What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
RSS Feeds, LibraryThing, tagging and the online productivity tools were all new to me, so I found them all fun to learn. The Play Week introduced some new mash-ups I didn't know about as well. I also really enjoyed reading the blogs.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I now know many other places to look for my Mork and Mindy episodes. I like what I've learned so far, but I'd like to know more of "what's out there".
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I learned more about our staff members by reading their blogs, including a couple of people in CLS Office. Non-CLMs have very little contact with CLS Office staff, but the blogs changed that.
I tried to apply what I learned to my job, which I hope may have sparked some ideas in anyone who read my blog.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Having three sets of instructions for each Thing - a very basic one aimed at newbies, a general set for most and an advanced set for techy people, with all the additional links and reading.
And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Absolutely!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Thing #22 Audiobooks (or "The end is in sight ")
I've been downloading audiobooks from the QL website for awhile. They are wonderful to listen to while doing needlecrafts.
There are also children's audiobooks in TumbleBooks. Access to these ebooks and audiobooks requires returning to the Digital Media home page.
I tried to listen to an Agatha Christie book on my mac, but it would not accept my library card # and PIN. I signed up on a pc, maybe the information won't transfer.
There are also children's audiobooks in TumbleBooks. Access to these ebooks and audiobooks requires returning to the Digital Media home page.
I tried to listen to an Agatha Christie book on my mac, but it would not accept my library card # and PIN. I signed up on a pc, maybe the information won't transfer.
Thing #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!
podcast.net
Only one result came up for "school library journal", thus I think that multiple words are automatically combined in an "and" search. I liked the user interface of this one the most. Doing a search for "children literature review", I found the podcast "Book Voyages" here, which is "a podcast about children's literature from the point of view of a school library/media specialist. It features reviews of books as well as inteviews with students and authors." http://www.podcast.net/show/39068. (11/29/07)
I added this to my Bloglines account. I haven't listened to it yet because it takes a long time to buffer.
podcastalley.com
200 results for "school library journal" suggests that this engine does an "or" search when there is more than one word in one's query.
Yahoo Audio
I didn't see a way to limit one's search to podcasts. Three results came up for "school library journal", thus it must be doing an "and" search.
Only one result came up for "school library journal", thus I think that multiple words are automatically combined in an "and" search. I liked the user interface of this one the most. Doing a search for "children literature review", I found the podcast "Book Voyages" here, which is "a podcast about children's literature from the point of view of a school library/media specialist. It features reviews of books as well as inteviews with students and authors." http://www.podcast.net/show/39068. (11/29/07)
I added this to my Bloglines account. I haven't listened to it yet because it takes a long time to buffer.
podcastalley.com
200 results for "school library journal" suggests that this engine does an "or" search when there is more than one word in one's query.
Yahoo Audio
I didn't see a way to limit one's search to podcasts. Three results came up for "school library journal", thus it must be doing an "and" search.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Thing #20 I Tube, YouTube
There is a great video clip for library training on YouTube. It is called Angry Librarian and can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7XvAakX__cQ
Although not filmed at QL, the issues that this library worker deals with (often inappropriately) are common at QL.
But YouTube is also great for entertainment. My favorite clip is from the Carol Burnett Show with Robin Williams as the guest, performing a black comedy skit called The Funeral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfDyTUiL8xs
I liked that the site is easy to use and easy to search. I really like the "cloud" results, bringing up videos similar to what one is looking for. I found the Angry Librarian and The Funeral during a bubble or cloud search. I was looking for something else, and serendipity lead me to them.
Although not filmed at QL, the issues that this library worker deals with (often inappropriately) are common at QL.
But YouTube is also great for entertainment. My favorite clip is from the Carol Burnett Show with Robin Williams as the guest, performing a black comedy skit called The Funeral. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfDyTUiL8xs
I liked that the site is easy to use and easy to search. I really like the "cloud" results, bringing up videos similar to what one is looking for. I found the Angry Librarian and The Funeral during a bubble or cloud search. I was looking for something else, and serendipity lead me to them.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thing #19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools
I'm happy that the tool that won my little feed contest a few Things ago (Technorati) also won 1st place under Blog Guides.
One of my friends is in computer school right now and has thanked me for sending her the list of web 2.0 awards. Her professor is talking about all these things too.
I'm going to explore 43 things and write up my observations. It wants me to decide what to do with my life. "Sleep" doesn't seem to be an option, so I'll need to think about this a bit. Maybe learn reiki. I'll write more later.
Later:
The reiki link in 43 things was gone the next time I checked and now the short list and full list are both down. This seems to be a list for browsing, although it can be searched if you create an account. I'll have to come back to this one.
EDIT: The site is back up. I've given up on reiki, and chosen "live in a foreign country" instead. I chose this because America is the 4th country that I've lived in.
