I have had a lot of fun making new discoveries on the internet, it sure is a world wide web! My first highlight was to create a blog - what an achievement and easier done than I would have thought possible! I find it unbelievable that I have created, blogged, pasted, stored, tagged, bloglined, catalogued, flickrd, podcasted, uploaded, downloaded (and nearly anything else ending in ...ed) through this Learning 2.0 journey without needing html knowledge for any of it! I never thought this was possible either! Just how easy have they made it for us all - well dead easy if I can reach the end of it!!!
Or is it really the end? NO, definitely not. This is just the start of a journey of discovery for me. Lifelong learning is what it is all about, and thanks to this training program I have made a step in the right direction. No going backwards from here on in. Thank you to all those behind the scenes that made this learning journey possible for me and all my fellow library colleagues out there in "library land".
Not only has it helped me personally to use the internet to a greater capability than I did before, but I will also be wiser to library patrons who have specific needs where Web 2.0 can be of help.
The reknowned French physiologist, Claude Bernard, once said : "It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning." This is so true! I had thought using the internet on a daily basis that I was familiar with all that went on - well now I know that was not the case! I have learnt so much and aim to continue being a lifelong learner on a web 2.0 or web 3.0 or web 4.0 journey!
Good luck everyone on your journey also.
Monday, November 19, 2007
#22 Audiobooks
I had a look through Gutenberg's Audio e-Book Collection and was pleasantly surprised to find some children's literature amongst the titles available. For example, The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter and Rumpelstiltskin by Brothers Grimm, to name a few.
I couldn't then help but gravitate to the Historical Children's eBookseMovies site. There I found a pot of gold! I liked the way you could seperately search children's books, young adult books or my first book collection to gain the right level for the right child/person. I decided to look further into the Young Adult e-audiobooks but to my dismay I had to pay the subscription to listen! Nevertheless I enjoyed finding titles like Beowulf, Heidi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and more.
I couldn't then help but gravitate to the Historical Children's eBookseMovies site. There I found a pot of gold! I liked the way you could seperately search children's books, young adult books or my first book collection to gain the right level for the right child/person. I decided to look further into the Young Adult e-audiobooks but to my dismay I had to pay the subscription to listen! Nevertheless I enjoyed finding titles like Beowulf, Heidi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and more.
#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!
First of all I searched Yahoo Audio for a podcast on Paul Jennings and what do you know, I found one! Here it is :
http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/earshot/2007/07/undone-by-paul-jennings-read-by-stig.html
It is actually a reading from Undone!, narrated by Stig Wemyss.
Then I decided to go on exploring in Podcast.net and searched under library and children. On the second page of results I found childrensbookradio which is a podcast about children's books. Very relevant for me!!! So I decided to add the RSS feed into my bloglines account and naturally placed it under my Youth Literature folder, that I had previously set up.
As for relevance in the library situation, wouldn't it be great to have podcasts made of author talks (with permission of course!), parenting seminars, or other such events held in the library for people to taste after the event.
http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/earshot/2007/07/undone-by-paul-jennings-read-by-stig.html
It is actually a reading from Undone!, narrated by Stig Wemyss.
Then I decided to go on exploring in Podcast.net and searched under library and children. On the second page of results I found childrensbookradio which is a podcast about children's books. Very relevant for me!!! So I decided to add the RSS feed into my bloglines account and naturally placed it under my Youth Literature folder, that I had previously set up.
As for relevance in the library situation, wouldn't it be great to have podcasts made of author talks (with permission of course!), parenting seminars, or other such events held in the library for people to taste after the event.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
#20 You can YouTube
I find this video hosting site fun and interesting. Some of it is educational, some edutainment and other parts just downright funny!
During my exploration of YouTube I came across this advertisment for storytime at the McCracken County Public Library :
I hope you had a laugh like me!
On a more important note though, it just shows you how maybe we could be having YouTube videos to help with customer service in libraries. Maybe one on how to use the catalogue, or an advertisement for our much more interesting storytimes(!), how to use the online databases available via the website, etc. - I could just keep on brainstorming forever!
Another positive I liked about YouTube is how easy it was to search, thanks to tagging.
As a TAFE teacher, as well as a librarian, I now have a great avenue to get some lighthearted videos on relevant subjects to feed into a class as well. Adding another dimension and hopefully more enjoyment to some of my classes. If only I had of realised sooner!!!
During my exploration of YouTube I came across this advertisment for storytime at the McCracken County Public Library :
I hope you had a laugh like me!
On a more important note though, it just shows you how maybe we could be having YouTube videos to help with customer service in libraries. Maybe one on how to use the catalogue, or an advertisement for our much more interesting storytimes(!), how to use the online databases available via the website, etc. - I could just keep on brainstorming forever!
Another positive I liked about YouTube is how easy it was to search, thanks to tagging.
As a TAFE teacher, as well as a librarian, I now have a great avenue to get some lighthearted videos on relevant subjects to feed into a class as well. Adding another dimension and hopefully more enjoyment to some of my classes. If only I had of realised sooner!!!
