tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43700860232086527692023-11-16T09:45:23.156-08:00The Flip Flop LibrarianAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-52717307832716867952012-04-27T12:41:00.000-07:002012-04-27T13:48:23.597-07:00ALLA Poster Session<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I attended my first Alabama Library Association Convention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a great experience for both my co-worker and me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We presented a poster titled <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/amysmith30/alla-distance-education-poster" target="_blank">“Taking the Distance Out of Distance Education.”</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was my first poster session, and was a great learning experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had an opportunity to meet a lot of new people who work in different capacities in libraries all over the state, and some out of state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making connections in the library world is key at this point in my career, and helps open up contacts and career opportunities for when I complete my MLIS degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We came up with the idea of what to do our poster on based on our current jobs as well as being distance education students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am the Circulation Supervisor at a Library, and my co-worker Lexie is in charge of Interlibrary Loan and Serials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are at a small academic branch campus for Troy University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our university offers many online degrees and has campuses across the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We not only work with distance education students each day, but we also are distance education students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thought it would be helpful to give a brief history of distance education to show people just how much distance education revolutionized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also included a section on helpful tools for students to use for both personal use and for collaborating with other class members on projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have included a link to our poster, so I hope everyone enjoys checking it out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-5316380806247281982012-04-25T09:02:00.000-07:002012-04-25T09:02:09.042-07:00Distance Education Tools<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Distance Education is a vital part of how students are educated today and it is expected to continue and grow in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Education and technology are quickly evolving and changing every day, so it is helpful to learn about current and upcoming technologies that can help the distance learner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the past, I have taken distance education classes, and they have all been taught a number of different ways, through live television courses, interactive conferencing, and online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have most enjoyed the classes I am currently enrolled in at the University of Southern Mississippi. The classes are online, but different from what I have always known as 'online' classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past, online classes meant that the teacher posted all of the course information and objectives on blackboard, gave students assignments, and posted specific due dates for turning in materials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current online classes I am enrolled in are real time chat classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gives the instructors and students a set class time each week for lectures and questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outside of these classes, there are several tools that can be utilized by students for collaboration with other students, or just as helpful aids to work on assignments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Social Networking Sites:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook – personal and professional networking</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn – professional networking</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twitter – Personal and marketing opportunities</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Live Journal – personal networking </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Podcasts/Videocasts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Skype – Video conferencing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/" target="_blank">Vimeo – video distribution</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">iTunes – music and podcasts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Audacity – audio editor and recorder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Prezi – cloud based media presentations</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html" target="_blank">Jing - screen casting software</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blogs/RSS Feeds:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_101195201"> </a></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/" target="_blank">Bloglines – Blog feed</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr – Blog publisher</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Content Management Sites</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_101195192"> </a></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.evernote.com/" target="_blank">Evernote – Note organization</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Drupal – Note organization</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.delicious.com/" target="_blank">Delicious – Social bookmarking tool</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Zotero – Citation manager</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">EasyBib – Citation manager</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PBWorks – Wiki publisher</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Read It Later – Bookmarking tool</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dropbox – Cloud storage</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">•<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pinterest – Virtual pinboard</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-57703163038935245022012-04-25T08:27:00.000-07:002012-04-27T12:16:32.353-07:00Alabama Library Association Convention<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_NxFCUBlapx1JogCOJXEkgwwkg-8pmDzzRqhgvEzEWlSnIgwWtiBeKC-ohMTGI4WK5IT6iS9AMpIf-rcSxYG87C-8a_7nnnZ6TQ9fzF9uG2kEYlOwV3Kbj5ufbYOSY6PG2wUtLhGcR0/s1600/ALLAposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_NxFCUBlapx1JogCOJXEkgwwkg-8pmDzzRqhgvEzEWlSnIgwWtiBeKC-ohMTGI4WK5IT6iS9AMpIf-rcSxYG87C-8a_7nnnZ6TQ9fzF9uG2kEYlOwV3Kbj5ufbYOSY6PG2wUtLhGcR0/s1600/ALLAposter.