I read all the comments by various people and I agree that living in another country is extremely mind expanding. Some things that are considered to be inherent truths in one country are not in another. It was interesting to see that many of those who post about living in other countries also have military experience. I grew up in the military. This experience makes working for Queens easier - being transferred around the borough seems natural to me.
There are user questions at the bottom. One person asks if you need to quit your job to live in another country. One of the reasons that I decided to become a librarian is that it allows me to live in work in Canada, America or Mexico. It's very exciting to be in NYC and staying in one place is a brand new experience as well.
One of my friends is in computer school right now and has thanked me for sending her the list of web 2.0 awards. Her professor is talking about all these things too.
I'm going to explore 43 things and write up my observations. It wants me to decide what to do with my life. "Sleep" doesn't seem to be an option, so I'll need to think about this a bit. Maybe learn reiki. I'll write more later.
Later:
The reiki link in 43 things was gone the next time I checked and now the short list and full list are both down. This seems to be a list for browsing, although it can be searched if you create an account. I'll have to come back to this one.
EDIT: The site is back up. I've given up on reiki, and chosen "live in a foreign country" instead. I chose this because America is the 4th country that I've lived in.
I read all the comments by various people and I agree that living in another country is extremely mind expanding. Some things that are considered to be inherent truths in one country are not in another. It was interesting to see that many of those who post about living in other countries also have military experience. I grew up in the military. This experience makes working for Queens easier - being transferred around the borough seems natural to me.
There are user questions at the bottom. One person asks if you need to quit your job to live in another country. One of the reasons that I decided to become a librarian is that it allows me to live in work in Canada, America or Mexico. It's very exciting to be in NYC and staying in one place is a brand new experience as well.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thing #18 Let's Collaborate and Have a Good Time
I've created a Writeboard account and invited a few friends to edit sentences that I placed there. If they make changes, then I'll comment.
About 15 years ago, we used to email Word documents around at work for editing. One problem was that you never knew whether you were applying your changes to the most recent version of the document.
It would be useful to write the Quarterly Report in this format.
I found the sidebar with information about updates useful.
It was quite fun to write something with others. My whiteboard is here:
http://123.writeboard.com/c3a1db1bda3c7fa68
About 15 years ago, we used to email Word documents around at work for editing. One problem was that you never knew whether you were applying your changes to the most recent version of the document.
It would be useful to write the Quarterly Report in this format.
I found the sidebar with information about updates useful.
It was quite fun to write something with others. My whiteboard is here:
http://123.writeboard.com/c3a1db1bda3c7fa68
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Thing #17 1/2 Explore Facebook and Social Networking
The apps I think are useful:
30 boxes calendar
Store bought calendars can be very expensive. Making your own in Word is time consuming. I think this one could be used by me or our customers.
Likeness
This one reminds me of the website bored.com. It seems to be a fun way to waste time. However, I don't know if it would be blocked at QL for resembling a game.
Aquarium
My cell phone has more life-like fish! :-) This one could be entertaining for kids though.
Books iRead
This one looks interesting both for me and our customers. It seems to have more networking opportunities than LibraryThing.
Word a Day
I subscribed to one of these years ago. It's how I learned the word chi-chi. I forget why I canceled it. It may have been because I was only reading it once a week and it became overwhelming. Some customers may like it. When I'm doing homework help after school I notice that there are many words in my BOOST kids' homework that they don't understand.
How-to of the day
This one may draw the attention of any do-it-yourself-er. It's something that I should use but probably won't. I'm more of a hire-someone-to-do-it-er.
I'm not a fan of Facebook. It seems like a great way to get stalked.
I think it is important to learn how to use it, though, because many of our customers are using it. If I could create an account with a false name and have my identity kept secret, I probably would.
30 boxes calendar
Store bought calendars can be very expensive. Making your own in Word is time consuming. I think this one could be used by me or our customers.
Likeness
This one reminds me of the website bored.com. It seems to be a fun way to waste time. However, I don't know if it would be blocked at QL for resembling a game.
Aquarium
My cell phone has more life-like fish! :-) This one could be entertaining for kids though.
Books iRead
This one looks interesting both for me and our customers. It seems to have more networking opportunities than LibraryThing.
Word a Day
I subscribed to one of these years ago. It's how I learned the word chi-chi. I forget why I canceled it. It may have been because I was only reading it once a week and it became overwhelming. Some customers may like it. When I'm doing homework help after school I notice that there are many words in my BOOST kids' homework that they don't understand.
How-to of the day
This one may draw the attention of any do-it-yourself-er. It's something that I should use but probably won't. I'm more of a hire-someone-to-do-it-er.
I'm not a fan of Facebook. It seems like a great way to get stalked.
I think it is important to learn how to use it, though, because many of our customers are using it. If I could create an account with a false name and have my identity kept secret, I probably would.
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