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!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Wikipedia- Thing 16
I found that a lot of the wiki entries were very informative. It seemed a lot of them were used to keep customers and/or staff up to date on events in their libraries.
I found it very interesting (and a good idea!) to use a wiki for procedures. We here at our branch have been searching for a good way to keep staff informed of changes that are coming or have already happened. I think we may be using this tool very soon!
I also really liked how the wikis are set up in a bibliographic format. It makes it very easy to use and see the contents of each page.
I think a few of the best applications that I can see this used for is event information sharing and procedure updates and/or changes. We will be talking about this at our next all staff meeting at AB!
I found it very interesting (and a good idea!) to use a wiki for procedures. We here at our branch have been searching for a good way to keep staff informed of changes that are coming or have already happened. I think we may be using this tool very soon!
I also really liked how the wikis are set up in a bibliographic format. It makes it very easy to use and see the contents of each page.
I think a few of the best applications that I can see this used for is event information sharing and procedure updates and/or changes. We will be talking about this at our next all staff meeting at AB!
Perspectives on Web 2.0- Thing 15
I read a few of the perspectives from different people and found them to be interesting. I agree with the first selection "Away from Iceburgs" when the writer states "We need to focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need, so they can spend as little time as possible wrestling with lousy search interfaces and as much time as possible actually reading and learning".
While we as a Library are moving towards user friendly interfaces, I think we still have a long way to go. As technology moves on, so will we. We no longer have the monopoly as the writer suggested and we need to "find new ways to bring our services to patrons rather than insisting that they come to us—whether physically or virtually".
Library 2.0 means that we, as Library staff and users, will learn the newest technology in an effort to keep up with the times. We don't, after all, want to have a customer come up to us and have us say "Blog what?" It also means that we will have more informed staff and will find those new ways to bring our services to customers.
While we as a Library are moving towards user friendly interfaces, I think we still have a long way to go. As technology moves on, so will we. We no longer have the monopoly as the writer suggested and we need to "find new ways to bring our services to patrons rather than insisting that they come to us—whether physically or virtually".
Library 2.0 means that we, as Library staff and users, will learn the newest technology in an effort to keep up with the times. We don't, after all, want to have a customer come up to us and have us say "Blog what?" It also means that we will have more informed staff and will find those new ways to bring our services to customers.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Technorati- Thing 14
When searching Technorati, I found several different results when searching for "Library 2.0". All of them had portions of information with "library" and "2.0" somewhere in the text.
Tagging is an interesting way to keep track of your personal information and have it grouped how you would like to see it or retrieve it. The disadvantage to this is if others are trying to explore your information, they may not always come up with the same results if you've used some obscure tag.
Tagging is an interesting way to keep track of your personal information and have it grouped how you would like to see it or retrieve it. The disadvantage to this is if others are trying to explore your information, they may not always come up with the same results if you've used some obscure tag.
Del.icio.us and Tagging- Thing 13
I've looked around this site and find it very confusing. Maybe if I create an account (when I have more time) I can figure it out; I'm more of a "hands on" kind of gal...
I do see the potential in it being a good way to manage your favorites and find them easily by tagging. I suppose that I could see it being used as a reference and/or research assistanec tool, but I would think the person using it would need to know how it works first before diving in.
Most of these things that we have been doing in the "23 Things" I've heard about, but not had the experience of using most of them. I do feel like now that we are getting hands on experience I won't feel like such a dunce when someone comes up to me with a question. (Haven't experienced a lot of these kinds of questions, but I can see them coming down the road with all the technology we offer.
I do see the potential in it being a good way to manage your favorites and find them easily by tagging. I suppose that I could see it being used as a reference and/or research assistanec tool, but I would think the person using it would need to know how it works first before diving in.
Most of these things that we have been doing in the "23 Things" I've heard about, but not had the experience of using most of them. I do feel like now that we are getting hands on experience I won't feel like such a dunce when someone comes up to me with a question. (Haven't experienced a lot of these kinds of questions, but I can see them coming down the road with all the technology we offer.
Rollyo- This is thing 12
I have played around with Rollyo and found it fairly interesting. I'm not sure if I would use it that often, but I can see good uses for it.
I looked around at some of the ones listed in the exercise and also searched some other topics myself. I do have to say that it was really slow when I was using it, which was a little annoying.
Otherwise, I find it to be useful but maybe not for my everyday use.
Here is the searchbox I made (Blogger doesn't like the fancy search boxes, so I had to make a boring one...):
I looked around at some of the ones listed in the exercise and also searched some other topics myself. I do have to say that it was really slow when I was using it, which was a little annoying.
Otherwise, I find it to be useful but maybe not for my everyday use.
Here is the searchbox I made (Blogger doesn't like the fancy search boxes, so I had to make a boring one...):
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Web 2.0 tools/sites- This is Thing #11
I decided to select the topic of retail (can you tell there's a running theme in my blogs?) and go from there.
