Week 9 - Thing 23

Week 9 - Thing 23 - Hooray - Finished.
Doing the 23 Things has taken me from laughter to wanting to kill the computer when the programs would not load and it would keep kicking me out. I also want to thank all the people who assisted me in figuring out what I was doing wrong and just holding my hand as I did the activities. I have learned a tremendous amount about the different sites available and now I can actually talk to my kids and others about YouTube, aviators and blogs. But another thought that I had while doing the activities was their viability in the future - technology changes so rapidly.

Now to Favorites: Creating my own Blog; Making an avatar (just like paper dolls); and playing with YouTube, Pandora and Sandbox.
While Technorati, RSS and others were interesting and informative, I wonder if I am ever really going to use them in the future. Also not being able to open sites or waiting forever for them to load was a hindrance since my scheduled time was short.

Yes, if another discovery program was offered I would love to sign up for it. I feel that I have learned a great deal by doing these activities and this will be reflected in how I assist customers.

Week 9 - Thing 22

Thing 22 - Audiobooks Listening & viewing Overdrive & Netlibrary was informative but long and boring, I know they need to give all the information but please make it a little more exciting.
I do listen to audiobooks at home and driving and I do like the selection that both of the above had to offer to their customers. But Project Gutenberg won my heart with its special SF section. Gutenberg offers so many titles (old & new) and its potential for expansion in all fields is endless. I think that in the near future I might give World eBook Fair a try - at least for the free one month trial.

Podcasts - Week 9 - Thing 21

Week 9 -Thing 21 - Examing the three podcasts (Podcast.net; Podcastalley.com.; and Yahoo Podcasts) I discovered basically the same types of information on all three. All of them gave TV shows (news), learning languages, music and other things too numerous to mention. I did like Yahoo Podcasts for the Library Channel and Nancy Pearl's Book Review which I added to my Bloglines account. I though of our own Ruth at Pikesville and how good she is in selecting books and talking about them - maybe a potential podcast? I think that podcasts could be used for our Storyline; giving audio tours of branches (museums) and of course book reviews - many uses for the future.

Week 9 - thing 20

Thing 20 - Youtube - Watching YouYube was fun except for the pauses. Seeing old TV serials, old commercials (funny ones), animation and other videos was great. I selected the video "Floating" because I liked the abstract and different feel of the letters just floating in air. YouTube is interesting and can lend itself to library use, it can be used to educate customers (particularly the younger ones) on the ins and outs of library collections, programs etc., using a popular format.

Backspace FLOAT ~ Floating letters through the city

Week 8 Online applications & Tools

Week 8 - Thing 18 - Like many others I created an account in Zoho Writer, I really like the easy way in which I could use it and the spread sheet capability. Not having to memorize a new set of tool bar buttons is a big plus as is the easy spread sheet. Now I can keep track of household finances everywhere and try to figure out where the money goes.

Week 8 - Thing 19 - Loved Pandora - the music is great and I like their referrals to other artists but what I really like is just listening to the music. Another great site is zillions (real estate), one can find homes for sale in any area, list features (like three bedrooms, etc.) and find out what homes sold for in the area. This site could be a real plus to new home buyers, people relocating in an area and home sellers (we can refer this site to many customers).

week 7 - thing 17 - Sandbox

Thing 17 - Sandbox - Had fun reading other people's comments but when it came for me to add my own sandbox - I had trouble. I created the title and did the edit but nothing was linked to my Fantasy title. After playing around with it and asking others who were more suave I found out what I was doing wrong (not highlighting the title to add the content.) Now it is working and I hope to get some input from others about the book.

Week 7 - Thing 16 - Wikis

When I heard the term wikis all I could think of is the Wikilepedia which I though was full of misinformation and random thoughts. But after reading some articles on wikis I could definitely see the benefits for libraries. Libraries could use wikis (meaning quick) to have customers write book reviews, give information on community history, restaurants and plus other items. ALA 2006 New Orleans and the Bull Run Library used their communities to tap into a wealth of information for others to use. There are other benefits for libraries including group projects, and quick information sharing, one can add or delete information thus speeding up the completion of work. There are some negative aspects though - one must be alert to negative input, misinformation and the management of wikis (who is in control). All in all wikis do have a potential for providing a portal for people to share their knowledge and ideas.

