Week 10 is over and I feel like I've been on a journey through unknown countries. Often I had trouble with both the language and the culture although occasionally there was a refreshingly familiar site where I could relax and speak my own language. Mostly it has been fun to be guided through territory that I might never have found otherwise.
Now I'm going out into the garden!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Week 10: Podcasting and YouTube
I just subscribed to 3 sites from Podcast Alley, but didn't want to listen to any of them , they all began with ads which is enough to put me off, and the jazz site was soulless pap. So I went to an old favourite, Radio National's Weekend Planet, and subscribed through Bloglines. I often listen to ABC radio at night via streaming from their website as the radio reception where I live fades on dusk. Podcasting is ideal for the late night programs, such as Weekend Planet and Jazz Up Late that I'm not usually awake for.
I've just become the proud owner of an Ipod nano (a slick little emerald green thing which will even make videos!) and have downloaded iTunes (with a lot of help from a friend) to organize my music files, so I hope I'll be very familiar with all these things very soon.
YouTube is an application I quite like. My partner uses it to learn new banjo tunes and I have looked at the occasional fashion and performance art video. As Reader's adviser I could suggest it to music students who are looking for live performances of specific music / instruments. As it's possible for any registered user to post their video, there is the usual high percentage of poor quality stuff that seems to simply have "look at me" value.
I've just become the proud owner of an Ipod nano (a slick little emerald green thing which will even make videos!) and have downloaded iTunes (with a lot of help from a friend) to organize my music files, so I hope I'll be very familiar with all these things very soon.
YouTube is an application I quite like. My partner uses it to learn new banjo tunes and I have looked at the occasional fashion and performance art video. As Reader's adviser I could suggest it to music students who are looking for live performances of specific music / instruments. As it's possible for any registered user to post their video, there is the usual high percentage of poor quality stuff that seems to simply have "look at me" value.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Week 9: Books and reading
I've just put in more time than intended on LibraryThing. What a nice little site. I don't think I'll be spending my spare time cataloguing my own moth eaten collection, but have looked at several LibraryThing book reviews via the Boroondara catalogue and used info from David Ebershoff's LibraryThing library for a booktalk on The 19th wife.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Week 8: Productivity
Google certainly does have a finger in every pie! Having already explored Google Reader I decided to have a look at Google Docs. I'm impressed by the possibilities for collaborative work on documents. This could be useful for something like a joint version of the HLS newsletter.
The templates section has examples provided by other Google Docs users. I'd look at them for ideas for document layouts. Borrowers could be directed there for a resume template, for example.
I wonder how many versions of a calendar there are on the web. I followed a link to the Google one via Google Docs and like the fact that you can specify your location, and relevant public holidays etc. automatically appear. I'm sure there are heaps more sophisticated features that I didn't discover too.
iGoogle is a very appealing site for someone who likes to organize and have lots of useful things in one spot. I felt like I was setting up a cubby house! I added all the suggestions on the Ning and even put a couple of reminders in the calendar. It was fun seeing each addition. There are many more tools when you go to the "add stuff" option, such as the translator, the currency converter and 2 versions of the local weather. I even spent a moment changing the background image on my page (first to a row of coloured pencils, then to a very pretty Akira Isagawa design).
Just had a look at my place in Google Earth. What an amazing thing - and scary, all the little changes we've made are clearly visible !! The image lost sharpness at about 2000 feet, but so much information is there. Details such as elevation change as the mouse moves over the image, and you can change the viewing angle so that the horizon line and sky come into view (that's a weird feeling). Thought about putting a link to the map, but decided not to - for obvious reasons.
The templates section has examples provided by other Google Docs users. I'd look at them for ideas for document layouts. Borrowers could be directed there for a resume template, for example.
