Well, I’ve arrived at the very last Thing! It’s been a great learning experience for me, and I am actually going to miss working on these excercises. I’ve encountered new things, tried new uses for old things, and generally had fun.
All of the Things were internet skills or sites I had intended previously to explore, or would have if I’d known that they existed. It’s hard to make time to do all of the things you want to do, though, so having this program has really been about giving myself permission to play with new possibilities and new technologies.
Quite a few of the things that I’ve learned have altered my daily routines. I now keep lists on a personal wiki, I check my Bloglines in the morning instead of individual sites, and in a few minutes I’ll be listening to a downloadable book while I’m working. And those are just a couple of the changes.
Flickr is transforming my creative life. I take a half-hour walk through my neighborhood every day, and now I bring my digital camera with me. The ability to create new and unique images is fantastic, and it’s really the other people posting on Flickr that have opened my eyes to the possibilities.
Podcasts I already loved, along with Youtube. But now that I have my own blog, and can embed videos and podcasts on it, there are so many things to do with them that I hadn’t thought of before doing this program. I can’t wait to explore further.
As a library worker, I have a lot more information at my fingertips now because of my account with del.icio.us. I can also refer patrons to many sites I hadn’t known existed, by the simple use of tags. The online productivity software is something patrons have been wanting for years, and I am ecstatic to be able to link them to online word processing.
Basically, this program has had a beneficial effect on the way I live and the way I work. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and kind of wish we were going farther with the idea. The new mp3 player won’t be too shabby, either!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Week 9 Thing 22: Reading with My Ears
Downloadable audiobooks are wonderful things, although it would be nice if I could listen to the ones from NetLibrary on my iPod. I’ve established an account with NetLibrary, and am currently downloading Great Expectations to my computer for listening pleasure. As soon as we receive the compatible MP3 players for completing the program, I will be listening frequently.
NetLibrary seems pretty easy to use; I wonder if it is popular with our patrons? I expect many of us will prefer to have the physical object, be it player, CD, or jump drive, although downloading is increasingly popular. Personally, the availability of various methods to listen to audiobooks delights me. I hope with changes we increase our options, rather than reducing them.
The selection seems a bit sparse, but I have already found several titles I’d like to listen to in the next few months. It helps that my reading habits are exceedingly eclectic. I would assume, though, that the number of available titles is constantly increasing. Children’s titles, especially, seem lacking, except for one particular author. Brian Jacques must be making a mint!
I certainly prefer the sound quality of the downloadable books to that of the playaways. The audio is clear and easily understood if one chooses the larger download, while playaways often have such poor sound quality that I can barely listen to them. Download speed and computer access will be key to a patron’s choices, plainly.
Overall I have to say I am thrilled at this addition to our collection. Here’s hoping to a future where fast, easy downloads are possible for all of our patrons. And to ourselves, as well.
NetLibrary seems pretty easy to use; I wonder if it is popular with our patrons? I expect many of us will prefer to have the physical object, be it player, CD, or jump drive, although downloading is increasingly popular. Personally, the availability of various methods to listen to audiobooks delights me. I hope with changes we increase our options, rather than reducing them.
The selection seems a bit sparse, but I have already found several titles I’d like to listen to in the next few months. It helps that my reading habits are exceedingly eclectic. I would assume, though, that the number of available titles is constantly increasing. Children’s titles, especially, seem lacking, except for one particular author. Brian Jacques must be making a mint!
I certainly prefer the sound quality of the downloadable books to that of the playaways. The audio is clear and easily understood if one chooses the larger download, while playaways often have such poor sound quality that I can barely listen to them. Download speed and computer access will be key to a patron’s choices, plainly.
Overall I have to say I am thrilled at this addition to our collection. Here’s hoping to a future where fast, easy downloads are possible for all of our patrons. And to ourselves, as well.
Week 9 Thing 21: Where's The Pod?
Podcasting, to be quite honest, is probably my favorite of all internet developments in the last couple of years. I’ve been an enthusiastic listener for over a year now, and my husband and I have plans to develop a podcast of our own at some point in the future. The technology is fairly simple to use, reasonably inexpensive, and readily available. Content is the real key to developing one, and we think we can cover that aspect.
I already am subscribed to several podcasts, through my iTunes software since I use an iPod, but I went ahead and found some interesting new ones using the suggested directories for this exercise. Adding them to my bloglines is not going to be a long-term help to me, but the experience should enable me to assist other people with the concept.
The suggested search engines are already somewhat familiar to me. My favorite is probably Podcast Alley, but I use all of them, including the iTunes store’s list of free ‘casts. My preferred podcasts tend to be the crafting and fiction ones, though podcasts are also great sources of news, education, and humor. Any of these search engines could supply a number of those types of 'casts. On this search, however, I’m looking for book reviews, fiction, and or library-related podcasts.
