Saturday, November 3, 2007

Week 9, Thing 23

Wow! I can't believe I'm actually finished.

Although there were times when I found this exercise to be teeth grindingly annoying, in the end I think it was rewarding. I certainly learned alot and became more technologically savvy than I would have on my own. At the very least, I have become familiar with the names and functions of new tools.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to participate in this learning experience.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Week 9, Thing 22

I have to admit, I haven't really gotten into downloadable audio books. However, since they're somewhat popular with library patrons, I have promised myself I will try downloading one of the titles available from the library's website.

The really interesting thing I found at Project Gutenberg was the link to Distributed Proofreaders . This project allows people to register as proofreaders and help in the preparation of e-books.

Week 9, Thing 21

Searched through some of the Podcast directories and found some interesting ones.
I linked to the Denver Public Library "Stories for Kids" podcast. I think that's a wonderful idea and would be a great upgrade from our telephone storyline.

Unfortunately, upon revisiting my Bloglines account I realized it was chock full of updates I have never read--just more junk to block up traffic on the Information Superhighway.

Week 9, Thing 20




Here's Jerry doing his Halloween bit. I like that YouTube is very easy to search. Maybe the library could consider putting up special events, such as author's talks or other presentations.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Week 6, Thing 15

I think it's terrific that librarians are being forward thinking regarding our role in this now not so new technological era. As a library user, I am thrilled that I can access the library's research databases at 2:00 p.m. or 2:00 a.m.. As a librarian I am thrilled that more and more people are finding out what resources we have and how to use them. When the WWW (as we called it then) first came to be, I remember a lot of talk of the "paperless society". Thankfully, I don't think this will ever come to be. As for libraries becoming obsolete (and librarians along with them--remember--really good books never die, they just come out in paperback.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Week 8, Thing 18

This is a document a created in Google Docs. It was very easy to add the image and post it to my blog!

Okay, this is pretty cool. This is a photo of one of my favorite physicists, Richard Feynman, playing bongos. It really should be copywritten by CalTech, but I guess all of that has gone out the window!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Week 6, Thing 14

Looked at Technorati and searched Learning 2.0, in blogs, tags and directory. Each search came up with different results. Top searches were a mix of the predictable (Britney, Marion Jones, youtube) and the surprising (ladies car insurance).

It's incredible how much information is out there--a bit overwhelming and I'd imagine a lot to sift through to find what you want.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Week 6, Thing 13

I have to say I'm still confused about Del.icio.us. I've read about it and I sort of understand what it is. However, when I look at the web sites using it, I'm very unclear what it is I'm actually looking at. However, other librarians seem to like and use it, as evidenced by this article just published in Library Journal.

Perhaps more reading and exploring is necessary for me to understand just how I can benefit from it.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Week 8, Thing 19

Zillow.com is a real estate site that allows you to get a "Zestimate" of the current value of your home. You can also view an aerial photo and see values of other homes in your neighborhood.

There are also discussion groups with topics such as home repair/remodeling, buying and selling a home and financing.

But mostly I just liked it for the nosiness factor and because my house appraised for more than my brother's (tee hee).

Week 7, Thing 17

Checked out the other pages in the Sandbox and added my two cents about favorite dogs.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Week 7, Thing 16

Is every book written published--no. The answer is "no" because just because one can put pen to paper or, in this case, hands to keyboard, does not mean one can write.
By the same token, just because someone has an interest in something does not mean they are an expert. Does anyone recall the controversy over the Wikipedia administrator "Essjay" who faked his credentials?

Frankly, the suggestion that we encourage the public to add to something as important as a subject guides page is not only irresponsble, but inefficient. The administrator of the page would still need to check those sites for accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity and coverage--remember, that criteria which, as librarians, we are supposed to be using to evaluate web sites.

Wikis where people are asked to give their opinion on restaurants, books, movies, etc. are great. However, asking the general public to contribute to a web site where information is supposed to be reliable and correct, is to me, asking for trouble.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Week5, Thing 12 - Rollyo

Okay, this is pretty cool. I took a cue from Debra Messing and made a searchroll called My Closet to search clothing websites I usually use. I did a search and was pretty happy with the results. Sure beats searching each site individually.


Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Week 4, Thing 9

Checked out Merlin and took two quizzes: 1) to evaluate my learning style (mostly read/write) and 2) to see my technology preference ("connected, but hassled").

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Week 5, Thing 10

Yahoo! Avatars U.K. & Ireland

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Week 5, Thing 11

Added five of my favorite books to my library. Take a look and compare them with your own at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Knitgirl.

Week 4, Thing 8

Added 11 feeds to my bloglines account. So far, I really like it--saves time and I don't have to reread alot of information. It's kind of ironic that with all the image capabilities of the Internet, it's still easier to go back to text only when reading information.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Week 3, Thing 7

As a librarian, I have to say I do miss the days when I actually used books to locate answers to most of the reference questions I had. Using the computer as opposed to a book is like listening to a CD versus a record album--just too clean and sterile. I miss the smell of the pages, the sound of the spine cracking and the weight of the book in my hand.

However, as a consumer of information--I LOVE the Internet. All that information right at my fingertips--amazing. Here is a just a sampling of questions that have come up in my daily life recently for which I used the Internet to find answers:

1) I'm having people over for brunch--one keeps kosher--can I find an egg casserole recipe that doesn't contain bacon?

2) Isn't that guy on "Murder, She Wrote" the same guy I just saw in "The Boys in the Band"?

3) Is Roy Scheider still alive?

4) Who can I find to replace the wooden door on my screened in porch?

5) My new puppy has coccidia--what is that?

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Week 3, Thing 6 Flickr Mashups, etc.

Looked around the Flickr site, but just couldn't get too excited about any of the Mashups and other tools. Tried Montagr, but could not get it to work. I guess if you're really into posting your photographs the tools, etc. would be fun to use, but for me, I just wasn't interested.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Week 3, Thing 5 Flickr


Corgis
Originally uploaded by Bobzpics
Here are some cute corgis to look at until I have pictures of my new puppy!
Had a little trouble at first, but once I actually read the directions uploading this picture went smoothly.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Week 1, Thing 2

I would say the easiest habit for me is to accept responsibility for my own learning. The hardest is to have confidence in myself as an effective learner. The learning process itself has not always been the most fun part of learning for me and unless I am very passionate about what I am learning, I usually wind up quitting when things get difficult.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Week 2, Thing 3

Okay--set up my blog. Thanks go to my husband for coming up with the title. After trying about ten titles, non of which were available, I asked for help. Guess I'm not very original.