Sunday, November 29, 2009

#23 what I think

This activity/process has been really quite interesting. I learned a great deal about new technologies I had never heard of and revisited sites I use regularly with a different perspective. I still feel overwhelmed by how much is out there and I wish I was someone who enjoyed just browsing to see what's new. However, this did force me to break out of my shell a bit and get exposed to many sites and tools I would never have discovered on my own.

#22 ebooks

I attempted to use the NetLibrary link and get a login to download a book but it came up with an error. So instead, I checked out their "About Us" page and learned what it is they are trying to do. I like he concept of ebooks and the epublications catalog. I think this is an incredibly relevant and useful tool for libraries.

I do wonder, though, has this taken off? Are many libraries using ebooks? If so, how have they implemented this technology? Does the patron get a user ID and password and "checks out" the book for a certain amount of time? Or does the book remain indefinitely available in the patron's account?

#15 Library 2.0

I began by reading Dr. Schultz's "To a Temporary Place in Time" and I really enjoyed her perspective. Libraries must continue to evolve and he means for getting information evolve. A library is not just a place but an experience and it is important for that experience to change along with people's needs.

Michael Stephens' article, "Into a New World of Librarianship", is a similar perspective. He makes a god point that libraries and librarians will not be replaced but will need to evolve and be flexible as the patrons' needs change.

I think it is pretty obvious that I agree with these perspectives...

Monday, November 23, 2009

#21 Podcasts

I have to admit, I still don't see the draw. I have listened to podcasts and I get that the information is timely but so is the radio. I just don't know that I can handle this information load. I know I should just subscribe to podcasts that are relevant to my job or hobbies but there is so much out there I want to know about. How do I limit my wandering? I could very easily get lost in Podcast World.
But anyway, here are the ones I found interesting:
The Museum Detective
NPR: StoryCorps
Messing About in Ships

#20 YouTube

This is my favorite Muppets music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCbuRA_D3KU
I discovered it a while ago when some friends and I were looking up some of our memories from Sesame Street.
My second favorite video on YouTube is "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" starring the Potter Puppet Pals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

Enjoy!

#19 Play Time

I love craigslist and use it frequently so I decided to check out Oodle. I was a little disappointed. I like that you can see people's profiles, kind of like on ebay, but I was disappointed at how nothing showed up from Madison in my search results. I am wondering if this tool just hasn't taken off yet.

#18 Google Docs

Since I already have a google account, I thought I would give Google Docs a try. I love it! I started by checking out the templates andwas amazed at how many resume formats there are. My question is, are employers on the lookout for these types of resumes? I guess, what I mean is, if a lot of people are using these templates, are employers recognizing that they come from Google? If so, is that a problem?
I loaded a calendar template to my documents. We'll see if it helps me get more organized. ;) I do love that I can access my documents from anywhere with this tool. It's like using MyWebSpace except I will be able to use it even once I graduate...

#17

Hello again! It has been a while, eh?
Well, I attempted to add my blog to the list of Favorite Blogs but could not find "edit" anywhere. So, in order to prove that I know how to use the tool, here is the link to a course wiki we built (as a class) this summer: http://lis754.pbworks.com/

Monday, November 9, 2009

#16 Wikis

I started by checking out the BookLoversWiki (Princeton Public Library) because I just like the name. It's not too clever or pretentious. Anyway, I was sort of shocked to see how many posts there were for contemporary fiction (57) and nonfiction (54). I guess, because I prefer fiction, I just assumed everybody does. I guess the adage about assuming is true. ;)

Anyway, I moved on to look at he Bull Run wiki and found the format to be completely different from the Book Lovers Wiki. This wiki is set up more like a social networking site with very little about books and quite a bit about programs. Thee is nothing wrong with that of course. I was just surprised at how different the same kinds of pages might look, feel, be...

#14 Technorati

So I looked through the common tags and was surprised to see Liverpool and Virginia Politics listed. I assume that if these tags are "common"a lot of people are using them. Why? Specifically, why those? I am planning to learn how to tag things but before I join any more of these bookmarking/social networking/ photo-sharing sites, I need to delete a few accounts.

