Week 9 Thing 23

Wow! I can't believe that I'm finally finished! I must admit I enjoyed this whole process more then I thought I would. It was very challenging some days and other days it seemed very easy. It was rewarding to have weekly goals and then meet them. Without being given the permission to do this assignment, a lot of these sites and new ways of doing things might have remained a mystery to me. I really appreciate being given the chance to do this and feel that I have gained new insights to technology and other aspects of my job as well. It is always important to keep moving ahead and changing, especially when you can do that with your peers and know that everyone is better because of it. Can this information be used for meetings, storytimes, new teams, projects, families, children--yes! Now we can think about how and when!
I think one of the best parts of this project for me personally was being able to share it with my family and show things to my son and know that the knowlege will be there for him when he needs it for school. Knowing that it will change and improve and that I am not unwilling to go in and find it or show him how to do it! I look forward to more opportunities like this one and hopefully I will meet them head on just like this one. There were times I wanted to quit, but my co-workers helped me over the rough patches and I kept moving forward and I'm glad I did:)

Week 9 Thing 22

For this discovery exercise I was unable to access NetLibrary, but was able to take a look at Overdrive. Surprisingly, I did not need to set up an account. I went to the site and was able to look up titles for free and was also able to listen to several digital excerpts for free also. I Googled the site since I could not gain access through the library's website. I liked the way their site was set up and it was very easy to get to popular titles and authors. I really like the vampire series by Stephanie Meyer and they had a listing for the new book Twilight but not a digital excerpt for that one. In Overdrve they also had a link for devices where you could price different compatible phones and mp3's that would take you to the product site, tell you the in's and out's of downloading, etc. I found that very helpful for someone who is just starting out with a new device. I also tried Project Gutenberg which I didn't like quite as much, but found some classic titles available that students doing school reading might need in a hurry if they waited till the last minute, which could be useful!

Week 9 Thing 21

Discovering Podcasts was very useful. If I had more time I would like to create one--perhaps in the future:) I looked at some of the other library sites and how they use podcasts and thought that it would be really helpful to use them for a Spanish storytime or for instruction of another language. If for some reason there is not someone available in the branch that does not speak that particular language then it would be available to the patron. One library had a link to 'Gabcast' which I thought would be very useful. It was possible to use your cell phone to post audio to your blog and to record podcasts, etc. using your cell and doing other interesting things as well. I think out of all of the podcast directories I like Yahoo Podcasts the best. I like the way their site is user-friendly and visually appealing. I could easily search and find what I was looking for. They had a link specifically for education and I found a site called Childrensbook radio that discusses children's books. The creator of the podcast has a wonderful voice which is very easy to listen to, as well as, children of her own so she is speaking from experience. Here is the link Web Site: http://childrensbookradio.com RSS: http://www.webpasties.com/podcast-5006-8...
Podcasts were easier to use to glean information than in a video format and they can be very useful, much easier to produce and view.

Week 9 Thing 20

Exploring YouTube and other video hosting sites certainly was an eye-opener! There is a lot of stuff that's not worth viewing and then there are lots of things that were funny or educational. I thought it was neat that when you watched one video they would suggest another one that was similar, so it would keep you watching and using the site longer! I watched library dominoes and then they suggested one called domino d-day which was really cool! One of my all-time favorite videos is 'Evolution of Dance'. I chose this video because not only is it hilarious, but the comedian, Judson Laipply quickly adapts to each kind of music with a different dance to represent various generations. I think as librarians we are also asked to adapt quickly--to learn new technology, to switch gears from one question to another at the desk, to go from storyteller to team member, etc. We do all of these things with a smile on our faces, just like this video. He gets lots of applause, but we get the satisfaction of helping people.
I enjoyed exploring the site. The only thing that bothers me about the site is that there is a great deal of mixing what is appropriate with what is not. And of course the impatience of waiting for the download!
This would be helpful in the library world in many ways! Even to add useful bits to our website! I will attempt now to add my YouTube video link!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

Week 8 Thing 19

This was really cool! There were a lot of sites on the Web 2.0 Awards List that I really liked. My favorite was Swivel.com which is a site that makes data useful in a visual way using graphs and charts. It was listed under the Visual Arts heading which had another site called ColorBlender.com, which if you are artistically inclined and love color is a neat site. Two others that caught my eye were Peertrainer--good for having a buddy for working out and getting workout info, and guess the google, under 'Fun Things' was really fun to play. There are so many out there, but some did require a log-in or signup, some were useful and other were more fun ways to pass the time. There were several that could apply to the library setting that involved tagging and community discussions and parents also. This was a good learning experience.

Publishing from Zoho http://max-wherethewildthingsare.blogspot.com

WEEK 8 THING 18

 

I love Zoho Writer!  It took me awhile to get the hang of it and then it was really cool!  I read a lot of the other peoples opinions of Zoho Writer vs. Google Docs and I think I still like this one better.  I can definitely see the possibilities of this Web 2.0 application.  This really has been a great opportunity to find out about all these great technologies that most of us never knew existed.  I would choose to use this over Word any day.  I tried some of the templates available which is a nice thing to have if you don't have a starting point.   .  http://writer.zoho.com/index.do#

 

 

Week 7 Thing 17

Creating a wiki page for FrontPage on the Sandbox and posting it was fun. It took me several tries to get my blog posted because it would not accept my blog address, after that it was fun to play around with! It is neat to see how creative everyone is and all the different styles out there. It's a good way to keep up with trends and popular items especially books!

