LearningThings23

All 23 Things: Summary

2007-08-24T01:36:00.000-04:00

Wow, I made it! I have learned so much on this journey through technology. I think my favorite thing was just exploring everything. I think I was really surprised at the simplicity of a lot of the activities. I thought I would have more difficulties. If there were another program like this I would definitely participate because I learned so much from this experience and it was fun. I feel I have benefited greatly because of this program. Now I can do something that is an essential part of learning and gaining information - passing it on.

Week 9 Things: Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio

2007-08-23T23:11:00.000-04:00

YouTube is just so entertaining. You can find just about anything you can imagine there. There are videos on everything. There were just too many for me to choose from to post. I guess that's just part my indecisive nature. Anyway, I liked the fact that you can search a particular video or just search from the listed categories. There's not really anything I disliked. I think that something like YouTube could be useful to the library by showing instructional videos on things like the databases.

I found a podcast called LibVibe. It's a podcast about library news, so I added that to my Bloglines account. I thought the process of a podcast and then adding it to Bloglines was fairly easy.

I'm already familiar with Overdrive and NetLibrary we have these service through our system. I've helped some people create their accounts. I think this is a good service but I still a big fan of actual books. I never really got into audiobooks.

Week 8 Things: Online Applications and Tools

2007-08-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

I tried out Zoho Writer and not only can you do word processing but anything else you can think of. Zoho has spreadsheets, messaging, presentations, web conferencing, wikis, planners, etc. You can get all your work done in one place.

I searched the Web 2.0 Awards list and one of the categories that caught my eye was travel. I came across a website called Farecast. It predicts the best time to buy your plane tickets. I'm going to Las Vegas in November so I'm going to use this site to help me choose when to buy my tickets. There's nothing I really dislike about this site...yet. This site would be good to mention to our traveling customers.

Week 7 Things: Wikis

2007-08-22T21:58:00.000-04:00

Wow, I never realized what interesting information I could get from viewing a few wikis. Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day was cool. I never knew about Goodreads and that LibraryThing had some competiton. I will check it out to see which one I like the best. Over on the Bull Run Library Wiki they have news about what's happening there and at surrounding county libraries. Something that I found interesting was a program that has launched called BookSwim. It's a Netflix type book rentals that starts at $20. You receive 3 books. When you are have finished two you send them back and get two more. There are no late fees, no shipping charges, and they are delivered to your door. I wonder if that will be as popular as Netflix. I think Wikis are another great tool for spreading information.

Ok, it took me while to follow the directions but I finally did it! I have added an entry to the Maryland Libraries Sandbox wiki. I added my favorite children's book which is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I also added the link to my blog under PGCMLS.

Week 6 Things: Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati

2007-08-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

I don't really have to much to say about tagging and Del.icio.us. It's one of those concepts that isn't really new or exciting. It is useful because you can access your bookmarks from different locations.

I like Technorati because you can find blogs and other media of interest. There were over 20,000 blogs on or had something about learning 2.0. It also can be a little overwhelming but it's good to know that there is info available when you need it.

Library 2.0 is a great term that represents how libraries and technology are merging to create growth.

Week 5 Things: Play Week

2007-07-30T01:57:00.000-04:00

It's nice to be able to search all your favorite websites through one spot. I also added a search box to the right. I customized a search called More to Read, searching websites where you can find books, reviews, and reader's advisory.

LibraryThing is cool. I like that there's a special place online where I can keep track of what I've read or want to read. I posted my book shelf on the right.

It was fun trying to create a likeness of myself from the online image generator. I had so much fun I did two.

Week 4 Things: RSS and Newsreaders

2007-07-30T01:08:00.000-04:00

I've set up my Bloglines account and subscribed to about 12 feeds. I have also checked out Merlin and added it to my feeds. Below is my blogroll.

My Blogroll
About Literature: Contemporary
Bloglines News
Daily Show Videos
Eat Feed
Librarians' Internet Index: New This Week
Library Journal News
merlin - Maryland's Essential Resource for Library Information N
NYT Book Review
The Shifted Librarian
Unshelved
USATODAY.com Books - Top Stories
Washington Post Book reviews

Week 3 Things: Photos and Images

2007-07-30T00:04:00.000-04:00

Blu-Ray is a new technology that has come out in the last year. It's a newer version of the DVD. I wonder how long before Blu-Ray out does the regular DVD? I knew something was going to come along and try to wipe out the first generation DVD.

I also made a calendar from one of the Flickr mashups. The two cuties are my neice and nephew.

One of my favorite things to see is the sky; so I did a search for clouds and this is one of the pics. Simply beautiful!

Week 2 Things: Blogging

2007-06-14T15:15:00.000-04:00

Up until this point, I have never really had an interest in blogging. When I first became aware of blogs I didn't quite know what to think of them or even to care. I guess I chose not to care and ignored it all together; it's not so bad I just have a hard time keeping up with things like this. It's like keeping a journal and I've never done that well, so I figured it wouldn't make any sense for me to start a blog. I'm not sure I'll ever really get into blogging but now I'm more aware of blogs and their function.

Week 1 Things: This Program and 7 and 1/2 Lifelong Learning Habits

2007-06-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

This program is a great idea and hopefully I can keep up with it. After viewing the 7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits I felt playing was one habit that comes naturally to me. The hardest habit would have to be viewing problems as challenges. Ideally, I would like the problems to just stop existing so that I can continue playing! Oh well, I better keep learning.