Week 10 #23 Is This Really the End?

My favorite discovery is the Blog. It is very rewarding to type something and to see it look polished. I also like having the blogline feeds and will use SirsiDynix. Many of the things I had been exposed to before but it was good to spend more time with them. I never would have been able to complete this set of exercises if I had not been able to do them from home. With two of the exercises I had help from other staff members.

It is very good that HCPL is encouraging staff to work on these but it may be a bit daunting to do so many steps in such a short time. Getting the public involved is a nice touch and perhaps we can use more involvement on the website.

Week 9 #22 Downloadable Media

Libri Vox has books in public domain and so has many classics. Wowio seems to be comics and Science Fiction. I went through the HCPL tutorial and spent some time browsing and adding titles to my cart. A number of titles I was interested in were new and there was a waiting list. Before downloading the media player I double checked the age of my old computer and realized that it is too old to support this service. I am disappointed not to be able to listen to some of these books from home. I have downloaded to an MP3 player in the past.

Week 9 #21 podcast

I went into Podcasts and Yahoo. The site that I was especially excited about adding was the SirsiDynix Institute site. I clicked the RSS and tried to add it but could not figure out how to do it. As I was about to give up I noticed I could type in the URL address in my blogline account and I got it to work. I'm especially excited about this site and expect to use it in the future. As this is my time off I even listened to a lecture while doing something else. Yea!

Week 9 #20 You Tube

My favorite clip on You Tube site was Go Around Twice If You are Happy. (I've copied and pasted it several times but it's not there yet.) It shows that little change in routine can give us a smile. Many of the other things I watched were poorly done, boring or depressing.

This site has great promise in making the library an inviting place to go. As the site linked from the exercise "Seneca Library Holiday Song" showing all the library services, other libraries can show themselves in a positive, with-it light.

I looked at Animoto but found it loaded very slowly even in the early morning. Did enjoy Grace's pets once it finally came up.

Unevitable (Week 8 #19 Web based Apps)

My dog Poochie and I explored everywhere, from the yard to the pasture, following cow paths and cutting across country.  Sometimes Poochie would spot another animal and he would be gone.  I could only continue on alone until he returned. 

 

One day he was not as fast and I could keep up.  It seemed the animal we were chasing was slower than the ones he usually chased.  We were gaining on the small furry animal and I began to wonder what we were going to do when we caught it.  Even the animal seemed to wonder as he stopped, faced us and waited for the end.  And then, with the grace of ballerina, the small black & white animal did an about face and raised his tail.

 

My mother buried my clothes.

(The story was written on Zoho and transferred. I spent some time on the site and think I like it. Can see how it could be used.)

Week 8 #18 Social Networking

I watched the video, looked at Facebook and read the Newsweek article. I spent time at Myspace, Facebook and Ratemyspace. I especially liked Ratemyspace. Was amazed that a picture posted 9 minutes before had been viewed 29 times.

While in Facebook I wandered into a classmates site. Looking at my old high school I found many people I remembered.

What surprised me were the ones that attended the school in the last few years. How did they attend a school that was closed and torned down forty years ago? Why are they faking where they went to high school?

Week 7 #17 Blog about Technology

Gone are the days of typing and retyping the sets of error-free cards; explaining to a caller that the requested title can not be looked up because that card tray is in use; and persuading patrons not to pull out the cards to go look for their books.

And we laughed at the guys in the glass enclosed freezer room who were running around feeding the punch-holed cards into a machine. We wondered why they didn't get a practical major where they had a chance of getting a job. You know--the guys who retired years ago.

Technology has made dramatic changes in the past 20 years and is continuing to evolve. It would be interesting to take a peek into the future and see all the advances. I think we will be pleasantly surprised. (Or will it all crash and we are back to growing our own food.)

Week 7#16 What is a wiki?

I read Beginners Look at Wikis; Using Wiki's to Create Online Communities; Book Lovers Wiki's and SJCPL Subject Guides. I found it interesting that it is possible to set it up a wiki so that others can not edit it. I especially enjoyed the Book Lovers Wiki. Reminded me of HCPL's list that allows patrons to add their favorite books and allows patrons to choose something good to read.

I added my blog to the list of favorites.

Week 6 #15 Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

I read OCLC Next Space Newletter 2.O; Stay away from Icebergs; and better Bibliographic Services. I came away with the need to make services apparent to users so that no training is needed; make more available online; the need to spot and use new trends in technology and services; and never stop dreaming of the best library services.

It is amazing to look back even 15 years and see the changes. There may be even a larger number of changes in the next 15.

Week 6 #14 Technorati

I looked at Learning 2.0 as a key word and exact phrase and found many of the same sites but, as expected, exact phrase was better. The tag search was still better and the blog directory was the best. I enjoyed seeing lectures and videos on the topic. My favorite was from a small library where the librarians discussed their library and the librarians even closed with an original song. This exercise took 1 1/4 hours without interruptions.

I also looked at popular sites such as Boing Boing and Myspace. Lots of unusual postings. Lots of community sharing.

Week 6 #13 Tagging

I watched "How to Explain Del.icio.us to Your Parents" and found it a review of what I knew. Then spent time browsing Del.icio.us that I have used before. Found it better organized than I remember. It is useful for reference and also for personal information.

Week 5 #12 "Library" elf

Easy to set up. Might be useful in some circumstances but don't really want this account.

Week 5 #11 Library Thing

With help this went better. I added 6 books and changed editions trying to have pretty bookcovers. For some titles I could not get a cover no matter if it showed a cover or not. The first six books I added only showed up as four books when I moved it to the blog so I went back and added more.

week 5 #10 avatar

week 5 # 10

My Aviatar refuses to come. I will need a couple more hours to create another one from another site. Boo hiss Yahoo Aviatars!

Week 4 #9

Once again I got up an hour early to work on finding feeds. In "bloglines" I found nothing of interest. I went to my email provider and clicked on several RSS symbols but could not find a way to add them to my site. Felt the hour would have been better spent sleeping.
Tonight I tried "Feedster" where I learned it is changing and could not get beyond the message. Tried Topix and browsed several items. Tried to add "Most Popular Stories" and was told that I was successful! Tried to add "Top Stories" and again was successful! Yea!

Week 4 #8

I set it up and added some wonderful sites that I would love to spend time reading. It was easier than I had expected. Especially like the literature sites.

Week 3 #7--altered sky photo

Week 3 part 2

week 3 flickr images

Sky Full of Clouds by bcmom, 25 April 2007

SKY

Sky - wide and high and deep

Sometimes with high wispy clouds whispering of far away scenes and rain to come

Sometimes with heavy dark clouds booming of imminent downpours

Cities hide clouds behind trees, skyscrapers and darting cars

Rain

Hot and dry I watch for clouds. Seeing one I slow, slow until I am in the wondrous shade. Then I work fast and hard to stay in the cool.

I pray for rain. Not "crawl under the tractor and wait for it to pass" rain.

Not "gully-washing, repair the terraces and write off the crop" rain.

Just the elusive "high-tail it home and call it a day" rain.

Touche Turtle

Slowly moving, always moving, forward to the goal.
Always thinking, always watching, always moving on.
Nothing splashy, nothing lazy, going right along.
No time for rest, no need for rest, try to do the best.

Snap! Surprise! Quick to learn, evalute, reply.