SUMMARY OF 2.0 LEARNING PROGRAM

Wow ! So many lessons, so much info. I am taken back by all the items covered in this 2.0 quest. I definitely know how to operate a Blog. I can get involved in social networking on My Space or Flickr, sharing both interests and pictures with close friends or new friends. Library Thing opens up the world of books to us and Net-Library allows us to read E-Books. RSS Feeds bring us the latest news.
Pod casts and You-Tube can either provide you with live audio or video of your favorite broadcasts.

I did like the idea of meeting with you girls to help me along at the beginning of the program, I would have liked to have met more often.

Thanks you for your efforts. I AM DONE. (WHEW!)

Net Library

Net Library is pretty easy to use. I was quite surprised. I needed to give a user name; password; name; and e-mail address, in order to set up an account. I looked up many books and many topics... then read, read, read! I'm not too sure I'd use this feature though.
I like to hold the book I'm reading in my hand. I don't think I would read the E-Book before it was due. I could however use this feature if I were reading a textbook and needing to refer to information often.
My son's Middle School is hoping to set up the school's website with access to grades; school assignments; and textbooks. This would be a good thing.
Thanks to 2.0 I am prepared for reading books on-line.

PODCASTS

Pod casting is a neat tool that can be used to educate or entertain. I enjoy listening to motivational speeches and sermons. They help me focus better while I'm working on ordering or doing other Library work. I used it while working on 2.0.

Yahoo Podcast was the easiest on the pod casts systems for me to use. The search engine is very thorough and efficient. I looked up a local podcast from Jefferson City. I was able to find it quickly using the Yahoo Podcast. I will have a good time using my new MP3 Player with favorite tunes and broadcasts,with the knowledge I gain here.

YOU TUBE - 1957 Ella Fitzgerald on the Nate King Cole Show

What fun I had discovering You-Tube. I felt like it was my portal into the past. I am a big fan of Jazz singers. I was elated to find old footage and music with Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole. I can use this for fun and information. The You-Tube website is set up so you can choose video, channels, categories and community (personal video). I could not imagine posting home video images on a public website. I did appreciate the video used in the 2.0 Learning it is a great learning tool. Libraries can benefit by sharing instructional techniques. Go You-Tube !

WEB 2.0 AWARD SITE

Wow! I was blown away by the list of sites on the 2.0 Award Site, so many categories to chose from. Our class just skimmed the surface of 2.0. I was surprised at how many sites we covered in our class. Blog Guides and Social Tagging were newest to me.
But, for this lesson I was most floored by the Pod Services provided by the PodOmatic. The layout for the site is so orderly. There aren't many
pictures or much clutter on the web pages at all. I found the site easy to maneuver
and not over stimulating - even though it was chosen as number three in Pod Services.
I could surely see this being used in Library Services. It is user friendly and so easy to navigate. Customers can get pod casts for whatever they want.

GOOGLE LABS

Google Labs seems like the place to mesh creativity and science. Experiments are going on all the time. That would be the place for me. I viewed many of the lab ideas and was impressed.
I like the idea of Music Trends. Here you can get lists of best selling artists from around the world.
Transit seems to be a tool worth developing. It includes cities and countries tourists frequent. It would work well with Ride Finder. Customers could use these sites to make one good mash-up. Patrons could book transportation before going on a trip or to find shuttles after arriving at their destinations.
Suggest, I think is unnecessary along with Trends, and Related Links. These tools duplicate functions that are already in existence like MySpace and Technorati.
Ride Finder and Transit would make swell graduates from the Lab. Go Google Labs !!!

WEB - BASED ONLINE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS has me surprised. I was thrilled to learn there are software applications you can use no matter where you are. Not only that, they are compatible with Microsoft Office and other software. Sign me up. I just purchased an older computer from the the library. I am adding to it features I will enjoy. I am interested in these tools for sure. I did explore the word processing possibilities more than spreadsheets etc. Another cool fine!

Exploring Search Engines

I was looking forward to this part of the lesson, a chance to explore the nuances of different search engines. I am familiar with the Google Search Engine, but stray from it very little. I navigated three of them: Yahoo, Mooter, and Wink.
Yahoo was similar to Google in its results. It gave links to: news, entertainment, and facts. The homepage reminds me of the American Online Homepage. It has your mail, maps, sports, news, radio, weather and many other opportunities at your fingertips.
Mooter Search Engine was also pretty cool. Mooter combines information in clusters. If you search for a rock star your results provide quick links to music, video, history, lyrics, news, people, movies, eBay... you name it.
Wink however is horrible... Wink is a Free People Search. Real persons can create their own profiles and share personal info. The way to find a person requires: first and last names, or user name, city, state, zip code or province. This social search engine is small and poorly put together with limited information. I didn't like it.
I did enjoy learning about different search engines. I am glad to share my opinions about Yahoo, Mooter and Wink.

LIBRARY 2.0

I read the perspectives from two articles: Away from Icebergs and Into a New World of Librarianship. I was surprised to find out that circulation of library materials has dropped 55% in the the last 12 years. I agree the library no longer has a monopoly on information for it users.

Customers use the web more for information. People want to access information at work, play, home, school and even during the commute. Libraries will have to digitize collections of journals, books, photos etc.

I think that is great. It will require lots of data entry. I'm glad we can get a question answered, within a matter of moments from the web. But, I'll always like the printed format. Give me a dusty ole' book!

