Week 9 -- #23 Summarization

I found this experience to be very worthwhile. I had dabbled with Web 2.0 a little bit but was able to get some new information and obtain new sites that I know I will continue to use, particularly Del.icio.us and Bloglines. As with any online type of instruction, it was frustrating at times because you don't have an 'immediate' human at hand to answer your questions but sometimes, especially with this type of content, it's better if you do have to play/experiment/try things because it gets you over the fear of trying things on your own. For instance, I goofed up when trying to gain permission to add the wiki page and consequently, about 10 people from a previous group of Web 2.0 participants got emails saying I wanted access to 'their' wikis. However, they emailed and asked what I needed and I told them I was taking the class and attempting to get authorization for my own page and they were all very nice about it. It's sometimes anxiety producing to push that key on the computer and not know if you're doing the right thing but with an online experience such as this, it's almost a necessity. That helped me with one of the learning goals discussed during the beginning of the class which was looking at problems as something to go 'around' and not something to completely stop me in my tracks. I need to try to continue doing that.
One thing I did notice is that it really helps if the links to which you are to go are checked on a regular basis to make sure they are not dead links, and I think that would help for the next time it is used.
I would definitely take another discovery class such as this because working at my own pace is something that I like to do.

Week 9 -- #22 Audiobooks

This was my first time to access Overdrive or Net Library. I had visited the Gutenberg site before when the hand-held computers came out 6 or 7 years ago and had downloaded several free books (text form) onto one I had then. I was anxious to see how the three sites compared but only could do the intros to the first 2 as I'm not a public librarian. I did go into Gutenberg and download the 'human read' audio version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. What I found was that the human voice still has a distinct 'digital tone' to it.

Week 9 -- #21 Podcasts

When I began this assignment, I went to the directories listed but the only one that was a working link was Podcastalley.com. I found the site to be user friendly but must admit, that a podcast has to be VERY good and engaging or I get bored with them very easily. Some of the ones I listened to didn't stay on very long with me, but that's just a personal preference. I did a search for 'fiction books'. I had 200 results and found one that said "Free Podcast Novel". When I clicked that I wanted to listen to it, I was re-directed to a site that said I had to download a Podcast Aggregator. I clicked on that and did a download, even though I've played podcasts on my computer before and did not need the Aggregator. I found that basically all it did was download a bunch of them at one time and then said I could add them to my collection at "Podshow" (which I don't belong to). To be honest, I was getting a bit frustrated at this point because I couldn't understand why I've been able to play other podcasts with just a simple download or 'listen to' button. I then decided to do a search for other podcasting directories to see if I could find one that didn't not require the downloaded aggregator. Podcastdirectory.com was one of the first ones on a couple search engines so decided to go there. Once again, it was set up by categories but had a search feature. I still had difficulty finding anything that I really felt was what I wanted so I went back to search engines and did searches such as "childrens literature + podcasts" and was able to find some that I liked. I added the RSS feed for a Harry Potter one to my bloglines.

Week 9 -- # 20 You Tube and other Video Sites

I have several favorite videos that people have made me aware of on You Tube, one of which is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1X55b6t-UM which is, of course, about an animal...a VERY intelligent dog. It's a great, short video which I will try to imbed but if it doesn't work, please click on the link and watch it. You Tube has some wonderful videos and some very inappropriate ones so in any setting, it must be closely monitored. For the library/classroom, you might want to check Teacher Tube also. There are some excellent videos in both sites and if used properly, can add much to a lesson, unit of study. As a teacher, I would suggest downloading the video you want to use and utilize it in that way but not setting students out on the site to search. There is way too much inappropriate material for them to do that. The video should be imbedded below this sentence.

Week 8 -- #19 Web 2.0 Award Winners

The list of Web 2.0 Winners was quite extensive so I ended up using the shorter winner's list from which to select the ones I would look at more closely. I chose two: Twitter and docstoc.com but plan looking at some of the other ones to see what they are and what they have to offer. Twitter seems to be the big 'buzz word' lately which is why I wanted to explore it more thoroughly and it was fun to go through. I signed up for my account and they have a neat video clip (one of the ones by LeFever which are so popular) that explains what Twitter is (quick way to keep in touch/follow other people to see what they're creating short snippets about) and how it works and where it works from (such as from phones, computers, etc.) It does incorporate an RSS feed for the people you are following. Basically, it's a running 'diary' or blog with each entry having to be no more than 140 characters and you can choose to 'follow' someone and then when you log in, it will list who you are following and you can see all the recent postings they've had and even respond back to them if you'd like. As far as applications from a library stance, I'm not sure there would be too many except to possibly follow authors who tweet and see what they're doing, working on, where they're speaking, etc. but it is an interesting place and a quick way to post updates on what's happening.
The 2nd winner I visited was doctoc.com which has 3 million public documents that have been uploaded by various people. When you open the site, you get 10 main categories that show up but you can expand that to many more. The opening screen also shows you areas that are of timely interest and a "Lighter Side" which are comedic documents, such as "the 10 Life Lessons fro Star Trek". There is also an area where people who post the documents can put a profile to be seen by users. I did search for MD education and there was only 1 document that appeared, but it did have meta-tags on it so I could have taken those and done further searches. You can upload your own documents and there is an area that has templates for various documents, such as resumes, different types of letters, etc. The subject ares that I found to have the larger amount of documents in them were in Politics and History, Jobs, and Heath and Fitness. I can see where it could be of use for someone looking for a public document under a particular subject area, but they are at the discretion of who wants to post them. They can be downloaded which would be good if someone needed them for a presentation.

