Week 9 : Thing 23 - Summary

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? I had several favorites, but if I had to pick, I'd say learning about newsfeeders, blogs, and Flickr mash-ups are at the top of my list. I was really surprised at how easy it is to create a blog. And I was pleased to learn that you really don't have to be very computer savvy to be able to do all of the tasks.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? It has made me more confident to try new things - especially those that are technology-related.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? On a personal note, it was helpful to find an easy way to share photos with friends and family. I can't wait to play more on the mash-up sites.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? It was sometimes difficult to get to a staff computer in order to use headphones during work hours, but I'm not sure how you can avoid that and still learn as much.

And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate? Definitely.

How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program? I've learned so much, I'm sorry to see the program end! The structured format for learning the 23 Things helped me to set my goals and stick to them. As a children's librarian, it was fun to step out of the world of flannelboards, puppets and filmstrips and into the world of blogs, mash-ups and wikis! I really hope we will have more opportunities like this one in the future. Thank you!

Week 9 : Thing 22 Overdrive

The homestretch! I was hoping to wrap this one up quickly, but I discovered/remembered that PGCMLS no longer has access to NetLibrary, so I had to start over with Overdrive. However, the link to Overdrive from the "23 Things" page takes me to an "Invalid Page Request" page, so I'm going to have to go in through our homepage and see what happens... More later!

...Okay, I'm back. Overdrive was pretty easy to navigate. I liked that I didn't need to set up another account. All I need is my library card number. As for finding a title, well, my first two titles were already checked out (a Harry Potter trivia book and a Stephanie Plum mystery), but I eventually found one that I could have downloaded.

On to Thing 23!

Week 9 : Thing 21 Locating podcasts

I found Yahoo's Podcasts to be the easiest to navigate. I appreciated being able to listen without subscribing. I watched a few of Jon Stewart's podcasts, which I have already added to my Bloglines account.

Week 9 : Thing 20 - YouTube

This was an entertaining assignment. What did I like? It was incredibly user-friendly. I like that you can easily access the videos that are most viewed, most discussed, most linked and most responded. It really keeps you in the loop. What did I dislike? Hmm... not much.

I chose the "I got a crush... on Obama" video by Obama girl because I heard an interview with the songwriter on an NPR segment about the internet's influence on politics. I thought this would be a good time to check the video out...

As for libraries - I can see using YouTube to create podcasts that would describe how to navigate our website, use the card catalog, or get homework help. Perhaps we could also have "Top 10" lists that evolve (such as "most circulated books"), or a place for people to add comments about a book they checked out...

Week 8 : Thing 19 - Web 2.0 Awards

I checked out many of the sites on the Web 2.0 awards list. Among my favorites: Farecast, Color Blender, and Digg.

Farecast is a site that will compare flights, but will also give predictions on whether you should "Buy now, fares will rise" or "Wait, fares will drop." Unfortunately, I couldn't get predictions on any of the flights I tried. I also haven't checked to see *who* is making the predictions. I'll have to spend more time with it.

Week 8 : Thing 18 Online Productivity

I didn't know these applications were on-line! They are very easy to use. For the purposes of this exercise, it is simpler to work within Google docs because we have already created a Google account for Blogger. All I had to do was sign in, and I sent an email to myself.

Week 7: Thing 17 - Add an entry to the sandbox wiki

Well, I added my blog to the Favorite Blogs page, and then I created a page of my favorite things, titled "Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings." Both tasks were pretty easy, in fact, I didn't even have to click on the "Link Type" button to link to my URL, it was done automatically.

Week 7: Thing 16 - Learn about wikis

My prior experience with wikis only went as far as wikipedia. Even then, I used it as more of a springboard to what I considered "more reliable" sources. This exercise has peaked my interest, and I'll be visiting wikis more often, such as www.libsuccess.org and www.webjunction.org.

As for our PGCMLS intranet, I can see using wikis to create our juvenile subject lists. A wiki format could keep the list more current, with new titles added everyday.

I would also love to see a "successful storytimes" wiki. There are times when you know you have hit the ball out of park with your storytime lineup, and want to share that information with others. Of course, we could also use our staff blog for that...

I wonder if the teenagers would like to have a wiki page on our site?

Week 6: Things 13, 14, 15 - Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati

Thing 13: Del.icio.us - The tutorial is down, so I just played around on the site.I think I'll enjoy using this tool. I've been able to create a link on my taskbar in Foxfire, but not in Explorer.

Thing 14: Technorati - an interesting tool, and useful for those who love blogs. I'm still learning to like blogs.

Thing 15: Thoughts on Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the future of libraries... I've been pondering the future of libraries for awhile now. This was a good exercise in learning what the future holds. I appreciate much of what Michael Stephens has to say about embracing Web 2.0 tools - particularly the wikis and mashups.

It will be hard to break away from the "come to us" model of librarianship that Rick Anderson refers to, but our own circulation figures show that we are going to have to steer our boat in another direction if we want to survive.

I absolutely love the "The Machine is Us/ing Us" video on YouTube. It is indeed, a work of art.