Thing #23

Well, I have arrived at the end of our journey, which is of course really just the beginning! It has been a productive and interesting journey with both useful and not as useful tools. There is something to all of this Web 2.0, and it keeps eolving into easier and easier formats for the regular person who is not familiar with computer languages and software.

Facebook is more than I expected and that is because from the moment I signed on, I was linked to 5 or 6 people I knew from the networks I'm in: FAU, USF and the globe! That is, I met a colleague from one of my classes this Fall; I was psyched to be found by my most favorite library professor, Kathleen de la Pena McCook, and another favorite professor at FAU, Dr. Jennifer Begergal. And a woman from Canada with my exact name said hi to me. Then I was quickly hooked up to two freshman college students I'm working with at FAU,as interns in the Student Sierra Club. To finish off my initiation with Facebook, I found my niece on there, so I had to send her a message.

I then was invited to join an ALA group on Web 2.0 by Dr. McCook. I feel like I have a whole new way of getting in touch with people all over the globe, and be amazed at how small the planet really is.

Thing #22: Overdrive Audiobooks

Overdrive is a database with which I have gradually been familiarizing myself. I started using it earlier in the year, and now that there is a guided digital media tour, I found myself able to grasp more of its features. I may be wrong, but I think that the guided media tour is a new feature on the Overdrive database, one which all customers who are interested in using it should watch a few times over.

The Overdrive Transfer Wizard is very helpful for anyone wanting to download titles onto their MP3 player or other campatible listening device. It's very visual and less bound by text-based only instructions. To me, this enhances and increases the userability for our customers.

Once I downloaded a title to play, I was impressed by the interativity of the listening process. There are newly added features such as thebookmark feature and the icon for "resuming from furthest played part." I like the latter especially and want to know if it will save until the next time I open up the book. I have this question about the bookmarking feature as well.

The audio quality is perfect and the Windows Media Player interface is clear, clean and intuitive. I can see use of this database by customers using their PCs with speakers as well as at the workplace with headphones, and at home or at leisure with an MP3 player and headsets.

Also, the audio speed icon feature (normal, fast, faster) was useful, too, as sometimes "skimming" a book is a useful technique.

Miami-Dade's Climate Challenge Podcast

Thing 21: Podcasting I Really Like

I first searched Podcast Alley directory and then downloaded the Juice podcast aggregator. I listened to a top-rated "Vegan Freak" radio podcasted show at home using my Windows Media player for this exercise. I have friends who are vegan and I have been exposed to their cooking and eat anything that they prepare because it is so healthy. I differ with some of their philosophy in some ways, but I learned more about how challenging it is among your friends and associates to be wholly vegan. I also learned how "sustainable" and ecofriendly it is to live this way, and the podcast feeds could be a real virtual community of supporters for anyone making this lifestyle decision.

I signed up for a Spanish language podcast feed, which will only be useful if I make it a habit of visiting my bloglines account...but learning Spanish can become more doable if I just logon to my Bloglines while I'm working at home on my computer. I am still a strong proponent of reading print newspapers and magazines, yet I'm sure I'll explore more now that I am more aware of the blogoshere.
Here's my updated blogroll:

Web 2.0 Video: Check it OUT!

I had a ball watching this video--the beginning is really good. I had no trouble posting it after I read the post script remarks at the end of this week's Week 8 Thing #20-21. Plus Debby's coaching last week gave me lots of mileage to be able to jump this hurdle. Try it and see!

Thing #14: LibraryThing Link

Thing #15: My Rollyo, At Long Last

Select...Top NewsReferenceHealthTech NewsSearch The Web

Sandbox Wiki

Thing #17 NSUlibs PBWiki

I entered my "favorite blog" as my own and then added a wiki entry about my "favorite" Delray restaurant, Mr. Chen's Hunan Palace. It truly is great and affordable Chinese food...
I thought that the suggestions made by other people are good to go by. If and when I think of it, I can check back here and look. Same with favorite vacations and many others...

Begonias

 

These were too beautiful to pass up in VA during an August family reunion trip.

Family Reunion Time!

 

Just thought I'd include a photo of some of the family at the Massanutten Resort in Massanutten, VA. Not everyone is here of course...I'm the second one from the back.

Linkedin.com

I explored the Linkedin.com website. I registered and added personal data to my profile. I looked at the "top advisors" under the professional tab. One individual whose profile I reviewed is a presented at "Landmark Education," an organization I have been involved in. It was good to see that there are folks I could connect with here. For business professionals, this looks like a well-used networking and colloboration website. If you have specific and specialized work projects you are involved in, this could be a great people and information resource. I also checked in to library jobs but didn't find any listings...Does anyone else know of other librarians or educators who use this successfully?

Welcome

Hello--

This is a great looking word processing site. It LOOKS better than Google docs, which I have been using for a couple of years.  I find that Google docs is easier to use thus far.  There are lots more tools in the toolbar to learn here.  I'm not sure I need them all; they seem to complicate things more than simplify and simplifying is my mantra.  I'm a gal with lots of work to do as a full-time employee and student.  I do enjoy seeing the options available though and I especially like the PowerPoint-like "presentation" feature in Zoho. I will try to import an existing PPT of mine and see how that works...I want to blog to my blogger account as well from here...

Wacky Wikis!

