Item 23
I have a definite sense of achievement as I finish this course. I learned a great deal and it is great to finally understand what blogs, wikis, del.icio.us, flika etc really are. I may not have an in depth understanding of all the things covered but as a librarian I realized long ago that you don't have to know everything you just have to know how to point customers to the right resources. I now feel a little less out of touch with the new technology and have very much enjoyed showing some of the sites to my husband. He is a computer engineer but was unaware of some of the tools covered. He was also disdainful of some, especially wikis, which I think are a great idea!
As for my favorite exercises, I loved playing with flicka and I found wikis a fascinating idea. Because of this course I have posted something on the YS wiki and plan to use it more. I have also learned how to create links which has already been very useful to me. I also feel a bit more confident approaching new technology on the computer.
As a part time librarian there was no way I could complete this course during work time so I have done a lot of it at home. In spite of that I would definitely be open to another such course.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Week 9
Item 22
Well I finally did something I've been meaning to do for a while. I went into the sjpl eBooks catalog and tried to down load a book for my personal use. I discovered that you have to set up an account which I did. I decided to down load a Spanish learning course. I managed it fairly easily but had some problems opening it on my laptop finding the right application and so on. However my computer geek husband came in handy again.
I also visited World ebook Fair and looked through their free downloads. Nothing looked very interesting to me and those Books I did try to download seemed to require a membership.
I remember when everyone was saying traditional books were going to obsolete in a few years time. That doesn't seem to be happening. I think the SJPL eBook is very useful for people needing information on a subject which is not available at a particular branch. However eBooks do not seem to have taken off in the leisure reading arena.
Just to set the record straight here is a photo of my husband and me. He does enjoy other things apart from computers!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Week 9
Item 21
I didn't realize that there are sites where you can search for podcasts so this exercise was quite a revelation. There are podcasts on just about anything. I had a good look around the sites and then, following instructions, looked for library related podcasts. I discovered that Sunnyvale Library has a podcast link which is updated regularly. There are podcasts about story time and other things such as health issues and searching the internet. I added this link to my Bloglines account. For once I found it simple and did it in a couple of clicks.
I didn't realize that there are sites where you can search for podcasts so this exercise was quite a revelation. There are podcasts on just about anything. I had a good look around the sites and then, following instructions, looked for library related podcasts. I discovered that Sunnyvale Library has a podcast link which is updated regularly. There are podcasts about story time and other things such as health issues and searching the internet. I added this link to my Bloglines account. For once I found it simple and did it in a couple of clicks.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Week9
Item 20
I went to YouTube and looked at many really strange videos. I decided to down load this one of an elephant painting.
I discovered that I can't get the video to play from my blog as you will see if you try to play it. However I created a link to the video in You Tube so you can see it. The reason I looked up elephant painting was because I had come across a children's book on the subject and wanted to see if I could see some elephants in action, painting. I think linking library materials to Youtube videos could be a useful tool. Also I saw some library promotion videos that looked quite interesting
I went to YouTube and looked at many really strange videos. I decided to down load this one of an elephant painting.
I discovered that I can't get the video to play from my blog as you will see if you try to play it. However I created a link to the video in You Tube so you can see it. The reason I looked up elephant painting was because I had come across a children's book on the subject and wanted to see if I could see some elephants in action, painting. I think linking library materials to Youtube videos could be a useful tool. Also I saw some library promotion videos that looked quite interesting
Week 8
I signed up for Library Thing and started my own catalog. If you click on the title of a book in your catalog you can get member ratings and reviews that members have written. All the books I entered were pretty highly rated with around four stars. There were reviews for each of them too.
Week 8
Item 18
Explored Zoho Writer and found some interesting templates. Below is the short document I posted to my blog from Zoho Writer. I was very simple to do.
Explored Zoho Writer and found some interesting templates. Below is the short document I posted to my blog from Zoho Writer. I was very simple to do.
