WEEK 10: #23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning.............

This is only just the beginning or simply the continuation.........The iHCPL post on Week #2 stated "Among libraries, lifelong learning is one of those core values we shelves our books by."

I thought the least favorite would be the exercise on image generators; however, this turned out to be one with a great deal of fun. Many coworkers had a good time laughing and realizing how close our avatars really looked like us. One of the most boring turned out to be one of the most useful. RSS feeds enables one to keep up with what's happening in particular areas of interest. I may not have 50 feeds, but the few I do have, I will continue to use.

The effect on lifelong learning: the goal of becoming acquainted with what's out there was achieved. I learned a lot about feeds, image generators, online sharing and many other web applications. Also, the initial idea of internet safety was strengthened. There's a lot of stuff and a lot of people out there.

Where will we go and what will we find when we get there ? One thing about change, it is inevitable. Keeping up with technology and integrating it into our lives is task that will be around forever. For iHCPL, perhaps book clubs will be online with online checkouts and meetings. Downloadable media has been around and will continue to grow as the number of items grows.

Flickr fun, feeds and blogs are web interests I will continue. This is one chocoholic who is going international. I found some friends out there.

And so the adventure continues...

Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

Positives: Wowio, LibriVox and HCPL are easy user-friendly. I prefer HCPL because it's just like an extension or more features with my library card. Again, this technology is great for providinig books and music free of charge.

Negatives: I found all 3 somewhat lacking in choice. I did not find many classic titles, by such authors as Rafael Sabatini, who had only 1 book available. For my particular interests, I did not find anything to download. International ,and other cultures (Native American, African American) music and book selections don't seem well represented - at least my choices are not here. I do wonder what "the most popular" means - it all depends on the does the choosing or rating; and the availablity, of course.

Week 9: #21 Podcasts, Smodcasts !

There are so many podcasts out there ! Where shall we go and what shall we find - and what shall we do when we get there ?

AN IRAQI WOMAN AND HER LIBRARY
Yahoo directory of podcasts led to the discovery of blip TV. A podcast video of Hameeda Al-Basaam, a librarian in Baghdad, was most touching.
This one is worthwhile watching - Hameeda is a true heroine who personifies dedication and love of books and poeple.

The discovery process can be rewarding and in this case it really was. And it can also be addictive - one can easily spend hours surfing.

WEEK 9: #20 DISCOVER YouTube and other video sharing sites

Music and celebrations are universal. I was wondering if some old friends such as :Pipestone , Kingbird, Whitefish Bay, Northern Wind and The Boyz, had any posts on YouTube. And there they were ! I found them.

YouTube is a great universal meeting place. However, as with cyberspace, some stuff is just awful and not appropriate for viewing by minors. But, the positive is that any person can easily become a movie producer or broadcaster. All The World's A Stage !

The library has incorporated YouTube into the 23 Things. Such applications can be easily used to direct patrons to missed library events and/or resources.

Meeting old friends:

SCHEMITZUN 2007 DRUM COMPETITION, KINGBIRD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMCPyoFDPY4

Week 8: #19 Web-based Apps:They're not just for desktops

It's great that Zoho writer is free ! If you're familiar with wordprocessing there's not a lot of training. It's easy to use. This tool offers the excellent convenience of being able to share your documents with others and not worry about what software they have.

WEEK 8: #18 SOCIAL NETWORKING: Making Freinds in the omfort of your own home

Progress in the old "network" is now in the form of social networking sites. MySpace is full of advertisements/links to entertainment, etc. Facebook seems to be more "relaxed" . LinkedIn presents a bigger telephone with more partylines.

Social Networking does provide a way to extend the old-fashioned network. Security and privacy are concerns - your firewall is only as good as the company hosting the network. They do have your username email and password. Security and the anonymous people you connect to are the big unknown. However, it is an excellent way to extend that network. The questions and answers in LinkedIn can pool a lot of "knowledge" from many users.

The degree to which social networking is used by is a good question. "Digital inequality" may or may not result - some people simply may not choose to use this technology regardless of their background, age, etc.

Week 7: #17 Blog About Technology

Horizon went down last week. We were all set adrift from some of our benefits of technology. All things do break and we must be prepared. Some of the taunting questions from that week was : where are the books and who has them ? One learning is to always plan on contingency plans that may involve old-fashioned technology. It brings to mind the Star Trek episode when Kirk, Spock and McCoy were without their communicators. Scotty was getting ready to blast them out of their holding cell. He used Morse Code to warn them to "stand back !"

Morse Code is old techonology now and it will be really old in a couple of centuries. However, Starfleet Academy still taught the course.

With ever-changing technology, we must always be ready to "stand back" and assess what do we do when the lights / computers/ communicators go out.

WEEK 7: #16 So What's in a Wiki ?

The iHCPL Sandbox was easy and fun to use. It's a really big universe out there for book lovers. On Book Lovers by Princeton it was interesting to find reviews about some of my favorite books . Cyberspace book friends and Wikis - a great tool for communicating, connecting and discovering and sharing new titles. My book Reading List just keeps getting longer.

