Learning 2.0

I can't believe it's over! It's been fun looking at some of these sites, especially LibraryThing, OverDrive, and Del.icio.us, and learning about what's floating out there in cyber space. I was surprised about how little I knew of how the Internet and the technology in it has changed. I thought I was pretty up to date, but I guess I was wrong. I'm really glad I signed up for this program, it showed me that I need to be more aware of the world around me and check to see what has changed.

I liked the format, the way it was self paced and how interactive it was. I would definitely sign up for something like this again.

If I needed to sum up the experience in a few words I guess it would be these:

eye-opening and awesome

Overdrive

Overdrive is a great service! I wish I had gone to it before. The tour really helps explain all the different aspects of the site and gives throrough instructions on use.

Overdrive is a good way to get audio and video with out having to wait for your hold to come in or carry around a case with cassettes or cd's to listen to an audio book. I did find a bunch of downloads I might try, Dave Barry and George Carlin, and I hope that they expand their video collection as that would be a wonderful resource as popular as the online movie download sites are getting.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a good resource for those who may not have time to sit and read everything they want in the day. They can get reviews on products, learn how to do something, and just play around with podcasts.

I found that not all podcasts allow you to add them to a RSS feed (or maybe there is something wrong with the NY Times Book Review one). If you can't add one to a RSS feed and just have it attached to iTunes or the site, knowing when updates of the show come out would be tedious. You would have to check everyday, if you remember.

Also, I found PodcastAlley.com a good resource to find podcasts that are more up to date. I tried Podcast.net and found that there were a number of shows that hadn't been updated in quite a while.

YouTube

Thing 19

I chose SpringWidgets.com for my exploration.

The site has a lot of cool widgets or computer desktop gadgets to offer. It has everything from news feed displayers to things that will show random Yo Mama jokes. The widgets the site offers work on your computer or you can link them on your blog, MySpace page, website, or other services they list when you go customize the widget.

I can see the library possibly using some of the widgets in conjunction with our webpages, either for educational content or for fun content.

Zoho Writer does have a lot of potential. I do like the fact that you can roll back to a previous version of a document, you can access a file from anywhere, and you don't have to worry about file type. The problems I see with it though are the limited type faces, font sizes, and internet connection. As long as you don't care about those, this is ideal for basic documents. It has everything Word has, so why not use this free program online when you can instead of shelling out the money for almost the same thing?

Thing 17

I like the wiki they've set up. It gives staff a place to socialize with others from around the state. I also like the fact that it is easy to edit everything on it. I really think our system needs to use wikis more...

Wikis

It seems wikis can be anything the user wants them to be. You can put news, training, pictures, links to sites, just about anything on a wiki. I think that's what I found most interesting, that a wiki is so versitile. I think the library could use wikis in many more ways than it is now. We could surely use it for readers advisory, among other things. I mean, reviews can be put up, feed back can be asked for, book clubs could have their own wikis. I also think our teams can better use wikis for exchange of ideas and such.

Thing 15

Library 2.0 is an interesting concept. I think our system has taken many strides in its direction.

The one article I found most appealing and useful was "A temporary place in time..." by Dr. Wendy Schultz. Her essay spoke to me. It gave me this mental image of libraries evolving into something spectacular that everyone can truly enjoy and use, from scholar to child. I think she's correct on a number of points; making catalogs more accessible to users ala tagging and reviews would be a great way to improve them. I know we usually have a review in the newspaper and in the catalog we have professional reviews and summaries attached to records, but sometimes it would be nice to know what another reader from the area thought of it without having to wait for someone to write about it or ask around. I also can foresee libraries evolving as Dr. Schultz says. I already see some of the allied Web 3Dish behavior in "collecting" blogs, so "collecting" librarians would be a logical next step. As for Library 4.0, why not. As libraries focus more on users and their needs they are going to have to become these mind gyms and knowledge spas.

To me Library 2.0 is not so much a new movement but a label for the melding of new technology with a focus on patron service.

Thing 14

Technorati is starting to grow on me. I like the search functions and the layout the more I work with it. When I searched for "learning 2.0" in all the different categories, the results were basically the same. I was happy to see that some posts from our group made it to the list though!

