Week 10 / #23 Is this really the end?....

iHCPL was a rewarding experience for me and I am excited about my newly acquired skills and want to continue to expand on them. This program has been an excellent opportunity for staff to work and learn together. Creating a blog, flickr and photo editing, RSS feeds, avatars, Library Thing, Zoho writer and overdrive were my favorite discoveries. I am always ready and willing to learn new things and would appreciate more training like this in the future.

Week 9 / #22 Downloadable Media

I visited HCPL's digital site and explored the different types of materials available. Wow! A wonderful choice. Then I performed a download of the OverDrive Media to my personal computer and proceeded to check out 2 music audios and a Ronnie Milsap: Live in Concert video to enjoy on my computer. I also looked at LibriVox and Wowio but didn't like them as well. It is good to know these sites are available but the HCPL digital site is the best. What more can I ask for?

Week 9 / #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

I researched Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com for libraries and found an interesting podcast on Harry Potter Prognostications in Podcastalley.com and added the RSS feed to my Bloglines account. There are so may topics to choose from -- I may never get any other work done!

Week 9 / #20 Discover YouTube

I went to YouTube and watched numerous video clips relating to libraries. Even though Your life work: the librarian was dated, the information it provided was excellent pointing out that an individual who possessed a love for books and a love for people was a good candidate for librarianship. The Adventures of Super Librarian and Ninja Librarian were not only entertaining but educational too. My favorite library video was A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto as it embraces everything that we have been learning. Excellent!!

Week 8/ #19 Web-based Apps

Zoho writer or Google Docs?  Which to use?  Choices, choices, choices!  I looked at Google Docs and Zoho writer.  These fantastic online tools can be used for word processing, spreadsheet, note taking and an organizing planner.  They enable us to accomplish our work more efficiently, as we can access our documents from anywhere and we can share them with our friends whereby we can all work on it simultaneously.   This eliminates the need to email documents.  Zoho writer has many fine features; I especially liked the templates. I created an account with Zoho writer and will use its "publish" options to post this article to my blog.

 

Week 8 / #18 Social Networking

Social networking is a convenient and delightful way of keeping in touch with love ones, friends and acquintances in the comfort of your own home. My Space, Facebook and Yahoo!360 are just a sampling of sites that enable you to set up your own account and be able to search for a long lost friend. After looking around these sites, I discovered that I preferred Facebook over My Space and think the Dogster, Catster site is entertaining and may like to post one for my beagle. Wow! you can spend hours visiting with others without ever stepping foot outside your front door.

Week 7 / #17 About Technology

Digital cameras have taken us to a new level in picture taking. Gone are the days of dropping film off to be developed and waiting in anticipation to see the prints. With a digital camera, you can take hundreds of pictures, delete the ones you do not want and then save them on your computer. Digital cameras have a screen so you can view the picture immediately. You are also able to print them, send them via email to family and friends, upload them to a website like "flikr" or edit the pictures. Digital cameras are loaded with features like sensing when you need the flash, automatic red eye remover, and zooming in and out functions. Even an amateur can be proficient in photography with the aid of a digital camera.

I have posted a comment to participant, My 23 Things, on Any Technology.

Week 7 / #16 So what's in a wiki?

The wiki is an online tool where anyone can search and access information quickly. Because its contents can be edited by users, it is a good way to gather facts from a large number of people. It can also be a web-based notebook to organize your thoughts. It is easy to use as no knowledge of HTML or other marking language is needed to develop a website.

Wikis are also spaces for quick and easy collaborative editing of documents or posting of agendas for discussion before a meeting. In communities with no newspapers or newsletters, a wiki can become a resource that can position the library as an online hub of their local community. I think that a library wiki in our community would be a valuable resource for all residents especially newcomers trying to get acquainted with the community.

I logged into the iHCPL wiki and added my blog to the list and then commented on a favorite vacation spot.

Week 6 / #15 Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

I was reluctant about Library 2.0 at first for old habits are hard to die. After reading Rick Anderson's away from the "icebergs", I recognize the need for change and appreciate Michael Stephens' new world of librarianship approach to change. I now am ready for Web 2.0 and welcome all the new adventures in learning I have been experiencing through iHCPL and am eager to share these skills with others. One button commands are the wave of the future.

Week 6 / # 14 Technorati

I looked at Technorati and searched "Learning 2.0" in posts, blogs, videos and photos and discovered that others too are having fun learning new technologies and are excited about sharing their new skills. Learning 2.0 is a join effort among colleagues.

Week 6 / #13 Tagging & Del.icio.us

Whee! Del.icio.us is the way to go in the 21st century. An excellent bookmarking tool for research and reference -- not only can I keep all my favorites in one place but I can access them from anywhere. I can share my favorite sites with others and discover new sites from them.

Week 5 / #12 Library Elf

Because HCPL does provide a reminder service for library cardholders and I can always check my account online, I do not need the services of the Library Elf. I did watch the demo of Library Elf and read the FAQ. My concern is "privacy" and once again I do not feel comfortable with registering my account number. The LibraryLaw Blog has an interesting article on the library elf and just how easy it could be for anyone to obtain another individual's records. Food for thought!

A Thing about Library Thing

Wow! Library Thing is a really cool tool. I created an account and then proceeded to catalogue some of the books I either have just read or am currently reading. It was not only fun but very easy to do. As time allows, I would like to try All Consuming to catalogue my music and movies too.

Week 5 / #11 Library Thing

Image Generators

I had so much fun creating myself as an avatar using Yahoo. The link I used was http://avatars.yahoo.com/. Yahoo provides a fabulous selection to work with. I tried FDToys but I didn't like it. I am subscribed to the Generator blog.

Week 5 / #10 My Personal Avatar

Week 4 / #9 Finding Feeds

I have created an account with Bloglines and have subscribed to 15 newsfeeds which include literature, best-sellers, travel, recipes, dictionary words of the day, quotes of the day and world news. I found my most interesting feed on local news in Topix and felt Feedster was too confusing. Wow! all this information should enable me to be a more interesting conversationalist.

Week 4 / #8 RSS

Until now, I had not heard of RSS and didn't know what the small tags were; but I have familiarized myself with "Really Simply Syndication" and am pleased to know that all the latest information can be delivery to me in one central location. Who has the time to go from one website to another website trying to stay abreast of all the fast breaking stories??

Tripper Map: Travel Sharing

Tripper map is an intriguing tool. What a neat way to share my travels in photos with my relatives and friends. My husband and I enjoy traveling and take several trips each year. Our extended trip to Canada last spring was awesome. The tulips were in full bloom and the falls were majestic. I missed my "iced" tea!

Week 3 - #6 Tripper Map

Get your own Trippermap!

Photo Editing Tools

Our beagle
Originally uploaded by mmaryjo63

With the help of a friend, I really enjoyed using Picnik to edit a digital photo of our beloved beagle . I changed it to look as though I had used a Polaroid to snap the picture and I added descriptive wording too. It was very interesting to see how I can alter digital photos with the tools Picnik makes available.

Flickr Posed

Posed

I set up my account with Flickr and really had to work at getting this photo uploaded and then posted on my blog. Yes, I am elated. This looks good and I had fun.

Online Security and Privacy

With identity theft on the rise, I am very concerned about releasing any information online about my family and me.

Learning Experience

I have arrived! I am the new kid on the block in Bloggerville. This will be a learning experience for this newcomer. I expect to have fun and learn new ways to communicate and share.