Library Thing document

Cozy Mysteries logged on Library Thing

One of the Web 2.0 tools that we explored was Library Thing. I liked the ability to search books by subject/interest area in order to find out what other people liked in that same area.  The one that I found was Cozy Mysteries, which are basically mysteries where the 'sleuth' is an amateur and usually not in the detective business but does something else, such as being a caterer, running a bookstore, owning a bakery, running a coffee house, or a tea shop, etc.  However, it seems as though they have a 'habit' of finding mysteries where they least expect them, and naturally, have to get into the solving of whatever they have stumbled upon.  By reading the postings and reviews by other people, I was able to gain some new authors to explore.  I've listed a couple authors and titles below in order to use the table feature of this word processing program

 

Author	Title
Diane Mott Davidson	Fatally Flaky:  A Novel (Goldy Schulz Culinary Mysteries)
Carolyn G. Hart	Death on Demand (death on Demand Mysteries, No. 1)

Week 8 -- #18 Online Productivity Tools

This exploration into the Online Productivity Tools was very interesting. I was surprised at how easy they were to use and how it was just like using the regular program. I had previously seen Google Docs so decided to go to Soho Writer. I think the hardest part was thinking what to write about! I played with the word processing 'regulars' such as color, size, font, etc. and the inserted a table so that I could work with the formatting, which worked very well. I did use their "publish" option and the document I created is above this blog entry. I thought the publish option was quite user friendly and straight forward.

Week 7 -- #17 Sandbox Wiki

This was really a fun exercise and I didn't expect the LARGE amount of Favorite wikis that had already been posted. People thought of some really original things and someone was even brave enough to say that they didn't care for the Harry Potter series of books! Naturally, I had to go through the favorite cats and dogs but also saw some very unique ones that I want to go back and peruse later. Mine wasn't overly creative or original but the first thing that came to my mind with Favorites (especially during this time of the year when there's so much to do) was my favorite things to do if I happen to get that very scarce commodity called "1 Hour of Free Time". I have also added my blog to the list of Favorite blogs so I think I have this activity done. However, major WARNING!!!!---when I first went in it said on the right hand side that if I wanted to join the workspace, I needed to get permission. Naturally, I figured I had to do that so clicked on it & it must have sent out 6 zillion emails to EVERYONE who had posted on there, asking them if I could have permission to 'their' wiki....oh my gosh, what a mess. I had emails from people all over the place saying that they didn't remember their passwords, why did I want in their wiki, etc. etc. I wrote a 'this is what happened' email to each of them and they were all nice about it but wow, was that an interesting experience (and not one I want to repeat!).

Week 7 -- #16 Wikis

I am part of several educational wikis so was somewhat familiar with them but not in the public library aspect. The thing that, in my opinion, is important is deciding the use of the wiki and making sure that it is developed with that use in mind. For instance, I really liked the Book Lovers wiki because I knew it was going to be various peoples' opinions about books and the opinions could vary quite widely and I couldn't take any of them as being the 'right' one because they are opinions. It was very interesting to see how various people perceived the same book. However, I have seen students go to Wikipedia as an authoritative source and say that it is the absolute truth. Since anyone can alter a wiki, unless the settings prohibit it, it can't be said that Wikipedia is the absolute truth because the last entry could be from someone who doesn't know the subject matter and or has a 'cause' to promote. I can definitely see the "Book Lovers" type of wiki being used within the public library setting, as long as there is someone who monitors the postings. I also think it would be a nice way to announce library events/new books/items of interest but I would have that wiki as one that only the author can edit. It would also be a neat tool to use with people who are collaborating on the same project but live large distances apart so cannot have face to face meetings. I think they are very useful and allow for a great deal of interaction.

Week 6 -- #15 Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

I read several articles which centered on the future of libraries and librarians (media specialists) with regard to technology and the emphasis of Web 2.0 Of those that I read, I could relate more to the one titled "Into a New World of Librarianship" because he dealt with the traits of a librarian who deals with 2.0 Actually, what he stated as good traits for a librarian in the Web 2.0 field apply to being a good librarian/media specialist overall. For instance, he talks about planning for the users. I think we all try to plan for our users' needs by asking what they would like to see, keeping a log of things that are well received, not well received, etc. I particularly liked his point that a good librarian does not buy technology just for the sake of buying it. I've run into people who have 'this' gadget or program just because 'it's there' but don't really have a sound use for it and therefore, it largely goes unused and is a waste of money. Another article I read was "Away from the Icebergs" and while Mr. Anderson made some very good points, I'm not that I can fully agree (maybe it's the 'old' librarian in me) with getting rid of the 'just in case' collection. He talks at length about so much information being in digital form that we really don't 'need' the basic collection that encompasses many subject areas. I still believe that we need a basic, well-rounded collection of print materials. I know, myself, that I don't want to take my laptop or i-Touch with me everywhere I go just so I can read a book in digital form. For me, it's much easier to put a paperback in my purse or suitcase. I lastly read the Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries. this was a fairly comprehensive article dealing with a true definition of Library 2.0 and innumerates some essential elements that Library 2.0 would encompass.