I'VE VISITED THESE STATES IN THE USA

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Online Image Generator

Online Image Generators were a challenge for me. I used the Flickr generator. I read the lessons and thought I'd just get through it in a zip.... Wrong!!! I do now have a better understanding of what a "jpeg" file is in comparison to what a word document is. I had been saving my pictures and other images as word documents, so I was not able to upload my images.
Frustration mounted, then I remember Robin saying, "You must save your pictures as jpeg", some years ago, during another computer class. I have always had beginners luck, then after that I've had to work real hard. You think I'd know this by now.

Here's the link I used for the online image generator: http://bighugeslabs.com/flickr/deck.php

------------------------BLOGLINES ------------------------

I enjoyed learning more about Blog lines and RSS Feeds. I thought this was a easy lesson and very useful. I like the idea of having the most updated headlines without the spam and junk,right at your fingertips. On blog lines I was able to put my favorite websites and my favorite reads all together in one spot. I no longer have to waste time going from website to website. I will always have something to browse through for fun or learning.
I'd heard of the RSS Feeds and even read some of them. I will now purposely look for them as I surf the web. I was most fond of the Topix.net. What a cool way to look for syndicated information,you can use phrasing and keyword search,I like it.
Technorati though I luv there blogs. I didn't like the complicated steps it took to set-up a blog finder. I won't be using it.
Anyway, I'll use the blog finder account when we're not busy. We will be busy in Children's this summer though.

SAY, CHEESE !!!

Looks like our Guinea Pig Frodo:
Flickr has been a fun and enlightening read. I would like to learn to use Flickr because I have large collections of photos at home in boxes and boxes. I used to scrapbook about 12 years ago. I, so would like to share my pictures with family and friends and even archive albums for myself and my high school reunion class. I,my f friends, could be an archivist. So, watch out Robin, I may be in the computer lab real soon scanning, cropping, and saving pictures onto a disc.


I also got to visit a mash up called www.Chicagocrime.org. It was a combination of Chicago street maps and crime history for the city combined. I was surprised to see how much crime takes place in my old neighborhood.

It's a Library Thing !

Library Thing is for me. I find it to be a fabulous tool for both learning and fun. I have used the Book Recommendations and Book reviews.

I have a 12 year-old boy that reads well, but it's difficult finding books he will both enjoy and be good for academic credit at his school. LT has come in quite handy. Books we never would have come up with, pop-up on the recommended lists.

Personally, I enjoy the "warm fuzzy feeling" I get when I enter LT. I feel as if I'm walking into a Barnes and Noble bookstore. What makes up for not being able to put my hand on the books though, is being able to narrow the search for my books with a click of a mouse. I can also read literary reviews and check into Amazon or someplace and order the book , just like that. LT is like a "cozy reading room." I like that!

Technorati

Just the name "Technorati" says it all for me..... too technical..... But, I continue to swim through the thick swamp of technical gobbly goop anyway! I now know that Technorati is a place to find blogs about popular people, hot news items, and just a place to discuss whatever. You can also connect with myspace, utube, dell and web 2.o. I found the best music to download or just listen. I was surprised by the variety of blogs I can now read or add my own spin on.
I'm more of a facts person. So, I was excited to suddenly have links to informative websites about politics or travel. I'm learning lots...... Thanks girls, ....
MRRL2.0

Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is neat! What a great holding tank for stored information. I no longer have to say to myself, "where did I find that info. again." With Del.icio.us I can keep track of my favorite websites and any new websites that I enjoy. It will be a great help to me while I explore historic information (a hobby of mine) or do other research projects . I so love the tags that you can make for yourself. Tags are a great help, they remind you of where to find your stuff. Works well for the clutter bug in me.

Libraries and MySpace

MySpace accounts are a great thing for teens and parents alike.
I read blogs on myspace accounts at several libraries. Some I was impressed with, while others I felt were slow, tacky, and just plain bad!!!
I did find one Library in Orange County Florida (http://blog.ocls.info/teens) that I thought was soooo very contemporary. Their myspace pages have a blog for teens called Techno Teens. Here they can read book reviews given by librarians and learn about current library events.
One teen group and the teen librarians passed out free library stuff at an outdoor rock concert. At this same library, teen librarians keep the space up to date and promote programs with lots of enthusiasm. Teens can let staff know if they enjoy or hate an activity.
As I continued to peruse myspace accounts I found that there are resources for parents that focus on child/teen cyberspace saftey.
This has been good learnin'.

Wiki Wiki Come On...

Wikipedia, WikiNews, are just a few ways information is shared on Wikis. Teachers and students communicate about assignments, share interests, and solve problems using this tool. Employers and employees collaborate on projects together; while friends plan trips they will take together. Others share favorite recipes or books reviews. Fan clubs and hobbyists inform us about little know facts. We learn things we may never have known.

I was most amazed by a Wiki News story that took place over a year ago. It was started during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It began as a storm indicator and later became a locater for missing family members; a map of flooded and blocked streets. This Wiki became THE, on the ground eyes /ears for people all over the world.

What an awesome form of expression a Wiki can take!

Tiffany the Blogger !!!

Thank goodness I have 16 weeks to complete this 11-week course. I am no computer person. So, I was in no hurry to get started...
I'm good with the stuff I use everyday like Millenium, Google, Amazon etc. But new stuff can be like a tough math problem. Math is hard for me... I'm a good student: but lots of tutorials will be needed!
I read blogs on AOL all the time. I enjoy the up to the minute opinions about goings-on in the world. However creating my own blog has taken a few hours-between customer service here in Childrens. I am looking forward to learning about different uses of the web. If I get a head start, I'll know what my soon to be teenage son is talking about.

Thanks girls for making this opportunity available.
Tiffany