Reflections on Web 2.0 Training

Many thanks to the remarkable Web 2.0 team for all the time and effort spent opening these many doors to features of the Web I was not familiar with.



The areas of the training I will be using again (and again) include Pandora (so many playlists - so little time), Flickr (finally I'll be able to organize and share my photos), Hulu and Fancast (to catch up on all those golden oldie shows), and creating a Wiki for my book group (rather than relying on e-mail and spreadsheets alone).



Those areas I'll probably not venture into again include my Avatar (quaint little character that it is), and gaming (too many good books lying around to read), and blogging - however, they were all worth learning about and creating.



I have shared many of these with Sno-Isle patrons - and with family and friends.



Thank you again - and any time there is another similar opportunity for training - count me in. A very worthwhile experience.

Gaming

I tried out Yahoo!Games for a quick 5 minute game or two. The first time I played the colored brick game I got to level 3 - the second time to level 12. After ten minutes my wrist was getting quite tired and I was ready to stop playing. For me games are a way to kill some time and to relieve a little stress, but I rarely play them. However, I recognize the importance to young children and teens (and to some adults), and am always looking for new sites to recommend.

Mapping

I have used Google Earth for quite a while and am always amazed at the new features it continually adds. I enjoy the ability to "fly" anywhere in the world to "visit" and explore. A recent addition includes the Wikipedia feature - detailing the area you input (census info., etc.). also, the ability to look at actual photographs of the area that others have added. Street view is an especially fun feature - giving a birds-eye view (including people on the street) of the area.

Avatar

This was a fun exercise - however, I don't believe I'll ever be using my avatar (except to amuse my children in an e-mail). I wasn't born in the gaming generation (I did play pacman a time or two - but that's about it). Here she is..

Online Tools Zoho and Google Docs

This was an especially informative session for me. I was not aware of these particular tools and will be using them frequently from now on. Both were extremely easy/self-explanatory to use. Since I am working at several branches and on different computers, using these applications will make it easy to retrieve documents I'm working on from any computer. The ability for instant collaboration and to chat with others on a document is a great feature. Tagging to mark the document will help in retrieval. Great exercise...

Search Engines

I have completed the search engine assignment (though actually a librarian will never be "finished" with exploring the variety of internet search engines out there and comparing what works/doesn't with each one. I have a list of them that I keep and when times are a bit slow at the reference desk will try them out. Great fun!

Podcasts

Three library related podcasts I listened to, after searching Podcast Alley for library sites, were the Salt Lake County Library System, Library Channel (Arizona State Univ. Library), and LibVib (national library newscast). I discovered that there were many interesting casts - author talks, storytimes in foreign languages, and the latest in news information regarding the library world.
This could be a very useful tool for Sno-Isle to incorporate into the System (I especially enjoyed the author talks).
There seems to be no shortage of topics for patrons in almost any area. I did find some very good ESL podcasts that would be of signifigant interest to many patrons. Also, several podcasts in science and history that could work for school assignments.
For myself personally, I will probably stay with just my I-Tunes downloads for music

Online Image Generators

I checked out several of these image generator sites. Imported a picture of my daughter and put her on the cover of a magazine. I don't know that I'll use these sites often - but they are certainly worth knowing about - especially when helping out patrons looking to customize their work. I will tag some of these and add them to my del.icio.us account for ready reference.

Overdrive

This is the first time I've spent any significant amount of time browsing the Overdrive collection. The software was quick and easy to download to my home computer, check out was also easy - though not as quick as I had initially thought it would be. I looked up two of my favorite "Jane" authors, Hamilton and Smiley, and found neither in the collection. So, I went to another Jane favorite, Austen, and found several of hers available for checkout (though, the one I originally searched for, "Pride and Prejudice" - had two patron hold (a good sign the collection is being used). Once checked out - it was a simple process to actually access the audio and listen. I will try downloading a book to my I-Pod when that becomes available (am looking forward to it!).