Zoho Writer Blog
This afternoon I went to my son Peter's last basketball game of his high school career. It was a play off game and unfortunately they lost so they are finished. In spite of the lose Peter had a great game and I felt very proud of him. His brother came home from UC Davis to watch the game which very nice. Peter is hoping to go on and play college basketball so he still has many games to look forward to.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Week 7
Item17
This was another one where I had to drag my husband in from the yard to give me a little help, despite numerous references to how simple it is to edit wikis. Actually it was, once he showed me how to do it, I just didn't seem to get the expected prompts on my computer. Anyway my blog is now on the Favorite Blog page and I added a post about House on the Favorite TV Shows page.
This was another one where I had to drag my husband in from the yard to give me a little help, despite numerous references to how simple it is to edit wikis. Actually it was, once he showed me how to do it, I just didn't seem to get the expected prompts on my computer. Anyway my blog is now on the Favorite Blog page and I added a post about House on the Favorite TV Shows page.
week 7
Item 16
I think I understand what a wiki is now and how useful they can be as a way to share information. The fact that anyone can edit them seemed a little scary to me at first and I'm sure has led to problems in some cases, but as I browsed the recommended wikis I began to understand the power of such tools. Of course much of the information on a wiki is subjective and should be regarded only as one person's opinion but that doesn't make it less interesting, in fact, rather the opposite. A wiki created around an event such as a conference can be a great way to find out anything from the best seminars to attend to a good restaurant in the area.
The Saint Joseph's Library wiki had an enormous amount of information on it. I went to the taxes page and found tax forms to download, guides the library has ans FAQs. I also went to the pet page which also had a wide range of information from book reviews to local pet organization information.
The Princeton Library Book Lovers Wiki is basically a way to share book reviews, anyone can add a review so it is a great way to find a new author or book to read.
I visited the Library Success wiki and found it had a more formal feel. It is a wiki set up for librarians to share ways they are using technology in new ways in their libraries.
I think I understand what a wiki is now and how useful they can be as a way to share information. The fact that anyone can edit them seemed a little scary to me at first and I'm sure has led to problems in some cases, but as I browsed the recommended wikis I began to understand the power of such tools. Of course much of the information on a wiki is subjective and should be regarded only as one person's opinion but that doesn't make it less interesting, in fact, rather the opposite. A wiki created around an event such as a conference can be a great way to find out anything from the best seminars to attend to a good restaurant in the area.
The Saint Joseph's Library wiki had an enormous amount of information on it. I went to the taxes page and found tax forms to download, guides the library has ans FAQs. I also went to the pet page which also had a wide range of information from book reviews to local pet organization information.
The Princeton Library Book Lovers Wiki is basically a way to share book reviews, anyone can add a review so it is a great way to find a new author or book to read.
I visited the Library Success wiki and found it had a more formal feel. It is a wiki set up for librarians to share ways they are using technology in new ways in their libraries.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Week 6
Item 15
I read several of the perspectives on the future of libraries. Rick Anderson makes a good argument when he warns libraries of the dangers of 3 potential 'ice bergs', in "Away from ice bergs". So much is available on the web now that it is important not to waste resources on redundant print collections. Libraries should not count on being able to educate their users to use their systems but should put more effort into providing better user interfaces which can be used without teaching. Also libraries can not longer rely on users coming to them but must make the effort to go out to reach users both physically and virtually.
I particularly enjoyed the description of the library 4.0 in Wendy Schultz's, "To a temporary place in time...". This described the libraries of the future having space for all it's previous incarnations including storage, data retrieval and commentary and annotation. The library would become a 'knowledge spa' and new technologies would be used to produce the perception of the library as the comfortable retreat of the past where one could be immersed in knowledge and learning.
I read several of the perspectives on the future of libraries. Rick Anderson makes a good argument when he warns libraries of the dangers of 3 potential 'ice bergs', in "Away from ice bergs". So much is available on the web now that it is important not to waste resources on redundant print collections. Libraries should not count on being able to educate their users to use their systems but should put more effort into providing better user interfaces which can be used without teaching. Also libraries can not longer rely on users coming to them but must make the effort to go out to reach users both physically and virtually.
