Thing 8: Screencasts

My Read OutLoud screencast

I use Screencasts to help create training videos for Read OutLoud for the LibGuides. 

Thing 7: Google

I use Google.  A lot.  I use the regular ol' search feature in my toolbar, the image tab, the video tab, the calendar, iGoogle, Gmail, Google docs, etc.  However, the slideshow on the 'Taming' blog introduced me to features which will be helpful in narrowing down my search.  For example, I never knew you could exclude certain results by using a -.  I never used the filter for the image search (size, color, etc).  I also never knew about the :edu or :gov action which limits search results to educational or government webpages.  This is definitely helpful because I often have to go through pages of search results before I locate the correct source or type of source.  Something I thought would be useful for both myself and my students is the related searches feature.  This could be useful during the beginning stages of research to help narrow or broaden a topic.  Overall, I realize that Google has more options that will make searching (and my life) better and easier.

Thing 6: Evernote

I've had Evernote on my iPad for quite a while, but I haven't used it much because I'm used to using Pages or Notability.  I think the edge that Evernote has though, is that it syncs to the web.  That's a biggie for me.  I don't like to be tied to one device.  I love the idea of being able to hop on any computer/iPad/whatever and find my notes by logging in to Evernote.  I also like the formatting options it has.  It's pretty easy to customize notes, add pictures, or audio.  I think I'm going to use it more often.  The next thing I'll learn is how to clip notes from the web.

Thing 5: Wikis

The Wiki could be a great tool for the Learning Specialists to share information.  We do this informally here and there, but having it all on one page would be awesome.  We could also use it to list which KU strategies each student is learning so that teachers in other departments can access this information.

Diigo--Why the two "i"s?

It's intriguing that Diigo uses consecutive Is.  You just don't see that very often...

But, back on track.  

I started using Diigo to bookmark sites on the web, and I think I like it.  I bookmark TONS of sites normally, but they're all tied to whichever computer I happened to bookmark them on.  I've experienced plenty of frustration when I couldn't access my bookmarks from a different computer.  So, this will fix that problem.  I love that I can access my stuff anywhere.  I like the toolbar/sidebars that allow me to view my bookmarks along with webpages.

I still have to explore all the options, but I'm using the basic tools of Diiigo and enjoying them.   :-)

RSS

So, I'm super-excited this week because this 'thing to tame' answers my tech-frustration from the famous intro video!!!  Now I can rest, knowing I can check up on all my fav blogs in a more efficient manner.

I chose to use Google Reader, since I already use Google for many things (email, calendar, docs, etc).  I added the blogs of all my fellow explorers in technology, as well as some informational education blogs, and a couple blogs of personal interest.

I think the idea of an RSS feed is genius, and I will use it.  One thing I'm noticing is that there is already a TON of information there, so I need to get in there and organize it into folders.

In conclusion, I'm excited to have tamed this thing and that I am more tech-savvy.

Thanks Super-Librarian!

Learning with the iPad