Week #10 Assignment #23 - "Wrap-Up"

Refecting on my learning journey....
Wow! I've made it through the program. I'll have to admit there were times when I was very tempted to quit not because I didn't find it interesting but, because I felt I did not have the time to "mess with it" right then. It was quite a learning experience which was for the most part enjoyable & interesting. It is mind-boggling to me what options and programs are available! It mentions to list our favorite discoveries but for me the overall experience in just learning this was a complete discovery. Since this program began, I have (with my daughter's help) visited a personal blog of her sister-in-law's family and it was wonderful! What a great way to keep in touch with other family members who live away. Now just that whole idea appeals to me. I guess this would be my unexpected outcome that surprised me..just the fact that I was so impressed by this and liked it so well. On the "flip-side" of this is that it just reinforces the fact that there is so much to learn and keep up with because there are always more options being developed and available and that is overwhelming to me. I'm glad I stuck this out. I probably could win the prize for the MOST BORING blog, but oh well, I did it. Congratulations to everyone else who also completed the program. The blogs I visited were so great and very creative! Now if I could just take the time to revisit a lot of these sites before I forget the little bit I learned. Wish me luck!!

Week #10 Assignment

MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK--You know I've heard so much about each of these but never wanted to take the time to investigate them. This exercise gave me the chance to do that. It was interesting to me. I'll have to admit though, it bothers me a little that so much personal information is posted on these sites. I know that there are features to make these secure and only available to those you choose but I can't say that I actually trust that. If I could get beyond these concerns, I would feel better about it. It is a great way to keep and make new friends and to stay in touch with them and to keep up with what is going on in their life. I don't know if I will ever be able to say that I prefer social networking to face to face conversations, but with the pace of our lives it gets harder and harder to find time for face to face visits. As far as this being applied to libraries, I'm not so sure that this would be all that helpful. Some of the other features we've explored in this class I think would benefit us more.

Week#9 cont.

PODCASTS - I did check out all 3 directories but to be honest with you I found this exercise not very interesting. I'm sure I don't understand it enough to see the potential for use but I'm sure there are others who would greatly disagree with me. I just need to take more time and investigate it further.

Week #9 Assignment

I had to ask for help in posting this video to my blog but it ended up being a lot easier than anticipated. I chose this video because two summers ago while at Virginia Beach my daughter and I went parasailing. We loved it!! Of course, the beach is my favorite vacation spot and what a view you have while parasailing. We chose to sail at the next to the highest level you could go. It was such a smooth ride. What a great experience!!

Week #8 Assignment cont.

Wow...I liked this assignment...Discovering Web 2.0 tools. I went to several sites and I liked all the ones I went to. I especially liked the photo and the music sites. I think the music site was my favorite. I clicked on Pandora and enjoyed typing in my favorite song/artist and creating a listening radio station with my type of music. Actually, I typed in several different types of music. Now this is something I could see myself getting a lot of enjoyment out of. I'm sure there would be many sites that would be useful in library settings.

Week #8 Assignment

I read over the assignment and instructions but did not actually create any spreadsheet etc. While reading and looking over the Google calendar, I think that could be very helpful and would help keep my life organized! I just need to take the time to set this up and organize myself; and the "catch" is to KEEP it updated.

Week # 7 cont.

Adding my blog to the Favorites page was a little confusing to me. Actually Lorraine walked me through it! Without her help, I would have been completely lost!

Week #7 Assignments

Wiki....found interesting the Book Lovers wiki. After reading some of the reviews, I have found some more books I would like to read. For ex: Abide With Me and The Girls.

In libraries, a site for your own individual department. Keep it limited to those who are only members of your department as far as having access to edit/create information, but open it up to all library staff for reference. This way everyone within your department could contribute information that would be helpful to all persons involved.

