Image Generators and Library Thing

I have now "played" with both of these. I googled "image generator" and found comicstripgenerator.com It was very easy to use, and I love Garfield so it was perfect for my blog! Library Thing is a great way for a person to keep track of their personal library--if they were so inclined ;) It is interesting to see how many other people have the same book and how they rated it. I've noticed that all of these sites have blogs. Do people subscribe to multiple blogs? How do they have the time to "talk" to their online friends and have real human contact at the same time?

RSS Feeds

Just figured out how to add these to my blog--not too hard. I like the concept of RSS. It's like my own personal newspaper delivered every day. It's quick and easy to scan the "headlines". RSS will help me stay on top of library news without taking the time to search through several different websites. I liked the bloglines search tool the best because it allows me to search for feeds from websites of my choosing. For example, when I did a feed search for ALA, the feed that popped up wasn't directly from ALA. So I just very easily switched my search to the ALA website and found exactly the feed that I wanted. I prefer getting the feed from the website because then I know exactly what I'm subscribing to. Libraries could use RSS feeds to notify patrons of upcoming events--it's proactive because you are connecting with the patron every day (if you choose) and tugging on their sleeve saying "Hey, I'm here and this is what I have to offer--don't forget about me!"

My flickr picture

Isn't technology wonderful? If you read my blog from your home computer, you will see a picture of Wimpy Kid visiting the Bellaire Library (sent from my flickr page), but alas, at school all you see is an empty box :(

Wimpy Kid

Wimpy Kid
Originally uploaded by julievela

I think I got the flickr thing figured out--pretty easy to use. flickr is a useful tool for sharing fotos with friends and family. The searching is not great. I tagged my fotos "heb 23-3" but search results turn up zero. I'm stumped. I need to work on refining my search techniques because it feels like I get a million pictures back--a bit overwhelming.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Welcome to my blog!

I am in the process of completing the HEB23 program which will help me gain a better understanding of web 2.0 applications. One of the assignments is to create a blog--so far, not too hard. I'm hoping that at some point in the future, Bellaire students will be able to use this blog to discuss books and reading.

Julie Vela
Teacher-Librarian
Bellaire Elementary School
Librarians Educate <>Empower <>Enrich