Week 12 - Social Networks

Every week I have undertaken this course I have been able to see the value of every application. But with the social networking side of the Internet I don't see that there is much value in it for me. Yes I know I may be in minority, but I don't want to be one of those people who spends many hours a day or week adding people to a friends list on Facebook. I have enough trouble finding real friends I don't have the time and if I did I do not want to be on Facebook.

Two people have added me to their friends list on Facebook and I have never added anything to it as I couldn't care less. In the library I see to many people on Facebook, Bebo etc and I do wonder what is happening to the world where it seems to be easier to talk online then to have a proper conversation and to become friends with people you don't know. Are we loosing the art of coversation?

In regards to second life, I would prefer to have a great first life then a great one on the computer.

I can see why institutions such as libraries are using Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. To survive libraries do need to adapt to new technology and use this new technology to market libraries to the online user. When a public library is having trouble staffing the desk or keeping up with the shelving etc. I wonder who is going to have the time to create and up date another form of web page to get people interested in libraries. But when petrol gets to be over $2.00 a litre the Internet may be the main way people interact with the library. We are coming into very challenging times.

thank you for a wonderful course. I am pleased I have completed all the tasks. I have added a comment to the PLB wiki which means I have completed the week 5 task as well.

Week 11 - Shared Documents

I am amazed at the large number of free documents that are available on the Internet and they are so easy to use. I created a very simple slide presentation and added pictures from Google Images. To copy pictures from Google images is such a simple process and it adds so much to a presentation.

At the library we don't offer products outside of the Internet and Word Processing so know that I have the knowledge about these documents I will be able to promote them to members of the public.

I haven't had a great look around Zoho as I am running out of time to complete the course and I need to go back and complete a couple of projects from previous weeks that I couldn't do at the time.

I will be printing all the information about each activities so I can keep practicing and therefore improve the service that I can offer to the public.

Above is my mashup which I was unable to do last week. After talking to the boss and doing some searching on the computer system for photos I found one that I thought was worth using.

Week 10 Mashups

Mashups show how technology is constantly changing and in this case for the better. To be able to combine different applications it can lead to a more challenging webpage for the webmaster to compile and a more exciting webpage for the reader. As the Keir Smith site shows you can travel the world without leaving home through virtual tourism which I think is a great idea. I am not so keen on the map of the teenage murders in London but when it is out their in the public domain someone or some organisation is going to pick up on it and publicise it somehow.

There are definatley library applications for Mashups. To make history more accessiable applications like Voicethread and Big huge labs could be used to bring history to life. To interest the younger members of society who are are more in tune with technology and who often have history projects I can see the value of having then and now photos of the local area with text and maps and using Voicethread to capture peoples stories about their life.

There would also be a value in other areas such as children's and youth services to make the web library branch more exciting but since I can't even keep the c&ya part of our webpage up to date and this is partly because I don't have access to front page and I have the creativity of wet cardboard I don't know if I could come up with the necessary flash ideas and keep it all up to date. The benefit would be I could at least do it through the Internet and not need a specific programme like frontpage. I am thinking that I could start a wiki for childrens services and get rid of the frontpage constructed kids page as I could do the work from my PC. But this is just a future plan.

I tried to create something on Big huge Labs but since I don't have access to any suitable photos as a .jpg and couldn't seem to use someone else's from flickr I have had to give up.

Just to make sure I can remeber what I did weeks ago below is a picture of one of my favourite dog breeds a blue heeler that I found on flickr.

Week 9 - Podcasts

I like podcasts. I like the fact that I can access information from all over the world. The information can be valuable for work and also for general interest. To hear interviews with dead authors or really old music I find amazing. To hear talks or interviews by interesting people that I would never get to hear in person or hear talks about interesting places, buildings or pictures that I will never get to see shows that we are in a global village.

I tried to practice downloading a podcast and failed dismally I will try again next week.

Week 8 - Answer boards and social searching

Having checked out the Yahoo answer board I do wonder why anyone would bother to put up questions like Who is the Prettiest, who has a receipe for a cake and how to get out of paying child support. I admire the people who answer these stupid questions as they do show restraint with a hint of humour. One answer to the child support question gave me the best laugh I have had all week. I found it interesting the library one didn't look like it had been well patronised.

I do see the benefit in Ask Now, but the social side of answer boards like the Yahoo one seem like a big waste of time.

I do wonder if the future of public libraries will be very little face to face contact with peope as their questions will be answered via the Internet. If so, I find that frightening as I already think that will become second string DVD shops and rooms of computers. While change can be a good thing I do find the future of libraries frightening as I still have 30 plus years work ahead of me. I do know I do not want to spend the next 30 years telling people it is time to get off the Internet.

I love people with to much time on their hands. Her is a Lego version of a Monty Python skit

All Things del.icio.us- Week 7

I can see many benefits to del.icio.us. I like the idea that you can save interesting sites and give them key words. It is interesting to see what other people have saved and it could be a way of discovering other useful work sites that slip under the radar when searching through a website. The idea of allowing someone else to do the main searching and I get to ride on their coat tails by saving what they have found appeals to me.