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Alabama Library Association is holding its annual convention this week, April 24-27, in Hoover, AL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very excited about this conference this year, because it will be my first time attending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My co-worker and I submitted a proposal for a poster session and were accepted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will be attending the conference April 26<sup>th</sup> to present our poster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We chose the topic of distance education because it is something that continues to rapidly change, and is also something we are both involved with in school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year’s theme is <a href="https://m360.allanet.org/frontend/event.aspx?EventId=38652" target="_blank">Alabama Libraries: ALLAccess</a>, and is being held at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, AL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Featured speakers at this year’s convention include Janis Ian and Ridley Pearson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also an Author Awards Luncheon that honors Alabama authors and their accomplishments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year’s honorees include: Condoleezza Rice for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Extraordinary, Ordinary People</i>; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sonny Brewer for <i>The Widow and the Tree; Deborah Wiles for Countdown; Watt Key for Dirt Road Home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the convention, there will be several different programs and presentations for attendees as well as a variety of vendors and new products to check out.</span></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-27675054526611726822012-04-20T08:15:00.003-07:002012-04-20T08:15:49.022-07:00Databases<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmSAsI_ctpAxyzHbQnl0f0dWfTyfRhcJ_xgSC0B54dUz37WaUbo_-3mQU6JpIy37YTSnPlCEJu7DZHqj7XFxRRpPdiaznPgnvQX_6L26UxOcTwWlhDNdTY34EcIuSWvdYa0-0n7Zwfb0/s1600/databases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmSAsI_ctpAxyzHbQnl0f0dWfTyfRhcJ_xgSC0B54dUz37WaUbo_-3mQU6JpIy37YTSnPlCEJu7DZHqj7XFxRRpPdiaznPgnvQX_6L26UxOcTwWlhDNdTY34EcIuSWvdYa0-0n7Zwfb0/s320/databases.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Databases are a great source for finding electronic resources on almost any subject area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two most common types of databases are bibliographic and full-text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bibliographic databases contain citations, abstracts, or document summaries that are searchable by keywords, author, title, or subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Full-text databases contain full articles from a selection of journal titles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Databases usually offer several different methods of searching, for example, a basic search or advanced search where limiters can be set to find more accurate information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the most popular types of databases searches is Boolean searching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This method allows the search to be very specific and include or eliminate specific search terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Boolean operators used for searching are: AND, OR, NOT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AND is used to combine and limit search terms, the results from this type of search should contain all search terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OR is used to broaden a search and retrieve more information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NOT is used to exclude specific terms, which eliminates any items found including that specific term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For more information on databases and Boolean searching check out the two links below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.lib.usm.edu/help/help_guides/finding_articles1.html" target="_blank">Database Tutorials</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp" target="_blank">Boolean Searching</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-12468554789320838732012-04-11T13:54:00.001-07:002012-04-11T13:54:50.185-07:00National Library Week<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
This week, April 8 – 14, is <a href="http://www.atyourlibrary.org/national-library-week">National Library Week</a>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year’s theme is You Belong @ Your Library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a national observance, usually held during the second full week of April, sponsored by the <a href="http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek">American Library Association</a> (ALA).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>National Library Week is a way to celebrate and promote both libraries and librarians that open their doors to help patrons of all walks of life every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Special events are setup at libraries across the country throughout this week as well as online.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year National Library Workers Day is Tuesday, April 10, National Bookmobile Day is Wednesday, April 11, and Support Teen Literature Day is Thursday, April 12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ALA’s website offers additional information, links, and pictures of events going on across the country this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also offer different literature and promotional tools that can be used at your library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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At the library where I work<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>, we do monthly display cases for different events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a picture of the one we created for National Library Week.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUm7lH5CCL6zXgD4h17HcSHhjqxiD8k28wAbh44sbyOQ_S7p47Whyphenhyphen5A9E1eVr6sCFoqyLIXLwoHQZcTMLtkp4aRRRQa4oi-rzT7vPTQ4A8KqQncBN7dnVshIkGm2-8_y3w5t56UxLVX_Y/s1600/national+library+week.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUm7lH5CCL6zXgD4h17HcSHhjqxiD8k28wAbh44sbyOQ_S7p47Whyphenhyphen5A9E1eVr6sCFoqyLIXLwoHQZcTMLtkp4aRRRQa4oi-rzT7vPTQ4A8KqQncBN7dnVshIkGm2-8_y3w5t56UxLVX_Y/s320/national+library+week.