del.icio.us

I have completed reviewing the segment on social bookmarking - focusing exclusively on the del.icio.us website. I found it to be especially relevant for my position as a substitute librarian since I work at 5 different branches. I will now be able to "take" with me a listing of all my favorite websites - readily accessible at any branch or computer I happen to be on. The link to my account is: http://del.icio.us/dlschadt.com.
When comparing a search on google for the tags historical fiction and then on del.icio.us, I found that the top sites on both were the same. I imagine that people do google searches in order to find websites of relevance and then tagging them to del.icio.us. It was interesting to note that the fourth listing in del.icio.us in a historical fiction search listed a Science Fiction and Fantasy site.
This will be an important site for patrons relying on library computers to be able to save their favorite sites, and also for networking for the library world (I can search other library system sites for favorite book lists, etc..).

Wikis

This was an interesting "behind the scenes" look at Wikis. I had never really checked into how one would go about editing, or adding onto the page. I especially enjoyed looking at the library related sites and how they are used for individual systems. Wiki's would be a terrific tool to use for formulating, updating and maintaining book lists, organizing functions, and keeping other branches informed about what's happening in your particular realm.

U-Tube, Hulu and Fancast

I searched for a variety of videos on U-Tube and was able to retrieve video for each and every search. My daughter just performed for Washington State Solo and Ensemble this past weekend and I found a video clip of her songs (see site in my blog post of "My Daughter Singing"). It will be easy to send off this video to all of our family and friends.
Hulu and Fancast seem to be fun sites to explore if one has the extra time. I rarely watch television, but if I was waiting at the airport I may use this site to help pass the time.
Libraries could certainly use these sites in programming - especially with teens. Very useful to know about - something new for me.

My Daughter Singing

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8qhGnDDE5V0

My

Facebook

Okay - I've officially signed up for a facebook account and have asked my two kids to be my friends. I'll see if they respond in a positive fashion (though, they probably want privacy with their page and will reject me). It took a fair amount of time to figure out how to set up an account, but once there it seemed to be an easy enough format to enter information and find potential "friends". I can see where people who like to find others with similar interests would gravitate towards this format. Also helpful to locate long lost people and start communicating again. Not something I'll spend much time on.

Flikr

I enjoy researching my family roots and took a trip to Nova Scotia a year ago to see where some of my ancestors emigrated from. A great-g-g-g-g grandfather founded a town named New Glasgow, he was sent there by his church in the Highlands of Scotland to start a Presbyterian Church in the wilds of Nova Scotia (circa 1783). I checked out Flikr to see if there were any photos of the town, and found several - one of particular interest which was of the original church he started (I have a similar one in my photo album). Nice to know someone else out there found it of interest.

Music Streaming

Finally - something new to demonstrate to my daughter on the computer. What a fun feature of the Internet... I'm having a great time setting up music playlists and then working on the computer while listening to "my" music.. Thank you for putting this on Web 2.0. My account is with Pandora - easy to use...

RSS

I have completed the basics of the segment on RSS. It will take some more "at home" time with it before I will feel completely comfortable..but a good start overall.

I tend to look at major news sites several times a day for updates on breaking news..so with the RSS feed this should help to eliminate that. Also, it will help to keep me up to date on the latest from the greater library world on news of note in that area, and also on the latest, greatest, books in publication - without having to go time and again to the publication websites..

Instant Messaging

My daughter and I just spent "quality time" IM'ing each other at opposite ends of the table. She is a pro and helped me quite a bit (I'm sure she helped cut my time with this segment by half (at least)). I haven't used IM before - so it was a new experience for me. I was surprised by how fast and easy it is - and can understand how it could be an addictive form of communication for young people (much like the telephone was when I was a teenager). My son, who lives in Myrtle Beach, has a g-mail account and I can see how this would be a useful means of communication for he and I. I will be exploring this a bit more....

Step 2 of 2.0

I have successfully zoomed through Step 2 of 2.0 series, but am having a bit of a hold-up on Step 3. Will get there eventually .... Deb

First Entry

I am amazed at how easy this is, though I did have a bit of help from my daughter - the family computer expert.. I am looking forward to learning all 2.0 has to offer...