Thing 2: Explore Other Blogs

Thing 2 exploits one of the benefits of participating in a course: the chance to interact with others.  I enjoyed reading other people's blogs, although I only chose a handful of the ones out there.  I passed over the delicious groupings and chose blogs that caught my eye in the complete list of participants.  The blogs ranged from professional-looking, established blogs to informal blogs where the focus was clearly not on finding a readership.  The range of perspectives and backgrounds made the reading even more interesting.  I looked at blogs from many different countries, from people in every stage of their library career, and from people in many different types of libraries.  The variety of librarians' personalities shown through.  I particularly appreciated the quirky and clever titles participants had chosen: librarians are a creative bunch! 

I even found two blogs with tips I plan to explore in more depth.  World's Deadliest Librarian (http://worldsdeadliestlibrarian.blogspot.com/) included a nice bit of code tweaking to add an option to reply to comments in a blog.  Murfsturf Library Blog (http://murfsturflibrary.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-tend-to-get-tongue-tied-when-i-speak.html) cued me in to a kid-friendly talking avatar service called Voki™ [Voki™ is a trade mark of Oddcast].  The program is already showing its worth!

Cleaning Up

I break one of the cardinal computer rules--I eat by my laptop.  These food crumbles plus dust and dirt from everyday life mean that inevitably, I occasionally have trouble using one of the keys on my keyboard.  In the past, I have dealt with this scenario by dusting my laptop, tipping it, or using a thin piece of paper to probe underneath the troubled key, depending on the obstacle's persistence.

I recently read about how to clean computer and laptop keyboards.  I was not having trouble with any particular key that day, but I had been noticing the pet hair and dust that was building between the keys.  As it was late, I mentally filed the information away for later.  Unfortunately, I did not save the page itself and now cannot find it.  I decided to try it for myself today, using my rarely-touched number pad as a test area.  I unplugged my laptop and turned it off.  (I did not remember, however, to take out the battery).  Then, I gently popped off the keys, making sure to put them in order on a flat surface not easily accessible by pets, and dusted underneath.  Replacing the keys took a bit longer, but was fairly straightforward.  I had to go over them at the end to check that each corner had popped in all the way.  Once the keys were all back on, I apprehensively turned the computer back on.  A quick check confirmed that all of the keys were still functional.  Success!

I now know exactly what to do when a pesky speck gets under one of my keys.  My thanks go out to the writer of original piece, wherever you are.

Thing 1: The Adventure Begins

One of my former professors notified me about the 23 Things for Professional Development project.  I had already been considering exploring different social media and online tools; the project was will provide a convenient support structure.  Lifelong learning is one of the foundations of public libraries and something I strongly support.  I also know how easy it can be to get into a routine and not try new things.

I plan to continue to post on this blog after the project finishes.  My theme will be whatever I am currently learning about.  For starters, I plan to refresh some of my language skills (and possibly pick up some others) and practice minor bits of computer programming.  Who knows where I will end up!  In any case, the project should be interesting and should keep my brain working!

Thanks for following along with me!  (I would love to hear about your learning as well!).