Final Task: Summary

This was a great learning experience. Some of these technologies were foreign to me so I'm glad I had the opportunity to see what they were about and how to use them. The most important thing I learned is that you don't have to be tech savvy to learn these online tools. Now, I won't be so reluctant to explore other technologies on my own. The most challenging task was RSS because I just couldn't understand the concept but with help from Mrs. B, I was able to complete the task. So many of the technologies we learned about can be used to promote the library - whether it's providing RSS feeds about library services for customers, posting photos of library events on Flickr, showing storytimes on YouTube. Some people may only know libraries as how they used to be but once they see that we're using the same new technologies they are, it might just get them into the library to see all the things we have to offer. This self-directed learning model worked pretty well for me but it helped to have the structure provided and a deadline to complete the tasks!

Task 10: MySpace

There's definitely positives and negatives to MySpace - it's a place to communicate with friends and family and to keep them up to date with the latest happenings in your life. But you also have to be careful of how much private information you want to reveal for all to see. It might be a good idea to limit who has access to your page. I think that MySpace is popular because it's a quick and easy way for people to stay connected to others. Here's the page I set up: http://www.myspace.com/177545218

Task 9: Online Office Tools

Google Docs and Spreadsheets is great! We can share this with library customers who type up and need to save something but don't have a flash drive. Plus documents created with this tool can be shared with others, which can be useful e.g. for students who are working together on a project.

Task 8: YouTube

My YouTube username is e20learning. I viewed these videos online:

Sweet Tired Cat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GWPOPSXGYI

Lexington Library Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFnZLFz3DiY

YouTube is interesting, especially the videos people make of themselves and put out for the world to see. I guess YouTube is so popular because people can do that.

YouTube can be a useful tool for libraries to promote their services - We can make a video to promote things like summer reading. Another way to reach people and get them into the library!

Task 7: Wikipedia

My Wikipedia username is epvld. It was easier than I thought to edit Wikipedia -of course, all I did was type up a couple of sentences, nothing complicated.

It's important for people to know what Wikipedia is and how it works. I've heard many kids say that they've used Wikipedia as a source for their school reports. I guess there's nothing wrong with that but I hope that they keep in mind that although the information in Wikipedia can be current and easily accessible, it may not always be accurate.

Task 6: Instant messaging

Instant Messaging is a neat communication tool. Since your Buddy List will tell you which of your buddies are online, you can "talk" with them instantly anytime you want to.

Here's my reply from PVLD2007:
e20learning (6:31:22 PM): Hello?
Auto Response from PVLD2007 (6:31:24 PM): Congratulations! You have successfully send an Instant Message. Please copy and paste this text into your blog.

Task 5: Explore Flickr

I wasn't too familiar with Flickr but after posting a few photos, I've realized that it's quite easy to use. Tagging is useful since it helps us find images we're looking for, or at least some of them. I thought that it was neat to be able to place your photos on a map too.

The photo above links to the photos I posted on Flickr. The pictures were taken at Zion National Park. Unfortunately, I can't remember the specific names of these locations. When I was exploring the groups page, I did find a "Zion National Park" group. Interesting!

Task 4: Digital photo

I took this at the Getty Central Garden.

Task 3: Use RSS

Some of the RSS feeds I subscribed to are:

USAToday.com Offbeat Top Stories
http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/UsatodaycomOffbeat-TopStories

Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/rss/

Kiplinger.com
http://kiplinger.com/rss/s.php/k45d77510098b2/yourmoney.rss

Bloglines was new to me and the whole concept of RSS was a bit confusing at first but I think I got it... Getting updates on all kinds of information is a neat thing though I'm not one who needs to be constantly updated on news, etc. Overall this RSS thing is pretty cool.

Tasks 1 & 2: Set up account & create blog

I finally created an email account and set up this blog. This 2.0 project will be a great opportunity for me to learn about the new technologies people are talking about. I'd probably never explore them on my own. I'm sure all this exploration will make me a better librarian!