Library 2.0 for Info Lass

2007-01-15T14:47:00.000+11:00

#23
Summarize your thoughts about this program

Thanks for the opportunity to undertake this program. I am proud of myself for committing to and finishing the program. It has been a very self-disciplined exercise, especially when the system was very slow, which did cause a lot of frustration. I took the decision early on that I would have to spend personal time at home on this if I was going to learn anything and complete the program. It has been terrific to self pace and fit in as time permitted.

I have got to know online applications, resources, tools that I had only read about in passing. Some, such as Blogs, bloglines and wikis will continue to fit well with my professional needs and development.

I found most of the 23 things interesting but perhaps not all relevant to my needs but at least I am familiar with them.

I would be happy to participate in any future similar program as long as plenty of time was allowed to complete the tasks. I am always interested in Australian local content so this would also be a plus.

2007-01-10T15:07:00.000+11:00

#22
Net Library Alternative
I had a look at the World EBookfair. It looks like a great way to catch up on your classics or if you are studying the appropriate Shakespeare sonnet. Terrific for students who may travel on public transport and have their MP Player anyway.

After attending the recent “mood, appeal and motivation in reader’s advisory service” session presented by Nancy Pearl I was very motivated to broaden the recreational books I read – downloading and listening to an e-book is one way I can achieve this goal.

I was glad that there was no registration process to download the free one I picked which was “The Little Match girl” by Hans Christian Anderson. As there was no credit for an editor or “adapted by” I presume that these are the original words he wrote.

It was very easy to download the 5 minute book into the Windows Media Player and subsequently listen to the book on my computer. In addition the well paced narration was good with clear pronunciation.

2007-01-09T13:27:00.000+11:00

#21
Search tools for locating Podcasts
So can you search a Podcast on an ordinary search engine?

I found searching on the websites pretty easy and interesting to compare the results for the same search. I searched "genealogy". "The genealogy guys" seemed to be the most popular from a very small result. Searching "History" actually pulled up some family history podcasts which might be of interest. Abstracts or descriptions of the podcasts vary a lot so I would take this into account when evaluating what to listen to.

I had previously found "Family History Minute" podcast which I already visit regularly so was disappointed that it did not come up in the specific podcast websites.

I added it to my bloglines account (I was impressed that I did not have to log in).

I think Podcasts are terrific. Now instead of "reading up" on a subject you can listen. I think that they can be a useful tool for librarians and can certainly see value for family history researchers and historians.

Now I just need to get myself some headphones.

2007-01-08T13:13:00.000+11:00

# 20
You Too Can You Tube

I was looking forward to this exercise. My son is has just completed Yr 8 at Eltham College. In an extended project for English students they were asked to study You tube and evaluate it and make some videos and submit them.

You can view the article which appeared here in “The Age”

My son spends a lot of time on You Tube,in fact he has set it as his home page. From a PC perspective it uses up a lot of download space.

He tells me that for a smoother viewing of a video press play then pause while it downloads. Check some emails or surf for a couple of minutes depending on how long the video is and then go back and stop the pause. It should then play without interruption.

I suppose there is an analogy between the popularity of You Tube and Reality Television, but I am not sure that I can explain why. I would suspect that a younger age group look at and submit to You Tube.

I have spent some time looking at the site and have registered and added two videos to my “favorites” list. I was thrilled to find a mini documentary for the scrapbooking company Creative Memories for whom I am a consultant. Very professional and full of information – I will be promoting it to my customers, as it was also only posted a month ago so it is current.

I searched Elvis Presley and was also thrilled to find his version of “If I can dream” which premiered on his NBC special in 1968. There are actually five versions of it on You Tube of various qualities.

From a library perspective I think that You Tube is a great tool to refer people to for limited historical footage, that recent TV interview (Terry Irwin’s first interview following Steve Irwins death is on YouTube) - so You Tube could be handy for cuurent "hot topics" - or do-it-yourself guides. I found some short videos on card making which would be of value.

Just like websites are evaluated for their authority etc for cataloguing and linking on our website – You Tube videos would have to be similarly evaluated. Perhaps there could be a library account established with videos added under certain headings etc.

2007-01-03T14:47:00.000+11:00

#19
Web 2.0 Awards List
I enjoyed reviewing this list and re viewing websites already visited in this experience.

I particularly liked the personal communication category ; Planzo. I operate Microsoft Tools calandar on my home computer in the absence of a hard copy calandar which works well but I like the idea of a web based calandar that can be accessed by both my husband and I at any time.

2007-01-02T14:46:00.000+11:00

#18
Web-Based Apps

I created an account with Zoho Writer and looked around. Happy to see the normal tools associated with any word processing program available.

Also looked at Googledocs. It was interesting to read about the kind of purposes that people put the applications to. One major factor being the sharing of documents. This reinforces to me that the Internet is a community itself and that connecting with others is key.

