A 23 Thing Summary

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

My favorite exercise was the creation of a blog and the exploration of blogs written by others about something of interest to me. I enjoyed the community and the creativity blogging allows. I would continue to use this as a tool for self-expression and networking. I don't know how much of a podcast listener or YouTube viewer I will be, but I very much enjoyed exploring these two forms of media.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I liked that the program was self-pacing but that we students had the support of coworkers and other 23 Thing learners. The feedback and encouragement through email, Passport and on my blog kept me motivated when I was distracted by other assignments or less enchanted with one of the 23 Things. The program content and presentation was very well constructed and monitored. It required the skills and passion of many talented techno-explorers and, in my opinion, made this learning program rich and varied in the best possible way.


What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I was impressed with the format, concept and feedback tied to the 23 Things.
The video and audio tutorials were well produced and interesting. Tips were abundant and the mp3 player was a nice carrot. Having a starting and ending date encouraged me to keep my eye on the calendar and the prize. The only recommendation I would offer is to keep the assignments updated. Some of the sites were no longer accessible to those of us who started the assignments late in the summer. All things considered-- this was a worthwhile learning opportunity. To answer the next question, yes, I would gladly do it again.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
See above.

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?

23 Things, a user-friendly program, gave this late bloomer, the encouragement needed to play (and learn)about technology. I made it to the twenty-first century.

Out and About with Overdrive

I've used NetLibrary a few times and it seemed to me to be rather intuitive. Overdrive seems to be fussier-- or I'm having a bad day. I like that you can download video, audio and ebooks. Sounds good. But I've tried searching for a few of my favorite nonfiction topics: Knitting, Zen and Voluntary Simplicity. No hits for either knitting or V.S. Only seven for Zen. I tried an advanced search too.

Can you search by reader? Seems that you can. I don't see that there is a link to reads of similar interest. It some ways it was easier to click on the category and skim through the entire list. In the case of music videos, as of today, there are 68 hits. TV shows-- 30 something.

Will explore more but first impression-- tedious and overrated.

Podcasts for Dummies

First I want to note that Yahoo Podcasts is closing down their site on September 30. So, I'll just bypass that site and head over to the others listed in Exercise #21.

I decided to explore Podcasts.net and hoped to locate a RSS feed about Voluntary Simplicty. There was one but the podcasts dated back to 2005. Next, I search under the keyword "ZEN" and found a feed that I would like to listen to at my leisure. There are over 100 entries. Seems like plenty to sink my zen-want-a-be brain into in the future. Check out Zen Mountain Monastery.

Now getting down to library business. I found a Jane Austen feed: the Jane Austen Podnovel. For those who love Austen, her words, and anything that can possibly come out of works, try Jane Austen Podnovel.


The above two podcasts are those I found interesting. There is so much out there to explore and that's perhaps the most fascinating piece about this exercise. For those fans who want a little more about a favorite topic then chances are there's a podcast for the taking. Podcastalley and Podcasts.net were helpful tools if you want to see some of the top pod picks or you like browsing by keyword or topic.

Chances are if you know what topic you want in podcast format you can get there with a simple google search.

You Tube

I've seen a few videos from You Tube that have made it to television for various reasons. Now, because of Assignment or Thing #20 I'm really going to explore it for the first time. (I know, what a late bloomer.) So, I select one of my favorite topics, knitting (what else). Check out the interesting 3-D animated video The Last Knit. I couldn't get the link embedded into my blog. So just type the title of the video in the search box. This is a masterful piece and animation with pulsing music that show what can happen when knitting becomes an obsession. I can't even go there in my mind. But do notice the beautiful miles and miles of scarf the knitter creates with what must be a self-striping yarn. Lovely shades of reds and pinks.

I like that you can quickly search by categories including top rated, most discussed, and most linked. I appreciate that I can check out news and Politics with a click of a mouse.

Of interest to librarians and library users might be a search for authors. I came upon video of Neil Gaimam and Christopher Hitchens. Try a search for children's authors as well.

From the Web 2.0 Awards List

Exercise 19 was so much fun. In fact, that's what this assignment was all about- having fun online. I selected Real Travel from the list of award winning web sites. Sometimes we don't have enough information in hard copy for the traveler in need. I thought this might be a worthwhile piece of support for library users who want honest commentary about issues related to travel.

Real Travel offers a free travel blog and a free travel planner. There lots of real photos posted by real travelers. This site was voted one of "twelve essential travel sites" by Forbes AND "Best of web for trip planning" by Business Week.

I searched "Portland, Oregon" since I am planning a trip there soon- a first timer. What I enjoyed most about this web site was reading the first hand accounts of several recent visitors to this area. One poster mentioned a not-to-be-missed cheese factory and another poster displayed some gorgeous photos of the natural wonders of this region.

Check this site out. Even if you are not going anywhere soon, it might be fum living someone else's trip through "Real Travel".