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-8640591111606431822012-04-11T08:52:00.001-07:002012-04-11T13:57:22.954-07:00Finding and Creating a Wiki<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Websites of all types are available for starting a wiki, many are free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are a few websites that are useful for creating wikis:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://pbworks.com/">PBworks</a>, <a href="http://www.wikispaces.com/">wikispaces</a>, and <a href="http://wikispot.org/Create_a_wiki">wikispot</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on the size and usage, upgrades are available that charge a small amount for housing information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting started is easy; first you just have to pick out a host website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you find a host website that works best for your Wiki you will need to come up with a name and URL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Setting up the wiki is a step by step process, and there can be a bit of a learning curve for first time users, and for learning how to do specific tasks, like adding files and screenshots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All wikis are different so take the time to learn the different areas and then consider offering a training class to others in the office so that everyone understands and knows what their part is in contributing or editing information.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once your wiki has the basics setup, you can either make it public or limit it to those you choose to grant access too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone who is given access also has a setting given by the administrator as to whether they can only read the documents, or if they have editing capabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these permissions are granted by the administrator and can be changed at any time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At our library we grant administrative access to all librarians and staff so that they can add and change any documents necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Student assistants only have a certain section that they can access, and this section is available for them to be able to read and write in for logging activities and shelf reading assignments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, wikis are an easy tool to setup and utilize for everyday tasks and document handling. Below is a screenshot of my libraries homepage for the student assistant wiki.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6uitncWGf_TWXFGj5nS8zttdvZIru2FAssJXEJg-I2_R39n8F4vGSosm6XVneHfUqmskGxV2_IbRNThSR_NeJ3jDWUa2SE8yyGhEZHfnT3PE6-27A8mGiaWcFDoKahbk2peZOsURGHI/s1600/studentwiki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6uitncWGf_TWXFGj5nS8zttdvZIru2FAssJXEJg-I2_R39n8F4vGSosm6XVneHfUqmskGxV2_IbRNThSR_NeJ3jDWUa2SE8yyGhEZHfnT3PE6-27A8mGiaWcFDoKahbk2peZOsURGHI/s400/studentwiki.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-57391341374551889242012-04-05T12:33:00.000-07:002012-04-05T12:33:07.996-07:00Wikis<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am going to start out this post by telling everyone a little bit about Wikis and why I think they are important tool that many businesses should use.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all, let me define what a wiki is: <a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/wiki.htm">Wikis</a> are websites that allow users to add, modify, or delete content from a web browser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikis are great tools that allow for collaboration and may be useful for many things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikis are used to house important documents that need to be accessible for many people or training devices for new employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikis are created through on a website that utilizes a type of wiki software.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are useful for producing and saving documents that are accessible to the public or made private for a specific group of people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I currently work at a library where we have implemented a wiki for both staff collaboration and for training purposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was created so that there was a general space that all workers could access to read policies and procedures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we found out that that was successful for saving and editing policies and procedures, I then took one section of it that I use as a training manual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New staff and student workers have access to this section in order to learn about different procedures, or as a fall back guide for finding information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">This Wiki is a great tool that offers many features and opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Setting up a wiki is easy; getting others to use it can be somewhat more difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found that everyone supported the idea at our library in the beginning, but once the application was produced, it took a while to get everyone on board and using it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that the wiki has been created and operational, many staff and student workers have embraced it and use it on a daily basis for logging shelf reading sections and other work expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikis offer endless possibilities; in my next blog, I will give some examples of wiki websites and explain more on how to start your own wiki. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-fKYp8nvce8lu1x-YGO9PLCuB1GtPa2jXPkQ_7VpGMV0na3jP5rlfb1OfjYDy-jBGRjhE9wvRVnkLueEHLeonqeLGuvF2Sn_pxJZxDlfuutGq7NKcV5eTkqujio8Mvx25Su4lcB8rz4/s1600/wikis_for_learning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-fKYp8nvce8lu1x-YGO9PLCuB1GtPa2jXPkQ_7VpGMV0na3jP5rlfb1OfjYDy-jBGRjhE9wvRVnkLueEHLeonqeLGuvF2Sn_pxJZxDlfuutGq7NKcV5eTkqujio8Mvx25Su4lcB8rz4/s320/wikis_for_learning.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4370086023208652769.post-66220188194974829842012-04-05T12:17:00.000-07:002012-04-05T12:17:24.875-07:00About me and this blogHi! My name is Amy. I am married with a two year-old daughter, 24 year-old stepdaughter, 20 year-old stepson, and a new baby boy expected to join our family in July. I also have four dogs and a cat, so needless to say a busy household. To sum it all up, I work full time, go to school full time, and I am a full time wife and mommy. <br />
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I am a currently working on my Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. I have worked in an academic library for 6 years as a Circulation Supervisor. Although I never planned on becoming a librarian, the career field kind of found me, and I love it. Academic libraries are fun and keep you thinking and on top of the newest technologies. I enjoy the interaction and learning experience that comes with working with college students everyday. <br />
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I am hoping in this blog to write about current technology being used in libraries as well as different events happening in the library I work. Hope everyone enjoys reading! I'll try not to bore you too much! Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08191177011502273790noreply@blogger.com0