#23 The end

I can't believe it's the end. This program has been a huge learning curve for me and I have really enjoyed the online format. The only problem the whole way through is finding the time to complete the exercises. Because our library is so busy, I had to do all of the course at home- luckily we had just swapped over to Broadband.
I think the 15 minutes a day recommended was too short-it definitely took longer than that to do properly. 15 minutes might have been alright for those people in IT or already using online tools and features but when you are starting from scratch, I think you could double it!
Doing Learning 2.0, I gained an understanding of what is available on the web and found some useful tools which I can use at work (eg Web-based applications in particular)
I also came to realise by the end of the program that social networking is changing rapidly in the world, whether we like it or not and that more and more younger people in particular are going to be using their computers for social interaction.
I think some of the tools we learnt about can be used to enhance our library users use of our catalogue and website so they can interact more effectively with the library- eg. book review wikis, community wikis and blogs, catalogue annotation, subject guides for a start.
I really hope (and will suggest) that our library starts using wikis for knowledge base/training or can run online training for staff (or the public for that matter). We are a big regional library and I think these formats would work well, especially when it's hard and costly to get everyone together.
There was a lot of "fun stuff" we learnt about- Flickr and Youtube are great. Where on earth do people get the time though?!
I liked the way that everything you do online is easy and user friendly. I didn't have to be a techno geek to be able to interact easily!
My favourite discovery was Library Thing. A great, easy-to-use site and very useful for work and personal use.
Has this affected my lifelong learning goals? Yes, my teenage son was surprised I could "handle" some of the stuff we did, which is a great confidence booster! Great for starting conversations with him, too.
I found out that learning is really my thing- I can't get enough of it- whatever it is!
I learnt (had it hammered home) that attitude really is everything and that opportunities really do exist everywhere! I just have to think right and reach out and take them!!
Thanks for a great learning experience, Learnerplater

#22 Audiobooks

Audiobooks are one of those things I would guess a lot of libraries would say are stealing their "business". ie that people would download their books and stop coming to the library to borrow books. Maybe it's just one of those new ideas that will take a bit of getting used to and that eventually libraries will see the benefits of audiobooks. I can see that they might appeal to the young adults, that they would be great if you were travelling (eg backpacking)and couldn't fit in your books and also for commuters on public transport. Literature on tap for the masses! Anything that gets people reading and stretching their minds and attitudes has to be an advantage! I think Audiobooks are complementary to libraries- especially if the library is offering the access to the fee-paying audiobook servers as a service to their clients. Learnerplater

#21 Podcasts

Podcasts are fun. There is an amazing variety of topics available, useful for both hobbies and work purposes. Today I subscribed to a "Sticks and String" podcast, from an Aussie knitting bloke, which will be a bit of fun. Way back when we first learnt about RSS feeds, I had subscribed to a NLA feed called Recent Australian Publications, which although lengthy, is interesting to read. It has monthly updates.
A useful tool for the library. Learnerplater

#20 Youtube

#19 Web 2.0 tools

The awards list of Web 2.0 tools had some great sites. It was good to see a lot of the ones we have discovered through Learning 2.0 listed there.
www.biblio.com is a very useful tool for the Library. It is a secondhand book site which is very easy to use. The filters for searching are good. I especially like being able to limit it to Australia and New Zealand, instead of a global search. Another feature is the filter for the condition of the book. I will be able to recommend it to Library customers, who want to purchase a book that we don't stock, it's not available on ILL and is not in the shops any more and they just HAVE to have it! Learnerplater

PS. www.etsy.com is another winner. Like an Ebay for handmade products only. Beautiful stuff!

#18 Web-based apps- Zoho writer

This was interesting! I can see a lot of use for Zoho writer in particular, for my new team at work, once we get started. We are all on different shifts and even don't all work on the same days, so this would be wonderful for coordinating our thoughts, to do lists, and library planning.
Learnerplater.

Mary, Mary

My first Zoho Writer experiment

 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells

and pretty maids all in a row.

#16 Wikis

I think I like Wikis! I started off thinking a bit on the cynical side but after investigating a lot of the library-oriented wikis, have changed my mind as to how useful they would be to us in our library. I was particularly interested to see the training type wikis that were shared between library staff in America. eg. the PLCMC Core Competencies Wiki. A knowledge base/training wiki would be a good idea for our region, I think. It would cut training costs and as we are a big region, travel costs. As we are also a bit isolated from training venues, it would open up the training opportunities available to us and to more staff as well! I liked the idea of the Community wiki, hosted by the library. That would work well here. The subject guides wikis produced by some libraries are a good idea, too. I also think the libraries who are opening their online catalogues to annotation by both staff and library users, are being very innovative (and a bit brave!) It was reassuring that there are some controls put on some of the wikis by library staff to control the content- making sure some stuff can't be deleted! Good idea! The Library Success wiki had some great stuff- have a look!
http://www.libsuccess.org
Learnerplater

#15 Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

It was very interesting to read the articles on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. I think I am starting to think a bit more positively about the way Web 2.0 is changing the way we work and I was interested to read how some people think it will affect Library services to our users. It's a different way of providing information access and interaction. I don't know how we will fit in trying to keep ahead of our users as far as trends and technology, etc will go. There are days when we are flat out getting shelving done and have no time for researching or reading but maybe if the type of information changes, shelving won't be as big a task anyway! I can see a lot of changes ahead...
Learnerplater

#14 Technorati

I've had a look around Technorati and did find a difference in the results that came up, when using the different search options. The Popular tags were interesting to skim over- people really discuss a lot of topics!
One interesting thing I read (in the Help section of Technorati) was...