Week 6 -- #14 Technorati

As I've discovered many times when using technology, it's not always dependable and Technorati was giving me a message that the "Technorati Monster" had escaped and they were having problems so I will return later for the assigned searches.

Try 2---I am still having difficulty with the site working properly, particularly on searches. However, I was able to compare the favorite blogs by fans, by authority, and the top search. Several, such as Boing Boing and TechCrunch were listed as top both by fans and authority. The searches were much more specific, and would be expected, were related to things that are 'of interest' today such as tv and movie stars, items from the news, etc. I find the site to be rather difficult to use and don't feel it's very user friendly. I think it would be fine to use with just a general term to find some blogs but am not sure I would use it with students. Also, it has all blogs on it, some of which are undoubtedly not done well or in good taste. This has probably been my least favorite Web 2.0 exploration thus far.

Week 6 -- #13 Del.icio.us

I had actually started my Delicious account before beginning this class as I had attended a session about it at a conference and liked the way I could access my favorites from various computers. However, I learned much more about it through this class. For instance, I didn't realize the meta-tags that I could put on my favorites, or that I could search for subject-area favorites from other Delicious lists that people have made public, or that Favorites can be listed as shared or private within the same account. I went to the PLCMCL2 Delicious account first and found several nice bookmarks, especially pertaining to students and the use of Web 2.0 I then started searching through tags that people have utilized in their accounts and found some that were educationally based, and then, of course, couldn't help myself from looking to see what neat sites had been bookmarked for quilting also. I can see where this would assist students with research in that they could type in the meta-tag to get information specific to their topic but it would also, in my opinion, require quite a bit of pre-planning on the teacher's part so that students do not get into peoples' favorites lists and access inappropriate material.

Week 5 -- Thing #12 Rollyo

Up until this point, I had at least heard the name of each of the 2.0 'things' mentioned but Rollyo was totally new to me. I looked at several search rolls that were listed on the "23 Things" list but the one for photos led me to a dead link. I then went in and explored some of the search rolls that had already been created and thought, at first, that it was going to be much like our county's teachers' bookmarks site...bookmarks.allconet.org but then saw where it went one step further in searching for particular subjects within the websites themselves; whereas the bookmarks site for the teachers just gives the specific link for each one. I created a search roll for some educational sites that I use frequently (NASA, Discovery Science, etc.) with the Math/Science Partnership Grant and saw where it would be very helpful because I am often out of town for meetings with this grant and don't have my own computer with me so could access the sites from whatever computer I was at. I can see where it would be very useful for that purpose. I can also envision possible use of it to teach student web search skills but have them use only the websites you have designated so they do not get into inappropriate material, which is a large concern. By putting only the sites you want them to be able to get into and having them accessing Rollyo, they can learn the basics of searching without being in the entire Internet.

Week 5 -- #11 Library Thing

I have one basic thing to say about "Libraray Thing"....DON'T get into this site unless you want to become totally engrossed for hours at a time! ;-) I absolutely LOVED this site and it's one of those where you start at Point A and find something that leads to Point B which goes to C and so on and so on. For instance, I like to read 'light' mysteries so when I first logged on, I did a search for "Mysteries" which led me to a group for "Crime, Thriller, and Mystery". I decided to explore it and found a group talk titled "Cozy Mysteries" which is exactly what I wanted. This group talk then had various sub-topics in which they had postings. The people who participated in the group talk had some wonderful suggestions of authors and series that I hadn't read and this, in my opinion, was one of the best parts of "Library Thing"... I simply went to the tab for "My Books" and "Add Books" and just typed in the author's name and got the list, double clicked on any in which I was interested and they are now in my list, along with any tags I wanted to put on them. I was then able to print out my list so that I could take it to the library with me instead of wandering the shelves with a Post-It in my hand with the author's name on or worse yet, forgetting the Post-It and trying to remember the author's name. There are many other features in this website that I want to explore but thoroughly enjoyed, and will definitely, be using this one! For anyone who likes to read mysteries that aren't horrendously morbid, bloodly, etc. but are a little more "light" (amateur sleuth who 'stumbles' upon cases), here's my Library Thing listing: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jkeating1

Week 5 -- Thing #10 Online Image Generator

This was a fun activity with the image generators. I used "The Generator Blog" because it had such a wide range of images and ideas to work with. This would be a great website to use with students via an LCD to show them how people change pictures and then post them as the true pictures. Students need to realize that many images they see on the Internet are fabricated by using sites such as these.

I didn't create any avatars as I have done it before, and loved doing it, but wanted to explore some of the other image generators that I hadn't seen before.