There's something freeing about this whole Web 2.0. I've enjoyed reading in the informal kind of way people express themselves online, which is a break from my normal reading fare of professional literature, newspapers, non fiction and academic texts. I still like reading print of course, for its writing style and intellectual rigor. I would never ask anyone to choose one over the other though, because for me, they are complementary, and to disdain one over the other is just not being circumspect.

I find that in reviewing the recommended wikis there is really so much available. From ideas about how to do special needs library services and all other things library(see Library Success Best Practices Wiki) to working readers advisory in a whole new interactive way. I like the idea behind the Library Success Wiki, and I hope more library people find out about it and contribute to it.

On Meredith Farkas' wiki, I learned that PowerPoint is not the only way to make a visual presentation! Just the other day, I saw a book on CSS and wondered what its application is. Well, she says that her tutorial was made using HTML and CSS. So I am looking into doing my next presentation (next week!) using this format--gotta get busy, right?

I learned the term "wiki farm," which is a server or array of servers which host a wiki--and there are about 3 dozen of these different wiki farms available. And of course, the PLCMC wiki stated (with no authority cited...) that there are more errors found in the Encyclopedia Britannica than on Wikipedia, a fact I have heard before but wonder about...
That's all the 2.0 learning for now. Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Technorati Profile

Network Badge

Just wondered why the URL for delicious is so crowded up with dots. If anyone knows the purpose of it, let me know! Still there is a lot here in del.cio.us to learn. It is really all about making use of online communities for your specific needs and interests. I've had an account for some time, but never had a reason to use it. But I just found an excellent virtual community that I can use for doing my research. I went through a few of the Nova tutorials and can see that the "inbox" feature is where the real rub is. I want to learn more about that. Finally, I can see how the Firefox extensions make things a lot smoother and integrated up on the toolbar, so I've added the delicious toolbar to my home computer.

On Vacation Right Now

 


Hi y'all. I'm on vacation right now, which means I am home looking at photos I took on vacation two years ago in Cedar Key, Florida. It's not a well-composed photo, but it is part of this bird's daily ritual.


I also toured through some great online video tutorials on geeksontour.com. The ones on Picasa were really extra good--like having the instructor's voice piped in too. The website is really top notch b/c it has so many unique Web 2.0 learning tools on it--and the owners just seem like they are having such a good time. It reminds me of a local guy I met in one of my classes (he's actually the father of one of my colleagues at FAU) who gutted a bus he bought on eBay and now runs as a satellite Internet "techno train" here in South Florida. He goes around in his bus to senior communities teaching retirees how to use Microsoft Office tools and how to do things like the "geeks" teach from their RV. It's a great way to help narrow the digital divide. Check it out at www.techtrained.com--something the library needs to consider doing with those bookmobiles that could easily convert into "cybermobiles."

Thing #12

My Thoughts About Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

I think that these tools have the potential to make public libraries (yes, our public library too) a place that captures the minds and hearts of its customers, especially those under 30. Today, the Internet is more than taking off; it is way up in orbit and we need to be there along with the Steve Jobs, Larry Pages, and Eric Schmidts of this world. We need to be concerned more with the how and not so much the what also...Meaning paying more attention to how technology is best used to market and expand our services to our customers.

Love One Another Flickr Toy

My creation
Originally uploaded by cassell_mare

These two creatures belong to my mom and her husband, Dave. The dachshund-chihuahua mix's name is Braveheart and the tuxedo cat is Archie.

Library Blogs I'm Following...

http://librarytechnician.blogspirit.com/
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/
http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/

Blogging

My thoughts about using Bloglines is that it's a great place to explore the menu of what's available in the blogosphere. I liked technorati as a kind of universal commons for finding blogs to join. I am happy to have been able to publish my blogroll on my TLC blog. I want to find out how to make my bloglines public next. I had some trouble with finding out where to publish the unique URL for my bloglines.

Sorry, Debby B., but I deleted my previous blog entry when I discovered how to publish my blogroll. So your comment is gone. Thanks anyway for trying to help. Another learning habit I'd like to add is: Be tenacious with this stuff!

Mary's Blogroll

Haitian Art Display at NO Library

Here are a few photos of a Haitian Art exhibit that was done two years ago at our library.

Tree Frog

Tree frogs occupy my courtyard. They like to hide in glass containers so they can be heard much louder.

As for technology, I am going to start exploring RSS feeds for Week 3. I already subscribe to RSS feeds at work from the Washington Post's headline news and I was subscribing to the Palm Beach Post's stormwatch notification service. I have since cut back on it because I was getting 4 alerts a day and my Outlook email could not manage it all (a bit more information than I needed as well). The trick for me with RSS feeds is not in how many I subscribe to, but feeling comfortable with those I do have, and asking what content I could most benefit by.

I need to explore and see what others I could use here at work.

7 1/2 Habits

This is me in the middle with one of my brothers, Andy, and my mom. Here we are about to board one of Ft. Lauderdale's most fun boat rides, the Jungle Queen!

Since we're talking about 'play' and having fun, I thought I'd make it my mission to locate a few fun photos that caught my eye...More to come.

BCL TLC 2.0

Well, here we are! Another learning experience, and this one is the culmination of the Web 2.0 survey. I am hopeful that I will get to the next level and learn how to podcast!