Spring Cleaning #30: Take a Load Off Our Drives

Wow! I was amazed at what I found on the Z drive. I had entries in files that I didn't know I had. Since I'm not that computer savvy, I have no idea how some of those entries got in there, but it was interesting to go through. I found some schedules from 2005 that I was able to delete and some other miscellaneous that I also got rid of. I had never used the S drive, so another staff member showed me how to place a file in it and then delete it. When you know how to do it, it's pretty easy to navigate all this information from one area to another. I didn't have any files on the P drive that needed to be organized, so I got off easy on that one.
It is really fun to examine these different areas on the computer, increase my knowledge of how to manuever information, and to be introduced to the different technologies computers have to offer.

Spring Cleaning #29: Email

I am so excited. After completing this exercise, I only have 10 e-mails left in my account that I am still working on. I originally had 92 when I started! I always felt guilty about spending too much time on e-mails, so they kind of piled up on me. But since we were doing this as a work related activity for credit, I felt pretty good about spending some work time. I created new folders for e-mails I wanted to keep, renamed a couple of them, deleted trash and just had a great time getting organized. I feel very empowered! Now, I have the basics in place to keep updated and have a clutter free in-box. My next plan of action is to set up an address book as I don't have one.

iHCPL: The Next Generation: Spring Cleaning #28: Don’t Clutter Up Expensive Cyberspace

I thought this exercise was pretty interesting as I am always trying to find ways to organize my paperwork, errands, work priorities, etc. I usually just write appointments and special reminders in a purse size calendar and my monthly planner. I would be lost without them and would never be able to keep activities straight. I don't think my life is complicated enough to need a Blackberry or other electronic devices. I signed up on the Ta-da List web site. It was almost too easy. (There must be a catch!). One of the worst habits I have in organizing paperwork is that I defer too much of it for later, because I don't know what to do with it. I tend to stick it in a big pile because I think I might need it later, but I'm not sure. Then if I do put it somewhere I can't remember where I thought it should go. I am hoping this training will cure me of this procrastination and I will be super-in-control of all my paperwork. E-mails are another issue however. (I'm just as bad about them).

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.