I wonder how many versions of a calendar there are on the web. I followed a link to the Google one via Google Docs and like the fact that you can specify your location, and relevant public holidays etc. automatically appear. I'm sure there are heaps more sophisticated features that I didn't discover too.
iGoogle is a very appealing site for someone who likes to organize and have lots of useful things in one spot. I felt like I was setting up a cubby house! I added all the suggestions on the Ning and even put a couple of reminders in the calendar. It was fun seeing each addition. There are many more tools when you go to the "add stuff" option, such as the translator, the currency converter and 2 versions of the local weather. I even spent a moment changing the background image on my page (first to a row of coloured pencils, then to a very pretty Akira Isagawa design).
Just had a look at my place in Google Earth. What an amazing thing - and scary, all the little changes we've made are clearly visible !! The image lost sharpness at about 2000 feet, but so much information is there. Details such as elevation change as the mouse moves over the image, and you can change the viewing angle so that the horizon line and sky come into view (that's a weird feeling). Thought about putting a link to the map, but decided not to - for obvious reasons.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Week 7: Tagging, Technorati and del.icio.us
Technorati had ads leaping out at me from all over the place. I had a quick look, then retreated to somewhere a bit calmer (not that anywhere online is calm, that's what the garden's for). I looked at Twitterati - couldn't help myself and clicked on the tag Christ and got lots of entries by the same people, most notably two guys trying to convert heathen readers. I hot footed it out of there, tried the libraries tag and followed a couple of links that went to sites that didn't appear to have anything to do with libraries. I then found the top 101 artists blogs and had a look at a few of those. Felt quite relieved in the end to leave Technorati. I do feel like there is just too much stuff in the world and cyberspace is no exception.
Delicious on the other hand could be dangerous - there are a hell of a lot of knitting websites tagged by delicious users that I didn't know about, when will I ever get the time to explore them? I don't know when the novelty will wear off, but for the moment it's great to be able to explore websites on a theme. I like the idea of being able to access my favourites on any computer too (although there is quite a bit of work involved in setting them all up in Delicious).
Delicious on the other hand could be dangerous - there are a hell of a lot of knitting websites tagged by delicious users that I didn't know about, when will I ever get the time to explore them? I don't know when the novelty will wear off, but for the moment it's great to be able to explore websites on a theme. I like the idea of being able to access my favourites on any computer too (although there is quite a bit of work involved in setting them all up in Delicious).
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Flickr Mashups
Flickr Mashups appear to be set up for their entertainment value and I can't see a lot of use for them, except perhaps as a design tool. I spent more time than I care to remember playing with the Experimental colr pickr. For a while it was rather fun fiddling with the colour wheel, choosing colours I like and seeing which photos came up. I tried to group four photos together to publish here, but each photo wanted to go into a separate post. I got the four into a gallery, then only got the location text to post to my blog. I then got them into one post, but couldn't work out how to reduce the size so they all fitted. not sure if this was a good exercise in moving images around in Flickr or in time wasting - possibly both.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Week 5: Photos and images
Well, here goes with my show and tell for the week - it's much more fun showing as well as telling.
After a lovely surf around the endless photo possibilities in Flickr, I found this one. As with almost anything I try to do on the web, it took a lot of time and a lot of harrumphing: joining Flickr via Yahoo (yet another email account!), filling in the boxes, filling in the boxes again when it didn't like something I did, then finding my way back to the one little photo I wanted. Now I can't seem to move the photo around. It's not where I want it, but I've spent enough time trying. Maybe I can only select the format at the point where I imported the photo to my blog.
While I'm immediately seduced by this kind of Indian embroidery, I do wonder who the embroiderer is and what sort of life they have.
After a lovely surf around the endless photo possibilities in Flickr, I found this one. As with almost anything I try to do on the web, it took a lot of time and a lot of harrumphing: joining Flickr via Yahoo (yet another email account!), filling in the boxes, filling in the boxes again when it didn't like something I did, then finding my way back to the one little photo I wanted. Now I can't seem to move the photo around. It's not where I want it, but I've spent enough time trying. Maybe I can only select the format at the point where I imported the photo to my blog.