Week 6: #15 on Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

To a temporary place in time………….perhaps can also be termed

The “Library Uncertainty Principle.”


Predicting the future library based on what the technology is today and perhaps what is quickly coming down the pike (Library 3.0 & 4.0) is fun and exciting. The direction of the future library is being driven by the information momentum of change and people.

It’s a big universe out there – and who knows what time will bring.

What hasn’t been mentioned is fragmentation – everyone does not welcome change. And what about cultural differences ? The point is perhaps to just enjoy the journey and the experience.

Away from the icebergs……..

But What about the REAL things you can feel and touch ?

The “just in case” collection brings to mind the diehard book lover, sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace with a blanket and a steaming cup of hot chocolate , and holding and turning the pages and immensely enjoying a hardback book. Maybe there will still be places like this to go to – a library museum perhaps; or a old bookstore. The past should also have a place – let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.

The People’s Choice Awards
The ovens were predicted to become obsolete with the introduction of microwave cooking. Ovens are still around – and both are used according to the cook’s tastes and preferences.

Week 6: #14 Getting not-so-technical with Technorati

Searching on Technorati or Learning 2.0 yielded the following results:

Blog Posts with exact phrase 540; all of the words 6,773 results

Blog Directory with quotation marks 340 ; without quotation marks 701


“A Trip Down the Farmington River, Monrovia, Liberia” is an interesting video post . Also of note was the effort to get everyone to post something about the environment. One thing that blogs do is emphasize how big, in terms of individual blogs, but how small, in terms of the internet, our planet is. And environmental problems exist everywhere on our small planet. The issue is not only the environment but also humanity’s – we have the same problem with responsibility all around the globe.

Factor X – Ponte el cinturon is a Spanish show just like American Idol. There is no language barrier when a contestant has no singing talent and the judges are somewhat crass. “Spun” TV shows exists on the internet – with different actors and in many different languages. Blogs also emphasize the commonality of bad TV.

WEEK 5 : #13 TAGGING MAKES THE WEB 2.0 GO ROUND

I FOUND IT ! Hmmmmmm!

Chocolate Fountains in The Chocolate Hotel in Bournemouth,UK ! This is a place I must visit.

I made a great discovery while wandering around "topix.net" - It’s Chocolate Week in Great Britain !

As the tutorial has suggested it’s easy to get lost. Where shall I go and what shall I find when I get there- has new meanings with social bookmarking. As suggested in the tutorial you need to find the “middle” ground. Chocoholics of the world can easily unite their bookmarks !

It’s a big universe out there ! One positive thing about this site is the ability to access your bookmarks from anywhere. How vast has the universe of bookmarks has become. At Library Thing, I noted the usernotes of just one user, carolshergold, who has bookmarked 447 items.

Del.icio.us - and a great tool for bookclubs and wandering chocoholics.

Week 5: #12 The Library Elf

I did explore The Library Elf site and its features. This is an excellent tool. One of the best features is the capability to merge several accounts into one. It is also good for those libraries who do not have a Horizon and internet features such as we do. However, I did not feel secure enough to link my personal account to this web site.

Week 5: #11 Library Thing

This is a nice and easy way to keep track of all those books. Being able to search and find out related titles and to share with others (Library Thing) provides a wide reading exposure to some books that you may not have discovered.

Week 5 : #10 Image Generators

Question ? Are cut-out paper dolls a thing of the past ? Answer: Probably not; but with animated avatars people can have loads of fun. I like the many possible applications, such as use on cards, letterhead, etc. It was fun exploring and it's free !

Week 5: #10 The Home Front

WEEK 5 : #10 ON GUARD

Week 4: #9 Finding Feeds

The search feeds : Syndic8,Feedster and Bloglines search tools were all easy to use. However, with Syndic8 it is easy to lose track of your search. Feedster was the easiest. It was great to find feeds and blogs from all over the world such as the Middle East Times and blogs. One of the most unexpected search results was a site for educational games about the Alhambra palace in Spain.

WEEK 4: #8 RSS and a NEWSREADER

There's lots of things out there : RSS feeds and newsreaders. And I now know what they are and how to use them! The world is becoming smaller and smaller each day; and I really enjoy being able to keep up with a subject that doesn't get much air time - such as the recent elections in Turkey. It is good to have a personalized news page and to keep up with the "goings on" in the world. I just wish I had more time to do so.

Week 3: #7 Photo Editing Tools

WEEK 3 : #7 Photo Editing Tools

WEEK 3 : #7 PHOTO EDITING TOOLS

Week 3: #6 More Flickr Fun

Astrolabes
Originally uploaded by Europium

Week 3: #6 More Flickr Fun

Week 3: #6 More Flickr Fun

WEEK 3: #5 DISCOVER FLICKR

The Tikar People inhabit many universes and we all share a common bond.