Week 9, exercise 23

Favorite discoveries = Web 2.0 Awards, Just the Winners – I could spend weeks sampling the winners in the various categories.

Lifelong Learning Goals = This was really helpful because I thought that I would have to seek out my own training–which I often do, but it is nice to see our library system embracing the vision of 2.0 wholeheartedly and at all levels. (I once worked for a supervisor who would not authorize a training session in the use of internet and email–back when it was all text-based–saying that “only librarians would ever need to use the Internet”).  Having a deadline for completion was crucial!

Unexpected outcomes = I guess I wasn’t as far behind the learning curve as I had supposed. I just need to make a commitment to use what I have learned and remember to keep exploring.  Oh, and I got a great deal on a flight for my vacation!

Improve? = It covered an awful lot of information for some people. Perhaps you could have levels of achievement so that we wouldn’t feel like failures if we couldn’t complete the entire thing in the allotted time. Also, we found that many of the computers at work did not have plug-ins or Flash players that were needed to view things, or that they simply crashed. So, of necessity, I did a lot of exploring from home.

I would appreciate more learning opportunities like this–thank you!

Week 9, exercise 22

I have used NetLibrary a lot! Many times over the years, the only way I could access a book I needed for a library school class was through NetLibrary. I found a title new to me: 100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. It isn’t as comprehensive as Something About the Author, but it does have the people that kids ask for most.

I have tried to download various books to my MP3 player, but I haven’t had much luck. I think I will have to buy a different one from the list of compatible devices.

Week 9, exercise 21

The search on www.podcastalley.com resulted in the most useful results. I subscribed to the feed for Kankakee Public Library. They have a series of podcasts like ”Biblio Tech” (Public School-Public Library Cooperation) and library guests (including Arlo Guthrie). The only problem is that trying to play them crashes my work computer repeatedly, so I will have to view them at home.

Week 9, exercise 20

I have used a little “Flip Video” to take videos and post them to YouTube. It was reaaaallly easyto do, especially with a laptop, but I must say that the quality suffers horribly in the translation. I like the fact that other people can rate the video and write comments. Here is one I took at the All Star Fan Fest when Cal Ripkin took a cell phone call in the middle of giving an autograph! A comment from someone else who was there confirmed our reaction!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BrOC2pqkK8

Week 9, exercise 19

I used www.faretracker.com and signed up for email alerts for flights from Oakland to Tampa. I also checked “compare airfares” under Flexible Travel and found out that I could save $$$ by taking the redeye right after leaving work on a Thursday instead of waiting until the next morning–and I get a whole extra day of sunshine and baseball that way! Rumor has it that the Tampa Bay Rays might be interested in Barry Bonds. And maybe I will get to see Roger Clemens with the Houston Astros in Kississimee! Can you tell that I am ready for a vacation?

Week 8, exercise 18

I have used “Google Docs” for years (back when it was called www.writely.com) to keep track of my storytime outlines. That way I could work on them whenever and wherever the inspiration hit–at my desk, on the reference desk, at home. Yet I was surprised what nice features zoho had–tables, bulleted lists (that work correctly!) and the other applications might be useful too.

Week 7, exercise 17

This was fun to explore! I added a comment to Favorite Vacation Spots with the blog I startedin 2005 to chronicle our Spring Training Baseball travels at http://baseballroadtrips.blogspot.com/

Week 7, exercise 16

A wiki called the CSV Staff Wiki could be the central location for information of interest to both regular and Sunday staff. It could include the daily meeting notes, graded book lists, volunteer and Kid Power schedules,  desk schedules, meeting room schedules, performer information, Friends contact information. It could be a place to keep track of progress on the new building and what weeding has been accomplished. The best use would be a compilation of websites for frequently-asked reference questions.

Week 6, exercise 15

Of the perspectives that I read, the one that was most thought-provoking was “To a temporary place and time” with its idea that “People will collect librarians”! It was also interesting to see what comes after 2.0….

Week 6, exercise 14

Well, the first thing I discovered is that my computer need an update to Real Player before I can view the Technorati Tour. My results for each of the searches in the categories were very different–and the number of results was greatest for “Blog posts” (makes sense), and the least for “Tags”.

I was surprised that I had never heard of “the most popular blog in the world”–Boing, Boing, that American Idol is still in the top ten, and that the movie Juno was being so well received!