More with Google Docs

I'm catching up with my blogging. For a start, I loved watching the Youtube video.
At work we used Google docs daily for Internet bookings on the Library computers and it was a revolution when we first started. Boy, did it make life much simpler- for us and the customers.
It was interesting to read about the back up and synchronisation options available. I think these would be very useful tools, especially for reports or newsletters with numerous collaborators.
Learnerplater

Getting customised with I-google

I found it really easy to customise my home page with I-google and think it is a convenient and useful idea- as well as a bit of fun.
Learnerplater.

RSS productivity

RSS feeds are a really good idea. I set up a few in Web 2.0 through Bloglines but have hardly been back to read them at all. I went through a few tonight and enjoyed them. So they are great when you have the time...I investigated the Feed Rinse filter- the spam filter for RSS feeds and if I ever get the chance to use the RSS feeds regularly would definitely set it up. I thought being able to share RSS feeds was very practical, for work and leisure feeds. Maybe when I retire! Learnerplater

Slideshows, screencasting and digital storytelling

The online sharing of slideshow presentations is a great idea. It would be very handy to go to a conference or training seminar, then be able to view or refer to the presentation at a later date, show or explain it to work colleagues. The possibilities are endless really.
Screencasting is an exciting tool to find out about! It would be so useful to make demonstration presentations for training purposes. The Screentoaster demo explained the process well. See the www.screentoaster.com website.
The digital storytelling was interesting too.
Unfortunately, my bandwidth gets a bit frustrating trying to view the presentations and stories- long downloads and buffering interruptions. Learnerplater.

Nings

It was a funny word but great to read about nings! I was so impressed with the Mosman Readers ning- http://www.mosmanreaders.net I want one for our Regional Library.
I imagine it would take a lot of work and time to keep it current but it would be such a valuable resource for users. I think it is about time we expanded our service to allow this type of interaction between our Library users and staff as well as interested community members. Inspirational stuff. Learnerplater

Evaluation

This was an interesting read about online evaluation tools. I knew absolutely nothing about them and can see how useful they would be in managing event promotion and presentations in the Library. I watched a very detailed and useful video at the Zoomerang website, on how to create an online survey. It made me wonder whether we could use this as part of the evaluation of our children's programs in the Library. Would people bother to do it once they were home or is the hard copy in the hand easier? Agenda item for our next team meeting...
As yet, the Google alert hasn't picked up anything interesting. Learnerplater.

Delicious

I think it is great having a list of bookmarks available anywhere. I found these useful ones tagged under Children on the Public Library Services bookmarks on Delicious. Worth a look if you are in the Childrens team.
http://delicious.com/PublicLibraryServices/children
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Twitter

Well, I've had a look at Twitter and found some interesting tweets about libraries. The one I liked the best was the one about searching for images at the National Library of Australia by colour- very cool!
As for Twitter's uses in the library, I can see pro's (better contact with younger borrowers) and con's (how do you find the time to tweet, when you are flat out keeping up with emails?)
Time is precious!
Learnerplater

2010- A new start- 2.1

A new start for the year and the start of working my way through Web 2.1.
When I had to refresh my blog, I was surprised how much I'd forgotten (more passwords to remember) as I haven't even thought of blogging since 2.0. I had a change of colour for my blog as well as a new photo. I'm looking forward to learning some new stuff this time around.
Learnerplater.

#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