THe end!

The journey has been slow and thorough, yet fast and just scratching of the surface. I guess that sums up my experience of Library 2.0. When I started this program, I wondered if I would ever be able to make it through all the steps. Some of the lessons sounded quite daunting, like Technorati, Podcasts, and even the idea of blogging. Most of these terms were totally foreign to me. I now know what they are, which I feel is very beneficial to me. As for being proficient in them, that is debatable. However, with technology changing as we speak, I think it would be hard to be proficient with anything on the web. The best we can do is keep on trying.
I am glad I participated in the program. It has given me an opportunity to surf the web, and give me some confidence in doing so. I have always been apprehensive about doing or going anywhere on the internet. My family is part of the 29% of the people who do not have internet in their homes. So, I have never had the opportunity to do much searching. This has been a real handicap working the Computer Center. I still do not feel confident in my searching abilities, but I do know a lot more than I did in January.
The program was well written, and covered everything thoroughly. The only thing I found that would be more helpful was to have a few more explanations on how to the simple things. I think having the more in depth classes is covering the gaps that may occur. The only thing that might need to be expanded on is the tagging lesson. That one left me totally frustrated, and I still am not comfortable with it. I do plan on attending your "in depth" class on it.

My thoughts on Netlibrary

I have always been curious about e-books, but never took the time to explore this part of the library. I found it very interesting and fairly easy to navigate. I did do the tutorial which explained a lot. The one thing I don't understand is how you check out a book and how exactly you view it. Do you just access the library and read it on the computer? I was surprised at the content. I expected a lot of genre stuff, and found mostly reference and non-fiction items. Is that just what I searched, or is the majority of the collection non-fiction? Again, my age is showing, for I really would miss curling up with a book, or if doing reference, I would miss the tactile experience. However, on the other hand, being able to make notes and bookmarking pages, it might be easier to find a certain reference you were looking for. I guess, depending on the use, e-books could be very helpful.
The other area I was curious about was how to look up audio books. I put in a search for audio books, but I came up with a lot of regular books with the words audio and book in them. I thought the tutorial did a great job of explaining how to download them, and I was interested in the 3 week check-out. Do you have to return them somehow, or do they self destruct???
All and all, this was a very helpful lesson, and one I have always wanted to explore, but never took the time. But, as usual I think I go away from the lessons with more questions than answers. Of course, that is a good thing, because before the lesson, I didn't know enough about it to have a question....

I pod, U pod, we all pod....

I was not impressed with podcasts. I am not a radio listener to begin with, so I know I personally will never use this area of the internet. I did find some useful pods when I typed in Library news. Not so much the pod itself, but how it could be beneficial to a school or library to do a "cast" on upcoming events. One would have to have a personality that is contagious, and a very good speaking voice. I could see how this media could be used in that way. I had a great deal of trouble trying to listen to stuff on the Podcast.net link. It kept locking me up. I would never use this, just because it was so much trouble. It could be the internet today, it could be the operator--that's me--pushing too many buttons, or it could be the link. Either way, it was not a positive experience. I did have much better luck with Yahoo Podcasts. I was able to move around the site, without locking up my computer. I found very little that interested me. But, that is personal preference. I am more of a visual person, and most of it was auditory. I had a misconception of what podcasts were. I thought they would be the little cameras that are mounted on individual PC's, and just show your daily life--or something like that. I wasn't aware they were basically radio broadcasts. I did find an interesting one with NPR-about children's books. I did an rss feed on that one. Well, that is it for today. Two posts in one day. Pretty busy day!!!!

You Tube

I enjoyed this lesson. I found several really cute videos of animals. I was able to put the one of the otters on my blog. There is a really cute one of a duck feeding the fish. It is so adorable. You can view it now at http://youtube.com/watch?v=xPxDw7ajfGE (Hey, I did it, I actually made a connection to a URL address)
I thought about the question on application to a library. I feel it might be used to post short clips of different programs on our myspace. How would the process go? Would you first have to post it to youtube, and then import it like I did with the otters. Or, is there a way to just post it from our video camera??? Other than that, I saw no real application. Am I missing the boat? Are there otherways to utilize this technology?

Love is.....

This is just sooooooo cute

This one didn't work.....but if you don't first suceed, try, try again. The second worked, yeah---thanks Robin.

Web 2.0 Awards-Needs a second opinion

I found very little on this link that I wanted to pursue. After much perusing I decided to try the videos. I clicked on Video daily motion, which was in first place, and was told it was blocked for porn. I clicked on Meta cafe, #3, and by the looks of it, it should have been blocked. So that left the 2nd place one, which was youtube. I enjoyed the videos I found here. There was an adorable video of 2 otters, swimming side by side, holding hands. I really enjoyed that one. There were several other animal ones that caught my fancy as well. Of all the exploration I have done here, the different search engines, online image generators, etc. I really feel that Bobbi and Robin picked the best to illustrate their points.