The End!!

Oh my goodness! What a learning experience that was. It has never been so clearly and completely demonstrated to me how little I know about computer technology and how far out of touch with the electronic age I really am. I feel very humble and in awe of every 12 year old that could have completed the 23 Things exercise in one hour and still have had the time to text their friends and download music and videos from the Internet. My favorite exercise was Library Thing. It's a good feeling to see some of the books a person has read and to also list all the books that you want to read when time permits. The 23 Things exercise has shown that when push comes to shove even an old broad can learn a little about computer technology and use the knowledge to simplify our hectic lifestyles. I found Blogging to be helpful in arranging one's thoughts and offering an avenue to express them. Another realization I'm taking away from this exercise is I should really make an effort to at least attempt to keep up with a small fraction of the technology that is offered and hopefully remain as "tarp as a shack" as I age. I found some aspects of the exercise were modified from the tutorials and that only proves the point that an individual has to be flexible. If another training exercise was offered I'd have to think about undertaking it, it all depends on the workload...


LK

Finding RSS Feeds

Well that was an eyeopener! I found that I couldn't use Feedster it's under construction! However the other three search tools for feeds were relatively simple and straightforward once one got the hang of them. I don't think I 'll use them alot, although if there's a certain news story I'm interested in, I'll know where to look for it.

LK

RSS

Well, I managed to muddle my way through another exercise. The concept is great to streamline a person's need to keep current with the world news. However, I don't even have the time to watch an hour of television news so I don't think I'll be utilizing RSS very much. It's a benefit for people who perhaps need to keep on top of events for their jobs and have some time to devote to it. However, I did have another go at it and was able to subscribe to a few more feed successfully. I don't feel quite as frustrated as before. Libraries could have important newsworthy sites on a newsreader and be able to manage the information for patron inquiries.

LK

And the award goes to...

I explored the Music at Last.fm site. I just had a quick cursory look or should I say listen around the site. It offers many options to listen to numerous artists. Although I don't seem to be able to hear a complete song or track. Maybe I need to explore a bit more. I'm sure a technologically savvy youth could spend hours on this site and come away a much better person for the experience. They could listen to some artists to see if they like their music before checking out a compact disc. Feeling a bit "lost" and having no one to ask directions, I stumbled upon Google maps. Now here's an informative, helpful site. You can find just about anything you need and it's current and convenient. This I'm sure would be very helpful in a library setting when a patron wants to find a hotel or business in a city they're unfamiliar with.
LK

ONLINE APPS

It is very convenient to be able to create a word document on the Internet. It has simple graphics and seems user friendly enough. I created a simple Christmas card, actually it's a Christmas sheet but I ran into some technical difficulties trying to post it to my blog. I know, that's strange, by now, I should be able to post just about anything I want to my blog, however this one document escapes me. Maybe I'll try later when I'm thinking a bit clearer.

LK

Library 2.0

Well, what are my thoughts on Library 2.0, Web 2.0 and I just don't know 2.0? Oh my goodness, there's just too much information, thoughts and opinions for a mere mortal to contemplate. I'm a traditionalist, I have a very antiquated vision of a library as a "quiet, restful, soothing place where one can come to to just relax and read. However, I'm not living in Mayberry, so I have to change my vision and keep up with the steady, inexorable advancement of technology. It'll happen whether we support it or not. I guess we have to support it in order to stay current and on the cutting edge of technology so we can reach people all over the world in various ways. People who face health and medical challenges can benefit from the assisted technology of Daisy Readers and audio books that can be downloaded. Technology definitely has it's advantages. It's just a little hard on the grey matter to retain.

LK

Technorati

Tags work with blogs just seamlessly. You can search amazing amounts of blogs just by typing in a few words. I found the most results when I searched for Learning 2.0 in Blog posts. Searching by tags and blog directory brought up fewer blogs, but still an impressive amount.

LK

Del.icio.us

Here's my thoughts on Del.icio.us. I'm rapidly learning I know very little about many things. My head as well as my wrist hurts. Maybe I should check for some bookmarks relating to carpal tunnel syndrome. Just kidding. It's a wonderful tool in the hands of a knowledgeable person who can relax and devote the time to learning and understanding all about this site.

LK

Rollyo

I tried to create my own search engine, but I'm afraid it's the "Little Engine that couldn't". I can't seem to find it correctly so I can link it to this blog. I'll try one more time. I'm sure this isn't correct, so don't even attempt it.

LK

http://www.rollyo.com/dashboard.html

Library Thing is my Thing!!!

Finally some technology that I can relate to (in other words, pretty simple and straightforward!). It is a wonderful sense of accomplishment to view all or some of the books you have read recently. The images of the book covers are so nice and shiny and new. I'm looking forward to creating my "Wish List of Future Books to Read". I'm sure I'll still be referring to this list when I'm in my dotage and occupying a chair in "Shady Pines" (an old folks home!).

