#23 (week 9)

When I started I never thought I would get this far. It has been a excellent learning curve for me. As you can see from my record, I started very late because I was away. Intianally I though I would just some of the exercises but once I started, I got hooked. Not doing the them in order was not a very good idea. I am glad we will still have access to the training after Dec 17 because I would like to go over some of the things again.
Some of the ' things' would have been much easier to do with a tutor I thought. Then it would not taken me so long.
I had to spend a lot of my time after hours doing it. Time in lieu would be a very good incentive provide one did finish the course. In smaller libraries staff who did not have a computer at home were disadvantaged.
I will put into pratice some of the things I have learned.
Having said all this the saying "use it or loose it" is very true. I hope staff get time to train so we can practise what we have learnt.

#19 Web 2.0 awards

SpringWidgets look interesting but not very user friendly. I find FAQ are a easy way learning about a site. Like most of the sites you need to register.Writeboard - is "fast and free" . The two thing that appeal to me were the tour of the site clear and easy to follow. Just three steps to register. Writeboard could be used on the library website for customers to leave comments.
All the site have different layout, look. I am sure all have some neat features. Using as many as we can and I am sure experience will tell us which is the best.

#7 (Week 3). technology

Flat screens have brighter and sharp pictures .It looks better , takes up less space and look smarter.

I enjoy using my digital camera because it is much easier to use. You can take multiple shots of the same thing and then choose the best on.All the other options like cropping, red eye removal, are fun to use.The size is small enough to be carried in the purse. The only thing I did not like to much was the price.

One of the things I would like is GPS. It is useful tool for navigating roads especially in a new city.At the moment GPS are rather expensive for my budget but hopefully the prices will come down in the near future.

#13 delicious

This is a website I would be interested in. The website allows access to the same bookmarks from any computor. Using del.icio.us as your own cookbook is a excellant idea.
The movie reveiws are good.
I did register but I cannot remember my password so I got stuck. When I am less tired I know it will come back to me.
Like all the other sites, you get a better idea of the site after use.

#22 (Week 9). ebooks

ebooks are not my cup of tea. They could be useful if you wanted to read a preview of the item. However, ebooks would be very handy for students. The disadvantage with the ACL website is that ebooks are not prominent. On the screen where the customers can see if the book is available or not, they should be a link to say the item is available in the ebook format.
Listening to preview of the audio books is a good option, however downloading a whole audio book sounds like very hard work. I am not sure how the copyright laws apply to this.The only title I may be tempted to read is Aesop Fables.
On the left hand side of the screen has a link for dictionary which I thought was neat. I looked up phishing and podcast. It came up with the result - not found.

#21 (Week 9). Podcasts

The main advantage of podcasting is that you do not have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access podcats. All you need is internet access.Podcasts would be an advantage on the library website on the Teach yourself section. Podcasts would also be good for people for whom English is not the first language and good for technology training especially if there is a lot of jargon.
Tried to download iTunes but was not successful. QuickTime is something that looks like something I would be interested in but until I get a faster connection, I will have to put it on hold.Of the three sites, I found Podcastalley.com
the best.(maybe 'cauce I spent more time on it?)
http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs This has very thought provoking comments. Would have liked to finesh listing to it but I had finesh off 'cause the computor was needed.

#15 wk 6 Library 2.0

The possibilities are endless. On paper it sounds very exciting. However a lot thought and planning should go into this before anything is implemented.I also believe not all change is good. The thought of a library without books is scary.(one of the secondary schools I think did try the idea but I am sure it did not work - not enough planning?.) If you remove something, and nothing replaces it is a dangerous situation.
The job description of library assistants has changed. We spend a lot of time doing photo copies for customers, 1 or 2 copies @20c each. This is our reality.Tho other reality is that libraries cannot continue as they have. Libraries are more technology oriented.Even a photocopier that does not accept coins is beyond some people. Where is the middle line. The first step would be training staff.If we know our product, we can market if better.

YouTube

http://www.santabanta.com/rss.asp - I thought this was funny.


YouTube and sited like My Space does provide a whole new world of info and entertainment. This does have a huge appeal for young and talented people especially musicians, filmmakers, singers, stand up comedians.


I can't see myself wanting to share my videos worldwide. Anything I wanted to watch took too long to play. Some of adverts were really funny if understand the culture.It does pay to have a look at the YouTube glossary. The library website could use these videos, on topics like How to search, reserve , books and new arrivals etc. The possibilities are endless.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?- loved this.

Podcasting has the advantage that you do not have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access it.At the moment it is beyond me. Wasted a lot the time trying to download the 'QuickTime' It just took too long.This is something I would be interested in but until I get a faster connection, it has to be on hold. iTunes has the same problem. I think it is too technical.

Zoho Writer

Move over WORD. If this program does everything it promises without too much hassle, I think I am going to be in love with this. If one has used word, using Zoho Writer would be a piece of cake.
Tags which are keywords, should be an advantage to librarians. The fact you can multiple tags for a single document is an advantage. The icons are similar. Sharing documents with others with the option having it ReadOnly or Read/Write is a plus about the program.
However, when I logged in after signing for it, it did take its time to log on.

Wiki

A wiki is something that is created fast. It can be changed by anyone. Anyone can write anything. Wiki can be used for sharing of knowledge and exchanging ideas, it can be a good tool for anyone. My only concern would be how reliable the information would be. The same can be said of the printed word.Just because something is printed,it does not mean that it has to be correct and accurate.Wikis can be very useful for planning events, meetings. Each library can set a wiki with information that is local e.g. local events, services that are offered. Some of the wiki could have been better set out. We have already started using this at the library. But we do not always have access to a computer during working hours. To me this feels more like play time tool. I added my blog to My favourite bolg. It wasn't difficult but I was confused at first.

Rollyo

This is exciting and fun. "custom made search" is designer searching! This would appeal to librarians very much. I am surprised we have not made use of this up to now. "slim and trim customised search engine"sounds like a very desirable option for librarians. Looking forward to using Rollyo. This is my link: http://www.rollyo.com/profile.html

I used my search subject "Alternate Health", found out a useful site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html

However, I didn't have enough time to read all the article, may be another time I'd like to visit the site again.

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wk5 Image generator & LibraryThing

At first glance the instructions on Image generator seemed straight forward. But step no three just would not respond. Situations such as this can drive you up the wall. After some time out, I went on to LibraryThing. This is more like my kind of thing. At the moment I have just joined. After I have used it a number of times, I would be better qualified to make comments on it. So far it is looking promising. It is hard not to get side-tracked into doing other things while on line.

wk6 Technorati

Technorati is a leading search tool for blogs. A excellant tool for people with similar interests or hobbies. The only disadvantage is having to sign up for every thing and remembering the passwords! Having to "claim" your own blogg seems a bit weird. "Web crawler" can retrieve info much faster provided one had fast broadwith.
http://www.librarything.cowidget.php?m/jsthis very American I think. Some of the books I have read are not lisited at all.