Well, it's been a long and hard road to get here. At times, I really did feel like I was never going to figure out some of the stuff! And some of it I still am a bit unclear on, but I'm sure that I will figure more out as I go along.
I really liked signing up for the Bloglines account and adding the feeds of my choice. I see myself using this in the future more and more. I also liked some of the silly things we did like the image generators; those were fun! I think the thing I liked most of all was LibraryThing. I will totally use this in the future! It kind of reminds me of Netflix, but without the borrowing. I liked the idea of being able to see what other people have read and get suggestions for new books I might enjoy.
I think that this program as a whole has assisted in my lifelong learning. It's given me the ability to learn and try new things, and it's also given me a chance to play around with new things and have fun (while at work!).
I think one of the major "take-a-ways" of this whole program was that I too can do things that I didn't think I could do before. I've learned what those little orange boxes with "RSS" in them meant, and I actually learned how to use them! I also learned how to utilize some useful tools like ZoHo writer which I think I'll be able to use at work and in my personal life.
I think the format of this program was done quite well. The only suggestion I might have for something different could be, if it's possible, have live help? Sometimes there have been moments when I was trying to do some of the "things" and have gotten stuck. I've emailed, but I know you guys are busy, so it's taken a while to hear back and I'm at a stand still until then. I know that you are busy, so live help may not be possible, but for those of us that need some hand holding and option like that would be superb! :)
Lastly, I think if you offered something like this in the future I would try it again. I like begin able to work at my own pace, and not feel rushed. I think it's been really good to be able to take our time, and thankfully since you've extended our due dates a few times, I've been able to keep up and now complete (YAY!) this whole thing. I'm acutally quite proud of myself!
Here's to Learning and Library 2.0! And I'm done...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Thing 22- eBooks and Audio eBooks
Acutally, I was quite shocked to find that we don't have a lot of popular titles on our website. I looked for J.K. Rowling books, and found none! I'm not sure if it's because they're not available in this format, or we just don't have them. We also didn't have any Stephen King books, and only 2 newer titles by Margaret Atwood.
I have noticed, when helping customers locate materials here at the branch, that we do have a lot of technical electronic resources such as computer books, etc. Some of these are only available to the SJSU students and faculty though.
When looking at the other site, World eBook Fair, (which I had an incredibly hard time getting to!) I found more of the same. They carried much more than we do at SJLibrary.org but they didn't carry popular authors/titles like I mentioned above. I'd like to find out if these are something that are coming down the line, or maybe it's just not available at this point?
Anyway, I do find them useful. I've checked out a few myself from our site and, besides having to stare at a computer screen for a long time, it saves the trip to the physical library. Some of our customers have a hard time getting here, and I'm sure this is a useful tool for them.
Hopefully we can continue to expand our collection in this area!
I have noticed, when helping customers locate materials here at the branch, that we do have a lot of technical electronic resources such as computer books, etc. Some of these are only available to the SJSU students and faculty though.
When looking at the other site, World eBook Fair, (which I had an incredibly hard time getting to!) I found more of the same. They carried much more than we do at SJLibrary.org but they didn't carry popular authors/titles like I mentioned above. I'd like to find out if these are something that are coming down the line, or maybe it's just not available at this point?
Anyway, I do find them useful. I've checked out a few myself from our site and, besides having to stare at a computer screen for a long time, it saves the trip to the physical library. Some of our customers have a hard time getting here, and I'm sure this is a useful tool for them.
Hopefully we can continue to expand our collection in this area!
Thing 21- Podcasts
Okay, so I had some problems with this. Every time I would try to listen to something, it would tell me that my computer couldn't play it for some reason. (There was a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that I didn't understand...)
However, looking at some of the podcasts, I found several that I would like to listen to if I could figure them out. Maybe at home I can do it...
Obviously, the podcasts are a great way to communicate things to people. I'm not sure how useful they would be at branches (although with the way we keep advancing in technology, I'm sure we could figure something out) but I can see them being used in the Library system as a whole. To pass information, or to help with the training of staff. (Just like with Learning 2.0!)
I'm going to have to try this again, since I did subscribe to what sounded like interesting podcasts in my Bloglines account! :)
However, looking at some of the podcasts, I found several that I would like to listen to if I could figure them out. Maybe at home I can do it...