I found this really cool site (www.threadless.com) which allows people to post, rate, and create t-shirt designs. I think this is an especially cool way to share designs/art of you are a artist that likes this medium. The picture shown above was one of my favorite designs. (It's titled "Fake Pandas have more fun".)
I found this really cool site (www.threadless.com) which allows people to post, rate, and create t-shirt designs. I think this is an especially cool way to share designs/art of you are a artist that likes this medium. The picture shown above was one of my favorite designs. (It's titled "Fake Pandas have more fun".)
I also found that you can get RSS feeds about this site with weekly announcements, tees in stock, and Threadless updates. I may have to add this to my Bloglines account...
Needless to say, I've found a new place to shop! :)
Friday, February 23, 2007
This is thing #10
This is my image I created, like it? :)
I got it from www.imagechef.com
It seems these are pretty easy to use, and fun! I'm sure I'll be playing around with these much more, but not on work time... :(
Friday, February 16, 2007
Exploring search tools- This is thing 9
I've looked around some of the search tools, and to be honest, I find the one through Bloglines the easiest. I find Syndic8.com very confusing (the layout that is) and Topix.net was somewhat easy to use.
Feedster was really easy, I thought, until I tried to add something to my feeds on Bloglines. The tutorial that I did through Palinet gave screen shots, etc. of how you were supposed to do things, but I found that the pages in Feedster don't look the same any longer. I was pretty confused with that, but figured it out all on my own which I was very proud of!
Feedster was really easy, I thought, until I tried to add something to my feeds on Bloglines. The tutorial that I did through Palinet gave screen shots, etc. of how you were supposed to do things, but I found that the pages in Feedster don't look the same any longer. I was pretty confused with that, but figured it out all on my own which I was very proud of!
Bloglines and RSS feeds- This is thing 8
I have set up a Bloglines account and am currently working on getting more feeds added. I have to be honest, I find this very confusing. I like what it does for you, but the tutorials are odd. I've already ran into a few problems copying the links and adding them to my account.
I think, however, that I will probably use this more often than I think I will. It will keep me up to date with all those very important things like Anna Nicole Smith's death and who her baby's father is. (Things that you can't live without knowing!)
Here is the link to my Bloglines page (I hope I did this right!):
http://www.bloglines.com/public/kristenvdm
I think, however, that I will probably use this more often than I think I will. It will keep me up to date with all those very important things like Anna Nicole Smith's death and who her baby's father is. (Things that you can't live without knowing!)
Here is the link to my Bloglines page (I hope I did this right!):
http://www.bloglines.com/public/kristenvdm
Thursday, February 15, 2007
My iPod Mini- This is thing 7
So, I feel like I'm a total dunce when it comes to technology such as this. The last iPod I had was a shuffle, which required no real "technological" know-how; you just turned the thing on and it played.
Now, with my Mini I have to learn the most basic of things, like how the controls work. Can you believe that it took me months to figure out that if you wanted to advance down the menu you used a circular motion? I felt so stupid when I had that "Aha!" moment.
However, it has become one of my most favorite things in the world. I got a monster iPod cable for my car which allows me to play my iPod through my car stereo. (This is because I don't have one of those fancy new cars that have the direct plug in capabilities!)
Needless to say, iTunes has also become one of my new best friends. I think I've competently learned how to use and navigate it, and even learned how to fix stuff that I didn't know how to do before!
iPods are great!
Now, with my Mini I have to learn the most basic of things, like how the controls work. Can you believe that it took me months to figure out that if you wanted to advance down the menu you used a circular motion? I felt so stupid when I had that "Aha!" moment.
However, it has become one of my most favorite things in the world. I got a monster iPod cable for my car which allows me to play my iPod through my car stereo. (This is because I don't have one of those fancy new cars that have the direct plug in capabilities!)
Needless to say, iTunes has also become one of my new best friends. I think I've competently learned how to use and navigate it, and even learned how to fix stuff that I didn't know how to do before!
iPods are great!
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Thing 6
Here is my trading card for the world (or Library world) to see. I like shoe shopping, can you tell?
Friday, January 26, 2007
Rob and Kristen
This was for my final birthday that I will be celebrating. I will now forever be 30 and holding!
This is thing 5!
This is thing 5!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Thing 2: 7 1/2 Lifelong Learning Habits
I think that one thing I find that I am not "wonderful" at is #3 "Problems as challenges". I tend to get frustrated when I see a problem and want to fix it, instead of seeing it as a challenge and trying to solve it.
One thing I think I'm great at is #7 1/2 "PLAY!" I like to find the fun in everything. If it's at work, or on my own time, I like to see the entertainment in life. I also think I'm pretty good at being goal-oriented and teaching and mentoring others.
All of the 7 1/2 lifelong learning habits are important, but these listed above are my "plusses and minuses".
One thing I think I'm great at is #7 1/2 "PLAY!" I like to find the fun in everything. If it's at work, or on my own time, I like to see the entertainment in life. I also think I'm pretty good at being goal-oriented and teaching and mentoring others.
All of the 7 1/2 lifelong learning habits are important, but these listed above are my "plusses and minuses".
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