarian Weekly - Amanda Credaro

Week 2: Blogging

Well, after some fiddling, which is part of the fun and part of the distraction of Web 2.0 applications, and help from my 16.5 year old son (choosing a blog name) I have started
"The Humanitarian Librarian" which I hope will live on beyond this online course... :)

http://humanitarianlibrarian.blogspot.com/

I found setting up the blog rather simple, but got too emotionally involved, in a negative way, with trying to set up my avatar from the suggested Yahoo web site.

http://avatars.yahoo.com/

I was continually frustrated that one had few choices and age ranges of avatars. Since I am a woman in her early 40's who feels young at heart I had difficulty choosing a "hype-looking young chick" for my avatar -- I'm not sure if this has to do with my feminist leanings, my varied lifetime experiences, and/or my concern as a mother that the media messages we continue to send continually perpetuate the myth that younger is better -- and then I lament why am I wasting so much time thinking about this?

In doing a quick search I saw other types of avatars, so perhaps during a "lull" in our course work I will continue to look for the avatar that feels right for me -- of course, as I am continually learning in our technological/literate worlds finishing a task may never happen because you can constantly add, refine, update, and/or change your assignment, homework, etc.

Week 1: Introduction and Pointers from Lifelong Learning

Philosophically I have always felt like a lifelong learner, thus librarianship as a career choice has been a good decision. At the same time I struggle with keeping a balance in my life between home-family and work-career. I relish time spent learning new skills and applications in this Web 2.0 world but can often get swept away and lose track of time... (hmmm, sounds like a lot of our students).

I need to continue to strategize ways to be effective in my librarianship and my home world. I am hoping that this online course will be a part of the ongoing solution to incorporate these different aspects and interests of my life.