Not the end...

Learning 2.0 has increased my awareness of some of the possibilities that I was unaware of and increased my knowledge of tools that were only words to me before I started. It has primarily been a postive experience, with some fun exercises such as Flickr and using image generators. YouTube will contine to be part of my world and I hope I find the time to explore some of the other technologies in greater depth. This brings me to the main problem I had - time. The restraints on my time sometimes prevented me from exploring some technologies to depth that I would have liked. Hopefully I will be able to make some time to further explore those that interest me. The other concern that I experienced throughout the program was creating so many accounts, it is not something I am comfortable with, but something I need to become more comfortable with in the world we live in. I would recommend this program to others.
When creating this blog I added the image of Alice falling down the rabbit hole and learning things as she went along, because it was how I felt. I think it was an appropriate choice because like Alice I have learnt many things along the way.

MASHUPS

While exploring some mashups I came across :
http://www.weatherbonk.com/

It gives information about the weather in the area where you are (or would like to know about) and includes recent images from cameras. I decided that I wasn't keen to leave looking at the images from Wahroonga cam. Unfortunately there weren't any local images available.
Thinking about the use of mashups for us I once again came back to the new book list and the possibilty of combining book covers with RSS feeds.
I decided to do some searching and came across an interesting idea:
“I think we have to accept that our library Web sites are not going to be a destination of choice for our students/patrons,” says Gibbons. “Rather, we have to be packaging and serving up parts of our Web sites in ways that they can be integrated into the users’ preferred virtual destination, whether that be Google, Facebook or Second Life.   http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/009/1.htm

Something to think about.

Podcasts

I was searching for a podcast and thought that  'Everything Thatz Wrong With This World Podcasts' sounded interesting. I was surprised to find that it was nothing like I was expecting from the title. What would you expect to find in a directory with this heading? Here is the link if you'd like to find out:
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/index.php?iid=23398 

Not really what I was looking for!
I chose a completely different RSS feed to add....

Wikis- favourites

I've just been into the UoN Library Staff Wiki Sandbox to look at favourites. So far there aren't too many, I hope to go back in a few weeks and see more. This is a great way to share ideas, information and opinions. I gathered the courage to create a page:

http://uonlib-staff.pbworks.com/w/page/33223343/Favourite-food

YouTube

Finally, something that I am familiar with. My children use YouTube on  a daily basis and often share things that they like with me. There are a number of family videos posted on YouTube from holidays etc. I have also known it to be used for some not so nice activities.  I have always had a reluctance to post on it due to privacy concerns.  Over the years I have found it to be a great toll for everything to lighting a fire to learning to braid hair. It could be a great tool for transmitting information to library clients as well as for training. I amd sure some RDA videos will end up on YouTube - In fact they already are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NRGtPU4Jc&feature=related

Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

Now here is a tool of real use :  http://www.cocktailbuilder.com/

Not too much use in a library ...although....  This would be a fun site if you were having a party and wanted to try something different. I liked the fact that you could name a spirit and were offered cocktail suggestings and ratings. Slightly annoying that there were only a limited number of cocktail recipes available - I only found 1 daiquiri recipe :(

Web-based productivity apps

My list:


https://docs2.google.com/document/d/1Ce1Mz7pujO83bvtj4o1jF5UHPagZkR5zTbcZS8Cn-MU/edit?hl=en#
I am hoping this link works. Creating a list reminds me that I have so much to do.......

This tool is helpful although I had a bit of trouble with the colours. I don't know that I'd choose it over installed desktop applications, although this could be that the familiarity of these products makes them more appealing.

WIKIS

I've looked at a number of Wiki's and found that a lot of library's are using wikis as a way of communicating, documenting and updating information on RDA. They are a great way for a community members to contribute their knowledge or opinions.

Library 2.0 Perspectives

After looking at each of the perspectives on Library 2.0 I think the primary goal of these tools is the enhancement of the user experience. I agree that library users need to become a "participant" rather thatn a user and that 2.0 tools allow participants to customize their library experience

Technorati

This tool is useful for comparing blogs and seeing what other blogs are about - there are a lot out there

Del.icio.us

Good tool for organising data and seeing the types of things others bookmark. Could be useful when trying to locate information.

Web 2.0 technologies and the University Libraries

It is great that the Library is utilising these technologies as they are part of the everyday world in which our clientele live. To ignore the part that these technologies play in their lives might place at risk the level of relevance that students think the library has. It would be interesting to discover the degree to which students use these services and to find out the ways they would prefer to have their information delivered, so that we can endeavour  to take our services to them.

LibraryThing

Just looked at Librarything and chose some books. I don't know that I would contact other readers, however it could be interesting to see what other people think of books I'm interested in.


http://www.librarything.com/catalog/anotherday333

Image generator

This is a good site for changing photos to drawings
http://www.fototrix.com/

RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication)

RSS feeds seem like a great idea to keep up with the latest information on areas of interest. As I am just starting to experience them, I am yet to decide on my opinion of their success. For libraries they seem like a great way to keep library users informed on the latest developments by taking the information to the user rather then requiring them to come to you to find out information.

Perspective can change the way we view things. This is the same tree from different perspectives. Always something that I need to try to kepp in mind

The wonders of technology

Technology is wonderful when it works, however can cause huge frustration when it becomes difficult. One big problem I have with the electronic environment we live in is remembering passwords. So many logins, so many passwords, many have to be compiled in fairly specific format and therefore I am unable to always use the one's that I know. Is there an easy solution to this?

The aspect of technology that I really love is the ease of finding information. The accessibility of finding out about the most obscure things never ceases to amaze me. The sharing of ideas and knowledge allows everyone to have a wider grasp of the world. I find one major downside is the access to misinformation, which I have also encountered this week, in addition that is to remembering my passwords!

Lambton B (Durham) Colliery, Redhead, NSW, 9 September 1909

Lambton B (Durham) Colliery, Redhead, NSW, 9 September 1909
Originally uploaded by Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle

This image really interests me as I actually went down into this mine as part of a highschool excursion. Part of the building structure still exist today and it is interesting to see what a large area of land it occupied back in 1909.

7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits

These habits present a challenge in themself to someone who is a bit of a technophobe and lives in a world where technology is involved in a majority of learning experiences.
"View problems as challenges" - a difficult concept. I definitely find it difficult to fight the flight/fight response when a difficult problem arises and view the problem as a new learning experience.
My favourite (although not always easiest) habit would be "Play "- I could spend hours lost in playing around, however time always seems to be the problem for me.

Learning something new each day

This is my first blog ever so it is one of the new things I will learn today. Hopefully this will be a good experience as sometimes we learn things through positive experiences and sometimes through not so positive or even painful things happening to us. So far this seems fairly harmless, however I am yet to see.....