I love that any document you create - wether personal or business can be saved and accessible to yourself and nominated others, as long as there is access to the internet.

In light of a recent personal experience of having a hard disk crash and realising that most data, photos, tax files and more had not been backed up in three years (I know ..no excuses..), I think that web-based applications are another avenue for backing up of information.

Family history databases in the form of gedcoms can be uploaded to sites such as Rootsweb, so as well as being a forum to advertise your research interests, it is also a backup for any possible data failure that may eventuate.

2006-12-27T14:30:00.000+11:00

#17
Playing around with PBWiki

How easy was that? I have submitted "Library 2.0 for info lass" on the Australian list on the PLCMC PBWiki . (Yes, I know, my title should be learning 2.0... just can't get libraries out of my head.) Had a look at people's favourite blogs but most seemed to be people's learning 2.0 ones. I added "The Shawshank Redemption" to favourite movies.

2006-12-27T14:04:00.000+11:00

#16
So what's in a wiki?

I think that wikis and blogs are and will become key tools of communication between libraries and their users. Specific subject focused wikis are not only sources of reference and updated information but also can be used as a promotional tool for events happening in the library and the community creating that link of connecting.

Disappointingly it seems that there are very few Australian based wikis and blogs for genealogy researching and local history and none that I can find connected to a public library so I look forward to YPRL developing its content here. It is almost a blank page really as the possibilities are endless.

2006-12-09T10:44:00.000+11:00

Week 6
Task #15
Web 2.0., Library 2.0 and the future of libraries

I think that increasingly librarians may need to justify their positions and be "ahead of the pack" as far as technology goes. As people become more self sufficient in finding their own informational needs, we will need to be one step ahead and up to speed on what new online resource or database can meet these needs.

Will public libraries of the future be more about computers than books? Perhaps they will become even more people focussed. It might be the door count stats that are "more important" than the loan stats. I see them as evolving more and more into community hubs - complete with coffee shops, places people can meet. More Outreach type activities will be taking place, experts will come and speak. Libraries can still remain places of learning. We need to embrace change and slowly change people's mindsets to what libraries have been traditionally.

I look forward to YPRL's own Library 2.0 program in 2007 as we learn to embrace the future of libraries.

2006-12-09T10:04:00.000+11:00

Week 6
Task # 14
Technorati

I found this interesting and easy enough to claim a blog. The YPRL Local History blog is now registered here. I included place names as tags. Names such as Eltham and Heidelberg invariably pull hits from other such places in the world! For a general search of all blog posts it is the old situatin of sorting the "wheat from the chaff" from the results list - but fun to have a play and explore favouite topics.

I have also attempted to place the HTML coding with descriptive tags at the end of one post but although the link takes you to Technorti I get a message that something did not work so will have to explore this one further.

Perhaps this topic should have been before the one on the RSS feeds, as this site is good to help find those favourites that you might want to keep track of. I notice that you can also subscribe to feeds here as well.

2006-12-09T08:53:00.000+11:00

Week 6
Task # 13
Del.icio.us
This looks like a wonderful concept for regular internet users interested in following the latest thoughts and trends, as well as linking to people with similiar interests. Exploring people's tags and other favourites included is another variation of "surfing". You do not always have to trust the search engine to find what you are after.

I can see great potential at the reference desk for finding links and information to FAQ including information on the local community, local history etc. Also for the regular "once a year" student projects where everyone wants the informtion all at the one time.

Being able to access "favoutites" anywhere anytime is also a big plus factor for staff members, particularly part timers who have to share computers.

I did not know what Del.icio.us was before starting Learning 2.0. I do now, and the name sticks. Why did they call it that though??

2006-11-01T19:58:00.000+11:00

#12 Roll your own search tool

I have "rolled my own" on Rollyo. I had some trouble making the site public. I would have thought that it would have been public by default.

I have made my own and called it "my scrapbooking ideas" from my own favourite bookmarks. There are so many commercial sites in this area that it takes time to find the good quality ones with ideas to use, tips for headings, journalling etc. - The "MY" seemed to creep in there by itself.

Visit: http://rollyo.com/infolass/my_scrapbooking_ideas/

Try as a test : Children

The results can differ as you do the same search by just clicking on each site that is in the roll.

Be sure to check the public/private option when you "make your roll" as this threw me and I wasted time working out how to make it public so I could check it out myself!
I also emailed the Rollyo to myself using the feature to email to a friend but it has not come through on the email yet.

I can see this being a potential resource tool in the library. Like a blog it could be set up to a specific subject interest such as geenalogy or local history!

2006-11-01T19:01:00.000+11:00

Task #11 A thing about LibraryThing

I already knew about this website but had not taken the time to have a proper explore. As I have cataloguing experience I was therefore impressed at how easy it is to add titles. I created an account and I have added eight titles from my own collection which are all illustrated by the same person. I have included the illustrator's name as a tag and then also added extra information to what I would call the bibliographic record by clicking on the pencil.