At the moment the favourite list on my computeris huge, too huge now to go back and and put into folders. I am slowly going through them and deleting the many that no longer work.

The issue I do have is that to belong to del.icio.us you have to have another login and password. While doing this course I have started to feel overwhelmed with the number of logins and passwords I have.

I will try and use it more as I can see that having my favourites not tied to the one pc would be good.

I don't think I would ever want to link any blog to Technorati. I never have had or will have anything useful to say that anyone would want to read.

Just for something completely useless but fun a Youtube video of Thomas the Tank Engine and friends in Thriller by Michael Jackson

What a Fantastic Waste of Time

Having explored Youtube on an earlier occassion and now Google Video I can say that both are a fantastic waste of time. Yes there are the useful and education clips like the ones that have been used in earlier weeks to explain related topics but there are some great ones on quite useless topics such as George Bush in Funny (which will provide the viewer with a laugh) and many taken from television. Bless those people who have to much time on their hands. They make it fun for the rest of us.

It is very easy to spend alot of time video surfing and therefore using up all of your Internet time if you do it at home. I had a great time searching Youtube at Christmas and had a very big Internet bill, but it was worth it.

Two movies worth waiting for are Prince Caspian




and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Week 5 Wikis

Having explored some Wikis I can see that they can be of great value. The idea of people with similar interests from across the globe collaborating on a topic of interest is a very appealing concept.

When working at the circulation desk, I do try and caution people especially students in years 10 to 12 to not just rely on Wikipedia but many don't seem to care. Many only seem to want the easy option. Wikipedia does have a few benefits but when it comes to serious subjects I do avoid it as a source.

Having an interest in Children's Literature I have discovered a couple of blogs I like

Biblio File - http://www.tushuguan.blogspot.com/

and ChildrensLiteratureWebGuide http://wiki.ucalgary.ca/page/ChildrensLiteratureWebGuide which was originally a website until they embraced Web 2.0 and created this Wiki.

At this stage I am not going to add anything to the sample library Wiki as I don't have anything worth saying.

Week 4 RSS Feeds and Blogs

I am many weeks behind due to holidays and a busy work time. I had a week off in March and lost the plot in regards to doing this weekly. Like many other people I am finding it takes a lot more then 15 minutes a day to get this done.



Week 4 have been interesting. The youtube clip was informative and easy to understand. It made the good point of instead of the user going to a site to see if information of interest has been added, with an RSS feed the information is waiting for you.



While searching for blogs I have found a couple of interesting Children's Literature Blogs.



The Children's Literature Web Blog http://www.childlitbookclub.blogspot.com/ which is put together by an American Librarian has given me an insight into a books that we don't see here in Australia. While I am for promoting Australian authors and Australian stories I do like to find books from other countries and new authors.



The ACHOCKABLOG http://www.achuka.co.uk/achockablog/ is by the editor of the UK magazine ACHOCKA. It is a literature based blog with lot of catergories from Awards, Manga to what is happening in Australiasia. The site has a very comprehensive archive list as well and will appeal to anyone with an interest in childrens literature.

Obviously I still have lots to learn I have posted an RSS feed to my blog but instead of it being with my week four entry it is at the bottom of the blog. But at least it is a start.

Week 3 It is a challenge

Having finally done Week 3. It is all a challenge. I have tried most of the day to get the Flickr images up with limited success. The images are there but they are not showing on the blog. I don't find the instructions particularly helpful at this stage. I have attempted on multiple occassions following the instructions from the Blog This icon but when I try going to Google I get an error message. At the moment I need instructions that are spelt out in crayons. How people have the time to create a blog, add pictures and continually add to the blog is beyond me. I am a couple of weeks behind as I have been doing lots of class visits and making lots of Easter Bunny Bags.

I can see the value of some blogging, especially is closed countries like Burma, it is the only opportunity for peoples voices to be heard but I still wonder what is the point for most of us.

The photographs are of places or building I know from childhood. To see the old butchers shop that I remember going to with mum in the late 70's or early 80's with the sawdust on the floor and the Milawa Anglican Church that I pass everytime I go into Wangaratta on a site that can be accessed by and added to by anyone in the world is amazing. We really are in a global village.

Blogger Girl

Having survived Week 1 of Learning 2.0, I have managed to leave the construction of the blog too the last minute as I had no idea about what to say. Having your words in print for many eyes to see is quite a challenging experience. Now that I have created a blog I am surprised at how easy it was and therefore can now understand why there are so many blogs on the Internet. But the question is does anybody read them and if they do, does anyone reply?

Having viewed a few library blogs for specific library areas and seen that the only person who writes on them is the librarian, I do wonder if people do reply. When the next great Internet product is invented will blogs become old, as email has with many. A comment I have read on some email lists is that librarians are hearing from younger patrons that email is old, the popular way to communicate with people is through Facebook. Only time will tell.

Away from all things blog to all things movie I have discovered the trailor for Nim's Island on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/nimsisland and the trailor for Prince Caspian http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/ both are worth a look. For those who have an interest in YA literature and have read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, it is worth checking out her websight http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/ to learn more about the movie. I discovered the sight after discussing the books with a patron.

See you in Week 3