End in sight but not the learning

TIME is my resolution. I resolve from now through the next year to have fun learning more of the electronic options and improving my skills in those area and to keep the blog updated. I will spend one hour a week playing (working) and post on the blog, once a month at the least. I try to keep up with the news and the available learning on WebJunction but time is always an option. My list of RSS feeds keeps growing and I need to check them more often. All of the classes have peaked my curiosity and my yearning for learning. I will continue to use Google docs and wikis. Theses seem to be the best and most used beside my blog. But I am going back to delve deeper into some of the sights given during this course. Curiosity will keep me going and going.

Wikis

Three free sites were listed at the end of the "Wikis in Plain English". I checked out all three and found that signing up is no problem and may be easier to manage than some of the other places we have been during this challenge. I find I like wikis, a surprise to me. The library staff and board are not all computer savvy but this may be an easy way to get them interested. Computers seem to intimidate people, probably because of there being soooooo may things to do and ways to do them. A wiki seems to be a better idea for a library site than a blog and I was impressed with blogs. I think using a wiki for a beginning web site may be more advantageous to a small library to begin with. It can grow with every ones help not just one computer savvy person. For our library, showing is easier than explaining. A wiki may have to be created before the next board meeting. Now to find the time.

Delicious

I started on the sdlib20 account and went to the Delicious site and played. Just reading what others have bookmarked is very helpful. I used the search and came up with many bookmarks on each item I typed in. It is amazing how many other people look for the same information. Searching on Delicious is similar to searching on the web except ALL the garbage that does not apply is gone and just what you want is there. That alone is a time saver and a better search engine. I have not set up an account yet but know it is there. The faster it is to find accurate information , the easier it is to get all the work done.

Joining myspace

I created a spot on Myspace with some unease-this is always out there for the world to find. It is one thing I caution kids about when they are adding pictures and information to their space. It seems a fun way to keep in touch but I am still a little slow in joining the world wide web here. I was just getting use to learning how to create a web page and then learned a blog for the library might work better, now MySpace. My Docs is a great area and I will continue to learn slowly for the rest. Now on to the next lesson.

Learning again

I looked at lesson 6 again today and had the time to learn how to post a document to the web. Now I am following printed directions (I still need to read things on paper) and found that I can work at home on my list of patrons that read large-print books that I take around every two weeks. Now that I have mastered-sharing with emails. Now I can move on to adding to my blog.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p3Aqe_tfBK3jyf3pOCRYyCQ&gridlines=false
Now I can congratulate myself and move on. The book list can be maintained at the library or at home, now I do not have a disc to loose.

Using online office applications

It is easy to create a document on Google docs. It works like all the word programs you are use to but now you can share without copying and sending, editing and resending. I am working on the technology survey on Techatlas and created an updated 'Computer and Internet Use Policy'. Now I just have to master sharing the document on my blog.

Watching video

Google video carries mostly YouTube video and again you can spend hours looking. It does not seem to be a feature our library would implement. The only podcast or online video used in the library would be how-to information for first time users. The staff is older and more apt to read or watch television not surf the web. Our patron usage steers toward geneology research, emails, and "just because I am curius" looking up research. The blogline would be more useful in the long run.

Podcasting ?

The more I learn, the more I am amazed at what is available out in the BIG World Wide Web. As I checked out Mediafly and Podcast it became just another site to subscribe to. That part is getting to be hard to keep track of and a little discourging. There does not seem to be anything NOT on the Web these days and will require vigilant staff. I was expecting the ease of YouTube for searching and watching. It was much easier at Vodcast to subscribe( you did not have to subscribe) by URL to an interesting site: Jean-Michel Coustea on PBS as he discovers the depths of the ocean.
http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/rss/media/arcticanimals_ipod.mp4
It will be more challenging to small libraries to try and keep computer users from going to inappriate sites as they explore podcasting. They do not have staff just to watch patrons use the computer. It will involve a lot of trust between library staff and patrons.

Flickr and more

Flickr is for anyone who wants to PLAY with their photos. There are so may ways to use photos besides store them in an album on the shelf, I am in awe. Trying to find a picture on Flickr can be daunting because of the large number available. But then the choices leave a lot of possibilities and imagination. Now I have a way to show off the summer reading program pictures taken this year, if I can only get the disc to open up. Some things I am still a little behind in but am learning at a turtle's pace.

Happy Halloween

I have scrolled thru pictures on flickr-soooo many and this picture fits my mood today!

RSS And More

At last I have finished learning Lesson 3. It was not hard but I had to find time to be able to sit at the computer and do the lesson. I finally finished during my lunch hours. Setting up the blog was EASY and the thought of going thru sights and adding them to anything was not. Imagine my surprise when I had 211 feeds coming to by blogline in ten minutes. Now I want to make a library page with all the links that the staff can use, even the ones who do not like computers. There is no hard way to find things, just scroll down the feed list and pick what is of interest. The easiest tool found to get the feeds is the RSS button! Just click and it is added. When the site did not have the RSS button, I just copied and pasted the URL. Organization!

blogging for the library

Creating a blog for the library will be an asset. For me, personally, blogging will be a fun learning experience. I have been involved with the library for 15 years. With the electronic times upon us, the library needs to be kept current. What I learn gets passed along to the library board and staff. I hope with accepting the 2.0 challenge and having fun doing it will make it easier for our library to be hip! I get smarter and the libray gets smarter with each lesson I learn.

Discovering blogs

I seem to have joined the electronic era and am learning and playing with blogs. After learning the 7 1/2 learning habits, I have found that the fifth habit will be the most challenging: Creating your own learning tool box. I have been doing classes with computer use, creating web pages, and making a internet and email help book for the library. These have been the hardest and the web page is still not done. The easiest habit to practice is "begin with the end in mind". There is so much information for anyone on the world wide web that learning anything about it will help small town libraries keep up with the times, even though it seems difficult. I believe that even small libraries are needed for all ages of patrons and want to do what ever possible to keep that dream alive.