Week 10: Summary

It's been said that the "journey should be as important as the destination". Now it's hard to believe the journey is over except maybe its not. Maybe 23 things was just the first challenge. I was really surprised at how much I learned and enjoyed this training. I really got into it originally just because I wanted the training hours and for the bling incentives. But as I continued on each week, I realized what an opportunity this was to explore all the different websites and be introduced to sites that so many web users travel on a daily or weekly basis (not to mention being able to delve into all of this during work hours!) I admit that at times I was more than frustrated trying to do some of the exercises, but fortunately some of my more computer savvy coworkers came to my aid and I got through it. I particularly love Flickr and the image generators. I want to learn more about the photo websites to organize pictures and share them with family. While I don't think I'll be a MySpace participant, I appreciated being able to check it out to see what all the hype is about. Library Elf is reallly cool. My husband loves it and between the Elf and Hcpl reminders, I should never have a late book again. And since I can't remember from one month to the next what books I've read, let alone the authors, I really want to become more proficient in using LibraryThing to catalog some of my books.
So, that being said, I have reached my destination in finishing 23 things, but the journey to reach new learning goals is just beginning.

Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

Right now, I don't have a home computer or ipod or MP3 player, or whatever else one would need to take advantage of this service. Hopefully, next year I will have purchased at least a computer to access the HCPL website or one of the others if this is something I want to persue. Frankly, the HCPL website, I think, can hold its own in comparisons. It is very well designed and easy to use. I perused the Librivox and Wowio sites and thought ours was just as good if not better.

Week 9: #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts

I checked out the Podcast website http://feeds.feedburner.com/yarncraft There were a lot of crafty things to look over. Originally, I tried to click on the most recently added podcast on touring Italy, but nothing would come up. Then I tried to click on how to tell your real age and the computer froze on a blank screen. I opted for a podcast on marriage relationships and lo and behold I actually was able to access that site. But I finally decided to go with crafts since I'm interested in them. Before doing this exercise, I didn't know what a podcast was except I knew about itunes. So, this was informative to me. I also visited the Yahoo!Search website and Podcast Alley, but they didn't look very exciting. I would definitely go back and explore podcast.net when I have more time.

Week 9: #20 Discover youtube and other video sharing sites

This site was really fun to explore. I chose "Nora the piano playing cat" because I thought the video was so cute, and I like cats. I mean, who wouldn't think Nora was adorable? I guess there are lots of people out there sharing their videos with the world. I hear about it all the time on television or read about all of this in magazines. But I never really checked it out myself before. It would probably be a good training tool for libraries or they could use youtube to give virtual tours.

Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps: They're not just for desktops

I signed up with Zoho Writer http://writer.zoho.com/index.do and read through the introduction by Helene Blowers. I can totally see someone in the business world using this web site. The idea of being able to access documents from any computer and having instant collaboration with colleages you need to share them with is a great idea. I like the fact that the user doesn't have to download any software. I guess this would be a great tool for students who are doing group projects. They could work on the project together and not have to leave the comfort of their homes or dorm rooms. I e-mailed the website for my husband to checkout in case he's not aware of it.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking: Making friends in the comfort of your own home

I checked out "My Space" http://www.myspace.com/ to see what it was like, as I hear it mentioned so much in the media and by word of mouth. It was actually a pretty well designed website with alot of attractions on it to entice you to peruse. I originally thought that it was just someplace kids go to tell others about their lives, interests, likes and dislikes, etc., but it had much more to offer. I did not sign up, however, as I really don't have the time to chat with total strangers. I have a hard enough time just keeping up with my family and friends. I also took a short tour of "Yahoo 360", "Zanga.com" and " Threadless." "Yahoo 360" was not interesting to me at all. It seemed to be more of a site to really just create a blog. I watched a video blog on "Zanga" about table tennis. I guess it was advertizing a video game or something. Maybe that's why I didn't find it appealing. The last website, "Threadless" was a t-shirt site to order t-shirts. I think this must appeal more to kids or twenty somethings. The only t-shirts I like are the souvenir shirts I buy from places I visit. At least now I know what some of these chat rooms are like when I hear about them in conversations.

Week 7 #17 Technology

My husband says I am "technologically challenged". Perhaps that's true to a certain degree, but I don't think I'm completely lacking in ability. I personally feel that technology could be much easier if users manuals and instructions for equipment and gadgets were written in basic English in simple terms that the average person could follow. One has to wonder if technology writers puposely use their own jargon and vague directions to make it impossible for the reader to understand. I actually can now use the universal remote to play a dvd only because my husband wrote the directions down step by step so I could follow them. Don't ask me to do anything else with that remote however especially when it comes to Tivo programming or cycling through menus, etc. Technology is great, but if a gadget is too difficult to navigate, it will get minimal use or no use at all. I read an article in the paper that talked about how people love new gadgets and electronic toys and the latest in technology. But after purchasing them, they don't know how to use them to thier fullest advantage because some of the items are just too complicated, or the buyer thinks they're too complicated, and they can't figure out how to use them on their own. Even something as simple as our self-checkout machines is intimidating for many of our customers unless our staff shows them how to use the machines. Technology is advancing every day. I'm looking forward to it being more user friendly.

Week 7 #16: So What's in a Wiki

http://ihcpl.pbwiki.com/Favorite%20Books?doneLogin=b8c0a0b69d2b6f2f8e5360d94d4add0c6b9fb108 I looked at this wiki and found it pretty interesting to read. I don't know as I would ever post anything myself, but I guess if you are really excited about a book, this would be a good site for you to share your enthusiasm with others.

