Friday, October 31, 2008

23 Things

I really enjoyed going through Learn and Play! At first it was a little bit frustrating, because I am not super technological, but I got the hang of it. There is so much to learn, with so many possibilities. The way the program is presented lets you go slowly, absorbing at your own rate. I finally hit my stride and grew very confident after the RSS feeds. And there were lots of people ready to help, as well as me helping other people. With encouragement from those who ran the program, as well as the cheerleading they did, it was a very enjoyable process. I read my feeds just about every day and will certainly go back to learn more about importing pictures. When I think of how I used to do artwork online, I realize how far we have all come with the growing importance of everything Web. I am happy to be able to semi keep up with the internet. Thanks!

Moldi

It only took about 2 minutes to download Julia Child's book onto my MP3 player. I did it from the test site in the A/V workroom that we were encouraged to use, because we were expecting a download station in our division. That is real convenience, if you have a player other than an IPod.
So, we got the download station, and I think the fact that it doesn't accomodate IPods is slowing it's usage. When it is possible to use an IPod (they said it would be this summer), we might see much more action.
Come try it out if you have a palm pilot or MP3!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Podcasts

The world of podcasts is large and diverse. I got lost right away as to how to find an interesting feed to subscribe to. Finally, I hit on one from the Free Library of Philadelphia. I think their author interviews look very good and I can't wait to listen to some.
Most of the Library's feeds I saw were grossly out of date, so maybe there isn't all that much for a Library to podcast about?

youtube is wonderful

Youtube is great for many reasons. I have a chance to find a show like "The Hills" if I miss an episode. I can watch what Sarah Palin said on the campaign trail. I can find videos that are funny. I can just see what is hot and what people are watching now.

It is a very good social instrument for getting information fast and giving anyone a chance to be a director, actor, or newsperson.

I found this funny video by accident in which a man is teaching a chimpanzee to ride a segway.....do you think he can learn? Watch and find out.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Power Tools

After examining several tools that I found on Power Tools (not previously known to me), I just got lost. I am not one to wade through mountains of information and articles I am not interested in. I found it to be too much. The ones I liked best are del.icio.us and worldcat., ones that provide a service.
I think the toolbar is really cool and useful for library patrons. We should continue to spotlight and teach them useful things.

Web 2.0 Nominees

That was fun, searching all the nominees and award winners. There are so many of them! I kind of got lost in the Retail section for a bit, but I recovered myself. The big find for me was an air fare locator through http://www.msn.com/. It is accessible on their website by clicking Air Tickets/Travel, and is called Farecaster. I really liked how it works and passed the site on to my kids.
As for Library use, I think there are various sites worth looking at. Some, we already have explored.

Using Google Docs

Initially I thought I had lots of ideas for using Google Docs. This could help Staff Relations, but I am no longer on the committee. This could help our department. We can upload the schedule to it and everyone could post their own changes as they arise. That sounds a little chaotic to me. We could post our Shelf Reading assingments and sign off on them instead of posting the sheet on the wall. We could post our Collection Analysis assignments and everyone could follow the progress being made. I am sure we will talk about all these ideas at the meeting, but Dave has already said he wants us to use the Wiki he created for our division, so I have to find out which is easier and which will meet our needs better.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Playing on the CML Wiki

This was a bit frustrating for me and I still don't know if I added my Blog to the Wiki. I had trouble with the process because the instructions didn't say to contact the administrator for clearance so I wasn't sure about that. I proceeded by getting clearance, and then got stuck adding my blog. So, I have a bit more work on that site to play with it and explore just how useful this tool can be for me.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Wikis

I searched through the list of library wikis and really was most impressed by Library Success: A best practices wiki. It is a great way to share information. Easy to use because it is so organized, I found lots to recommend. The Readers Advisory and Programming for Adults drew me in. It seems well worth the time to peruse.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Who understands that a middle aged woman would get addicted to "The Hills"? My kids were watching it one night last year and now I'm hooked. Well, the fourth season started last night and there I was, glued to the set watching a show that was maybe 15 minutes of the half hour time slot. The rest of the time was taken up by the theme song, commercials, and of course the live kick-off party on the beach. All the beautiful young stars were back, with the addition of Heidi's sister who wants to move to L.A. The high point of the night was Audrina telling Lo that they will never be friends and that she just doesn't care. I never saw Audrina act so decisively. Come to think of it, I did watch soaps in high school.....Have a great day wherever you are! KayKay

Monday, August 18, 2008

Hi everyone! It's a beautiful day in Columbus, Ohio. Saw the new Woody Allen movie over the weekend, "Vicky Christina Barcelona". I was not in love with it. I got what he was trying to say here, but honestly, Woody needs to get over it. The movie's tempo was off, and his sexual themes are getting really old. I did enjoy the universal theme of love not always going according to plan.
Have a great day wherever you are!
KayKay