To a Student

Dear Student,

There's no cause to fret when it's time to write your report for class and you are stranded at your friend's place and  you must get it started immediately so that's you still have time to finish it when you do finally get back home. Ask your friend, "Do you have a computer?" and "Can you get me on the internet?". If this friend answers yes to both questions then you are in luck.

Quickly type "Zoho Writer" into your browser and set up an account. Now, dear student, you can start writing your report.  Notice how familiar the toolbar looks. Use this handy and free online word program, save what you have and access it later from your internet at home.  Or from another computer with internet if you get stranded somewhere else on your way back home.Just return to Zoho Writer and log in to your free account and pick up where you left off.  

You can even tell your folks that you were doing your homework after all.

            

                                                    Sincerely,

                                                    A Concerned Parent

Wikiing with Knitters

As I continue to work on the wiki assignment, I found one wiki I especially wanted to explore from the Maryland Libraries Sandbox web page. It's called "Rather be Knitting". I added a post. Scroll down the page to Hey Knitting Friends. That's mine.

I checked out PB Wiki Tips and frankly setting up a new wiki looked involved and tedious. Probably worth it though. So, we'll see.

I did post a link to my blog to Blog Favorites on the Maryland Libraries Sand Box site.

Wikis for Lovers

Assignment #16- Exploring Wikis.

So, I like that wikis seem to be so intuitive to use. A click here and a click there does the job nicely. For an individual with little time or who is low on the technology food chain, wikis are open to anyone who wants to contribute or collaborate on a topic. Having said this, I do admit that I am more comfortable with the creation of wikis by a smaller group of people who have a shared goal or project. I am more likely to trust the veracity of an established and perhaps limited network of collaborators on a web site than the open-ended contributions of anyone. It's fun to browse Wikipedia about pop culture, for instance; but I'm still going to other reliable sources for my information. It never hurts to check out more than one.

It would be very innovative of HCPL to use the wiki-concept for planning our 2008 summer reading program. Having a wiki would possibly allow the children's librarians to use less time at the bi-monthly children's meetings on SRP but keep the discussion and planning moving along outside our established meetings.

Library 2.0 to Infinity

Yep, Library 2.0 is amazing. And to me it all seems to be happening so fast and furiously. But back to "it's amazing". Chip Nilges, OCLC Vice President, New Services, says to the effect that Library 2.0 allows for "harnessing collective intelligence". All this mind power has created a plethora of resources that are available at our fingertips. It's the bridging of the heart of library services: information, accessibility, sharing ideas, and building community (and so much more) with firespitting technology and worldwide support and knowledge.

Library 2.0 has definitely changed the nature of our role as information specialists. According to Dr. Wendy Schultz, we can expect to see Library 2.0 evolve continually and how libraries operate and the role a physical library may play will be vastly different ten year from now.

Imagine her vision of Library 4.0. A public library that serves as a "knowledge spa" and that customers will look to librarians as tour guides to navigate the quickly changing and expanding selection of online technologies. (Maybe these librarian superstars might even have their own drama/comedy someday- a new kind of "Heroes".
Personally, my favorite parts of this work are helping the people find they information they need and sharing a love of literature through programming. The changing technology component of this job keeps me on my toes and I shudder to wonder that library services might be mostly online. I love handling books- will they let us touch them in the museums of tomorrow?

Technorati Time

Exploring Technorati is the 14th thing of the Library 2.0 series. I took the Technorati Tour and this was nice and played around with some of the favorite blogs and videos. FYI: The "Leave Britney Spears Alone" video is hot, hot, hot. I don't normally search for videos on the web, so all becasue of this assignment have I found myself eye to screen watching some fan wail about the injustices done to Britney. So enough of that.

I checked out some of the blog posts and the tags using the term, "Library 2.0". No these do not necessarily lead a searcher in the same direction. And there's a lot out there and many directions to explore. But that was enough for me today.

So now I wanted to have fun. So, I entered one of my favorite tags, "voluntary simplicity". I came upon the blog post, "Why I Became a Quaker"

And Max Ehrmann's Desiderata is a lovely piece of wisdom for living

See what you think here.

Del.icio.us

I wouldn't have wanted to explore Flickr on my own. I'm just so old fashion and boring. Yet, as I poke around these Library 2.0 exercises, I'm "getting" the energy of others. For instance, today I'm learning about del.iou.us. I go to PLCMCL2 and get a run down on all the bookmarks others have found useful. fd's Flickr Toys is pretty popular. 5558 folks have saved this bookmark compared to the 22 who have saved the bookmark: Library director - Blogging Libraries (Directors that blog). Those directors are probably pretty busy elsewhere. Hmmm. No director/administrator from MD has saved this one yet. Interesting.

Good for those who like to share and save online resources.

LibraryThing- a nice bit of technology for book lovers

So I've set up my LibraryThing profile and selected my absolute favorite books of all time in my little ole life. In case you want to see what I've started check out my list here.