Week 7 Thing 16

Looking at other libraries Wikis and the innovative ways they are used was an eyeopening experience. I liked how the SJCPL Library used theirs as a Subject Guide but also included interaction with librarians, links to every subject including geneology, links to hobbies (which showed new books, programs, and other resources), and the wiki was very user friendly with a search box, toolbox, and navigation links. Some of the other Wikis were a little more high tech in that they used things like tagging and tabs and included explanations for more techi stuff like 'Twitter'. Bull Run Library at the very bottom of their wiki had links to Digg and Del.ici.ous and had recent PBwiki Blog Posts to link to. Every wiki is different as far as what can be offered however, they are a highly useful tool because they are user friendly for the public to interact with the library. In one article it was suggested that schools and teachers use them more in education and communicating with parents and students. That would be phenomenal!

Week 4 Thing 9

Now, I think I'm finally caught up! Merlin is a good resource and I thought that the site was visually appealing and user-friendly too. I added the feed to my bloglines for easy access and tried some of the different search tools for finding more feeds. I really liked using Bloglines search tool and Feedster the best and thought that Syndic8.com was kind of confusing and visually not appealing in its layout. Some of the feeds I clicked on were not really informational, just comments or journal type entries others were not even updated. I enjoyed this one of the 23 things more than I thought I would.

Week 4 Thing 8

Yes I know--this one is out of numerical order! I had started working on this one and then never finished it. So here it is!
Learning about RSS Feeders and Newsreader accounts was cool. I love to read certain news sites everyday and it does save time by having them altogether in one place. This would be especially helpful for research so that you were not always looking up the same sites or blogs over and over again. I created a Bloglines account with some of the librarian blogs but then did a majority of travel blogs since I love traveling so much. It doesn't matter if I'm island hopping or going to a specific location in the states its always great to get away and to learn a little bit about where you are going before you get there! I'm going to try to add my bloglines to my blog--here goes!

Week 6 Thing 15

These articles on Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the future of libraries were very eye-opening. It's something that I think about quite a bit. There are many people who still view the library in a traditional sense--a building with books. I would like to think that it would always be like this, but at the same time the articles made a lot of sense. We need to be aware or actually get out there and ask patrons what type of tecnology do they need and then think of ways that we can provide it or make it accessible--could there be links to youtube, facebook, or blogthis on certain computers? I think the library does a wonderful job with keeping up with the technology onslaught and this training makes it possible for staff at all levels to get an introduction and feel competent with the new trends. I do agree with not buying technology just to buy it because there are issues with laws and safety when providing computers for the public, but there is also a need to know what they(the public) are doing so we can join in. In other words, I will not feel inferior to my 6-year-old just because he knows how to program the DVD player!

Week 6 Thing 14

Working with Technorati was interesting. I feel that if I used the computer a lot that tagging would be very useful. When I did the "Learning 2.0" keyword search in the Blog posts, in tags and in the Blog directory there really wasn't that much difference. The information was easily accesible, but perhaps more so with the tags. The tags also make it look more visually appealing like our Aquabrowser. I felt that when I used the tags though that I got more general information, but the Blog Directory gave me more specific information.
It was cool to explore the top favorited blogs because they were interesting, technical, and fun! Tagging things helps with identifying trends more quickly and being able to follow them. There really were a range of different topics on the top searches so you could spend a good bit of time on Technorati without even realizing it:)

Week 6 Thing 13 Delicious-hmm?

Working with this social bookmarking site has been interesting. I've read a lot about it and tried to view the tutorial--I can see the positive aspects, but at the same time I am still loving my folders and favorites on the toolbar. Maybe I just need to use this site more and be able to enjoy it for its social aspects. It was very interesting to look at other libraries and see how people tag things and look and the various links. The jury is still out on this one.

Week 5 Thing 12

Rollyo was certainly a lot of fun. I can definitely see the potential of a tool like this. Even though I used it for something fun, it could save time for work related issues with our own research and learning and that of helping patrons with the same things. So far I have enjoyed most of the 23 Things and am looking forward to the next one. Here is a link to my search roll--http://rollyo.com/aimeeg/crazy_bout_shoes/ .

Thing #11

LibraryThing! I can't believe I never knew about this site before. I loved playing around in this site and enjoyed making my list too.

Twinkle Star--What Max Likes to call me

Week 5 of 23 Things No.10 Image Generator

This is a lot of fun. It is a great chance to play with technology when otherwise it would make me feel guilty for not doing other things. I never would have taken a look at this kind of stuff before. I have created an avatar from Yahoo! Avatars and it was so much fun. I am going to attempt to add it to my blog so here goes.

Week 3 Thing 7

Create a blog post about anything technology related that interests me--hmmm. Since we've been looking at Flickr Mashups I Googled the Ten Best Flickr Mashups and found an article by Michael Calore that was very interesting from Webmonkey commentary copyright 2006 I think--not brand new info. If I had time I would go back and try a lot of them they look cool and fun to do.

Week 3 Thing 6 & 7

I can't believe I can finally stop thinking about cake and cupcakes! Four family members had birthdays within the past two weeks! If you crave sweet things Cold Stone Creamery has great ice cream cakes!
I have had a lot of fun exploring Flickr mashups and 3rd party sites. I scanned a photo of my "Max" of the wild things to create a trading card! It didn't come out perfect, but it's cute. I'm going to try to post it if I can.
I really need to move on to Week 4 and 5!

Week 3 Thing 5

I love Flickr! I created a Free Account! Take a look at this sweet treat!

Week 2 Thing 3 and 4

Yeah! I set up my blog and am posting comments! Now I can move on to the really exciting stuff!! My blog is registered.

Week 1 Thing 2--LIFELONG LEARNERS

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I watched the online tutorial and learned some interesting things. I think the hardest habit for me to do would be #3 to view problems as challenges. The easiest would be #2 to accept responsibility for our own learning. I think this is such a great opportunity to be able to learn new technology and try it out or 'play' with it as the tutorial said is so important.

Week One Thing One

I read the blog and the contract. Moving on to Week 2!