The End

I really have no suggestions for new things to look at since I don't get out and explore the web much. As stated before, I have appreciated the opportunity to learn some new things. Thank you for making it possible.

#26 - Reflections

Overall, I have enjoyed the learning offered through this process. I often wish to sit down and learn more about what's available online but my 'spare' time at home is so limited I usually don't take the time. I greatly appreciate having been allowed work time to increase my knowledge. Some of it has been frustrating because things didn't exactly flow like it was layed out in the instructions, or my time was limited and/or interruptions kept me from really grasping or exploring an item as fully as I would have liked, or there was just simply not enough time to play with an item either at work or home. But, despite the times of frustration I was able to work through each item and that gave me a sense of accomplishment. Also when I was struggling with something it was a great opportunity to consult with my co-workers to help figure it out. I work with some pretty wonderful people so that made the process more fun. If I had been just doing this on my own at home I may not have struggled on through. My favorite items were; flickr because that was just colorful fun and games; bloglines, which I have incorporated into my daily life; and googlelabs was great because it opened up my eyes to the huge techno world more than any of the other items. I was amazed. I would love to have more opportunities to learn in this fashion and, if I had to do it all over again I would do it. I'm a little sorry to see it all end. It was like an adventure to look forward to each week. I could see doing a lesson every two weeks or take a month to really explore and use an item for an entire month. I feel like I've forgotten some of the things we've done since it was just an overview. Using an item on a regular basis for a little longer would help me to really learn it and recognize if it was of value for me (or KCLS) or not. One more time - thanks for the great opportunity to see the world online.

Overdrive

I found many titles I want to listen to so now I have to try to be patient and wait for my MP3 player. I mostly listen to books so I will be happy to have another method to feed my listening addiction.

youtube

Here's a lovely scene from YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6GxGf7kEw0 It was interesting to explore. It seemed there was a lot of stuff to wade through to find things that interested me. I searched by category and that helps narrow it down. It was kind of fun but not a place I would spend much of my extra time.

Web 2.0

WOW! It's an amazing technology world! I started with Web 2.0 Awards and began just scrolling the list of categories and picking some top rated items that looked interesting. I picked things that we've been touching upon in our 27Things process. The 'social tagging' site, http://www.stumbleupon.com looked like it would be worth digging into. I also enjoyed the look of the 'start pages' site called, http://www.pageflakes.com. It was easy to look at and work with. I will probably replace my Google start page with this. The last thing in the Award list that I will look into further is the 'bookmark' site, http://www.blummy.com. Within Webware I took the same approach and just began scanning the list. I really liked the 'calendar' site, http://www.30boxes.com and will put it into use at home. Perhaps it is something that each branch could use for events. (Maybe we already have something like that and I just don't know!) I enjoyed the searching and would love more hours of play time to set things up and get more comfortable using them but it's back to work for now!

Google labs

Verrrrry interesting but mostly not too useful. I wasn't sure how I would really use the 'trends' item in my reality but certainly a different way to look at information. The 'Google Reader' I added to my 'personalized home page' so I'll see how that works. I've been using the Bloglines so I will transfer some of the url's over and see how it works. I like the idea of having it all on one page rather than a seperate site to go to. I also mapped a trip on the 'trip planner' and it worked pretty well. That could be useful.

zoho blog

Zoho. I wonder where that name came from. This buttons are different than the familiar google buttons but still seem very user friendly. The computer world has become very standard about certain things. This is so much different (and better) than when I used a machine that could do nothing BUT word processing. (Does that date me?) I will have to look at each of these document processors more thoroughly to see which I would like to use on a regular basis. I do like the color options in zoho.

google docs

Google will rule the world one day (along with Microsoft) but they are allowing us to work and play (?) technically no matter where we are in the world. It is rather fun at times and really is a good idea. I've frequently been at a different computer and wanted something I had stored on my home computer. These document options certainly elimate that frustration.