The Holodrama Network is a Star Wars fan fiction podcast; I can’t wait to listen. The Secrets Presents: Forgotten Tales is supposedly good original fiction. I hope it lives up to its hype. Now for a book review podcast: I think I’ll try out the Comic Book Attic. Filmspotting looks like it could be interesting, as does Audio Books with Annie.
I know from experience that only listening will really reveal the quality of these ‘casts. But, as with Youtube, the folksy nature of podcasting is a great deal of the appeal for me. I like the idea that information can become, not merely universally available, but more democratically produced. Greater degrees of discernment will be needed for finding the most valuable communications, but I think we can all afford to develop that particular quality.
Ah! Listening to the podcasts on my computer, using Bloglines, turns out to be extremely easy. I’m doing it now, as I create this blog entry. Maybe I will find Bloglines even more useful than I originally imagined it to be. Ha-ha, this is a very, very silly story. Content, how important you are.
I already am subscribed to several podcasts, through my iTunes software since I use an iPod, but I went ahead and found some interesting new ones using the suggested directories for this exercise. Adding them to my bloglines is not going to be a long-term help to me, but the experience should enable me to assist other people with the concept.
The suggested search engines are already somewhat familiar to me. My favorite is probably Podcast Alley, but I use all of them, including the iTunes store’s list of free ‘casts. My preferred podcasts tend to be the crafting and fiction ones, though podcasts are also great sources of news, education, and humor. Any of these search engines could supply a number of those types of 'casts. On this search, however, I’m looking for book reviews, fiction, and or library-related podcasts.
The Holodrama Network is a Star Wars fan fiction podcast; I can’t wait to listen. The Secrets Presents: Forgotten Tales is supposedly good original fiction. I hope it lives up to its hype. Now for a book review podcast: I think I’ll try out the Comic Book Attic. Filmspotting looks like it could be interesting, as does Audio Books with Annie.
I know from experience that only listening will really reveal the quality of these ‘casts. But, as with Youtube, the folksy nature of podcasting is a great deal of the appeal for me. I like the idea that information can become, not merely universally available, but more democratically produced. Greater degrees of discernment will be needed for finding the most valuable communications, but I think we can all afford to develop that particular quality.
Ah! Listening to the podcasts on my computer, using Bloglines, turns out to be extremely easy. I’m doing it now, as I create this blog entry. Maybe I will find Bloglines even more useful than I originally imagined it to be. Ha-ha, this is a very, very silly story. Content, how important you are.
Week 9 Thing 20: I See Youtube
I’ve been an enthusiastic viewer of Youtube videos for quite a while now. Exploring the site again with new eyes is fun, all the same. It’s gotten a lot bigger than it was when I first discovered it! The number of users has definitely exploded in a short time, and I think that is likely to continue. Also, I’ve never actually embedded a video from the site into one of my posts, which makes for an interesting learning experience.
It wasn't difficult to find out how to embed; I just looked in their help menu for the FAQ section. Obviously embedding is hugely popular, so they make it simple. You have to copy the embedding code they place on the page with the video, in the "About this Video" section, and under the helpful header "Embed". *g*
When I tried to think of what I might like or dislike about the site, it made me laugh. There are so many different kinds of videos that anyone could find something about which to complain. But the diversity, the hokiness even, is part of its charm for me. I love the folk aspect, and if the internet is for pictures of people’s cats, then Youtube is for videos of people’s pets. I could watch the puppies and kittens all day, I really could.
See how cute they are?
But aside from cute animals, the possibilities of a site like Youtube are really endless. The library could potentially use videos to show users how to operate our computers, do searches, find items; even when the patrons are in their own homes. Staff can learn from tutorials, presentations of programs might enrich public understanding and increase attendance, and potentially we might even be able to communicate internally via videos.
It wasn't difficult to find out how to embed; I just looked in their help menu for the FAQ section. Obviously embedding is hugely popular, so they make it simple. You have to copy the embedding code they place on the page with the video, in the "About this Video" section, and under the helpful header "Embed". *g*
When I tried to think of what I might like or dislike about the site, it made me laugh. There are so many different kinds of videos that anyone could find something about which to complain. But the diversity, the hokiness even, is part of its charm for me. I love the folk aspect, and if the internet is for pictures of people’s cats, then Youtube is for videos of people’s pets. I could watch the puppies and kittens all day, I really could.
See how cute they are?
But aside from cute animals, the possibilities of a site like Youtube are really endless. The library could potentially use videos to show users how to operate our computers, do searches, find items; even when the patrons are in their own homes. Staff can learn from tutorials, presentations of programs might enrich public understanding and increase attendance, and potentially we might even be able to communicate internally via videos.
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