1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I really liked learning about mash-ups and image generators. It's a fun tool that I can probably see myself using in the future.
2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I was kind of already familiar with some of these tools but didn't have an in-depth, hands-on experience with them. This program has allowed me the opportunity to actually explore and use these tools and think of possible applications.
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I was surprised to learn of the many free productivity tools available. I will defintely take advantage of some of the calender programs.
4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I think the program was great. The 2.0 team gave a lot of support and updates. It was good to know that it wasn't some program that was out there in the void. We actually got comments, updates, and encouragement.
And last but not least…If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Yes, defintely.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Item # 22: E-books and Audio-E-books
San Jose has a great selection of e-books. Unfortunately most of our customers don't have computers at home to access these selections. Somehow these e-books manage to always be available in titles that I am looking for with patrons and not in print!
World-ebook Fair seems to have a lot of worthy academic material. The search feature is terrible and I found it's better to "browse collections".
World-ebook Fair seems to have a lot of worthy academic material. The search feature is terrible and I found it's better to "browse collections".
Monday, March 19, 2007
Item # 21 :Podcasts
I've known about podcasts for some time now. I haven't actually explored it until recently, coincidentally, last night! I have an iPod and iTunes so I use that. iTunes is nice since it manages my music and my podcasts. I was getting tired just listening to the same old music I have in my iPod so I thought I would check out podcasts again. I discovered there are learn a language podcasts which is great. Also, podcasts are nice when you want a quick lesson. I found some great, concise money management/ investing podcasts.
I added the Times book review to my Bloglines account.
Podcast Alley has good content . It's easy to browse by genre. I prefer using iTunes however, I think it's easier to view and subscribe to.
I added the Times book review to my Bloglines account.
Podcast Alley has good content . It's easy to browse by genre. I prefer using iTunes however, I think it's easier to view and subscribe to.
Item # 20: YouTube
Fun video, good laugh. No reasoning to it, just something fun and light. I tried watching one clip and it wouldn't stream fluidly. Possible SJ connection or due to the populaity of the clip. Regardless, it was annoying and I hate waiting for downloads.
Library websites could use news clips and have a daily news video updates section. Or libraries could have their own groups and use YouTube as a tool to share videos from meetings, trainings, conferences, and presentations.
Library websites could use news clips and have a daily news video updates section. Or libraries could have their own groups and use YouTube as a tool to share videos from meetings, trainings, conferences, and presentations.
Item #19: Library Thing
This is a pretty cool tool. The books I selected were bestsellers so they were quite popular. This is a good tool when I have those "Read any good books lately" conversations. Now if I can't remember the titles/ authors, I can refer to my Library Thing account or refer friends to it.
I couldn't find some non-fiction titles I was looking for but then again I didn' search too hard.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Item #18: Online Productivity
I like online word processing. I've used Google's version before and Zoho is quite similar. Basically, it's nice to access docs from anywhere without a disk or hardrive. I should remind myself to tell patrons about this program. I always have people that need their resume last minute but don't know where their disk is. This would be a good way to remedy it.
Item # 16 & 17: Wikis
I looked at the Book Lovers Wiki and the Albany County Public Library Staff Wiki-
Naturally, the Book Lovers wiki would work with libraries for readers advisory
and definitely a staff wiki.
As a PT worker I find that I miss a lot of information so a library staff wiki would be great. I could access one place online from(work or home) and at anytime. It would be great for other staff to resource share as well. Staff that do not attend certain meetings or communication between managers/ circ staff/ and librarians.
The only downside is that it must be maintained, updated, and added to otherwise there's no point. The staff must have time to maintain wiki's.
Wiki's would be good to use at work to get a general sense of an unknown topic and for readers advisory.
Naturally, the Book Lovers wiki would work with libraries for readers advisory
and definitely a staff wiki.
As a PT worker I find that I miss a lot of information so a library staff wiki would be great. I could access one place online from(work or home) and at anytime. It would be great for other staff to resource share as well. Staff that do not attend certain meetings or communication between managers/ circ staff/ and librarians.
The only downside is that it must be maintained, updated, and added to otherwise there's no point. The staff must have time to maintain wiki's.