"With an increasing number of people reading, writing, and commenting on blogs, the way we use the Web is shifting in a fundamental way. Instead of primarily being passive consumers of information, more and more Internet users are becoming active participants. Weblogs allow everyone to have a voice. "

I suppose it helps me to understand a bit more, why people are blogging and tracking blogs. I can see that blogs can be powerful and persuasive tools as well as promoting efficient distribution of information.
Learnerplater

#13 Tagging

Well, I feel like my mind has been stretched this afternoon. I have just learnt about tagging at Del.icio.us and it is very interesting!

I really like the video we had to watch from the 2.0 page, Social Bookmarking in Plain English: Another Commoncraft Youtube video. That guy makes the best videos- they are so easy to understand!

I think it would be a very useful tool for me because I could access a list of my favourites from both home and work. I like the idea of coordinating. I'm still not sure about the sharing part- does anyone ever have time to look at what everyone else has tagged their website as? I concede that it would be good for researching something, by using other people's tags.

I was looking around the PLCMCL2's bookmarks and was impressed by the recipes one I found. What a good idea, to keep all the recipes together- that's when it really clicked and the concept made sense. Much better than all those squirty little bits of paper shoved into a drawer! Some people really get organised, don't they? I thought I was an organised person but from what I 've seen today and on Library thing the other day, I have a long way to go....Learnerplater

#12 Knitwit search roll from Rollyo

This is an interesting concept and will make looking for things easier by narrowing the searching. It would be great to have a Reference searchroll to use at work. The knitting one I have made up will be useful for my hobby...Learnerplater

P.S. The instructions for adding the search roll to your blog (from the 2.0 discovery exercise) are missing a step. In Step 8, go to the dashboard and then click on the Layout tab to find the Template

#11 LibraryThing

The web address that follows is the link to my LibraryThing bookshelf. Hopefully when you click on it, you see a random selection of books on the shelf in my library. Mostly old favourites, some newer titles. I really like this LibraryThing and if only I had the time, could organize all the books in my library (house) very efficiently! Learnerplater

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/learnerplater

#10 Image generators

This is a favourite holiday destination for librarians!
Where is my camel? I'm off to Paris....

Powerd by Portrait Illustration Maker


Seriously, this picture was made up by me at the following image generator,
Portrait Illustrator Maker,
http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml
It was a bit of fun! And one day I will get to Egypt...Learnerplater

Subscribing to some colleague blogs

I have just subscribed to a couple of colleague's blogs and look forward to hearing about their 2.0 experiences on my newsreader.
I am having trouble understanding why people want to spend so much time making and keeping blogs and reading a stranger's blogs! I can see it's usefulness if you were travelling overseas or had friends or family living overseas or interstate and wanted to share information and photos quickly and easily to a select group of people.
I wonder what sort of "social beings" this type of impersonal communication will produce in the long term....Learnerplater

#8 RSS feeds

Well, I think I am getting my head around RSS feeds. The tutorials provided in the 2.0 page were great and made it very easy to understand how RSS feeds work. It was a bit harder to find sites with RSS feeds that interested me enough to want to look at them every day. I think I have managed to create a link to my current feeds (a few I will trial for a while to see whether they are worth the effort!) and you can look at it at the following link if you want to see what I am keeping up with: http://www.bloglines.com/public/Learnerplater
I'm having a good time with 2.0 but it is very time consuming!! Nighty-night....Learnerplater

#6 More Flickr fun

I have been intrigued by the way some people organize their photos and particularly like the Colour picker one at http://www.krazydad.com/colrpickr/, where photos are arranged according to their most predominant colour. There are some truly amazing photos and they seem to be more dramatic, when viewed with similar colours and hues. I think I will be back on that site, when I'm thinking about the next patchwork quilt to make, for some inspiration! Learnerplater

I thought my face was going to melt off.

I thought my face was going to melt off.
Originally uploaded by pixietart

This is the next experiment on using Flickr- adding aphoto to my blog. I had a wonderful time, looking at all the photos on Flickr, saw some amazing stuff. I decided on this spectacular one. Love the title! I have a thing for firies....Learnerplater

#5 Flickr fun

Well, tonight I've been exploring Flickr and have seen some magnificent photos. The ways of organizing the photos is pretty nifty and I can see how handy it would be for sharing photos with family and friends interstate. I have put a sample photo on Flickr, from the computer and the next step will be to try blogging a photo from Flickr-ie getting a Flickr photo onto my blog. Have had enough for today though, so it can wait until tomorrow....a tired learnerplater

The big piccie

I have just worked out how to add a photo of myself to the blog. Aren't I just lovely...a lovely library lady.

day 2- blogging away

Ok, day 2 and blogging away happily, wondering what I could write that is worth reading. I have checked the participant's blogs and I am still not on the list. Hope I turn up soon. Meanwhile, I hae re-registered in case I made a mistake last night. It was getting late, I was getting tired. 15 minutes a day- what a joke! Learnerplater

registering my blog

OK. I have just registered my blog. Practice makes perfect, so I had better start!
Learnerplater

here goes

Well, here I am. I'm not sure about this blogging thing. Who wants to read it? How public is it? Is it just UMRL people or learning 2.0 participants? No doubt, I'll find out from someone...
somewhere along the line in the next few weeks.
Learnerplater