#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools
For this discovery exercise I decided to check out Biblio.com which is an online directory, useful for sourcing used, rare, and out-of-print books. It does have some Australian content, but is an American based company situated in Asheville, North Carolina. Biblio.com guarantees a 100% satisfactory shopping experience including 100% transaction guarantee.
One of the things I loved about this website is that you can search just the rare books section and select from various categories such as signed books, rare military books, children's books (my area of interest), rare manuscripts & documents, and many more. A search of interest to me was for the book "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey. I was interested in how valuable the first edition published in 1948 by Viking Press would be worth to purchase. Not only did it give me the price in American dollars but it also converted the amount to Australian dollars for me and outlined who the bookseller was, what condition the item was in, and a detailed description of the item with a little history, such as whether any repairs have been carried out on the material. When purchasing from this site you can opt for various shipping methods depending on how urgently the material is required and you can get an accurate costing on these various shipping options (both in American and Australian dollars).
I also did a general book search on Mem Fox and found 965 entries! Another great feature is that you can "filter" or narrow your search to signed copies only, very good condition only, first editions, paperback only , hardback only and even to certain costings that suit your budget. It even mentions if an item is ex-library stock!
In a library setting, I could find use for this when trying to source hard-to-find material for use in youth services. Not so much for general public usage (as we wouldn't often put second-hand stock on the shelves), but more for use in a specialist collection for youth services staff use. It would also be a handy website to access when a patron is trying to track down some hard-to-find, obscure title that isn't on our catalogue or unable to be located through inter-library loans. It would open up another option for them.
I am no expert on ranking websites, but I can see why it was a Web 2.0 award nominee for I found it very easy and friendly to use, as well as having a purpose in our world of literature.
One of the things I loved about this website is that you can search just the rare books section and select from various categories such as signed books, rare military books, children's books (my area of interest), rare manuscripts & documents, and many more. A search of interest to me was for the book "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey. I was interested in how valuable the first edition published in 1948 by Viking Press would be worth to purchase. Not only did it give me the price in American dollars but it also converted the amount to Australian dollars for me and outlined who the bookseller was, what condition the item was in, and a detailed description of the item with a little history, such as whether any repairs have been carried out on the material. When purchasing from this site you can opt for various shipping methods depending on how urgently the material is required and you can get an accurate costing on these various shipping options (both in American and Australian dollars).
I also did a general book search on Mem Fox and found 965 entries! Another great feature is that you can "filter" or narrow your search to signed copies only, very good condition only, first editions, paperback only , hardback only and even to certain costings that suit your budget. It even mentions if an item is ex-library stock!
In a library setting, I could find use for this when trying to source hard-to-find material for use in youth services. Not so much for general public usage (as we wouldn't often put second-hand stock on the shelves), but more for use in a specialist collection for youth services staff use. It would also be a handy website to access when a patron is trying to track down some hard-to-find, obscure title that isn't on our catalogue or unable to be located through inter-library loans. It would open up another option for them.
I am no expert on ranking websites, but I can see why it was a Web 2.0 award nominee for I found it very easy and friendly to use, as well as having a purpose in our world of literature.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
#18 Web-Based Applications Continued
PICTURE FUN
Here's another Zoho Writer entry of mine which I published to my blog also.
Further thoughts on this application are:
What a great way of having access to certain documents or information no matter whether you are at home on your own PC, in a public library, at work or at a friend's house. The beauty is that as long as you have internet access, you don't need to worry if you don't have your disk, memory stick, etc. with you at the time. What a wonderful and flexible application at our fingertips!
It's pretty cool once you know how!
I am blurting at all those that thought I couldn't do it!
I have enjoyed proving them wrong, in particular my brother!
Most of this learning 2.0 has been as easy as a wink and a nod - almost!
How beautiful learning new things!
Here's another Zoho Writer entry of mine which I published to my blog also.
Further thoughts on this application are:
What a great way of having access to certain documents or information no matter whether you are at home on your own PC, in a public library, at work or at a friend's house. The beauty is that as long as you have internet access, you don't need to worry if you don't have your disk, memory stick, etc. with you at the time. What a wonderful and flexible application at our fingertips!
#18 Web Based Applications
Introduction to Zoho Writer.
This was typed in Zoho Writer and then published to my blog. It was much easier than I expected.
To clarify my introductory comments : I am thinking that Zoho Writer would be a good option for those that have old Microsoft Word software when needing to email documents. They would not need to worry about the information not being compatible with the receiving PC.
Welcome to my new experience with Zoho Writer!
I never new such a thing existed before, but now that I do, I will be able to help give those library customers using old pc's at home some new insight into how to export word documents with ease! Providing they have internet access of course! Then it may be dial-up - what a drama - all that time for money! Never mind, I am sure it will help some.
This was typed in Zoho Writer and then published to my blog. It was much easier than I expected.
To clarify my introductory comments : I am thinking that Zoho Writer would be a good option for those that have old Microsoft Word software when needing to email documents. They would not need to worry about the information not being compatible with the receiving PC.
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