See my books at : http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=Infolass

There are a lot of features to this website including recording books from bookcrossing which is a website that unites "lonely" books with book lovers. Books are left in public places and can be adopted. The books have numbers on them and you can go to the website and register where the book is (and look where it has been).

2006-10-27T14:46:00.000+10:00

Week 5 : Play Week
Task 10 : Play around with an online image generator.

I thought the best of the resources from the suggested list was from the fd's Fickr Toys site. I chose the Hockneysiser

I chose an image from flicker, went through the steps and saved in "my pictures" and then re-uploaded to my blog.

I think that are a lot more fun things to explore on this site.

Hockneysizer can be found at : http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ and is the second "toy" highlighted on the home page : http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/hockney.php

As a traditional scrapbooker I think that this is a fun tool. I note that you can order a print from your online creation - ahh if money was no object!

2006-10-25T19:56:00.000+10:00

Week 4: RSS Newsreaders
Task 8.
Before Library 2.0 I did not have a clue what RSS & newsreaders were. Now I do! RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication

I have now set up a bloglines account and subscribed to a number of blogs and newsfeeds.

Task 9 Finding feeds
These include "The Age" and "Herald Sun" top stories newsfeeds. I looked for the RSS icons or similiar on their home pages. I have also subcribed to a couple of fellow YPRL particants blogs in this journey.

I have also subscribed to some American Family History/Genealogy blogs including 24/7 Family History Circle which is owned by Ancestry.

I have had trouble finding some Australian ones.

I searched "Feedster" and "Technorati" with little luck.

There is however YPRL's Genealogy blog which was launched quietly this week. I would recommend all participants include the offical YPRL blog and the local history and genealogy blogs which appear on our homepage on their bloglines account.

Still on genealogy Cyndislist has a new section for blogs. Take a look at: http://www.cyndislist.com/blogs.htm

Back to "Technorati" - an example of how we can easily be diverted on the Internet. A list of popular videos bloggers are linking to right now appears. My attention was drawn to Michael J Fox. I read his autobiography "Lucky Man" last year and was interested to see how his Parkinson's Disease has progressed. The video has him advocating stem cell research and a candidate up for election in Missouri who supports this. Of course to blog the video I have to subscribe to "You Tube". Looking at my list of "23 things" I see that I can play with this in week 9 so I will see if I can find it again then.

I have also subscribed to a blog on lifestory writing which is something that interests me.

2006-10-23T12:53:00.000+10:00

Week3 Photos and images
Task 7 Technology
I have recently had the opportunity to learn how to use a car satelite navigation system. A Melways will never be the same for me again. It has certainly been an exercise in learning as you go. The unit is a little computer and it connects to a satelite once it is turned on. It is especially useful for navigating to a destination not quite familiar to you. In addtion to an arrow on the map pointing the way so to speak, a voice also tells me what to do, eg, "Stay right for exit in 500 metres" etc. I thought that it might proove a distration to my driving especailly in peak hour traffic but it gives plenty of notice and I think with more and more use, it will become second nature. I will never to be lost again because if worst comes to worst, I can key in the destination "home" and the "sat nav" will direct me to it!

2006-10-18T19:56:00.000+10:00

Week 3
6. Flickr mashups and 3rd party sites

I remembered to resize some photos at home using Paint Shop Pro and have made a gorgeous card using the Trading Card Maker. I saved it and then uploaded to the blog.

2006-10-17T19:34:00.000+10:00

Week 3
Photos and imaging

5. Explore Flickr
I have spent some time exploring this website although I have searched here for images before. It is linked to the PictureAustralia website. I now know a little more about how it works. I have successfully uploaded five images and added tags and very brief descriptions (photos taken at the zoo).

Steve Irwin

2006-10-17T19:17:00.000+10:00

Oz- 1700m
Originally uploaded by p_c_w.

I have registered my blog on Flickr and decided to blog this photo of Steve Irwin, similiar to one I have in my own personal collection when I visited Australia Zoo in 2002.

2006-10-17T15:01:00.000+10:00

Week 2
Blogging
3. Set up your own blog
4. Register your blog

Well, I missed the launch and had great plans to get started today finding out what this was all about. The best laid plans go astray when children get in the way though and a call from school meant I had to drop everything and play the role of Mum - which sometimes has to come first. I am now home and have resolved the health issue as best as I can for now and have decided to still explore Library 2.0

I have read Lynette's Powerpoint and heard the introductory podcast. I did have trouble accessing the details on Blogger from the blog as I kept getting a message that "internet explorer cannot open plmclearningblogspot " etc, but as this is my second blog I felt confident to be able to re-visit the registration process etc, without reading all the steps in the 23 steps blog I have now done this and here I am.

I am looking forward to this challenge and hope to learn a lot.