I particularly enjoyed the description of the library 4.0 in Wendy Schultz's, "To a temporary place in time...". This described the libraries of the future having space for all it's previous incarnations including storage, data retrieval and commentary and annotation. The library would become a 'knowledge spa' and new technologies would be used to produce the perception of the library as the comfortable retreat of the past where one could be immersed in knowledge and learning.
week 6
Item 14
Using Technorati I looked up 'Learning 2.0' using a Blog Post search and found a huge number of items. The Tag search produces fewer items and included visual media such as videos and pod casts. Probably the most useful search was the Blog Directory search which led to less items but which seemed to be the most relevant.
I was not surprised by the most popular blogs, searches and tags, the subjects of which revolved round popular culture and technological advances.
The advantage of using tags is that they are accessible to all, no special vocabulary or indexing system is needed and as language and terms change so can tags. This characteristic can also be seen as a disadvantage, as having a universal classification system into which all material is fitted can lead to a more complete retrieval system when used expertly.
Using Technorati I looked up 'Learning 2.0' using a Blog Post search and found a huge number of items. The Tag search produces fewer items and included visual media such as videos and pod casts. Probably the most useful search was the Blog Directory search which led to less items but which seemed to be the most relevant.
I was not surprised by the most popular blogs, searches and tags, the subjects of which revolved round popular culture and technological advances.
The advantage of using tags is that they are accessible to all, no special vocabulary or indexing system is needed and as language and terms change so can tags. This characteristic can also be seen as a disadvantage, as having a universal classification system into which all material is fitted can lead to a more complete retrieval system when used expertly.
Week 6
Item 13
Del.icio.us is a great way to tag and bookmark sites of interest and have the available from any computer. It is also a good way to share interesting sites with others with similar interests. I can see it being particularly useful in an academic setting when doing research and collaborating.
Del.icio.us is a great way to tag and bookmark sites of interest and have the available from any computer. It is also a good way to share interesting sites with others with similar interests. I can see it being particularly useful in an academic setting when doing research and collaborating.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Week 5
Item 11
As I love to shop I decided to explore Etsy, a retail site. I didn't realise such sites existed and I should probably stay away from them! You can buy and sell anything all over the world from this site. One page I found quite facinating was the Color Page. When you click on this page, colors appear and if you click on a color items appear that are for sale and are that color. I like the creativity that has gone into this idea. it's a great way to 'window shop' and see a big range of items.
As I love to shop I decided to explore Etsy, a retail site. I didn't realise such sites existed and I should probably stay away from them! You can buy and sell anything all over the world from this site. One page I found quite facinating was the Color Page. When you click on this page, colors appear and if you click on a color items appear that are for sale and are that color. I like the creativity that has gone into this idea. it's a great way to 'window shop' and see a big range of items.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Week 5
Item 10
I used Comic Strip Generator to make this picture. It
shows my nephew Sam feeding my dog Takia.
Something they both loved to do!
I used Comic Strip Generator to make this picture. It
shows my nephew Sam feeding my dog Takia.
Something they both loved to do!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
week 4
Items 8 and 9
I have to say I found this weeks excerises the most frustrating and the most time consuming so far. In fact I ended up doing most of it at home, it would have taken up too much of my 20 hours at work. To begin with I could not get the first video tutorial to run on either my home or my work computer I finally got it going on my husband's computer. Then for some reason I had a real problem signing up for a Bloglines account, it kept saying it had sent me a verification email and it hadn't. However I did finally manage to do it. This is when I find technology frustrating, when it doesn't work properly and I don't know enough about it to understand what the problem is. Anyway I did add many feeds which you can view at
http.www.bloglines.com/blog/jennyjordan
It did take me a little while to get the hang of the site and I confess that I got some help from my computer geek husband, something I had decided not to do during this course but...