Week 6 #15: Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

The library of my childhood no longer exists in the face of new technologies, perspectives, and services. The internet has opened up the world to the information highway, in ways that are continually evolving and to which libraries must keep up or face becoming extinct. Our services will need to be more user friendly so that customers can easily understand them on their own and not require training to do this. We will need to be proactive to plan for user needs and not hinder them. Basically, I think this all comes down to adapting to change and learning from our successes and failures.

Week 6: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

I did the keyword searh "Learning 2.0" The blog posts were 561, the tags were 666, and the Blog Directory was 683. The results were definitely different. So then I went to popular blogs, searches and the videos. I thought the video clips were interesting especially since I was thinking of going to see the new "Elizabeth" movie. I was surprised at how many popular blogs there were in Technorati. It would seem a lot of people have a lot of time on their hands or they never do anything else except sit in front of a computer. I must admit, I had to check out the celebrity blogs.

Week 6: Tagging # 13

At first, I really didn't understand what del.icio.us was. Being rather computer illiterate in a previous life, I didn't know what bookmarking and tagging was all about. But after a co-worker explained it to me, I can see its advantages. I could not get the tutorial video to work for me. It just quit after the first minute. I tried it on two different days with the same result, so maybe if I could have heard it all the way through, the lesson initially would have made more sense. But now I am slowly coming around. If I weren't so nervous about hitting a wrong key on the computer and ending up in computer cyberspace and messing up my lessons, I would probably have a lot more fun with all this new information. It is really a cool thing to have the opportunity at work to be introduced to all of this!

Week 5: #12 The "Library" Elf will Remind you!

This was the least stressful exercise for me...very easy to sign up! Between HCPL and my Elf account, I should never have a late book again. http://www.libraryelf.com/

Week 5: #10 Play around with Image Generators

This is my avatar "Sistine". I created her in http://www.meez.com/home.dm. I was shocked and amazed that it was pretty easy and fun, or maybe this time it was just beginner's luck. Anyway, this exercise took me back to my childhood when I used to play with paper dolls and created new clothing designs for them and dressed them up in all the latest fashions. With computer programs like this one however, I get instant gratification, as I can change makeup, hair styles, and outfits on a moments whim and the transformation is almost instantaneous.
Today "Sistine" is a country-western singer, but who knows what she will be tomorrow?

Week 5:#10 play around with Image Generators

Mary in Houston

Week 5: #11 A Thing about Library Thing

Timeline by Michael Crichton
Princess by Jean Sasson
Lean Mean Thirteen (Stephanie Plum Novels) by Janet Evanovich
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Jackdaws by Ken Follett
Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance by Jean Sasson

I'm not sure I would use this very much. I guess it would be a good tool to remember what I have read. I don't think I would go online very much though, to discuss whether or not I liked a book. It seems as though it would take up a lot of time to do that and I could be reading a new book instead!

Week 4 Lesson # 9

These are the feeds I found that I subscribed to : 1)ABC News: Travel 2) About Cats 3) Bloglines/News 4)Boing Boing 5) CNN.com 6) Houston, Tx 7) iTunes Top 25 songs 8) MTV News 9) NYT Movies 10) Photos from everyone tagged France 11) Quotes of the Day 12) The Shifted Librarian and 13) Wired Top Stories. Going into Bloglines can be pretty addictive and it's easy to use, so with so many choices it was hard to stop. At some point though, I realized that I would probably have a hard time just keeping up with what I selected and that if I wanted to try different subscriptions, I could do so at a later date.

Week 4 RSS feeds #8

This is a really cool feature. I like the idea of being able to subscribe to different news and events websites that have the latest information. But what is even better is that I don't have to individually go into each website to get the information. I can just click on th my news feed and the latest headlines are instantly available. This is a great tool that even I can manage! http://ihcpl.bloglines.com/myblogs

Week 3 Lesson #6

Roses were my mother's favorite flower.
My granddaughter's middle name is Rose, in
rememberance of her.

Week 3 Lesson #7

I hope the rest of the lessons are easier than this one. It is exciting to know however, that tools like the ones in Flickr are available to use for digital pictures. Someday, I hope to be proficient in using them. For now I'll be happy to just get through these exercises so I can get my hours and my bling!

Vatican

Vatican
Originally uploaded by Mary's Flickr photos

Week 3: Flickr photos: I hope this picture actually makes it to my blog. I am almost in tears trying to figure all this out. It would be great if I can actually download and organize my own digital photos online someday and actually get to view them, instead of all my pictures ending up in my husband's computer in never, neverland. Technology is terrific if you know how to use it.

Week 2: Online Safety

My feelings about online safety is not to write anything you wouldn't want your mother, husband/wife, children, any other family members, employer, minister, friends, etc. , to know. I have read too many articles in the newspapers or magazines about people spilling their most intimate thoughts and feelings, private issues or posting compromising or embarrassing photos, thinking no one but the recipients will ever read or see it. What a mistake!
Fortunately, I lead a pretty routine life and don't feel the need to open it up to public scrutiny. I really enjoy my privacy. I don't think blogging will be something I will fell compelled to do in my spare time.

Week 2: blundering my way into 21st century technology

This is becoming a lesson in frustration. If other technically challenged people can do this I will too. But this is very stressful. I need to go to the local CVS and take my blood pressure when this is over. I can't believe what I will do for extra training hours and bling! I will really feel I earned it when this course is completed.