Flickr

Of everything we've looked at so far (and if I had to guess, of everything that we will look at), this is perhaps the one technology that I could see myself using.  Not likely, but it's possible.

I researched carnegie libraries in Louisville, beaches in California, and trains in Switzerland.  It is interesting what you can find, and I am absolutely blown away by the fact that there are over 5 billion photos in there!

I can see this as a useful reference tool with, again, kids doing a research project on their state or country, for example.  The possibilities are endless, really.

Here's one question:  If you pick "private" for your settings, is it really private?  I mean, basically, once anything is floating around somewhere on the Internet, can't people find it??

Thanks again!
Rachel

Thoughts on Social Networking

I'll begin with the last question first:  Do you love it, or do you hate it?  Simply put, I hate it.  I could talk for days about the reasons why, but I won't go there now.

As for my experiences today in exploring Twitter and Facebook, I'm very glad to have done the exercise because I know it's important to stay current and up to date, and there's little else that would have persuaded me to look at Twitter and Facebook otherwise!

I can see how Twitter might be very useful to, for example, a high school student working on a current affairs type of project.  In a matter of minutes, he/she can be connected to real time information about what it's like to be on the streets of Cairo, or living on the International Space Station, or a myriad of other questions.  Very powerful.

One thing that I think it's very important to know so that it can be shared with patrons - particularly when it comes to Facebook - is that Mark Zuckerberg, the mastermind behind Facebook, is 26 years old.  'Nough said.

Thanks again - this really is an amazing learning experience for me!

23 Things

Of the Google services I looked at tonight, the one that would be most useful to me personally is probably Google Maps.  Patrons, however, would probably find Google Docs most helpful.