Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Final Thoughts
to better organize this entry, I just copied the questions suggested on the 23 Things site:
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
The best part was discovering how easy it is to blog and add things to it, such as photos and video. I am thinking it would be fun to start doing blog posts on the growth and development of my daughter once she is born.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
It encouraged me to explore the Web 2.0 tools that are out there. Even though I am tech-savvy, I have not had much time or interest to explore them. I don't know how many of them I will return to use, but it good to learn more about them.
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
It was great to see how creative many of the library staff became with this project. It was fun to see people get over their tech fears and learn more about these important tools.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Because there are so many different sites and accounts created, it was hard to remember them all from week to week. It would have been good to find a way to build on them from week to week. For example, because we had to blog every week, it became second hand by the end of the program. Other tools when used for one week, just get forgotten afterward unless you found them truly interesting.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Yes!
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
The best part was discovering how easy it is to blog and add things to it, such as photos and video. I am thinking it would be fun to start doing blog posts on the growth and development of my daughter once she is born.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
It encouraged me to explore the Web 2.0 tools that are out there. Even though I am tech-savvy, I have not had much time or interest to explore them. I don't know how many of them I will return to use, but it good to learn more about them.
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
It was great to see how creative many of the library staff became with this project. It was fun to see people get over their tech fears and learn more about these important tools.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Because there are so many different sites and accounts created, it was hard to remember them all from week to week. It would have been good to find a way to build on them from week to week. For example, because we had to blog every week, it became second hand by the end of the program. Other tools when used for one week, just get forgotten afterward unless you found them truly interesting.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Yes!
Overdrive
I had not looked at Overdrive since we had the training session on it last year. However, I was happy to discover that there were a lot of great titles to select. I ended up downloading the Overdrive software onto my computer and downloading a Web 2.0 subject book called Wikinomics.
I think this is the path that libraries will be taking in the future with their collection. The more that can be electronically accessible, the better. The biggest obstacle is educating library users and promoting access to the service. As well, it would be good to find a way to return the electronic books early, rather than be stuck with a title for two weeks that someone else might be wanting to enjoy.
I think this is the path that libraries will be taking in the future with their collection. The more that can be electronically accessible, the better. The biggest obstacle is educating library users and promoting access to the service. As well, it would be good to find a way to return the electronic books early, rather than be stuck with a title for two weeks that someone else might be wanting to enjoy.
Finding Podcasts
The tool that I found myself settling into was the Library of Congress podcast page. They were highlighting an interview with one of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett. It can be found here:
http://www.loc.gov/rss/podcasts/bookfest/podcast_NBF2007.xml
It is certainly good to have online tools to help track down podcasts that are of interest. Of course, with so much else to do, it may be hard to keep track of all the podcasts out there. It's much like trying to catch up on all the TV shows that are recorded and sitting patiently on the my DVR.
http://www.loc.gov/rss/podcasts/bookfest/podcast_NBF2007.xml
It is certainly good to have online tools to help track down podcasts that are of interest. Of course, with so much else to do, it may be hard to keep track of all the podcasts out there. It's much like trying to catch up on all the TV shows that are recorded and sitting patiently on the my DVR.
YouTube in the Library
YouTube is a site I am already familar with, as I have used it quite a bit. I even presented it in the Hot Technology computer class which I created for the public over a year and a half ago.
YouTube definately has its uses for the library system. For one thing, it would allow us to better advertise library programming, such as story times. Also, we can use it to demonstrate library services, such as Express Check or how to sign-up for a PC.
I also know that the site can be a two-edged sword, as the videos it provides eat away at bandwidth very fast. Also, there are so many videos that are not suitable for a public enviornment, that allowing full access to it in the library would be tricky.
Overall, I believe it is important for libraries to find uses for this service.
Anyhow, here is a short, but fun, video that I found. It gives us something to do with unused Reference books:
YouTube definately has its uses for the library system. For one thing, it would allow us to better advertise library programming, such as story times. Also, we can use it to demonstrate library services, such as Express Check or how to sign-up for a PC.
I also know that the site can be a two-edged sword, as the videos it provides eat away at bandwidth very fast. Also, there are so many videos that are not suitable for a public enviornment, that allowing full access to it in the library would be tricky.
Overall, I believe it is important for libraries to find uses for this service.
Anyhow, here is a short, but fun, video that I found. It gives us something to do with unused Reference books:
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Galaxiki
I found an unusual online tool called Galaxiki. It is a wiki-based scenario when you can help build a galaxy. You sign up to create a star system with planets. Then you can share you solar system with everyone else online. It seems to be designed as a collaborate tool for SF fans and writers. I could see them sharing their planets as a way to connect people to their fiction. The only downside to this tool is that it costs money to buy a star. However, they do have community areas where anyone with a free membership can name and edit certain systems.
blog post
Zoho Writer
This is a pretty neat tool. However, it seems to lack an obvious help section.
I can see a lot of potential with this, as so long as you have an internet connection, you documents are always available. And you don't have to worry about misplacing them. Of course, there is a security issue as the document is saved in a space beyond your control. I would think carefully about putting a confidential document online with this service.
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