Wiki's would be good to use at work to get a general sense of an unknown topic and for readers advisory.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Item# 15: Web 2.0 Future of Libraries
Anderson article: I agree that libraries and librarians need to be prepared for rapid change and adapt to new technologies our patrons want. However, I thinks it's important to remember libraries at its core is an educational institution and that one of librarians core values is to teach the patron (time permitting). I think moving away from that is a disservice to our profession and our patrons. We still need to cater to our patrons that are not technologically inclined and Need libraries for basic information (i.e homeless, poor, underserved).
Riemer article: I like his idea of user participation. Especially, in light of popular sites like Yelp! and Amazon customer reviews. It makes perfect sense that library websites should have a user participation component.
Library 2.0 means progress, not staying stagnant and ignoring the changing world around us. It also means keeping a balance. Catering to new technologies and also being mindful of those that may get left behind. I don't want libraries to be so advanced and so wrapped into technology that it leaves patrons that need us most out of luck. Even now, patrons that don't know how to use a computer are at a disadvantage searching the catalog or even applying for a library card. They have to wait in line for help while the tech savvy patron gets in and out. It means using new available tools and technologies that patrons want, will find useful, and offer an opportunity to learn and enrich.
Riemer article: I like his idea of user participation. Especially, in light of popular sites like Yelp! and Amazon customer reviews. It makes perfect sense that library websites should have a user participation component.
Library 2.0 means progress, not staying stagnant and ignoring the changing world around us. It also means keeping a balance. Catering to new technologies and also being mindful of those that may get left behind. I don't want libraries to be so advanced and so wrapped into technology that it leaves patrons that need us most out of luck. Even now, patrons that don't know how to use a computer are at a disadvantage searching the catalog or even applying for a library card. They have to wait in line for help while the tech savvy patron gets in and out. It means using new available tools and technologies that patrons want, will find useful, and offer an opportunity to learn and enrich.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Item # 14: Technorati
1. Take a look at Technorati and try doing a keyword search for “Learning 2.0” in Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog Directory. Are the results different? Yes, it seems searching the blog directory is more useful if you really want focused results. Tags and blog posts produce more random results much like any keyword search.
2. Explore popular blog, searches and tags. Is anything interesting or surprising in your results? Not too surprising the usual celeb people and the latest in pop culture.
3. Create a blog post about your discoveries on this site. Nice search site to get a taste of what people are blogging about (what's hot, the latest funny youtube video etc.) For me, I probably won't be using Technorati too much in work/personal life.
4. Now that we’ve worked with tags in Flickr, Del.icio.us, and Technorati, what are your thoughts about tagging? What are its advantages? What are its disadvantages?
Tagging is very subjective, which is good for posting freedom and creativity, however not so useful when you actually need to find something using tags. Alot of sorting through junk.
2. Explore popular blog, searches and tags. Is anything interesting or surprising in your results? Not too surprising the usual celeb people and the latest in pop culture.
3. Create a blog post about your discoveries on this site. Nice search site to get a taste of what people are blogging about (what's hot, the latest funny youtube video etc.) For me, I probably won't be using Technorati too much in work/personal life.
4. Now that we’ve worked with tags in Flickr, Del.icio.us, and Technorati, what are your thoughts about tagging? What are its advantages? What are its disadvantages?
Tagging is very subjective, which is good for posting freedom and creativity, however not so useful when you actually need to find something using tags. Alot of sorting through junk.
Item # 13: del.icio.us
I can definitely see the use of this tool for research and for libraries. It's a great brainstorming tool- Seeing how others would tag certain articles in a way maybe you would not even think of. It would help us and the patron locate articles with the same themes that sometimes LCSH just doesn't accomplish.
Plus, of course, we can use it as a knowledge bank of useful articles that are accessible in one place. I just wish the site looked a little cleaner and easier to read.
Plus, of course, we can use it as a knowledge bank of useful articles that are accessible in one place. I just wish the site looked a little cleaner and easier to read.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Item #12: Rollyo
I just made a quick pug search roll. http://rollyo.com/pugrolls/puggy_roll/ I can see how this site would be handy. It seems similar to Bloglines, in that my favorite sites are organized in one place. Rollyo now makes my favorite sites searchable. I'll spend more time on Rollyo and create my own personal and handy reference search roll. It would defintitely be useful especially since I tend to forget all the handy sites out there that I could use for reference. Now with a search roll I can be sure I've checked all my reference sites at once.
Item #11: Web 2.0 Awards
I explored Remember The Milk and Backpack.
