Thing #12

I began Thing 12 by joining The Mesquite Librarians Ning. That was fun and! I played around in ning looking at the other members, reading some of the comments, etc. I tried adding photos from my computer but it kept telling me there were errors with uploading my photos. These were pictures I had used on our library website so I don't know what the problem was. I was finally able to use a washout picture of two of our library assistants that we had used on our SACS/CASI presentation earlier this year. I don't know why this one uploaded but the other didn't. Next I set up a Facebook account, edited my profile and asked 3 friends to join! I edited my profile and added some photos (by the way, adding photos here was the easiest of any of the tools I have used so far) and generally just played around, looking at all the "stuff" that is in Facebook.

Why is it important that educators know how social networking works? Many, if not most, of our students are social networking today and it is important for us to stay abreast of what they are doing. Also, if our students like social networking, then it could be used in the education process. What new insights did you gain about these popular sites? This was actually the first time I had ever been on Facebook so everything was new to me. And I had never even heard of Ning before working on the 23 Things. What did you like or dislike about each of the sites you explored? The thing I liked most about both of these was the ease of use. Which site had the most useful features? I felt Facebook had the most useful features especially for personal use. Can you see a library or school application for any of these sites? Ning could be a great place for the exchange of useful information for library programs. What a great way to exchange info and connect with people with similar programs. Facebook is a fantastic way to work on joint and/or individual projects/assignments for school. This could also be a great way for members of a book club to share information.