My favorite exercise and the one I learned the most from was definitely photo editing. Before (and I still do a lot because of lack of time), I would upload pics and that's all. If the pics were bad, then they would stay that way. I might fix red eye or crop here and there but that was it.
This training has definitely given me a greater appreciation for technology and all that it is capable of. I will without a doubt keep current with all that is happening in the techno-world. As a future librarian, I will keep my eye out for every opportunity where I might use what we have learned from this training in the library. I'm excited about what is to come...and not knowing what is to come is even more exciting!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Week 10 - #23! - The Beginning...
Week 9 - #22 - Downloadable Media
The neatest thing about the free sites like LibriVox is that I can record myself reading books and others will listen. The downside is that there are probably a million awful recordings. Also, for a lot of the books there are different readers for different chapters. This can get annoying especially if you start to like a reader and then the reader switches.
I'm not a huge audiobook fan and there are not many e-books available that I'm interested in reading. However, there is a ton of great music to listen to on the library site for free! There are some videos I might check out as well-IMAX films and stage plays.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Week 9 - #21 - Podcasts
To the right, I put an RSS feed for From the Top, an NPR show hosted by acclaimed concert pianist Christopher O'Riley. The podcast showcases the music, stories, and unique humor of America's best young classical musicians.
Week 9 - #20 - YouTube
Obviously I love YouTube primarily for the music. It's great!!! I could never see most of this footage otherwise.
There are all sorts of ways that YouTube could be used on the library website. I think having a kids talent show is a great idea. Maybe have some testimonials, how terrific the library is, how wonderful and what a great help the librarians are, etc. Unfortunately, one could not view the video from the library because of the filter.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Week 9, #19 - Web-based apps
The best thing about Zoho, in my opinion, is that documents can be saved online and then accessed anywhere. It's also great for people who do not have Word. I don't know when this came out, but it would have really helped me with my college coursework when I was living in Alaska. I always had to go to the computer lab in order to type up my papers.
Week 8, #18 - Social Networking
I enjoy social networking sites because they allow me to keep up with some of my friends who I may not be able to keep up with otherwise. However, most of the people I wish to share my photos and family/work, etc. life with are not too computer literate. Having them actually set up an account, create a profile, join my "network," etc. would take me hopping on a plane and doing it myself. Obviously this is not feasible.
One downside of social networking sites is the effect they can have on youth. I know a few kids who have been in trouble and who are trying to turn their lives around, but one problem they have is always coming into contact with old friends on MySpace or whatever site they use. A lot of the pictures I've seen of kids are completely inappropriate. Kids doing drugs, kids without much clothing, kids flashing gang signs, etc. There is also the fact that these sites can be addicting and kids spend hours on them. I'm sure there are better things to be doing. Of course there are also weirdos. Let's not forget the weirdos. I think parents would do well to limit and supervise their children while on the pc. I know I will.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Week 7, #17 - Technology
Ahhh, good ole technology. Where would we be without it? Oh that's right, we are without it. No Horizon, aggghhhh! A serious backup of holds and items to check-in, customers with endless questions we cannot answer, due date stamps, and the list goes on.
Week 7, #16 - Wikis
I'm all about democratization and collaboration so of course I love wikis. The possibilities for their use in libraries are endless. Users can write about what is going on in the community, where and when there will be community meetings, when and where Katy and James are setting up their lemonade stand, . . . . Users can make suggestions on how the library could improve its service, suggest items to purchase, vote for which programs they want or what story they want to hear at storytime, . . . . Seriously, the list of possibilities could go on and on and on . . .
Week 6, #15 - Library 2.0
To me, Library 2.0 is about embracing constant change. We must keep our minds open and listen to not only each other, but to all library users. Get everyone involved in the process of change and libraries will not only survive, but will also thrive.
I thought there were a few things in particular about the OCLC Newsletter that were interesting. One was the idea that if services need training, then the services need to be fixed. I think we will always have to teach research skills. At least to some people. Sure we can make search interfaces more user friendly, but there are always going to be at least a few people who not only need training, but want training. We must find time for these users.
A good point was made about how project timelines that stretch on for months do not work in Library 2.0. One must recognize how quickly the world and library users are changing with advancing technology. We must keep up and remain familiar with everything new. The newsletter states that we have to read outside the profession. However, I believe that when we are reading about technology and its impact on users we are not reading outside the profession. This is part of being a librarian.
This movement toward cooperation and "collective intelligence" is taking place in a time of intense privatization. However, the cooperation seems privatized, if that makes sense. Now that almost everything can be accomplished online, we are isolating ourselves in our homes. Virtual communities have replaced physical communities. Libraries are offering more services online and in some cases have eliminated a trip to the library altogether. This is good and bad. It is good that we are giving users what they want, but in order to serve what is in the best interests of our communities we must encourage physical participation along with the virtual. We may be communicating more which is good, but communication is more than letters and symbols on a screen. A real smile beats :-) any day.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Week 6, #14 - Technorati
I do not want everyone, because I know everyone will :-), coming to my blog and so I do not want to claim myself or tag my posts. I'd rather remain in the ihcpl community.
When I searched for "Learning 2.0" as an exact phrase I received 4,640 hits. When I searched in the blog directory I received 180 hits. In other words, a lot of bloggers talk about 2.0 on their blogs, but their entire blog is not about 2.0.
