Thing #23 - Hooray

1. My favorite discovery was learning how much is happening on the internet. One is used to looking up a topic or place but many other things are happening and some of it is very complicated. I liked the productivity tools that are available without loading software. Other products I will also return to and study in detail.

2. The program assisted my lifelong learning goals because one must keep learning new things and being exposed to new areas.

3. I guess the take-aways is how time consuming this process was. On the original paper we were informed that the exercises would only take around 15-20 minutes to complete. Almost every week the exercises took an hour or more. Many weeks watching a tutorial was involved that ran for 12 minutes so how could one possibly complete all the activities in the remaining time. So going into this process I figured as a substitute I could devote 15-20 minutes of my 15 hour schedule to this process. However when the time rose to one hour that is difficult to accomplish. In the end I started completing the tasks at home which is not fair to my family.

4. I really think this should be taught in a classroom where an instructor is available. I know we were supposed to ask others for help however in my substitute position where I move around and a lot of the time I work alone this is not possible. Also at this time of year the libraries are very busy with many activities including the summer reading club and it is difficult to find time to work on the things. It is even more difficult to work on the 23 things and wait on patrons at the same time.

5. I would probably participate and one needs to keep learning.

6. I believe I learned a lot in the 23 Things. One can marvel at the technology but also marvel at the time it takes to maintain that technology. I will return and continue to explore the areas presented. As far as blogging goes I have kept a diary since I was ten and I think I will continue to keep that diary on paper and off the internet. I have no desire to have others read what I write and comment on it.

Thing #22

I did not create a Overdrive or NetLibrary account as I was working from my home computer. From the WCFL main page one can go to Maryland's eLibrary Consortium and explore all the titles without creating an account. In general fiction they have 177 pages including many of the popular authors such as Patterson and Roberts and plenty of others. In nonfiction they have lots of titles including seven pages of travel books. One thing I find kind of silly is that a book can be "checked out" after someone has downloaded and others cannot access it. Obviously the file is still available at the home site but I guess it is copyrighted so it can only be downloaded to one user.

I looked at the Project Gutenberg and they seem to be very limited in their offerings. It seems to be only titles that are in the public domain or authors that want their work to be viewed regardless.

I am not fond of listening to audiobooks or reading books from the computer so I doubt I would download any titles.

Thing #21

I worked on the podcasting from my home computer. Several of the podcasts would not play because my computer did not have the necessary software to support it. I looked at comedy podcasts on Yahoo Podcasts and then search for library on the Podcast.net. I added an RSS feed for the SirsiDynix Institute on my Bloglines account. I believe one could find some very interesting data from these podcasts.

Thing #20

The thing that I disliked about the site is that a lot of inappropriate videos are on the site. Even searching on Burger King can get one in trouble. I would not like the children to be searching on this site. The video I chose is Mr. Bean at the library. My family has always enjoyed the comedy of Mr. Bean. It is at the following url:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWArmefCFk

Thing #19

I explored the Medstory Beta site and compared it to the Healia Beta site. These were health related tools. They both were rollyos with a lot of features added. I really liked the Medstory site. One could enter a health issue and find out drugs, symptons, research, clinical trials or anything about that issue. The sites useful tools were that you could really narrow down what you wanted to about the matter. Patrons are always coming to the library with health issues. This would be another tool that could help them find out about their problem.

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THING #18

I created the text below in Zoho Writer and used the publish option and posted it to my blog. It was really easy and I was able to send it on the first attempt. I believe the online productivity tools could be a real asset to users.

Zoho Writer seems pretty cool. It seems to have the same layout of other word processors. One seems able to change fonts easily.

It would also save one from constantly purchasing the upgrades to their word processor because the upgrades would always be online.

Thing #17

I added my blog to the Favorite Blogs page. I also used PB Wiki to create a wiki. I will have to return to this later to explore further.

Thing #16

What I found most interesting was that Wiki's were an idea actually in use. I have used Wikipedia often but did not know there were other sites based on the wiki idea. In the library some uses could be a wiki for story time programs where branches could post ideas, themes, books, songs, fingerplays, crafts, etc. that work. Another idea would be opening, closing, emergency procedures for branch libraries could be posted on a wiki. The branches could update the procedures plus the procedures would be available to substitutes. The activities happening in the library and its branches could be wiki based where everyone updates the schedule. I imagine the uses are endless.

Thing #15

I actually read all the perspectives on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 and found it very interesting. When working with the patrons the range of computer skills is huge. A patron with no or little computer skills requires a huge amount of time to assist. On the other hand sometimes one is unable to assist a patron with a problem because it is above their knowledge level. It is difficult to keep up with the technology.

Thing #14

I took the Technorati tour and looked at the popular features. The site seems easy to use with lots of helpful features. When performing the keyword search on "Learning 2.0" I received 3,474 hits when searching in Blog posts, 3 hits when searching in tags and 171 hits in the Blog directory. I guess I am surprised about all the massive sites available on the web.

Thing #13

Tagging seems like an interesting concept. I believe it would be beneficial if you worked on different projects, your research could be tagged for the particular project. I was unable to watch the Del.icio.us tutorial due to an incorrect link.

Thing #12

I tried to create a health rollyo. This could be beneficial to choose only the reliable health sites and not the unreliable sites. It should also eliminate the personal stories about a particular health problem. That is why I would find the rollyo maybe helpful.

The following should be my health rollyo:

http://rollyo.com/index.html

Thing #11

I took the tour of Library Thing and made a catalog of five books.

The following is my catalog:

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

Thing #10

I travelled to the Generator Blog and tested the Free Logo Generator, Horoscope Generator, Bad Joke Generator, and Chocolate Bar Generator. I was unable to import any of the results. I also went to Yahoo and created a personal Avatar. I selected a male and chose a safari outfit and placed a jungle background behind him. I have been unable to import my avatar.

Thing #9

I found the Feedster and Technorati to be the easiest RSS search tools to use. Any topic could be entered and the available feeds were displayed. It is sometime overwhelming that all this information is out there.

Thing #8

RSS seems like a convenient way to gather all the updated news in one place. In ones personal life one would be able to be kept up to date quickly in all the areas they are interested in. Libraries will be able to use RSS to keep up to date on latest releases of new items. Also they would be kept up to date on the latest technology and programs that are going on at the large libraries.

Thing #7

I guess the technology that is heavy on my mind currently is medical technology. Just three weeks ago my 12 year old son had a brain tumor removed. When my husband and I went with him into the operating room (until he went to sleep) the room was filled with equipment to accomplish the operation. My son was speaking to us a half hour after the five hour operation. Incredible!

Thing #6

I have found someone's trading card, represented by a purple M&M. The thought that comes to my mind is that these people have too much time on their hands. Don't they have a life?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcc/419611695/

Thing #5:

I explored flicker and found the following picture of a windmill by searching by that tag.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertvandoesburg/739523285/

I did not sign up for flicker because I do not take photos.

Step 3 of 23 Things:

I believe the most difficult habit for me to become successful is the the play step. I like to have a definite task to complete. I have difficulty just playing around with a product or program. The remainder of the habits will just take time and concentration.