#12 Library Elf

So I registered with library elf today. It's a pretty nifty service. Probably not as helpful for someone like me who can check their account almost everyday, but I can see where it could be very beneficial. Here at Tomball we get many homeschoolers. The parents will have accounts and so will all five of their children. That's seven cards with dozens of items checked out on each card. A homeschool mom could really benefit from a service like thiss and keep all of her accounts together. Clever idea!

#11: LibraryThing

I already had a LibraryThing account created. This is something I actually think is cool. It takes a little while though to fully add each item to your page. I would at some point like to add every book I have in my collection as a way to keep track of my books. Its a good thing to do on a lazy weekend while watching tv or something. The site is down right now or I would add some information about my personal account. Later, I guess.

Week #5: Image Generators

This week was fun. I enjoyed designing an avatar. This one looks kinda like me. Note the Ohio State gear. I would like to point out that the Ohio State Buckeyes are 6-0. Number 3 in the nation. I see no signs that we are going to lose anytime soon. Perfect season? I think so!

Still Week #4

Our next assignment after setting up our bloglines account was to add a feed. You can either search bloglines or go to the desired website and add it through there if they have the option. That is what I chose to do. I have a sad, very sad addiction. I am confessing right here and now and I refuse to be ashamed. I love celebrity gossip. I may or may not have a subsciption to US Weekly. So, I went to perezhilton.com and sure enough right there on the front page was a bloglines icon to click and it to my account. Very easy, no searching required. Now I can stay up to date on all the trash and gossip.

Week #4: RSS Feeds

I am a week behind. So I have some catching up to do. Last week I setup a bloglines account. I subscribed to 19 feeds, including my own blog. I guess its kind of a nifty idea. I don't think personally that I would read them all that much. Although all the information you want is sent directly to you, I still find it kind of cumbersome to sort and find what you want. I would much rather pickup USA Today and flip through the pages.

My wire fox terrier- Harry

My wire fox terrier- Harry, originally uploaded by courtshill8.

I know that I don't have to make another post, but I did want to share another picture. This is my parent's dog, Harry. He is the main reason I go visit them. He is so precious. Acts just like a toddler. At our home we call him Hair-wee.

Thing #7: Photo Editing

The Louvre- January 2007, originally uploaded by courtshill8.

This is the original photo, a nightime pic of The Louvre in Paris.

This is after editing the color with picnik.

Thing #6

Discovery exercise:

1. Explore some of the fun Flickr mashups and 3rd party tools that are out there.
2. Create a blog post about one that intrigues you.

I took a look at a few "mashups" and could never quite get the point. I guess they are just fun to play around with (and created by people who have ample free time). The one that I really discovered was Colr Pickr which takes photos from flickr with certain colors. It was fun for a moment, but like I said, I saw no real purpose. Here is the site:

http://www.krazydad.com/colrpickr/

Arc de Triomphe- January 2007

Arc de Triomphe- January 2007, originally uploaded by courtshill8.

I finally got my flickr account up and running and uploaded a few pictures from my trip to Europe this past winter. Here is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. I had such a great time on that trip, even going in January!

The 2nd thing

The 2nd thing to do as psrt of the iHCPL program was to watch a presentation of tips on learning habits. It talked about getting organized and finding time to really get the most of the program. It suggested an hour each day to read through new information and practice. The even suggested making a learning contract like this:

My iHCPL Contract for Learning
• I will develop a routine by setting aside time to work each day. I will try to find at least one hour where I can dedicate myself to the iHCPL program at the same time each week.
•I will work on one lesson at a time. This will prevent my missing important information or forgetting to complete an assignment.
• I will not rush myself. I will learn the information and then move on to the next exercise.
• I will find a quiet place to study. This will help me concentrate and forget about everything else in my life for awhile.
• I will work with my supervisor to determine the best times for me to complete the iHCPL exercises.
• If I need to finish something that is work related, I will finish that first. I will not rush my learning experience. If I miss a day of study time, I will continue on my schedule and finish when I am ready.
• Balancing my job and iHCPL may take time. I will have to see which time of day I am able study without distraction. My job needs will have to come first, but since I will be working at my own pace, I should not feel discouraged if I miss a day or two of exercises.
• I will consult a coworker if I am having difficulties. We can share and learn from each other.
• I will have fun! You can print this later.

I thought there were some great ideas. This is not something to stress over and should be fun and encouraging. Okay, now that I am caught up on my posts, let me give you week three. These will be the next three posts I make.

Week 3: Photos & Images
5. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.
6. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites.
7. Learn about online photo editing tools to improve your pictures.

23 Things

So the program has 23 things we are supposed to do. For each one we are to write about it on our blog. Well, setting up the blog is #3 so I didn't really write about #1 or #2. But this week we are to make posts #5-7. I only have two posts so I am going to backtrack a bit. Here are the first 4 things I have done.

Week 1: Introduction (Official start: September 10)
1. Read this blog & find out about the program. (ihcpl.blogspot.com)
2. Read this entry and then view the motivational slide show to discover a few pointers on how to nurture your own learning process.

Week 2: Blogging
3. Set up your own blog, add your first post, & register for the program.
4. Get tips for navigating safely online

I have read over the program and familiarized myself with it several times. I check up on then ihcpl blog daily to see if there are any new developments. So #1 is definitely complete.

iHCPL Week 2 exercise

So this is the exercise:
Create a blog post discussing your thoughts on online safety and privacy. How comfortable are you sharing online?

I am somewhat comfortable sharing my life online. I don't hand out personal information, but do share likes/dislikes and personality traits. I think you can get to know someone without having to know where they live, where they work, where they bank, and their social security number. I also feel that if someone really wants to find out more information on me there is a number of ways they can do that, the least of which is an online blog. So, I'm not going to share my mother's maiden name with people, but I will let them get a glimpse of my everyday life and thoughts.

iHCPL Week 2: Blogging

I've created this blog as part of iHCPL's 23 things program. I have blogged before and am moderately technology savvy, but hope to learn some cool new things. I will be blogging about my progress with the program along with some fun and interesting things! I love to read, take trips (anywhere and everywhere), and most of all...watch Ohio State football! I pretty much live for football season. The Buckeyes are 3-0 as of this week. Next up for Ohio State: Northwestern. Next up for the iHCPL program: Explore Flickr.