Thing #23 - Summary

Yay! The end is in sight. This has been a fun (but long) process. This has helped me become aware of sites out there that I was unaware of. I feel like I have a few more resources to help patrons with questions, as they arise.

I did find that a few links throughout the exercises that did not work anymore. I wish I had made note of them, but I just didn't think of it at the time. I know it would be a lot of work, but some of the exercises could be updated a tad ;).

I don't know if I would have chosen to participate in this if it wasn't a required course. I did enjoy some of the exercises, but some just felt tedious to me.

And now... done!

Thing #22 - Podcasts

I found a fun podcast called 'Library Geeks'. (http://www.podcastalley.com/redirect.php?pod_id=36582). I used podcastalley to look it up as the other two links did not want to work for me.

I love podcasts.. My husband and I are big NPR fans and we download podcasts regularly of the shows we miss. As mentioned earlier, I have an iPod, so I use iTunes to look for and download podcasts.

Thing #21 - Online Videos

I bring you 'Kittens... Inspired by Kittens'!



This video is just fun and cute. (^_^) I use YouTube a lot... I can catch up on a TV show I missed, find 'robot movies' for my 3 year old to watch (search 'Wall-E Vignette). I think people are attracted when sites have a video attached to them and KDL already utilizes YouTube for promo spots.

Thing #20 - Special Treat

This was a fun video. My husband designs web sites, so I was able to understand and recognize what they were talking about with the HTML/XML. Although that was not the main point of the video, I feel that it could be hard for some people to understand all that they showed. They go through things very fast and it was hard to keep up at some points. But fun nonetheless. I think it helps show how far we have really come with what we can do on the internet...

Thing #19 - Digital Music

I have used Pandora, and other music streaming sites, many times before. I enjoy Pandora because you may come across an artist or song that you did not know of before hand. I also have an iPod, so I have used iTunes and bought/downloaded music from there. It is very easy! If you only like one song on an artists album, you can download that single song for $.99 rather than buying the whole album.

I have not used a file sharing site for music before and have not had an interest in it yet...

Thing #18 - Social Networking

I think social networking is a vital way to get information out. I wonder how old the Learning 2.0 site is, as it talks about Myspace as the 'big thing', when nowadays, Facebook has pretty much taken over. KDL has it's own Facebook and Twitter page on which it shares loads of information. Sites like these are the way people communicate nowadays... a quick Facebook comment, a mention on Twitter... It's almost more popular that actually picking up the phone and calling someone.

I do have a facebook page currently, but it is set to private, so linking it here wouldn't amount to much ;)

Thing #17 - Wikis

I frequent wikipedia quite often. I love using it for reading up on movie plots, looking up a quick bit of info on a subject, etc. With the sites listed for the discovery exercise, I really enjoyed the 'Library Success' wiki. What a great way to share and discover new ideas with other libraries!

Within the library, I think a wiki for book reviews would be nice. People could share what they read and add more content when applicable. Also I think one for manga would be fun too :)

Thing #16 - Technorati & Blog Tagging

I did not know a site like this existed. Blogging today has grown so much. I know of a few people who actually get paid to blog. There were a lot of results when I searched 'Learning 2.0' under posts. It looked for the instance of either of those words in the blogsphere. When searching blogs, I only found one blog with that in the title. I did not see a spot to search tags. When I clicked on the tags, it just gave me an alphabetical list of the last months most popular tags. Fun site!

Thing #15 - Tagging

Del.icio.us is an interesting site. I've never really played around there much before, nor have I 'tagged' much on the internet. I can see how this would be good for research. Not only can you comment back and forth with people on a topic, but you can see what others post in relation to the subject. I saw many sites having to do with the current state in Egypt and how they shut off the internet.

Thing #14 - Best of Web 2.0

I am choosing to write about Google Maps, which won first place for the 'maps' category. I have used this site multiple times personally and also in the library for patrons. The site is very user friendly and I have helped patrons find numerous businesses. Patrons know that the library is a place where they can go for information, including help with directions.

Thing #13 - Online Productivity

I think that Zoho Writer is very useful. I am familiar with Google Docs and find this very similar. It is nice to be able to write, edit and share documents online, no matter what OS you are running. My husband's web clients use Google Docs quite regularly to share information.

Thing #12 - Customized search engines

Here is my Rollyo search:

I decided to do one for kid's games since I have a child who frequents these sites! I can see the potential use of this page. Being able to limit searches is great... also, being able to search inside multiple sites through one search is a time saver!

Thing#11 - Library Thing

I chose to sign up for Library Thing for this exercise. On first glance, the page is a little overwhelming. I'm sure once I got into it, I would get use to it. I also looked at Goodreads (but didn't sign up) and I actually like the layout of it better. It seemed easier to understand and a lot of info was right on the homepage.

Thing # 10 - Web 2.0 and Libraries

I agree with many of the perspectives listed on this page. I will touch base on the one titled 'Into a new world of librarianship'. I agree with what this article states. The times are a-changing!.. and libraries need to change as well. The world is more fast paced, people expect more access to things 24/7, and information is more easily accessible. If libraries want to stay a priority (or need) of people nowadays, they have to meet their needs and expectations. Online catalog access, Facebook pages, Twitter... No librarian from 20 years ago would have any idea what those things are (just like we are surprised when someone asks where the card catalog is). I'm sure there will be things that change even 5 or 10 years in the future and I'm excited to be a part of seeing what happens!

Thing #9 - Library blogs

I used Syndicat8 and Technorati to search for feeds. I liked how both of the sites were laid out. When using the search 'libraries', I liked the way Syndic8 displays the results better. It highlighted every instance of the searched word, the status of the feed site, the language and when the feed was updated last (and more, but those were the ones I felt most prevalent). I did find that the links from the 23 Things site to 'Feedster' and 'Blogline's Search Tool' were not working, so I'll have to send an email about that. :P

Thing #8 - RSS Feeds

It was interesting to see a different RSS feed site. I have a gadget on my Google homepage that I have my subscriptions listed. There are a lot of fun feeds out there!

Thing #7 - image generators

I played around with a few of these.. I ended up using 'Letter James' for my image though. It was easy and had some fun images.



It always ends up being the butler... ;)

Thing #6 - Mashups

What a fun topic. I love the different things I found out there while researching this. The librarian trading cards are fantastic.. Maybe I will try and make one of my own after I finish the 23 things. :) Now for my pirate alter-ego name: Kathy of the Sea!

Thing # 5 - photo sharing

gorilla attack
Originally uploaded by karthyofthesea

Gorilla attack. I don't think the zombies have a chance. I already had a Flickr account and found the setup for sharing pictures on Blogger very easy.

Thing # 4

I am excited to learn more about the available tools that the web has to offer. Looking over some of the list, I know I have dabbled with a few things, but others I have never even heard of. I am looking forward to learning more for personal reasons and also to assist anyone that comes into the library.

Thing # 3... 7 1/2 habits

I think the hardest thing for me would be following through on what I want to do.

The easiest would maybe be coming up with the things I'd need for my toolbox.

1st post as KDL staff :)

I already have a blogger account, so I've created a new blog under my name for the Learning 2.0 stuff. Now I just need to think about those 7 1/2 habits... hm.