Obviously, the podcasts are a great way to communicate things to people. I'm not sure how useful they would be at branches (although with the way we keep advancing in technology, I'm sure we could figure something out) but I can see them being used in the Library system as a whole. To pass information, or to help with the training of staff. (Just like with Learning 2.0!)
I'm going to have to try this again, since I did subscribe to what sounded like interesting podcasts in my Bloglines account! :)
Thursday, March 8, 2007
YouTube- Thing 20
I've actually played around with YouTube quite a bit before. Several of my friends use it to send me silly videos, clips, etc.
I find it good to use because you can find a lot of good information through it, but I've also found that you can run into a ton of junk too! I think it would be good for us as a Library to use because we could post informational videos regarding procedures, or "how-to" info. Since it's not confidential, we couldn't use it for internal sensitive information, but it would still be a good tool to use for things that are fine for public viewing as well.
Here's a great clip that I've been sent before, but it just makes so much sense to post it in my blog! I think it's quite obvious why I chose it!
I find it good to use because you can find a lot of good information through it, but I've also found that you can run into a ton of junk too! I think it would be good for us as a Library to use because we could post informational videos regarding procedures, or "how-to" info. Since it's not confidential, we couldn't use it for internal sensitive information, but it would still be a good tool to use for things that are fine for public viewing as well.
Here's a great clip that I've been sent before, but it just makes so much sense to post it in my blog! I think it's quite obvious why I chose it!
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
LibraryThing- Thing 19
Here is the link to my LibraryThing catalog of books:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=kristenvdm
It seems that the more popular books that I listed have many shared interests with other users. (I put some of the Harry Potter books, not that surprising!) However, there are some less known books that I've read and really enjoyed that are only shared with 9 or 11 other people. (Of course, those have no comments or conversations listed.)
Others, like several of the Margaret Atwood books or the "classics" like Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" have several comments which range from "awful lit" to "1001 books you must read before you die".
I like this site, and find that I may use it to find other books that I would find interesting.
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=kristenvdm
It seems that the more popular books that I listed have many shared interests with other users. (I put some of the Harry Potter books, not that surprising!) However, there are some less known books that I've read and really enjoyed that are only shared with 9 or 11 other people. (Of course, those have no comments or conversations listed.)
Others, like several of the Margaret Atwood books or the "classics" like Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" have several comments which range from "awful lit" to "1001 books you must read before you die".
I like this site, and find that I may use it to find other books that I would find interesting.
Zoho Writer- Thing 18
I explored Zoho Writer and found it very easy to use.
I also really liked the templates that they offer so you can easily drop information into an already created template that looks professional and "put together".
I played around with their Zoho publish option (which, again, was VERY easy to use) and you can see the results below. A nicely worded blog about one of my favorite pairs of shoes! I hope you enjoy!
My favorite pair of shoes
I also really liked the templates that they offer so you can easily drop information into an already created template that looks professional and "put together".
I played around with their Zoho publish option (which, again, was VERY easy to use) and you can see the results below. A nicely worded blog about one of my favorite pairs of shoes! I hope you enjoy!
My favorite pair of shoes
How can I choose? I love them all, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for a pair of silver Steve Madden pumps that I bought quite some time ago. The are simple, with little bows on the side that give it them that feminine touch. They aren't that tacky silver lame' material either, they are a nice simple satin which makes them so pretty.
I love my silver Steve Madden pumps!
SJLibrary Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki- Thing 17
I added one or two of my favorite TV Shows to the SJLibrary page. I'm still getting the hang of these things though; when I tried to add a link to the TV show page, it wouldn't let me! Strange...
I think that these wikis are valuable to our Libraries for information sharing and getting the word out about different types of events, changes in policies/procedures, etc. We could utilize these more than I think people are aware.
I think I'm going to look into creating one myself and passing the word on to my staff that this is where they can go for up to date info. THANKS for showing me this tool!
I think that these wikis are valuable to our Libraries for information sharing and getting the word out about different types of events, changes in policies/procedures, etc. We could utilize these more than I think people are aware.
I think I'm going to look into creating one myself and passing the word on to my staff that this is where they can go for up to date info. THANKS for showing me this tool!
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