updates

I have added a few new links to the web pages and corrected those that didn't work originally (because I created them in such a hurry!)

As the end of the year winds down I hope some of you will use the summer to explore some of the web sites to see which may be the most useful and beneficial to you for next year. I'll be trying to update them and I will also add some new links as I try to build web resources for students here at the college as well.

Also, I think you may find it useful to check out the blog for the library that is directed to college users. It contains lots of web sites on a weekly basis. Often these are on news events or connected to things happening on the college campus.

Ruth

I don't know if people continue to have problems accessing Google Reader or not, but I thought I'd suggest a few alternative RSS readers that you might find useful.

http://www.fwicki.com/ a publishable page to share. To create multiple pages, however requires a subscriptions for $

http://www.feedbucket.com/ an easy to use feedreader that also lets users generate a little script if they want to add a few headlines to their website

http://www.bloglines.com/ easy to use feed reader that also provides a blog publishing feature

http://newsgator.com/ fairly basic feed reader, but w/lots of subscribers

There are lots of RSS readers. Check out this compendium.

http://allrss.com/rssreaderswebbased.html

You'll probably find something that will work as an alternative, although it may not offer all the options you want.

Districts blocking gmail

It's come to my attention (thanks Andrea!) that some of you may be discovering that your district system support is blocking access to gmail. This means, of course, that you won't have access to Reader or the Custom Search Engine or any of the other cool features that Google makes possible. I would strongly urge you to contact the network administrator and explain why it would be so valuable to make access to these services available. The same is true for Yahoo mail, which is what provides people with access to Flickr accounts (although students will not need access to Flickr accounts to view most Flickr images, sometimes you do have to join a group to view them). I realize the district is trying to limit access to off-campus email accounts as a way to keep students on task and potentially as a way to limit bandwidth if they are using it as a way to restrict YouTube, and I am sympathetic, but realistically as online services become subject to mergers, network administrators need to understand that private suppliers simply do not provide the kinds of services that open access services do and that they are limiting students' learning by restricting access. I hope that you can find a way to reach a compromise with your IT staffs in this respect because otherwise students will lose out. Please let me know if I can help.

Welcome to the Library Hour!

So, this blog has been set up as a way to continue to the program, or as I prefer to imagine it, the party. What I want to do with this blog is create a space where all of the library staff connected with the schools in the districts served by DACC can hold an ongoing conversation about mutual concerns, share discoveries of useful tools, web sites, books, or innovations. Struggling with a problem? This would be a place you could turn to your colleagues for help. By simply responding to a post or emailing me, as the moderator, you'll be able to initiate a conversation on a new topic. That's what makes the whole Web 2.0 concept so exciting -- the possibilities of mutual creation.