Library 2.0...What it means to me...What stood out for me in reading these 5 perspectives is accepting the fact that the time has come where we need to focus on finding new ways to bring services TO patrons rather than them coming to us. In other words, it has become the library's responsibility to find ways to provide their services mainly through the Web. Convenience of access is what's going to win. Patrons are beginning to physically take the easier, most accessable way to find information and that seems to be sitting at a computer, clicking buttons to get the info they need. As one of the articles stated, we as a library, must humble ourselves and accept that this is the way technology has advanced us. I can't say that I agree with this but it is happening and will continue to happen.

Technorati....Wow, my 1st search came up w/ 4,020 items. I then did the "Tag Search" and seen a familiar face.."Hi, Jan" and listened to her video. She encouraged me to continue on and have "fun" with this blogging.

The "blog directory search" I liked. I liked the "categorized" list of blogs and I especially liked the most popular page(favorites). It never ceases to amaze me the amount of information you can find at these different sites. Very interesting...

Week #6 Assignments

Tagging/Del.icio.us.....more terms to become familiar with! Personally, at this point, I don't search the web a lot so it wouldn't be worth it for me to try to figure out how to set all of this up. However, it is a really "neat" idea and I can see where it could be a great asset for both research and personal use. It was of interest to me when it suggested to use this system for wishlists, vacation idea/plans, and cookbook and that it could be accessed from anywhere. Just maybe, this "blogging class" will get me more interested in using the computer/web after all. We'll see...

Cont. of Week #5 assignments

With the Rollyo assignment, I again have learned more about what is "out there" and available for use. I think this would be a great asset for those who refer to the same websites frequently. I clicked on each one of the search rolls they listed and I can see where it would save a lot of time and it is a great way to organize them(websites) into similiar categories. Even though I do not use the internet much for personal use (only have dial-up!) I can see where it would be beneficial for both work and personal use.

LibraryThing is very interesting to me. I like to read and I read all different types of books. Another good resource and a way to communicate with others who like to read the same types of books. A good way to recommend titles to each other.

Here is the link to my personal catalog.

Week # 5 Assignments

Here is my store front design. I enjoyed "The Generator" blog to browze around in much better than the other two listed on our assignment page. Doesn't this store front look "cute". It looks like somewhere I would like to go to...how about you?

Here is the url for the website I used.

Week #4 Assignments

Well, I'm continuing to learn new and different things with this assignment. I found some very interesting websites and had no problem with finding enough to list on my bloglines. This assignment was more confusing to me but with help from my co-workers, we got our heads together and hopefully have done it correctly. We kept wanting or feeling that we needed to somehow transfers our bloglines to our "blogs". In addition to doing my assignments, I have also learned a lot about what all is "out there" and the different options you have to make your life easier with searching the web.

Looking over the different sites for finding feeds was interesting as well. They basically were about the same but its nice to know there are different options out there.

Week # 3 Assignments (cont.)

As part of my #3 assignment, we were to comment about technology. Technology is something I don't understand. I am intimidated by it!! Once I start doing assignments like this, I have to admit they are fun but it certainly isn't something I could do all day. I get tired of working on the computer. I realize that to "keep up in the world" I have to start caring more about LEARNING technology. I guess this goes back to the term "life-long" learning. It certainly will be for me a process of continuing to learn for the rest of my life.

Week # 3 Assignment

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=chocolate+candy+quilt&m=text

I have found some pictures of a quilt pattern called Chocolate Candy Quilts. I love quilts but do not have a lot of knowledge about them. I am slowly learning. This is a pattern I have never heard of and after looking at the images on the above link, I am wondering where the name comes from. I assume that it may be the brown-colored fabric used under the flowers but I also notice that the flowers are all similar in design. Does anyone else have any information about this? I'm wondering if the name is derived from the flower pattern or the background fabric.

Week # 1 & # 2 Assignments-- 6.26.07

The easiest habit for me would be to play. I just need to find (or take) the time to do this. The hardest habit for me is feeling confident that I can do this. I do not have the computer skills/knowledge that most people do. I feel very intimidated by the computer.

Learning to Create Blog

This is all very new to me. We'll see how this goes!!!