LK

Generator Blog

Not sure what I've done. I think I may have created an image monster. I tried to play and explore with The Generator Blog and in the process "pimped" a photo of my backyard. I'll attempt to add the image to this blog. After Kathleen's help, I uploaded my work of art! Thanks so much Kathleen! What a brainiac. If you want to try this go to Lunapic.com

LK

Bedazzled by technology

Well, what impresses me the most about my technological learnings? That's the million dollar question. I find Flickr very fascinating as well as mind bending. There are so many images that one can feast their eyes upon. With the advent of digital cameras it has simplified sharing one's treasured photos. With a few simple (if you know what keys to hit) keystrokes an individual can send their photographic memories to several people without first having to develop them and avoiding the hassle of meeting with said persons and lugging several heavy photo albums along.

LK

Big brown eyes!

What a lovely shade of brown.

I found this lovely photo on Flickr Color Picker. I would love to have the real animal, however, I don't think my backyard would accommodate a horse. I guess I have to settle for the photo. But it is a fabulous shade of brown and I owe it all to Flickr Color Picker. Maybe next week my pet will be something that is green. The possibilities are exciting!

Linda

One of my favorite places!

Here's two snapshots of one of my favorite places! Both photos were taken in Jasper National Park. The first one is along the old highway and the second shot is of Leech Lake (I know the name could use an overhaul). Leech Lake is a beautiful glassy green and the water is crystal clear and very cold. There's a short pier you can walk out on which offers a view of thousands and thousands of little fish. Not sure of the species but the lake is swarming with them. With the fishes writhing movements the lake looks like it's a living entity which is constantly in motion. I look forward to our annual visit to our country's most beautiful national park (in my humble opinion) for it's relaxing and revitalizing effects.
LK

Netlibrary

In order to establish a netlibrary account, I had to "fish out" my rather thin and worn library card to enter the complete barcode. I haven't had to enter the whole line of numbers in quite a while. I had to try three or four times to set up a username, the ones I choose where unavailable. Once I was successful at establishing my account, I searched the catalogue and found a title by Peter Carey that I would like to download.

LK

I don't think I want to become a podcaster!

Well, what's my experience with podcasts? Overwhelming once again. There's so many links, categories, lists, top 100 podcasts etc. I found one comedy blog titled Comic Strip Live: Stand up comedy. I listened for a short while, I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to discovering podcasts. I found some library podcasts from actual libraries but you had to download one or two items and that's way beyond my capabilities. I'm sure podcasts can and are very useful, I'm just not that interested in technology.

LK

My view on YouTube

What a mind boggling site. A person could spend hours and hours wasting time on some pretty silly stuff. I found the video The Evolution of Dance entertaining. It was clean and not offensive to any ethnic group, which is a rarity in this day and age. (At least I don't think it would offend anyone.) My son recommended the Spiders on Drugs video, I can see why that would appeal to a 17 year old male. Anyway, one positive thing about the site is that is is very large and one can find video on probably everything and anything. On the other hand, I find it confusing and overwhelming at times with all the video choices . I'm quite certain if I find just viewing videos on the site overwhelming, I know my brain couldn't survive trying to load a video on YouTube.

LK

My first taste of Wikis

I wish it tasted like chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Still a little confusing. I'm sure it's very straight forward when one isn't tired and frazzled by 6:00 pm on a
Friday afternoon.

My thoughts on Wikis

My first exposure to a Wiki is certainly overwhelming! There's a lot of stuff packed into one Wiki. I find it very democratic that just about anyone can add, edit and delete information without having to have a degree in computer science. However it still is a bit unnerving and one still needs a certain amount of knowledge to "make the thing work"
Some applications for libraries could be as a communication tool between libraries and patrons as well as one method to showcase all the programs/events and procedures in a library.
LK

My thoughts on why Web 2.0 matters are very simple - either you keep up with the times or you will be left behind, out of the loop and out of touch! We can learn using the traditional methods like reading a book and attending classes and lectures and taking notes or quite simply by surfing the web. The web has updated, current and breaking news and information that will keep one well informed and in touch with current events. We could find out what happened to Harry Potter before the last book hit the bookstores. Technology touches our lives everyday, the use of ATMs, cell phones, self check outs at stores and libraries and even purchasing tickets at the movie theater. A person has to have some level of comfort and knowledge with the advances in technology in order to simply make it through a day. Every day is a learning experience which hopefully is a positive experience.

Pheww 3 exercises down and only 20 more to go!

Well I must say this has been a learning experience today. I almost feel like a hip and trendy 30 year old! The internet is a vast and complex entity which I hope to understand better and feel more comfortable using. So little time and so much to explore, learn and embrace.