Friday, October 9, 2009

#13 del.icio.us

I finally felt like this was an exercise I was prepared for. I recently learned about and used del.icio.us for a group project for school. It was very handy because the prof could look at our tags and bookmarks and see whether we were on the right track for our research. It is a reallly handy tool for finding and organizing information for future use. However, with all of the tools out there, I begin to wonder how well they all fit into Personal Information Management. I have so many just from library school. What about people who use them all just for fun? How do they keep it all straight?

#12 Rollyo

I created two search rolls. I will do more because I really like this tool but it is slow right now so I will have to try again later. Anyway, I created a news roll and a book reviews roll. I like the way this works and am wondering whether I could ask the tool to search journal databases like Ebsco and Jstor for me. I will have to give it a shot and see but I have my doubts since those are licensed.

#11 again

I forgot to include the link to my Library Thing account. Here it is: http://www.librarything.com/profile/echoag

#11 Library Thing

So I made a Library Thing account today. I like it, I guess. I am also a user of Goodreads though so I had a little trouble making the transition. I added a few books to my library and then attempted to add a favorite author. That was a bit tricky but I figured it out in the end. I am a little embarassed because I have been reading so many childrens books lately that they are the only titles I could think of. I will have to go home and add some of my "grown up" books off my shelf later.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

#4 revisited

I did also register for a Twitter account in case anyone wants to find me there. But, I'll be honest, I barely manage to find time to check my email so responses might be slow...

#10

I created a logo for my blog. Here it is...
Erin's 23 Things

Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator - Create Your Own

I was worried it wouldn't work but it seems to be just fine. I guess it is a little long for a logo but I wil keep pluggin' away at it...

#9

So I tried a couple of the RSS feed searching tools and found myself completely overwhelmed. So I went back to bloglines and used there general subject heading serach to choose some feeds I might be interested in. It was weird though. Somehow I ended up subscribed to 25 feeds and I can't tell you what half of them are. So I previewed a bunch and deleted a few. I managed to get down to 20 feeds. How in the world can anyone digest that much information in one day though?

#8

Okay, so I signed up for a bloglines account and added feeds for weather, football updates, the BBC and the UN news center. I am reminded of Personal Information Management and the questions that surround the activities of organizing information we gather. I have signed up for many accounts already over the course of my Library School career! If someone really wanted to archive my personal "collection", I wish them the best of luck. They may have an easier time stealing my identity!

#7

I am a moron! I cannot figure out what is SOOO great about podcasts. Maybe part of me doesn't want to know. I have never been too interested in technology-related anything and the more I learn about what's out there, the more I wish I could withdraw from it. Is anyone else worried about what all of this biz-na-na (that's a made up word, yes) is doing to our society?

Enough of the rant. Seriously someone showed me how to listen to and subscribe to a podcast but I just am not interested. I would rather listen to the radio and randomly come across fascinating stories and such...

#6

So I was looking at the mash-ups and I am fascinated by Mappr. I would LOVE to create my own of all the places I have been. It reminds me of those sticker maps of the U.S. you can put on your car or camper. When you travel to a state, you add that colored sticker to te map. Everyone on the road can see it and know where you've been. This seems like a not-so-distant relative.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

#5 Flickr

Ok, so I found this awesome picture to talk about! I loved it because it totally reminded me of my drive to and from Dodgeville in the winter. It is not the most exciting drive but the stretch down county rd P ad 14 was lovely by Cross Plains. The image is of a farmstead by Cross Plains, in the winter. Unfortunately I cannot figure out how to attach it to this blog. I'll keep trying though...

Friday, September 18, 2009

#4 Register Blog

Well, it's registered with my classmates. Good enough for me!

#3

The goal here was to set up a blog and post to it! I finally did.

#2

I am definitely a lifelong learner! I get bored easily if life becomes too routine and so I am often taking new classes or attempting to master or relearn a skill. However, in looking over the 7 1/2 Things that make a good lifelong learner, there are a few I struggle with. I don't tend to keep the end goal in sight and I get sidetracked. I like to call it "getting distracted by shiny objects". I am also not good at using technology to my advantage. In fact, even Learn@UW gets to be a bit much for me. There are simply too many places to look for information and I get overwhelmed. But I'll get there...

I did try out writing a learning contract. We'll see how it goes.

Thing 1

I managed to read the first blog. I am still figuring this out. I know I am late to the technology game. Hopefully, I will start to catch up here...