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