I browsed the "popular" blogs from Technorati. I don't like how they all look the same. However, many in the top 100 were interesting. There was a site called ProBlogger about making money blogging. The top searches were also interesting. Weird actually. I had never heard of what some people were searching for. "Leopard" was a top search. Not sure why. I think "bikini" was up there too.
Week 6, #13 - Tagging
I have a del.icio.us account but I only have 4 or 5 sites bookmarked. I just don't have time. The best aspect of this site is the fact that I can access my list of favorite web pages from any computer. I could also put the links on my blog. It would be fun, if I had the time, to browse the more popular sites. If I really had some time on my hands, then "stalking" might be interesting. It's a quick way to locate good sites of interest.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Week 5, #12 - Library Elf
I went and looked at all Library Elf has to offer, but I did not sign up. I already get way too many e-mails and since we have a notification service through work, I did not feel it was necessary. However, I will be sure to let those families that have multiple library cards, one for each parent and every kid, know about the service. It's definitely helpful when one needs to keep track of various accounts.
Week 5, #11 - Library Thing
Okey doke, I now have some random books from my library on the right below my favorites. I had to create an account for school, but I added some more books. I only had 10 previously. I think Library Thing is a good idea and it's neat to see who else reads the same kind of stuff I do. Weirdos.
Week 5, #10 - Image Generators
As you can tell, I had a lot of fun with the avatars. I even made one of my boyfriend jumping on the bed, but I won't post that here :-) I also played around a lot on the bighugelab and imagegenerator sites. I now have a lot of good ideas for affordable x-mas gifts. I posted one of the inspirational cards (I think that's what they're called) and I put my name in fancy letters down at the bottom right of the blog. I don't know how I manage to do all of this, but I find time. When my daughter falls asleep I head straight for the pc. It's sad.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Week 5, #10 - The Hippie Librarian in the future
That's coffee I'm drinking :-) I'm supposed to have the jitters but they cut the animations short for a smaller file. The whole animation is pretty funny.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Week 4, #9 - Finding Feeds
I briefly went through the provided rss feed search links. I think Bloglines is probably my favorite although it took me awhile to remember the e-mail account and password I used to sign up previously. I browsed through their 200 most popular feeds and found one from www.treehugger.com. It fits my theme :-) There was not much time, but I did not find a way to limit the search on Topix to only feeds which was annoying. I found Syndic8's page to be kind of ugly and boring. Despite the plainness, they manage to display a lot of useless information like "5 most recent actions" and "10 newest users," not helping with information overload. Who cares about the last 10 people to sign up? Technorati is good for finding blogs specifically. As for unusual feeds, there is a feed that has all of the flickr photos tagged "odd."
Monday, October 1, 2007
Week 4, #8 - RSS Feeds
I went to bloglines and set up my account. For some reason I could not get a confirmation e-mail sent to my AOL address. I tried a few times from work and home. Finally, I used my TWU e-mail and that worked. Registering for feeds is easy enough, but I don't know when I'll ever have time to read them :-( I put a few here on my blog.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Week 3, #7 - Photo Editing Tools - Picnik
On the way to Iceberg Lake-Great day hike in Glacier National Park.
Week 3, #7 - Photo Editing Tools - Picnik
My Dad's world-class beans free for all at the Chilympiad.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Week 3, #7 - Photo Editing Tools - Picnik
I took this pic from a boat near Portage Glacier not too far outside of Anchorage. The original pic was much larger. Of course I felt the need to cut the original into a circle so it would look nice in my scrapbook. I have no idea where the negatives are (and I never finished the scrapbook).
Week 3, #6 - More flickr fun
I checked out a few of the mashups and other "flickr fun." I think the RSS feed illustrated with flickr photos is an interesting idea, but the photos come in too slowly. I would really like to map one of my road trips with flickr when I get some time. A lot of time. I will have to scan all of my photos, edit them, and upload them to flickr first. One day. . .
Monday, September 24, 2007
Week 3, #5 - Flickr
Check out my flickr webpage at www.flickr.com/photos/oluwafamily/
There are some more photos of my baby, friends, and family.
Week 2, #4 - Online Safety
Now that I have a child, internet safety is especially important to me. I want to post pictures on the internet so that my friends and family around the world can view them. Some of the people I invited to view my photos had trouble creating an account and logging in. Therefore, I decided to make my pictures public. I removed all names from the photos and I do not name specific locations. I also do not tag my photos. This way, people I do not know are less likely to come across them. Besides photos, I would never give out any personal information over the Internet unless I am sure of who I am communicating with. I would certainly never arrange a meeting with someone I met online. When my baby grows up I know I'll be the overprotective over the shoulder mother watching every little thing she does. As far as the Internet is concerned, there will, without a doubt, be major supervision.
Week 2, #3 - My Learning Style
I definitely learn best by doing. Working for HCPL has been a blessing. I get paid to do what I love and I get hands-on experience. Although it is hard for me to find time to do anything besides take care of my daughter and work toward my MLS degree, I am pretty organized and manage to get things done. It helps that work and school are one and the same. The library is a classroom and I make it a point to learn all that I can while I'm there.
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