Reflecting Pool

I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the Web 2.0 experience, and I will definitely use some of the tools again -- both professionally and privately. I think my favorite learning experience was blogging -- I enjoyed both creating a blog (and customizing it from time to time) and posting to it, and can definitely see myself blogging in the future. I also found Flickr to be an excellent site and think that the concept of saving (and sharing) photos online is one whose time has definitely come.


It amazed me to see all the ways that people are using the internet to express and entertain themselves, communicate with each other, and put what they've learned to work. I appreciated the opportunity to explore at work, even though many weeks it was a struggle to carve out time to complete my "lessons." I do feel that this experience will benefit me and benefit our library's customers over time -- anything that gives me a broader knowledge-base is bound to come in handy working at the library!


I would definitely like to participate in this type of activity again -- something I would really like to see is a similar opportunity for us to explore all the databases and tools available on Sno-Isle's own website. We do receive updates on additions to the website, but often don't have the time to learn enough about them to provide maximum benefit to customers. It would be wonderful to have a structured program in place that would give us the time to explore all the tools available, particularly for those of us in smaller branches that do not have reference desks.

Gamegirl

I'm back from vacation and ready to pick up where I left off with Web 2.0, and this was the perfect exercise to ease me back in! I was surprised to see how many games were available that did not require a download -- as I've stated many times on my blog, that can be a problem for me with satellite internet at home. I spent a few minutes on Yahoo Games playing Wordsense, and I plan to explore the site further from home. It was also fun to check out the children's games -- many of our younger patrons spend time on the Webkinz site, and I'm sure they would enjoy some of these as well. I was especially excited to see the first journal entry from Diary of a Wimpy Kid online at Funbrain under the "Web Books & Comics" heading. The variety of games available online was a real eye-opener -- definitely something for everyone!

Me & My First Life

I admit that I did have a bit of fun creating my avatar, and I've added it to my "About Me" (right)...however, I find that I don't have enough time for my first life, let alone spending much time in a second one!

I can see the allure of this alternate universe -- I see it as an extension of the world my daughter has created for herself in "The Sims." It is fun to explore another life, especially one where you have much more control than you might in your "real" life. While I think it would be fun, I have so many things I want to do in this life that it just isn't something I see myself exploring further.

Flying to France

I had been on Google Earth awhile back, but hadn't loaded it on my new computer (another long, boring story involving my satellite high speed limitations), so this was great. I went to my house first, then flew from my house to my sister's house in France. Wow -- it really got me pumped up for next week, when I will be flying there for real!

Of course, there are endless possibilities for this type of tool, and some were mentioned in this week's lesson (travel planning, researching locations before a move, etc.). As a teacher, I can think of dozens of ways this could be used in the classroom. Having access to this type of technology could really bring social studies and history alive for students, and I'm sure it is doing the same for many library customers. Just another way for the library to bring the world to our patrons.

P.S. My postings are out of order because when I went to create my avatar for last week's lesson, Meez.com was down for an upgrade. You will meet my virtual self next time!

Handy Dandy Web Apps

I really like having the option to use these web applications. Having your documents available from any computer is such a practical idea -- I can see many uses for this type of tool. Think of all the time saved when working collaboratively on a document! This would have been a real time-saver when I was getting my teaching certificate -- every course required group projects and these web applications would have made that whole process so much easier. I will definitely keep them in mind for future group projects.

(This post was created and published using ZohoWriter.)

Gentlemen, Search Your Engines!

Yes, I always use Google. It was good for me to break out of my box and try these different search engines. The first search I did was for an item I want to purchase for a program craft project. Each search engine gave me the same sites. More importantly, they each also gave me the article whose link I have provided below:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/pipe_cleaners_googly_eyes_cut_from

As much as I would love a search engine that only gave me exactly what I thought I wanted, I'm kind of glad that they still lead me to things I wasn't looking for, but nontheless enjoy immensely (see article above).

I tried another search for a different type of site -- I am looking for sites that have good databases of genre fiction. For this search, Rollyo gave me the best results, although I must confess that I was rooting for Mamma simply because of its complete name, Mamma: The Mother of All Search Engines. You've gotta love it. :)

Attack of the Killer Podcasts

The only podcasts I had listened to before this lesson were our own Sno-Isle online story podcasts performed by my fellow children's services staffers. (If you haven't heard any of these, be sure to check them out on our website -- they are wonderful!) I quite enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to exploring the whole wide world of podcasts. I subscribed to the Pierce County Library's book review podcast and Nancy Keene's Booktalks Quick & Simple podcast, as well as a movie review podcast called Filmspotting that I found through Podcast Alley.

I was very impressed with the number and breadth of the podcast selections -- you could subscribe to podcasts for every possible interest, if you had the time and the inclination to listen to all of them! I like that the Pierce County Library's book review podcast was mostly nonfiction -- I will have to look for a children's book review podcast. The booktalks podcast was very helpful (I had actually visited this site before, but hadn't listened to the podcasts). All in all, there are many opportunities out there for libraries and booklovers alike to take advantage of podcasting.