While I'm immediately seduced by this kind of Indian embroidery, I do wonder who the embroiderer is and what sort of life they have.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Week 4: RSS Feeds
I'm having trouble getting my head around RSS feeds. Following Preetam Rai's instructions left me very frustrated trying to find sites with feeds. Having wasted a lot of time on step 2, I went to the next step and found that when I copied and pasted the Vogue Knitting address, it worked. The next few I tried though, didn't, and when I looked at the VK feed, the most recent entry was from 2008. I can only assume they no longer offer feeds. I might be missing something, but if I can only access a small number of my favourite sites on Bloglines, I can't be bothered with it. I do think the concept is great though, and will persevere. I've added the sub with Bloglines shortcut to my bookmark toolbar and will try more sites later. I'm surprised the BOM site doesn't have feeds (or does it?) - quick weather updates would be great.
I still haven't found a lot of websites offering feeds, although all the blogs I tried worked. I did find a nice simple tutorial on the ABC website though, and feel more confident that I get what RSS is about, ie being able to go to one site for the latest updates on all selected blogs and websites. I set up a Google Reader account and didn't find it much different to Bloglines.
I like the idea of RSS feeds. I'd happily use it, but am disappointed in the number of sites I use that don't appear to have made feeds available.
Library applications? I assume borrowers use RSS to find out the latest library activities, etc. At our end, I'm not sure how we make sure that feeds are available - I'll let the tech heads take care of that! I don't think I would use RSS for the bibliographic sites I use for reader's advising and HLS selection, as I'm usually looking for specific bibliographic info, not necessarily the most recently added.
I still haven't found a lot of websites offering feeds, although all the blogs I tried worked. I did find a nice simple tutorial on the ABC website though, and feel more confident that I get what RSS is about, ie being able to go to one site for the latest updates on all selected blogs and websites. I set up a Google Reader account and didn't find it much different to Bloglines.
I like the idea of RSS feeds. I'd happily use it, but am disappointed in the number of sites I use that don't appear to have made feeds available.
Library applications? I assume borrowers use RSS to find out the latest library activities, etc. At our end, I'm not sure how we make sure that feeds are available - I'll let the tech heads take care of that! I don't think I would use RSS for the bibliographic sites I use for reader's advising and HLS selection, as I'm usually looking for specific bibliographic info, not necessarily the most recently added.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Week 3: Social networking – Facebook and Twitter
As I already have a Facebook account (to communicate with overseas and interstate nieces) , I decided to join Bebo for a look at a different site. I hate it! The profile questions and the ads irritated me. They are aimed at a very different demographic to me and I just didn't want to spend time there. I'm afraid I canceled my membership almost immediately. I know I have to at least look at what they're about, but these sites do really irritate me. Myspace looks similar. I'll have a look at Twitter.
I still haven't looked at Twitter, but have learned a few things about Facebook. I just happened to be on the site (to update my info and add some photos) at the same time as my niece in Ethiopia. It was tea time here, lunch time there. She immediately set up a chat session, something new to me. It was quite amazing to be chatting to her in real time (albeit in a somewhat haphazard way, as she's a touch typist and I'm not). I then had a good look around the site, checked the privacy policy, added a photo to my profile and learned how to ignore an invitation to play poker with a niece and to become friends with her son (who I'm fond of, but I want to really limit my friends)
I've finally signed up on Twitter. I don't know why they have such rubbish on their home page as an invitation to look at Twitter. I started by clicking on "iamsinglebecause". Hmm, very strange, maybe there's some titillation value, but I don't think that's what this site is about. Had a look at Obama, Rudd and Radio National's sites. I guess it's useful for a quick overview and there are links to other relevant sites.
I went to the "about us" section where the site is explained. I think Twitter is a less personal space than Myspace, Facebook and Bebo. Members don't seem to confront each other and can get a quick look at what their friends are doing without getting caught up in the site. There is a mobile phone service as well. Why bother? The idea behind the site seems to be to keep it as simple and intuitive as possible.