Remember the Milk looks very clean, which I like. Not too much clutter. I like the map feature as well. Supposedly, I can plan my daily errands and the map will allow me to organize my trips by location. I found the site clean, but it was not apparently obvious how to work with my tasks and change the settings of each task. So, it was not that functional for me to use. I need something obvious and simple, otherwise it defeats the whole purpose. In a library setting, I think the map sharing tool would be useful and the ability to share your library events with co-workers. It would be handy for others to keep track of you and your schedule if you made the tasks public.
Backpack-The main tool was not that interesting to me. But I noticed it had a calender feature (you have to pay for that :( that looked really cool and clean. It is exactly what I was looking for. Looks simple and powerful. Color coding and the ability to show multi-day events. Plus it's designed to go with Mac which I like and prefer.
30 boxes- looks like it would be easy to use as well. A nice, basic calender online.
They all seem capable of sharing which would be helpful for us busy librarians. Also, for me it would be cool to nag my boyfriend about some errand I wanted him to do by phone alert!
Remember the Milk looks very clean, which I like. Not too much clutter. I like the map feature as well. Supposedly, I can plan my daily errands and the map will allow me to organize my trips by location. I found the site clean, but it was not apparently obvious how to work with my tasks and change the settings of each task. So, it was not that functional for me to use. I need something obvious and simple, otherwise it defeats the whole purpose. In a library setting, I think the map sharing tool would be useful and the ability to share your library events with co-workers. It would be handy for others to keep track of you and your schedule if you made the tasks public.
Backpack-The main tool was not that interesting to me. But I noticed it had a calender feature (you have to pay for that :( that looked really cool and clean. It is exactly what I was looking for. Looks simple and powerful. Color coding and the ability to show multi-day events. Plus it's designed to go with Mac which I like and prefer.
30 boxes- looks like it would be easy to use as well. A nice, basic calender online.
They all seem capable of sharing which would be helpful for us busy librarians. Also, for me it would be cool to nag my boyfriend about some errand I wanted him to do by phone alert!
Item #10: Image Generators
http://www.blyberg.net/card-generator/
So cute for librarian pugs like me. This image generator was so easy. I can see lots of fun possibilities in the future. I thought creating gag/fun images like these were time consuming. I thought someone would spend hours on Photoshop or something. Actually, it's so fast and simple. It seems there are a lot of options out there too, so even a picky pug like myself can find something cool.
So cute for librarian pugs like me. This image generator was so easy. I can see lots of fun possibilities in the future. I thought creating gag/fun images like these were time consuming. I thought someone would spend hours on Photoshop or something. Actually, it's so fast and simple. It seems there are a lot of options out there too, so even a picky pug like myself can find something cool.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Item 8 & 9 : Bloglines & Search Tools
Using RSS is easy. Surprisingly, easy. Instead of going through each website in my Favorites list, I can just quickly go through them using Bloglines. We like timesaving.
I thought the Bloglines search tool was easiest to use, I found my feeds just by typing in "news" and "pug" and found interesting feeds to subscribe to.
http://www.bloglines.com/public/bloggityblogit
I thought the Bloglines search tool was easiest to use, I found my feeds just by typing in "news" and "pug" and found interesting feeds to subscribe to.
http://www.bloglines.com/public/bloggityblogit
Item 7: Technology Thought
Considering I am just a pug. And not too hip on all this crazy technology business. I do appreciate cell phones (yes, old technology) but hey I am just a pug. Cell phones allow for mom to call dad to make sure he can come home and let me out. I also enjoy the tunes mom plays on her iPod during our car rides.
Item 6: Flickr Mashup
I used fd's Flickr Toys. Very fun, so many time wasting opportunities to be had from this site. It was pretty easy to do and I was surprised at how smoothly pictures are uploaded on this site and with Bloggers photo uplo
ad tool as well.
ad tool as well.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Items 1-4
Lifelong Learning 7 1/2 Habits
Easiest: #7 Play!- Of course, the easiest for me. Hmm, play or work?
Hardest: #1 Begin with the End in Mind- This takes planning!I usually break tasks down into pieces and when it's done, it's done. It's hard for me to envision the end goal.
Easiest: #7 Play!- Of course, the easiest for me. Hmm, play or work?
Hardest: #1 Begin with the End in Mind- This takes planning!I usually break tasks down into pieces and when it's done, it's done. It's hard for me to envision the end goal.
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