Thing 17 - ELM Productivity Tools

ELM really has a lot of powerful tools, but I finished this Thing with a bad experience with NetLibrary--while logged in, at the end of my search, looking at my eContent book, I kept getting booted to a Log In screen. A few times I managed to look at pages within the book, but I was never able to add notes. So, I give a "thumbs down" to NetLibrary. Which is really too bad, because it looks very helpful.

1. Create a Search Alert. This activity was easy to do, now that the bugs had been worked out in the process of capturing the RSS feed. Thank you to all of you early finishers! I created an EBSCO search on (okay, this may sound boring)...the Old Testament, choosing only peer-reviewed journals that were available in full-text. I also wanted only English articles, so I limited it to keyword=English (I couldn't figure out any other way to do it). I successfully added my search alert to my Bloglines account.

2. EBSCO Page Composer. This was kind of fun. I can see a use for this (as I stated in my web page) as a place to keep notes and links about searching in EBSCO, for sharing or just for record-keeping.

I read in the comments for this Thing that it really isn't necessary to "save the webpage." The page is assigned space inside my account. So I didn't attempt that. I did confirm that the webpage stuck around, did not vanish into thin air.

3. ProQuest - Create a web page. This was easy; I emailed the html file to myself and my husband (since I'm working these Things on my own). I also downloaded the file to my computer. There was a handy help function on the screen that helped me a lot.

I can see a real use for this product in helping develop a reading list for a research project. It could be very handy for students and other patrons.

I, too, had a terrible time trying to look at the videos. I'm still clocking on one of them! Well, I guess I kept hitting the link, trying to bring it up. I only attempted the first video.

4. NetLibrary. Grrr! I followed the instructions to the letter (I think) but still kept getting the Log In screen (even though my name appeared at the top of the screen as being logged in, and NetLibrary knew what book I was looking at. Maybe they were doing maintenance to the thing at the time I was trying to work? (it was kind of late at night). I might add a note to follow up on this Thing after the 23 Things on a Stick is done.

Yikes! Six Things left to do!

Thing 13 - Online Productivity Tools

This Thing was a lot of fun! However, I think that the productivity of these tools would come after a bit of time, after one has gotten used to using them.

I used iGoogle to set up my home page--well, I didn't make it my home page yet, but I may do so. I was really impressed with all of the gadgets available, and went a little crazy setting some up. Not only did I add a "Countdown" gadget, but also a weather forecast, Google Calendar, and Date and Time. I went with iGoogle for convenience sake--a lot of the work that we've done for 23 Things has been Google-based. I was also impressed by how well-designed and visually attractive the iGoogle site looked.

I think that the Google Calendar could be quite useful. I added a task for two days from now, and it was really easy to do. I think that the fact that the calendar is online makes it very useful in scheduling meetings (I'm assuming that it could be set up to allow others access to your personal calendar).

I set up an online list tool - Ta Da List. (I started a list of the Things that I have left to do in the 15 days left of this project--yikes!) I think that a tool like Ta Da List could be very useful personally. I am an inveterate list maker, and here's a way to make lists that aren't just on paper, but which can be saved, emailed, and printed. Again, a real advantage is the online nature of the tool--it can become a collaborative, dynamic thing when working with others.

I also downloaded Sticky-Notes.net (the "lite" version). I'm not very familiar with this tool yet, but I can see lots of applications personally for this product. I am sure that, with practice, this tool would become very useful (again, for the listmaker in all of us).