In terms of library use, Twitter might be a useful tool for reaching a wider audience. Library events could be posted with links to further information. Maybe even mini (micro mini!) book reviews with links to the catalogue.
I still haven't looked at Twitter, but have learned a few things about Facebook. I just happened to be on the site (to update my info and add some photos) at the same time as my niece in Ethiopia. It was tea time here, lunch time there. She immediately set up a chat session, something new to me. It was quite amazing to be chatting to her in real time (albeit in a somewhat haphazard way, as she's a touch typist and I'm not). I then had a good look around the site, checked the privacy policy, added a photo to my profile and learned how to ignore an invitation to play poker with a niece and to become friends with her son (who I'm fond of, but I want to really limit my friends)
I've finally signed up on Twitter. I don't know why they have such rubbish on their home page as an invitation to look at Twitter. I started by clicking on "iamsinglebecause". Hmm, very strange, maybe there's some titillation value, but I don't think that's what this site is about. Had a look at Obama, Rudd and Radio National's sites. I guess it's useful for a quick overview and there are links to other relevant sites.
I went to the "about us" section where the site is explained. I think Twitter is a less personal space than Myspace, Facebook and Bebo. Members don't seem to confront each other and can get a quick look at what their friends are doing without getting caught up in the site. There is a mobile phone service as well. Why bother? The idea behind the site seems to be to keep it as simple and intuitive as possible.
In terms of library use, Twitter might be a useful tool for reaching a wider audience. Library events could be posted with links to further information. Maybe even mini (micro mini!) book reviews with links to the catalogue.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Week 2 Blogs/Wikis/Nings and Setting up Your Own Blog
Blogs, Wikis, Nings! I'm still a bit fuzzy about what different features each of these offers.
I can't imagine why wikis work - I see the use for them in libraries, for book reviews etc, but it amazes me that there's not a lot of wrong info posted, especially in something like wikipedia.
The Ning seems like a great tool for social interaction, and as an educational site. As I understand it the primary difference between a Ning and a Blog is that a Ning is controlled by a social group, whereas a Blog is controlled by an individual. Are more visual tools available on a Ning than a Blog? Is a Blog always in order (reverse chronological)? I'll find the answers to these (and no doubt many more) questions before I get to the end of this exercise.
At the moment I'm not sure how I can use any of these in my Home Library Service work. Perhaps at some stage in the future it would be useful to have a Ning set up as a forum for HLS recipients. It could be used for information sharing (posting library news, booklists, etc. and for feedback, reviews, etc. from the recipients) and for a level of social interaction which those recipients who are online might appreciate. At this stage however, the majority of HLS recipients don't have access to a computer and are generally not interested.
Of course, as a Reader's Adviser, I need to be familiar with how these areas of technology work and I'm therefore very happy to be involved in Learning 2.0. I hope to be able to sensibly discuss them, offer advice (?), and access more areas, for library borrowers.
I can't imagine why wikis work - I see the use for them in libraries, for book reviews etc, but it amazes me that there's not a lot of wrong info posted, especially in something like wikipedia.
The Ning seems like a great tool for social interaction, and as an educational site. As I understand it the primary difference between a Ning and a Blog is that a Ning is controlled by a social group, whereas a Blog is controlled by an individual. Are more visual tools available on a Ning than a Blog? Is a Blog always in order (reverse chronological)? I'll find the answers to these (and no doubt many more) questions before I get to the end of this exercise.
At the moment I'm not sure how I can use any of these in my Home Library Service work. Perhaps at some stage in the future it would be useful to have a Ning set up as a forum for HLS recipients. It could be used for information sharing (posting library news, booklists, etc. and for feedback, reviews, etc. from the recipients) and for a level of social interaction which those recipients who are online might appreciate. At this stage however, the majority of HLS recipients don't have access to a computer and are generally not interested.
Of course, as a Reader's Adviser, I need to be familiar with how these areas of technology work and I'm therefore very happy to be involved in Learning 2.0. I hope to be able to sensibly discuss them, offer advice (?), and access more areas, for library borrowers.
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