CPD23: Week 3: Thing 4

Current Awareness: Tweets, RSS & Pushnote

Twitter: Thing 4 has pushed me to try some new things which is exactly why I signed up to do Nebraska Learns 2.0! I have always thought I would try Twitter but didn’t get around to it, so now I have made my first Tweet and will test this out through the 23 Things. Not sure how I feel about it, but always ready to learn new technology and how I can connect with others or use it in a lesson.

RSS: I have used RSS for a couple of years through Google Reader and love having all the blogs I follow in one place. I don’t think I would follow many blogs if I didn’t have the ability to see all of them at once. I will admit I get an overload of them to go through and feel overwhelmed by the information I feel I need to read through to stay informed as a Library Teacher. I love technology, but feel at times that it has taken over my life…..does anyone else feel this way?

Pushnote:  I have to say I was not going to try Pushnote, but again that is the reason for taking part in 23 Things. I have registered, but not sure how I will use it. I do think it is odd that there is not an IE user button — what’s with that? I understand it is not the same as delicious (which I love), but pretty similar to me. I will try this out through October and make my decision at that time. Hopefully I will get some ideas on how others are using it by reading some of the other postings.

CPD23: Week 2: Online Presence

As I started this “Thing” I realized I had not given much thought to my brand so to speak. I spent some time trying to come up with a name for my blog and had made a list of names that I liked. When I went to make my blog I was disappointed that all the names on my list were taken….so I just picked something generic. Still wondering if my name needs to be connected so that it comes up in searches?

My blog is more about my professional identity, but I did add one of my favorite pictures that I took while biking and thought in the future I would add some of my quilts to give a better picture of both my professional and personal identity. I enjoy reading other blogs that show the complete person and it helps me connect with those that share more of their interests and ideas. When I searched my name I didn’t come up with much that surprised me except to see my home phone number all over the place even though my number is unlisted--so much for paying for an unlisted number!

Changes that I would make after doing this activity: I added my picture to my blog and will also add it as my identifier. I also like the idea of coming up with a consistent theme or visual to use for my blog, Twitter and school library page. After reading the ALA article about personal branding and a few of the links within the article I realize the importance of fine-tuning until we find what works best for each of us....I'm sure as I work through the 23 Things I will do just that!