10 Random Things About Me

1. I love my kids.
2. I love my family.
3. I'm very laid back & easy going.
4. I like to do things spur of the moment.
5. I love to nap in the sun.
6. I like to paint.
7. I love bright colors.
8. I like to climb trees & jump in mud puddles.
9. I hate to do dishes.
10. I don't usually finish projects I start (unless I'm at work).

Synopsis

I am really glad that I did Learn-n-Play. There is so much technology that I previously wasn't aware of. I think it will better help me with customer transactions. Not that I'm going to be doing that type of stuff on a regular basis, but if someone asks me for help, I won't look lost. I will have a vague idea of what they're talking about.

I like Library Thing. It's so much better & easier to create a booklist than finding books in Amazon & then copy & pasting into a Word document!

I think as an organization, we need to keep up with technological advances, so it was a good thing that Lean-n-Play was encouraged among all staff members. Hopefully people didn't find it too overwhelming. I didn't- I found it to be very educational. I hope if we do this in the future, we'll learn how to build websites. Having a prize at the end was good motivation. I don't know if I could have finished without the hopes of getting a tangible reward.

MOLDI books or moldy books?

The Mid Ohio Library Digital Initiative has created a library online, accessible anywhere there is internet access. It brings books & movies into peoples homes, working to further literacy across Ohio, which is a great thing!

However, I find the selections don't suit my interests, especially the movies. None of the movies caught my interest, so I didn't download any. When I chose "classics", I expected to see old comedy classics like the Three Stooges, I Love Lucy, etc. Maybe there is something about obtaining copyrite permission that stops MOLDI from having a greater variety.

On another note, I think MOLDI should consider getting someone to rename their website. MOLDI brings up the connotation of moldy, as in what happens when someone returns a wet book.

"Can I interest you in MOLDI books? You can access Moldy books from home!"

"No, thanks".

Renaming their website to something that elicits positive expectations might greater help their usage. Don't get me wrong though, MOLDI is great- check out some books to take with you on the run.

Podcasts

I added storynory, a podcast feed, to my bloglines account. I think adding stories to library webpages are a good way to combine technology with literacy. At home I subscribe to National Geographic podcasts, which are interesting & great for kids to learn about different science things. A link to National Geographic on a science webpage might be good.

I think our library could use podcasts to get people excited about Summer Reading Club, and to explain how simple it is to join & complete SRC.

UTube

I chose this video because I am learning karate, and Anakou is the kata I'm learning now. It is hard for me to remember the katas after I leave the dojo, so looking them up on Utube is helpful. This particular guy is the only one I've seen so far that is in the same style I study.

There is so much stuff to find on UTube that you could spend all day looking at videos and most of them wouldn't be worth your time.

If the video was done very professionally, we could advertise SRC on our webpage, and teen events on the teen page. I think they would work well as an advertising medium since many people are attracted to media rather than print.

Web 2.0

I looked at facebook & liked it so much I opened an account. It's a great way to keep in touch with a large number of people (on my own time) at once. You can also find people that you haven't seen in 10 years and get in contact with them. You can download photos so you can eliminate emailing pics to all the relatives. It'll appear on your friends' walls & they'll know that you've added something.

I also liked last.fm. I have itunes, but you only get to hear 30 seconds of the song, plus you have to know what you're looking for. Last.fm. gives you recommendations based on what you like to listen to & you can hear the whole song, & see similar artists.

Web based applications

Web based applications appear to be very handy, although they are basic. A person almost wouldn't even have to purchase Word if they only wanted to use it to type reports, etc. It is limited in type fonts and sizes, and other handy features, but for the beginning typist, it works. Its very easy to post things & allow others to access documents, excel spreadsheets, and power point presentations.

Learn & Play Wiki

I blogged on the staff wiki. It's pretty simple to do, but looks disorganized. You can add your post in whatever order you wish, which can be good if you were editing a document. It doesn't work as well for a conglomerate of opinions. If you add your post close to another person's blog & they sign their name to it and you don't, it looks as though they have written the entire thing; therefore it looks confusing & disorganized.

Wiki Wiki

Quickly quickly.

Sharing knowledge saves so much time. Being able to add to a webpage is a great way to share information, provided it is accurate.

It is interesting how some libraries use wikis for their summer reading club. I think it would be great for our teens to be able to post reviews of books and earn credit for that online activity. Also, if CML had a readers advisory wiki, we could point people in that direction when they're asking for a book.

The Future of Libraries

Library 2.0 takes libraries into a new world, as stated by Michael Stephens in the OCLC newsletter. The article states many valid points such as, libraries plan for their users, they embrace web tools, they're trendspotters, and they make quick decisions. I agree- libraries, as all businesses, have to advance with the times. Anyone that is resistant to technology is going to get lost in the web-forest.

del.icio.us

del.icio.us looks like it could be a good thing. I can bookmark all of my different webpages for all the accounts I have all onto one spot.