Thank you to Annie, my library daughter, for showing me an easier way to make a link. I'll explore this site a little more when I'm done all 23 thinks. (Sorry Maurice.)

My Bloglines

Check the lefthand side of my Blog for my favorite feeds. Do you think I went a little overboard? I just think it is so cool that I can have my favorite news and information sources in one place. I don't always have time to seach out each one and it's great to share my favorites with others.

My Search Roll begins NOW

Thing #11 has participants explore Rollyo and create a search roll. I choose the topic "Voluntary Simplicity". Here's a nifty way to have favorite web sites all in one place to access quickly and to share with others. Check this out.

http://rollyo.com/outlandermd/voluntary_simplicity/

Energized with Generators

Guess what? I have a goth name. Yep. It's Velvet Dreams and I love it. I've gone to this website: http://www.necroticobsession.com/gothname.html and with a few flicks of my fingers on the keyboard and my little ole first and last name, I now have a wonderful new goth one. I feel positively made over. Nope, I didn't have to join anything to get the name. It's too easy. Try it.

So, here's another generator. This is as simple as making the goth name. It's so nice that the really accomplished techie people can create activities for wee mere mortals. Try http://www.signgenerator.org/.

Isn't Lurch just awesome. He has that look about him and I felt he

capture the essence of summer reading on its final day.

RSS Feeds for the Information Hungry

So, I have a basic understanding of the RSS feed concept. I mean who would have thought? Anyway, I'm a big fan of BBC World so having this accessible to me on my blogline account is very convenient.

Trading Cards Can Make Someone Smile

So I worked with the mashups and made a trading card for Linda, one of our circulation staff. She was rather taken with Daisy, a beautiful pot-bellied pig that can read. No Kidding. I missed Daisy's visit with Farmer Minor but was told that Daisy was quite the lady. I heard some folks wanted to adopt her as our branch mascot.

This completes Thing #6 of 23-- about a fourth of the way to techno heaven.

Mashups For The Fun Of It!

So, I'm investigating Flickr (not for the first time) and mashups (for the first time). Isn't it amazing what those techno geniuses have created for all of us without a clue. I'm so impressed!
Today, I'm playing with "Montager" since it was recommended in the Week #3 assignment. (Yes, that's where I am!)

First I thought I'd explore the tag, "knitting". But that was pretty boring. (No offense meant. I love knitting but right now I want something more visuallu stimulating to my soul). So now I'm searching the tag , "Yurt". Someday I may live in a yurt at Annie's place. No kidding. Okay, I've stop searching for yurts. There were 400ish images and I got stuck with a mosaic downloading. No time for that!
I'm ggoing o nthe reference desk. I'll be back.

Hurray for Technology or I Finally Got a Digital Camera

Okay, I will admit that I don't naturally gravitate to the latest and greatest in technology. But by working in a library setting, I get exposed to the hot stuff whether I want to or not. All I have to do is pay attention. No zoning out in this place. There's too much I might miss. I mean, just in the last few months I have graduated to a digital camera. Nothing fancy or expensive. But the darn thing is so easy to use! And, there is immediate gratification. I can see what I've done, delete it if I or someone else hates what's recorded, and go at it again, and again.

Yes, I am a lazy photographer. I really like that I don't have to worry about the aperature settings or take the film to Target for developing. We took the digital camera to Paris and learned in about ten minutes before leaving how to upload it to our Paris blog on E Blogger (with the help of AG at work). Friends at home were delighted to have the visuals and commented on our postings. Blogging and adding pictures right away enhanced my enjoyment of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I believe I watched this new and exciting place differently knowing that I would be posting what I saw for others to view within hours after having my experience.

Yeah, I'm having fun with my digital camera so much that I now have a Sansa MP3 player in my handbag too.

Go ahead: Ask a librarian!

Here's the Ask-a-Librarian's desk at the Abingdon Branch decorated to fit our Reading Road Trip summer reading theme. Notice that no one is at the desk. That's because the librarians on duty are hustling around the building like chickens without heads getting DVDs for our customers!

SRP decorations 014

SRP decorations 014
Originally uploaded by m_polischeck

Summertime has brought us, here in Maryland public libraries, our "Reading Road Trip" summer reading program! This major event has kept the staff extremely busy. Tales, seen on the left in the photo, is the mascot for HCPL. You may have to squint!

7 & 1/2 Habits

Hmmm. Probably the hardest habit for me is Habit #5: developing a path to the goal. I thought the tips in the audio tutorial were quite helpful. The easiest habit for me is probably Habit 7 & 1/2: PLAY! This has been a goal of mine for the past several years and I'm finding it easier to step outside the box and explore.

Better Late Than Never!

It's mid- no late July and I'm just beginning "23 things"! The word I'm hearing around HCPL is that the entire Learning 2.0 process is worth the effort. I'm eager but feeling a bit nervous about being behind. But no matter. Summer seems a great time for an adventure, so here goes.