WEEK 9 - THING 23!!!

Finally...and what a long strange trip it has been! Can't even begin to describe all my thoughts and feelings. I think that I learned a lot more that I thought I was learning. (I find myself incorporating new language into my conversations.) There is a big wide (technical) world out there that is almost impossible to conquer but it has been helpful to explore part of it and to know that we can learn little bits at a time.
My biggest problem with learning new technology is that it doesn't always work and that just adds to the stress and frustration of the learning process. The method should not obscure the content. There was a little of that in this journey but I think I finally got past that and was able to see the overall strategies. Some of the "things" were a lot more user-friendly than others and that will determine which I revisit. It was easy to get lost in some of them which was fun but not very time efficient.
Thanks Jennifer for being so patient and holding our hands when necessary.

Week 9 - Thing 22

Looked at the intro to Overdrive and Netlibrary but since we don't have a subscription that was as far as I got. When we finally get connected to one of these services I hope someone will be walking us through the download process so we will be able to help our patrons. So far we haven't had many requests for this technology but I'm sure we eventually will.
Went to Project Gutenberg to look around and was surprised at some of the titles there AND the frequency of downloads. Once again I am not an audio person so probably won't be using this myself.

WEEK 9 - Thing 21

Since I already knew about podcasts I was not intimidated by this "thing"!
Listened to a few and was able to add one to my bloglines. But overall I don't think it is something I will be using much. I just don't learn that way! I'd be much more likely to watch a video since I am most definitely a visual learner. However I do understand how this could be useful for some, especially those avid iPod and MP3 users.

WEEK 9 - Thing 20

I couldn't resist. Saw this years ago and wanted to be able to share it with friends. Now I can!!! Reminds me of the newest member of my family.

I can see why this is such a popular site. Lots of fun and useful things to see. Can also imagine that linking some clips to our website would make it more interesting and useful.

And just for fun I think I'll add another! Looks like fun:

WEEK 8 - Thing 18 & 19

I think that the "things" in this week's assignment were the best yet! It is really great to know that these applications are available on the web. They remind me of the place where I order our library books. All the information and records are stored at the site so I don't have to worry about anything happening to my computer and I can get to the information from any place/computer that happens to be available. I guess the only "down side" might be the security issues.
Enjoyed looking at the Web 2.0 awards list. Finally got to see what Craigslist is all about. Had heard about people using it but wasn't sure what it was. Also found a site called Care2 which had a lot of information that I found useful. Will definitely go back and look at that one when time permits.
One more week to go...

WEEK 7 - Thing 16 & 17 - Wikis

Well here is something that has some practical applications that I understand! I especially like the idea of the conference wiki where people - all new to a city - could share their findings with all the other participants. Makes wonderful sense to me! (I am beginning to think/sound like my middle school students who would always ask "Why do we have to know this?") And I actually found some answers to some questions I had in the wiki "Library 2.0 in 15 Minutes a Day". Very helpful. But best of all I think that a wiki would be a solution to some of our communication lapses among library staff. It would work better than our Intranet since everyone could contribute and answer one another. One of the most interesting aspects of a wiki is the notion that the best thing about it is also the worst: that anyone can participate. As far as a staff wiki goes that could be controlled by having a password to get into it.

Added my entry to the SandBox wiki though I'm not sure how that worked. The instructions were confusing and I had to get another staff member to help me. Sometmes it is hard to learn new things especially when they don't work the way they are supposed to!!!

WEEK 6 - Thing 15

Read most of these articles and lots of thoughts crossed my mind. Took exception to the notion in "Away from Icebergs" by Rick Anderson that because of the new technologies that library circulation was declining and would continue to do so. Nothing could be farther from the truth in our "neck of the woods"! Our circulation is going up all of the time.
Which brings me to another thought about our specific library environment. While we, the staff, are looking at all the new technologies we might be using, we are still helping patrons who need to know how to set up email accounts and use our catalog. Feels like we are standing in two different worlds at the same time!

WEEK 6 - Thing 13 & 14

Spent several hours on this week's assignment. Had some technical problems so I started out frustrated. Not sure that I will ever use either of these "things" (Del.icio.us and Technorati) but at least now I know what they are. My thoughts on these and many of the other new technologies that we are learning is that many of us need to be shown concrete ways in which we might put them to use in our jobs or we probably won't have time to explore them further. Sort of feels like like the first months using the internet as a reference tool and just being unsure of what we were doing and how it would eventually be used. Little did we know!!!

WEEK 5 - Thing 11 & 12

This doesn't really feel like playing to me. I am really stressed out after trying these exercises. I understand how these tools may be helpful for some but trying to remember where things are and how to find them is more that I can handle.

LibraryThing is fairly easy to use and might be useful for some however for years I have been keeping track of the books that I have read without the use of a computer. The fact that I don't have one at home makes it very unlikely that I will do this on a regular basis. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lmcdaniel

I can see where Rollyo might be useful but it was very confusing to me. I tried to set up a place where I could search for travel information but it only seemed to make more lists of things that I don't have time to read. http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?q=traveling&sid=307253

WEEK 5 - Thing 10

Had lots of fun with the image generators. Some seemed to be just for fun but others seem to have an actual use such as forms for teachers to use in the classroom. I think my favorite was the sketch generator but I've only watched others do it. Need to try that one for myself. Couldn't resist the license plate generator...I actually saw this one on a car years ago and thought it was perfect.

WEEK 4 - Too much information...

Finally got my RSS feeds set up. Had a little trouble finding them after I made my selections but think I have the hang of it now. Don't know how anyone would have the time - or inclination - to read all of that stuff no matter how fascinating. Maybe I just listed too many interests!
Was able to locate reviews for a few books I read or want to read but I think it would just be easier and more relaxing to read the Washington Post Book World while sitting on my deck on a sunny afternoon. According to NPR an overload of information isn't alway a good thing so I'll continue to take mine in smaller doses!

WEEK 3 - Photos and Images

Played with Flickr for a while. Lots of great photos. Tried to upload one with no success but was able to post this one with a little help from a friend. (We are all in this together!) It actually came to my email from the company that develops my pictures. Since I have no digital camera, it is a great way for me to be able to manipulate my pictures and have them printed and sent to my house. A type of technology short-cut I guess you could say.


Most of these technologies are amazing but very frustrating to us "digital immigrants". While looking is fun - it's nice to be able to play legitimately - I find it all very complicated and stressful and will need to get home to my garden to soothe my soul.

WEEK 1&2 - Let's begin

Well here I am...finally. Lots of panic and confusion at the end of the fiscal year but now I need to catch up with my "Things". Am both excited and apprehensive about all of this technical stuff. It will be nice to know what the rest of the world is talking about/doing. Out here at the end of the world (well really just the state of Maryland) we are often "the last to know". But living here does have it's charm and a slower pace of life is part of that. So while we may not be as likely as some to join the faster moving world of tech it is important that we be exposed to it so that we know what is available, how it works and can help our patrons with their questions. So with that goal in mind here it goes...