Thing 24

I found this to be the hardest thing to do because many of the sites are blocked at work and that is where I have the time to work on Learning 2.0. Because of this I saved this thing for last. I thought that Podcast.net was easy to search and there were a lot of library related podcasts to choose from. I added the Sunnyvale Public Library Podcast to my Bloglines.
I also looked at the Yahoo one and found that this might be better for more commercial uses or for fun rather than as a search tool for work related podcasts. There were some NRP podcasts found within searches but a lot of what they had was music and songs you could download.

My Final Blog :(

I will start by saying that yes, if another program like this was offered again I would participate. There are a few reasons for this. First, it helps me maintain a life long learning mindset without having to take the time to discover what I should learn before learning it. Who has the time to learn what they need to learn right :)? Also, there was enough time allotted to the program that I didn’t feel like I couldn’t finish it. When I had a busy week I was able to wait and catch up later. That was a wise planning decision. I do have to say that I would be more likely to participate if a lot of people were doing it (if they all jumped off a bridge would I?) because it was nice to have something to discuss…and lets all admit it, complain about sometimes. This builds a feeling of connectedness within the staff, and I like that.
Now to the other questions. First, the most unexpected thing I discovered was how easy some of the tasks really were. I would look at something online and feel like I couldn’t do it, only to find that it was very user friendly. As for what I would change about the program…well there are two main changes I would suggest. First, it would be easier if every task was accessible through the work computers. Many of us are multitasking and trying to complete this program during quiet shifts on the desk. The inability to quickly access information from a work computer made some tasks very hard to complete, and not because the task itself was hard. Also, when I saw a site that was blocked it made me question the relevance of the site to the program and how it could be implemented into the library environment if it was banned to begin with. The second change I would make would be opening all of the activities in the beginning of the program. It would be nice to have the chance to work ahead when the time was available as opposed to falling behind when a extra busy work week came up. But I can also see how doing it week by week kept people organized, so I don't really know if my suggestion is relevant. All in all I found this to be a very easy to follow and enjoyable program! Nice work with the email updates and clarifications. I think that Learning 2.0 was a success and I learned a lot.

The Experiance

My favorite parts of learning 2.0 were learning about the tools that I knew existed but refused to learn on my own. Sometimes when I am unfamiliar with a technology or website I have a negative view of it for no reason. Learning 2.0 taught me that I actually like some of the websites I thought I hated. For example, I really enjoyed searching around on YouTube but I had never taken the time to do it on my own. My other favorite exercises were Library Thing and Flickr because they were very interactive. This program has helped me with my life long learning goals in that it was a continuation of what I learned last year while working on my MLS. It is amazing how quickly technology changes and this project has showed me that what I learned in school can be implemented in a real library setting. It also taught me that I need to continue keeping up to date with technology in the future because it is to easy to get left behind.

Rollyo

I liked Rollyo because it allowed for a much cleaner search. For example I did a search for purses using Debra Messing’s Online Shopping search and found strong and relevant websites. I made my own list of websites that I shop (or pretend shop) on often to see how the site works from the creative side. After doing this I was a little confused. I couldn’t find a way to do a Rollyo search from my list of websites without going into the dashboard function. Is there a more direct way to access what I have designed? After finding my Rollyo search function I found that it worked alright but would probably prove more effective for news type searches as opposed to shopping.

I can see Rollyo being used in the library setting in a variety of ways. A library could compile, for example, a list of websites that are acceptable for a younger population allowing for a safer internet search environment. This would be more useful in school library media centers. Also, a library could build their own reference resource with the best of the best, or most often used resources. This would allow customers to search the web and know they are accessing materials that come recommended by professionals who are familiar with reference resources.

Library Thing

I love lists, so this website has been one of my favorites to play around on. I started using it back in November and have added about 30 books to my library. If you want you can go see my library at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/kcerqua. I feel that this website is something that could be used for readers advisory. Really it is a giant worldwide reader’s advisory tool in that you can see what books are recommended by people with similar interests and taste in literature. On the other hand some of the recommendations made seem haphazard and I haven’t actually read anything suggested yet. This is where the weaknesses of a computer generated program come in when compared to human interaction. But, I also feel that if you have the time to search around through other’s libraries you can find books that you have never heard of, old favorites you have forgotten, and new titles to explore. Overall I find this site to be simple and enjoyable.

Image Generators

I played with FD Toys and Tag Makers, which I found on my own. The link for tag makers is http://www.tagsmaker.com/ . I really liked how FD Toys had so many options for manipulating your own photographs to look like the work of famous artists. I played with the Andy Warhol one and ended up saving an image I made with the Hockneyizer. This is the image above, made from a photo of my dog Sancho.

The tag maker wasn’t as well designed. What it does is overlays text of your choice onto an image. I put one of my favorite poems over a photo of the beach. This image generator did allow you to choose from a variety of fonts and colors which was nice. But all of the options maintained a pop culture feel and limited the look of what you could create.

Library Podcasts

I explored the Denver Library and Seridan Library Podcasts. Both had parts that worked well and things I thought could be done better using a different approach. The Denver Library focused many of their podcasts towards children. They had recordings of books being read aloud, rhymes and songs. The strength of this is that these podcasts can be downloaded onto an MP3 player or CD. On the other hand I feel that Tumblebooks does this better allowing the user to have visuals of the story as well as more variety. This library also had podcast interviews geared towards an older crowd. I thought that these were good and would be of interest to anyone interested in this band.

The Sheridan Libraries at John Hopkins used podcasts in a way that would not work in a public library setting in my opinion. They had recordings discussing the layout of the library and how the librarians can help you. They also had podcasts explaining resources offered by the library and how to use them. I don’t think, based on listening to these, that anyone would choose to listen to them on their own. They definitely sound like something that would be used as a class assignment. On the other hand a public library could shorten a description of a resource and make it more concise. We could then direct customers to these for a quick “how to” option.