Library 2.0

Lots of reading and I think I only fell asleep once or twice during the session. It seemed like the articles each said similar things. It is true that the world is more techno and is rapidly engulfing every aspect of our lives. It's tough to keep up if you're not using it regularly. I agree that the library structure needs to change to accommodate technology so that people can still find the library a useful service. Perhaps it will come full circle to the point of Library 4.0 where it is techno free and full of books, time for reading with no hum of perpetual computer noise. Will people be able to focus without all the distractions??

Rollyo vs Google

I liked Google better. The results on my library search were more to the point. The Rollyo site included links for their sponsers which had nothing to do with what I was searching for. Also the Google search was in a familiar, easy to read format. I'm not sure if it is really something I would use for personal use or not but I'll keep it in the back of my mind and it may find a purpose in my life.

Beach Bum Blogger

I did it!!!

wiki wiki

My wiki link is done. It didn't seem to follow the instructions layed out on the screen but it worked. I guess that's what's important. As I've said in many of my blogs, it's been great getting a taste of all these things but I need more hours in the day to sit and really put them to use. I already spend many hours in front of my computer but it isn't as much fun as some of these things might be.

wiki wisdon

Well... wiki's, like many other computer items, are only as good as the information input but they seem like a useful tool. It seems like an efficient way to get information here at KCLS out to specific groups of people and to share knowledge among those people. I can see how LTA's can use it to learn from each other.

Library Thing

I've been keeping a list of books I've read for a number of years. I keep it on excel but may have to begin using Library Thing. I really love having a picture of the book and ready access to information about the book. I have trouble remembering some books as the years go by so it would be a good reference. I'll certainly explore that more. There's more exploring I'll do but it seems the rest will need to be on my own time since time is limited at work. Again, I'm happy to have been given a chance to explore this.

Blah, Blah, Blaaaaahging

"I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. " An English Professor, Ohio University That's how I feel about my blogs. Most of them have been such gibberish and so blase that they put ME to sleep. Maybe I can find some creative flow in my brain to write 'blogs' rather than 'blaaaaahgs'. blah

del.icio.us looks delicious!

I am excited about putting this to use in my personal life. But you really want me to talk about what I think about it in relation to the library world. At first glance it seems like it could be useful in many business fields as well as the library. The idea of being able to pull information from what other people have researched could save time. In a reference situation since there are probably many 'usual' questions, seasonal homework help, tax searches, etc, that tagging could make it easy to organize and find things. It really seems swell but now my time is up and I'm done for another day.

myspace

Well, I have an account and my daughter has agreed to be my friend. I don't really see myself using myspace but at least I know a little about it now. http://www.myspace.com/170760048

Social Networking sites

Hmmmm... I read the blogs a week ago and then didn't have time to write about my thoughts then so the words are faint in my brain. However, even after reading the pros for having Myspace in libraries, I'm a little skeptical. I think the majority of the teens coming in to use my space are not interested in the libraries site, just chatting with their friends.

RSS round 2

I added a few more things to my bloblines account based on topic number 8. Now I just need to find time to read some of the feeds that I'll get, right? It is pretty easy to copy and paste urls. It has been mostly fun learning these tidbits of things.

RSS

It took a week to figure it out (and find the time) but I think I got it and it's settling into my brain. RSS seems useful if you have a number of web sites that are frequently putting out new information. I really don't use the web that much so I'm not sure if it will be useful or not. I'm happy to at least know it's available and may find more uses for it now that I have a familiarity with it.

Fancy flickr fun

It's a whole new world I'm discovering. No wonder people spend hours and hours and hours in front of their computers! I really enjoyed flickr color pickr and the flickr soduku. I've gotten a bit addicted to sudoku lately so it was a great twist from the numbers. It was fun to play with my name in the flickr speller too.

Aloha

So many beautiful photos on flickr but this is where I want to be!

Beginning to blog

The only thing I've known about blogging up to now is where the term came from. The process was set up as a 'web log' and morphed into 'blog'. Pretty cool, huh? I will be curious to see what else I learn about blogging as I begin to use it. Thanks for getting me started.