Anyway, although it does sound like a very useful idea and particularly for librarians and others needing the most current news, the jury is still out on how useful it will be for me personally. Sometimes one can feel overwhelmed by too much information and I suspect it is something one needs to tailor to ones own needs and saturation point. It will take me a while to do that.
I have to say I found this weeks excerises the most frustrating and the most time consuming so far. In fact I ended up doing most of it at home, it would have taken up too much of my 20 hours at work. To begin with I could not get the first video tutorial to run on either my home or my work computer I finally got it going on my husband's computer. Then for some reason I had a real problem signing up for a Bloglines account, it kept saying it had sent me a verification email and it hadn't. However I did finally manage to do it. This is when I find technology frustrating, when it doesn't work properly and I don't know enough about it to understand what the problem is. Anyway I did add many feeds which you can view at
http.www.bloglines.com/blog/jennyjordan
It did take me a little while to get the hang of the site and I confess that I got some help from my computer geek husband, something I had decided not to do during this course but...
Anyway, although it does sound like a very useful idea and particularly for librarians and others needing the most current news, the jury is still out on how useful it will be for me personally. Sometimes one can feel overwhelmed by too much information and I suspect it is something one needs to tailor to ones own needs and saturation point. It will take me a while to do that.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Week 3
Item 7
My Favorite Technology
I think Flickr is amazing I have had a digital camera for a while and enjoyed all the advantages of being about to email photos to other people and only print very special photos but Flickr has opened so many new possiblities for doing cool things with ones photos I'm blown away.
I still have to say that email is probably the 'technology' I use and love the most. I can keep in touch with family and friends in England so easily and cheaply and it is just so convenient.
My Favorite Technology
I think Flickr is amazing I have had a digital camera for a while and enjoyed all the advantages of being about to email photos to other people and only print very special photos but Flickr has opened so many new possiblities for doing cool things with ones photos I'm blown away.
I still have to say that email is probably the 'technology' I use and love the most. I can keep in touch with family and friends in England so easily and cheaply and it is just so convenient.
Week3
Item 6
Library Trading Card
Wow! I did it ! My very own trading card. I'm amazed at what you can do with all the Flickr toys. One could spend hours or should I say days playing with them.
Library Trading Card
Wow! I did it ! My very own trading card. I'm amazed at what you can do with all the Flickr toys. One could spend hours or should I say days playing with them.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Week 1
Item 1
I listened to the podcast and now feel ready to start learning
Item2
Having read the 7 1/2 habits of successful lifelong learners I think the hardest one for me is viewing problems as challenges. I have to work hard at that and not get demoralised when I hit a problem. I must tell myself that learning involves overcoming problems that come up and if everything is too easy I am not really learning anthing new.
When I have mastered something I like to teach it to someone else. I get satisfaction from passing on my knowledge and find I often learn more in the process.
I listened to the podcast and now feel ready to start learning
Item2
Having read the 7 1/2 habits of successful lifelong learners I think the hardest one for me is viewing problems as challenges. I have to work hard at that and not get demoralised when I hit a problem. I must tell myself that learning involves overcoming problems that come up and if everything is too easy I am not really learning anthing new.
When I have mastered something I like to teach it to someone else. I get satisfaction from passing on my knowledge and find I often learn more in the process.
Week2
Item 3
First Blog Entry
Setting up this blog was easier than I expected. I am looking forward to learning more about all the online tools explored during this course. I know I am a long way behind my two sons (18 and 20) but maybe they can help me out if I get stuck.
Item 4
Register Blog
I registered my blog and recieved an email confirming I'd done it.
First Blog Entry
Setting up this blog was easier than I expected. I am looking forward to learning more about all the online tools explored during this course. I know I am a long way behind my two sons (18 and 20) but maybe they can help me out if I get stuck.
Item 4
Register Blog
I registered my blog and recieved an email confirming I'd done it.
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