Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Method 12

My favorite discoveries were podcasting and embedding video and setting up a blog spot for myself. I knew all these 2.0 web tools were available, but I never knew how to use them.

This program has affected my lifelong learning goals by enabling me to become more confident in my technology skills so that I can take full advantage of the web tools introduced.

My biggest surprise was that none of the applications were difficult. It just took a little patience and time to become accomplished at each task.

Yes, I would participate in a program like this one again. Thank you for putting the two-stepping together and making it available to librarians across the state.

Method 11

I was not actually able to watch a podcast in my library because the tech depertment was unavailable today to download a podcast aggregator. However, I did listen to several interesting podcasts. One that was of particular interest to me was on developing a wireless usage policy for school libraries. I think that podcasting is an easy tool to use to stay current on library issues and happenings.

Method 10

This method has enlightened me about the world of wiki. Although I am very familiar with Wikipedia, I did not know anything specific about the uses of wikis. A book review wiki would be beneficial for libraries everywhere. Librarians within a district could use wikis to share and collaborate their ideas about library policies.

Method 9

I was not able to chat with tslacdl. It did not appear that the option was blocked by our district, but it did not work for whatever other reason. I am familiar with chatting online, as I do this with my Skype and Facebook accounts. I was not familiar with MeeBo, but at this point do not feel the need to consolidate all of my chatting accounts, especially since I only have two. My library is very small, so I do not anticipate that adding a chatting option to my catalog would improve patron communication.

Method 8

I believe that social networking sites have their advantages and disadvantages. I have a personal facebook account because I have found that it's an easy and fun way to stay connected with family and friends. I am concerned about privacy issues, so I would consider that a major disadvantage of social networking sites. It has been reported recently that even if personal information is hidden that it is still easily accessed by anyone who wants to formulate a profile of your shopping habits, political views, etc. We have facebook blocked in our district, so I could not even access 10 Ways You Can Promote Your Library With Facebook. At this point, I cannot imagine any advantage to setting up a facebook account for my library. Wouldn't that take the place of the district library page? I will try to read the article at home so that I can gain some insight.

Method 7

I can see the potential for using delicious bookmarking in my library, especially for high school research assignments. I think it would be important to teach this 2.0tool to students so that they can easily locate articles to use in their research papers, or to tag their own articles. For everyday use, delicious does offer a convenient way in which to access bookmarks from any computer.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Method 6

I chose this video from teachertube.com because it overviews Destiny, which is our library automation system. I think embedding video into a blog or other web tool is an exciting application option for librarians. This is an excellent way to post book reviews by students, announce upcoming new arrivals or upcoming programs in the library.


Monday, October 12, 2009

Method 5


I am familiar with posting photos and images on the web and participating in photo sharing. I can imagine that this capability will have its use in the library, especially when librarians want to share their floor plan, displays, etc., with other librarians. I can also imagine students sharing their photos online, which I am sure they are doing at home. At this point, we have safety filters on our network that limit what the students can do. I have uploaded a photo from Flickr as part of the requirement for completing this step. After following directions and being told by Flickr that my photo has successfully uploaded, I am still not confident that the photo is there. I guess I will see after I publish the post????? If not, back to the drawing board.

Method 4

http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed/http%3A%2F%2Fearthfriendlygardening.wordpress.com%2Ffeed%2F#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%


www.google.com/reader/view/feed/http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fnybooks#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%


www.squidoo.com/booktrailersds.feedburner.com%2Fnybooks

It's nice to know now what RSS feeds are because I wasn't really sure, although I assumed that it had something to do with accessing pre-selected topics. It's an interesting feature, but I do not think I would take advantage. I am beginning to feel that there is so much information out there and so many different ways in which to access that information, it all becomes overwhelming.

Method 3

Cloud based computing is a fascinating concept and one in which I was not familiar until I completed the recently assigned readings. The tools and concepts of cloud based computing seem to be the wave of the future, the beauty being that everything from documents to spreadsheets to photos can be stored "in the clouds," thus reducing the amount of storage needed on a personal computer. I can see the benefits of using cloud computing in the library, such as storing book trailers on my blog rather on my hard drive. Students could benefit greatly from utilizing cloud computing, such as accessing their documents, research, etc., from any location. I am a bit cautious about introducing cloud computing to students until I discuss specifics with our tech department, as they are very cautious about opening up social networking to the student population.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Methods 1 and 2

I am excited about venturing out onto the library dance floor to learn a "dozen ways to two-step." It is essential that librarians become familiar with the interactive web tools that promote the new age of social networking. Working through the 2.0 excercises is a great place to start.