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.