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.
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