Week 6 - Thing 15

Thing 15 - Like many other participants in 23.. I watched the youtube "Machine is us/ing us and then got hooked and watched "Conan the Librarian" and "Super Librarian"... The Machine.. video helped explain the importance and the growth potential of Web 2.0. Seeing how quickly information changes this format can reflect and grow with imput from everyone.
I also read several articles on Web 2.0 - "Away from the "icebergs" by Rick Anderson; "To more powerful ways to cooperate" by Chip Nilges and "To a temporary place in time" by Dr. Wendy Schultz. I liked Nilges quoting Reilly's notion of "harnessing collective intelligence" while he used it in OCLC context, it can be used everywhere when talking about Web 2.0. Dr. Schultz definition of Libraries as ... conversation, they are convocations of people, ideas and artifacts ...
fit into the context of Web 2.0 and that libraries must change and reflect the times. Her segue of Library 2.0 to Library 3.0 - Web 3D gives a strong picture of the future and where libraries need to fit or go the way of Rich Anderson's Icebergs.

Technorati

Week 6 (thing14) Technorati Tour did not play but the information on the other sites helped to explain the In's and outs. Doing a keyword search using Learning 2.0 drew up quite an array of numbers. Going from 21, 580 in blog posts & then narrowing the term to "learning 2.0" to 2,015. Tags had 2,899 and the Blog Directory - had 547 with more relative information.
Exploring the top favorite blogs - one got Boing Boing; the Top Searches took you to youtube and gossip sites. The top blogs were more technical in nature - talking about Sony & Gadgets.

Del.icio.us

Week 6 (Thing 13) Had a great time finding and creating tags.

Rollyo - Now I can keep track of new materials coming out in the science fiction field.

Library Thing

http://www.librarything.com/profile/rberkeley


Great way to keep track of books read and make of list of books you have in your collection.

TRIPS

Week 5. (Thing 10) Had a great time looking at aviators and creating my mine.
(Thing 11) Library Thing - Cataloged some books that I have with images pulled from Amazon - makes the cataloging easy and fun.
(Thing 12) Rollyo - Great way to be informed of new materials and new authors.


While I was not dressed like this, the Great Wall of China is beautiful and unreal.

Learning RSS & Merlin

Week 4 - (Thing 8) Getting familar with RSS but still need more practice.
(Thing 9) Merlin


RSS while time consuming and sometimes difficult it is a very interesting way to get short cuts to information that you want to read and skip all the junk. I know that I will be changing and expanding my RSS after I get more comfortable and learn about new sites. Merlin was fun to look at and my son now thinks that I might know something about computers.

Moth to flame

Moth to flame
Originally uploaded by Epinym

How foolish I am
Why am I drawn to the flame
Which extinguishes?
Hiku by Jack Prelutsky

Getting a little more comfortable with flickr.
Week 3 -(Thing 5 & 6) While Flickr was fun and I had a chance to look at hundreds of pictures - adding them to my blog was a little confusing. I was afraid that it would not come out right but it did, so I decided to do another picture.

Week 3 (Thing 7) While I was looking at my pictures from London and Greece I thought of the post about technology. The camera I used on my trip was my first digital - I had been using an old 35mm and it finally died. So my kids bought me a new camera - one that I didn't know how to use. After going to Ritz Camera show and looking at the instructional DVD, I think I learned a little - at least how to change the batteries and delete pictures but was still not sure on how to turn off the flash so that I could take pictures in the Greek museums. Even with my limited knowledge the pictures I took were great and I plan to take my camera with me to Disney and Egypt.

Macro - Candle Flame

Macro - Candle Flame
Originally uploaded by AndrewRichardMills

Flame at night matches the mood of dark and light. Flickr is not easy
and sometimes difficult to use.

poetry - Week One

How many flowers fail in wood-
or perish from the Hill
Without the privilege to know
That they are Beautiful-
Emily Dickinson

Week one -(Thing 1) Listened to the podcast and look forward to learning the 23 Things. (Thing 2 ) Learn - 7.5 habits - Sometimes difficult to create a realistic goal. Life is always learning. Talked to several people who were doing the 23 Things and they told me to have a lot of patience and they would be glad to help.
Week Two - blog (thing 3 & 4) - Had a great time setting up a blog but still trying to understand all the ins and outs. Can't wait for the other weeks and steps.