The popular lists didn't surprise me at all. Today a lot of people look at technology and gadgets online to see what's hot,for celebrity gossip, and for easy money opportunities. Boing Boing also doesn't surprise me. In a fast pace world with everybody driving themselves nuts to get ahead, everyone needs some release. Sometimes it helps to read something a little less serious.

Thing 13

I like del.icio.us. When I have more time I'm going to try it out. I think this site has a lot of potential. People not only can access their favorites from anywhere but can also find similar sites through the tags. I also like the comments feature. You can find out what others think of a site before hand. It becomes tedious to search through Google results sometimes and this could be one way to find similar websites.

Rollyo

I kinda like Rollyo. I like the fact that someone has put together a list of sites he/she knows works and wants to share with others. The only problem I foresee is the legitimacy of the information someone would get from sites found through the searches. I would not trust it for school work and such.

http://rollyo.com/sekhmet1294/kids_coloring_pgs/

LibraryThing

Okay, now it's official. I'm a total nerd. This has got to be one of the coolest sites I've ever seen! I've always wanted a way to keep track of my books, now I have a way! Also, they have widgets you can add to your blog to show off your book collection and, which I think is the coolest thing of all, it has a tool where you can make a poster/collage of your book covers!
I'm so glad I signed up for this training.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/sekhmet1294

Thing 10

I LOVE GENERATORS!!! They are so much fun, but could become addicting.

I found an Idea Generator and had a good one for HQ since it's always freezing where I work, electric nuclear clothing. And as for an avatar, well I decided to enter the world of the Simpsons.

Thing 9

I found most of the search engines pretty easy to use. I liked the fact that most of them had "channels" or categories if you wanted to look at what's going on in the world of "whatever". The only one I found moderately annoying was Syndic8. I really didn't like the layout. I found it a bit busy and I could see someone getting confused very easily. I really liked Topix and Feedster. I feel luke warm about Technorati, though the fact that you can get to video and photos on there makes it a bit more versatile. Personally I would recommend either Feedster or Topix to people who want to find feeds as they are pleasant and relatively easy to use.

Thing 8

I love RSS feeds! Instead of having to go to so many different pages to get your news and what-not, you can open one program and get it. This should be more popular than it is or has been. RSS would save people time. I like the features in Bloglines, especially the fact you can search for different types of feeds. That could come in handy for work. I could find info that pertains to new technology or to current stuff I'm using and get updated frequently. I was also surprised to hear that one could have personal info sent to them through such a service. This could be helpful with patrons who want more timely info about their records. This service has so much potential.

My blogroll:

http://www.bloglines.com/public/sekhmet1294

Technology

I like the sharing aspect of technology today. One person in the Western Hemisphere can log on to the Internet and find out or "talk" to another in the Eastern Hemisphere, in real time. It has brought about new ways of connecting people through games, instant messengers, e-mail, etc. by speeding up the way communication travels and also giving people new forums in which to do so.

Flickr Rocks!

The Garden In the Desert, originally uploaded by sekhmet1294.

I love all the stuff that you can do with Flickr! Some of the mash ups are interesting. I especially like the idea of Mappr. You can start exploring a place before you take a trip or you can travel there without even leaving your house! I also liked some of the ones on fd's Flickr Toys. As you can see, I put one of my pictures from Egypt through the Bead Art mash up and rendered it as is should be-in blocks!

Learning 2.0: Week 1

The ideas presented in the 7 1/2 Habits of Life Long Learning were interesting. For me the easiest one would be taking responsibility for my own learning because I have always been an avid learner and love to expand my knowledge when I get a chance. The hardest one for me would be viewing a problem as a challenge not a crisis. I have been battling with that one basically all my life. I think that has something to do with my personality. The perfectionist in me does not like it when things go wrong and I tend not to stay as calm as I should at times.

Learning 2.0 seems like a great idea, especially for those who don't have a lot of time to spend on trying to learn new technology. It guides you right through some of the most popular things on the internet and also provides a forum between systems.