#23 - Woohoo I did it!

This programme has been a fantastic experience. I have always been interested in Web 2.0 technology and having a programme with different applications for me to follow has been great. Although I had played around with blogs previously, participating in 23 Things has made me see outside the square and enabled me to challenge myself to get things done.

I had always thought that blog templates were pretty boring but thought that anyone using them was confined to what was offered. Playing with all the different applications made me think that there had to be a way to change things, so I had a go and managed to change the image for this blog, as well as the one for my personal blog.

I love looking at different programmes and applications that exist and trying to find uses for them at work and for my own self development. I now have a wiki for my department at work, as well as some ALIA committees I am on and have used Google Talk (as opposed to Google Chat) for meetings where members are in other states - cheaper than a teleconference (free!). I now use Google Reader for all my feeds and have found many more to add to my reader through 23 Things (like I didn't have enough before....) Flickr has been a great tool to use for sharing photos with my family and friends - I like the fact that I can make some public but have others private, namely family ones. Again, we are using an administration account in Flickr for a committee. Take a look here.

There were quite a few challenges, mainly IT restrictions at work, but I am sure there were many others with this issue. I was lucky that i was able to use the same user id when joining up to everything - makes it so much easier to remember!

I am really glad that I participated in this, as I found it very interesting and informative. Well done to the State Library of Victoria for implementing this programme across all public libraries and to Yarra Plenty Regional Library for facilitating it - job well done guys!

#22 - The end is in sight lol

Being able to download audio books is the path the libraries are taking and if they aren't then it is the path that they should be taking. So much of a person's daily culture is now with downloading - it is a second language - downloading movies, songs, books, you name it and it can be downloaded. Whether some of these things are legal or not is another matter....

Libraries can contribute greatly to this culture by providing access to audio books as mp3 files which can be downloaded from the library catalogue. Ipswich Library & Information Service have a wide selection of audio books for downloading. The great thing about it is that they use Overdrive which means that the file is removed from the device it was downloaded to after the due date. I think that is amazing. Apparently that happens even if the file is burned to a CD - what a great service to be able to offer patrons - downloading their choice of mp3 files from their home, straight to the device of their choice and no possibility of incurring overdue fines!! Using Overdrive is very expensive though, I believe.

With such a rising trend in downloadable files, especially by young adults, it makes you wonder whether there is a need for a consortia to make accessing these files more affordable for libraries. What do others think??

#21 Podcasts

I was surprised to find out that podcasts are not only audio files. but also video files - I always that that podcasts were only non-musical audio. I was watching something online the other day and they continually referred to it as a 'podcast' - I thought they were wrong, but obviously not!!!

I used the podcast.net directory and tried searching for 'libraries' but nothing i found really interested me. I like podcast.net's searching capabilities and the way I could refine the search or extend it by using a keyword search.

The subjects covered by podcast.net are quite extensive, covering sports, hobbies, business or news and many more. I tried searching for 'scrapbooking' and found 6 results. It will be something different to listen to when walking. I added "Wholly Scrap" to my Bloglines account. I'll be exploring further and looking at finding some video podcasts as well :)

I can see a definite use for podcasting in libraries, not only for the public, but also for the staff. Meetings can be podcast so those who have been unable to attend can still here it and use the podcast with the minutes to gain a better understanding of what happened. Podcasting events such as Storytime, Rhyme Time and our Wyndham Wordfest would help those who have to miss out for one reason or another. and would also encourage others who have not attended previously but then saw something on our site.

Audacity is very easy to use and we have been using it with some success for our NLS4 events. The sound signal doesn't seem to be strong though, as we need to talk directly into a microphone to get clear podcasts.

#20 Youtube

Youtube has some amazing clips available for viewing. I found Sesame Steet in the Library (lol) and some more versions of Code Monkey (how creative can people be??!!)

When I typed in 'information sharing' and this came up. It is quite amazing. A little long (just over 5 mins) but well worth watching as it gives a lot of food for thought. The clip looks at the information storage and retrieval evolution AND revolution. It shows the huge change in the ways that we now find, store an share information. Amazing and it only happened in less than 10 years




A vision of students today, by the same creator as the above clip. It shows how students learn today, how their lives will evolve and the sort of change they can expect to experience. Lots of points for discussion.

Any comments?

#19 Web 2.0 Awards

These awards have some really good sites. I looked at so many of them and could play for hours. I ended up playing with 'yourminis' because I wanted to see what other widgets were available. I installed a clock widget. I was going to get carried away and put in a fishtank (kind of mirroring the huge one we have at home now) and a really cool decision maker one, but then decided against it. I really don't want widgets cluttering up my blog.

I was talking to someone who was migrating her blog over to wordpress - I wonder what would happen to all the extras and amendments to the templates I have done if I were to do that? I would assume that they would be lost, as the formatting is specific to Blogger. Having said that, it would make you wonder at the relevance of this software if it means that you would be tied to one particular application.

At least they are free, for now.....

#18 Web based applications

I can see the value of using a tool like zoho to create a shared document.  I use google docs frequently and it comes in very handy.  It is good to know of another online sharing tool.  ooh a smiley! i remember them from my msn study days!!!

 

I like how zoho still uses similar features to Microsoft Office, much easier to switch between uses. 

Still playing around and Zoho also has a wiki featue, as well as notebook, planner and meeting features. 

 

The 'r' is sticking on my keyboard - i actually need to remember that my user name is 'libraryblogge1'  flipping heck!

I love the way these web based applications all integrate with each other.

Time to chill

thought i would try to add a video. I love this clip of the girl in her PJs doing a Marcel Marceau dance of Jonathan Coulton's Code Monkey.



Click here to see the song being performed live.