Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Final Thoughts



I have really enjoyed the experience of 23 Things. I was able to gain some new knowledge skills and learn some fun things too. The most enjoyable, of course, was the avatars but I liked using U-Tube and creating the blog itself. It has assisted my lifelong learning goals because some of these programs I had only heard about and this project encouraged me to go look at them. I was really surprised how much fun using the Internet can be. Usually I went in to look up work related topics but there is so much free stuff out there that is fun. I don't think anything can be done to improve the program. Even more time would not have been good because I would have procrastinated more. I would most certainly enjoy another program like this.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Week 9 - Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio

I thought this was an appropriate addition to my blog from UTube:



The Podcast sites were not really easy to manipulate for me. There is lots of great information out there on a wide variety of topics. Of course, you need to take it all with a grain of salt because you don't know who the information is coming from. I really enjoyed looking at the comics podcasts and hearing people's opinions.

Downloadable audiobooks is a great service for libraries to provide for its customers. It expands the collection without sacrificing shelf space. It makes you think about whether we will even need buildings in the future if you can download your books and movies.

Week 8 - Online Applications & Tools



I needed a picture to break up all of the wordiness.


I really like Zoho but our system has been using Open Office for about 2 years so I am used the free products. Like I said previously, I think the free products are going to become more useful as money gets harder and harder to come by. Hopefully the general public will find the resourcefulness of these products and start using them. The are very similiar to the Microsoft products so learning them should not be an issue to most people. The patrons in our system have gotten used Open Office.

I went into Yelp.com to try and find some stores in Waldorf, MD. It was successful, I found all the ones I was looking for. I found the House of Pop Culture because I needed some more reading material, to find out what all the villians are up to. : )

Week 7 - Wikis

I think Wikis are a good idea in some situations. Has for relying on them to be factual? I don't!!! I sometimes take a look at them for a brief overview of subjects but them I do deeper research. Our system could use a Wiki for the summer reading program, book discussion groups, or information about the library in general. Absolutely anything can be in a Wiki so they can be useful in any number of situations. I posted my blog under the "favorite blogs" section as requested.

Week 6 - Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati

I think tagging and Del.icio.us would come in handy if you traveled a lot for work. It would be great to take all the sites you look at in the office with you. I do not have a use for it because I am not taking my work home with me. If I am on vacation, I steer clear of computers because everything can wait for me when I get home.

I thought it was really creepy in Technorati to actually see our work out there on the web. I know if it is on the web that anyone can see it but it does not really hit home until you find cataloged somewhere. CREEPY!!! I did think it was interesting that the day I looked at the "top blogs", they all had to do with technology. Which is great that we are learning these 23 things so that we can keep up with the rest of the world.

My thoughts are that as librarian's we need to know a little about everything. Our patron's expect us to know everything. So if we can be one step ahead or at least know where to find the information, we can at least know what they are talking about. All of these free gadgets out on Web 2.0 can be a wonderful addition to our services. Money can be hard to come by in the the non-profit sector so any freebies have a welcome invitation.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Week 5 - Online Image Generator


Here is my motivational poster using an Online Image Generator. This was really fun. I am learning so many new ways to use the Internet.

These are some titles that I have in my collection at home:



Have fun searching some of my favorite sites. You know I'm a librarian by day!!


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Thursday, August 9, 2007

Week 4: RSS and Newsreaders

I really enjoyed using the bloglines. You can check out what sites I'm watching under News to Watch. I like being able to keep up with the headlines without having to visit a variety of sites.

The RSS could be very helpful but I really was not sure how to add one into my blog. I like the idea, like with bloglines, that you can have the information brought to you.