Reflections on Learning 2.0

This has been a long program and at times I found Learning 2.0 tedious. I really had to plug away at it sometimes because I wanted to give up. I am happy that I did finish because like most things, you have to plow through the boring to get to the fun/interesting stuff.

It was also difficult to find the time to do the work. I know there had to be some type of time limitation on it or else procrastinators (like me) would never have gotten around to doing it. However as a part-timer, my time is limited so I had to schedule these exercises into my calendar to be able to finish them on time.

Probably the front desk members got more educational worth out of this training than me because I do not work with the public. I think it was invaluable for them because they service the public that knows about these programs. Wouldn't we look really silly having to tell a teenager that we don't know what they're talking about and we're supposed to be their resource. Nevertheless, I learned a lot and would definitely participate in another discovery program. I can never say again that there's not much out on the web.

My Learning 2.0 Experience

Learning 2.0 has certainly been an education. I would never have known there was so many different applications/websites out there. I’m the one that surfs and surfs and never finds anything of interest on the web, while others talk about spending hours on there.

My favorite fun exercises were My Space, Online Image Generator and Flickr because they just entertaining, no real learning involved. Library Thing was another fun site because it was a great way to find books out there that you may not have given a chance. Rollyo really didn’t interest me because you could probably find the same information on google or yahoo. I had a hard time with the information on Wiki since it may not be reliable but as a general source of information, it works.

Library Mulch’s blog is really great. I enjoyed the graphics, pictures and just the look about it. Comparing his blog to mine is like comparing night and day.

Rollyo

Rollyo allows you to narrow your searches using credible sites. You can create your own search engines, then share them with others. If you always use the same site you can include just that single site so all your searches are in the same place. To add a search page to your site, just click on it and you get the message "search Roll Added". It's that simple. This site would be especially useful to students. Since students have to site credible sites when writing papers, this would cut their research site down greatly.

http://www.rollyo.com/ramonita023/

Library Thing

This website was one of the easiest to navigate on Learning 2.0 thus far. Adding books to LibraryThing.com was as easy as searching for a topic, scrolling down through the selection and clicking on it to add to your personal library. It couldn't get any simpler. The selection list was huge. I also like that you could see how many other members have also chosen this book.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/rortiz

Image Generators

The warholizer image generator was alot of fun. I did not know these websites were available. I had to ask for help on linking it to my blog. I guess I need to surf the net more. I will bookmark this site to share with others.

Podcasts & Video

I really enjoyed the Denver Public Library’s podcast. It’s a story telling podcast geared to young readers (age 0-6). Members can select from a fairly large listing of books and listen to them being read out loud. If a child had a hard copy of the book, they could follow along with the narrator. I did not like that while the story is being told, there is a light show on the site which is distracting for children. The variety of the selection listing was good because it ran from nursery rhymes to entire storybooks. It does not however, note how long the story is.

Podcasts

I did not find anything really of interest to me on the podcast websites. I could not get into podcast.net directory and yahoo had a lot of junk in it. It felt like a waste of time to go through so many podcasts and not find many of substance. I do believe, however, that it would be interesting to do a podcast of the Central Library’s upcoming 20th anniversary. If not for nothing else, it would still be out there for historical purposes.

YouTube

The YouTube website was really fun. Since it’s primaries time, I viewed several campaign videos. One I enjoyed was “Barack Obama Wins Delegates DC, VA, MD Music Videos Mix. It spoke to just about everyone, using all different age groups and colors. The music genre ran from folk, rap, latin, and reggae and featured well-known celebrities as well as everyday citizens. It highlighted campaign stops throughout the country showing a crowd in Iowa rallying for him. The Iowa stop goes to his point that he is the candidate for the job and that it’s not about color.

I believe U-Tube can be applied to library web sites because it taps into the youth of America. If libraries could show that they are fun and interactive and not stuffy dark rooms with lots of books, it would go a long way to promoting its image and resources.

Flickr Fun

Montagr was very intriguing in the way they used pictures of the same type to create a mosaic effect.

Flicktionary was alot of fun. It's a quick pace pictionary game that young adults and adults could really enjoy. I would definitely play it again and recommend it. It was addictive.

Importance of Tagging

Basically, tagging is an indexing tool to help one search for photos using key words. It is important becuase it allows you to categorize your photos so users can search using those categories. Community develops when users with like interests come together. By tagging photos, users can quickly find other photos of the same topic/interest. Users can then post comments, in this way a community is formed.

Exploring Flickr

Creating an account as well as uploading the picture in Flickr was easy. However, I could not figure out how to include the image in my blog post. I was able to send a test so I know that Flickr and Blogger are connected.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Web 2.0 Awards

This site was very user friendly and categories were easily identifiable. I liked the rating categories given for each website because at a glance you could see how it was rated. In a library setting, I’d like to see it be able to be sorted by age groups also.

Technorati

The concept of Technorati as a search engine for tracking blogs, etc., using key words seems great. However, I found it difficult to search through for specific key words. As an overall collection of news and trivia, it works fine. I did find Icerocket easier to navigate.

Del.icio.us

Besides Del.icio.us being a useful tool for accessing bookmarks remotely, it’s potential for research assistance is great. This website allows you to share bookmarks/tags with others. So, you can see what information others have found on your particular topic and in turn they can see what you’ve done. A researcher could spend days examining a topic but when using Del.icio.us that time can be cut down considerably.

My Space

My space was easy to navigate and tabs were useful. I enjoyed searching for people I might now on this site but lists were long and many times scary. Users can customize their pages to show their personalities, interests and in many cases a side of them not known to many friends, i.e. a closet poet. It’s also a way for talented people to be showcased as unsigned musicians can post music. I believe My Space is so popular because it’s a way for friends to stay in touch because they can leave comments or messages.

Should VBPL use a social network site to connect w/teens?

I believe the VBPL should definitely use a social network site to connect with teens. It is a virtual world where teens can interact with adults in a safe environment. The VBPL can suggest books, videos, offer help with homework, research, college planning, career planning, and also offer gaming activities which are so popular. They can be a sounding board for an idea that the teen may not know how to talk with their parents about. It is important for the library to connect with teens where they hang out, on line.

VBPL Advisory Wiki

The VBPL wiki has alot of interesting information and a good source for reading materials. The different categories make it easy to search. It was fairly easy so adding my entry to the page wasn't too difficult. The font changes were a little irritating because I had to keep turning them off and on to take.

Other libraries can use wikis to communicate because its user friendly and it's always best when you share information.

Library Wiki's

I enjoyed the Booklovers Wiki because the books reviewed were by readers and not critics. Many times a critic will pan or applaud a piece that I find totally opposite in opinion. I believe this application would work well within a library because readers can contribute their opinions.

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki - Eventhough no site is fool-proof, this one lends more credibility because they have created a safeguard for loggin on. This helps track changes and/or deletions. This site is a forum for libraries to share valuable information, tools, quick tips and success stories with other libraries. As the website says, basically if you know of anything that works, include it on this site. The site is easy to navigate because articles are grouped under general topics and if you cannot find your topic, there is an email address at the bottom.

IM'ing and Referencing at the Library

Virtual reference services at the Law Library deal mostly with specific topics. General information can be easily relayed, however, some topics need hands on research. It does, however, allow the librarian to direct patrons to websites or to the different court websites where they can find many forms. Many times a patron just doesn't know where to begin the research, so the librarian is a wealth of information on the process.

Instant Messaging at the Library

Instant messaging is a real time communication tool which is extremely useful in doing research. It is different than traditional channels because it allows all patrons access to library resources from where they're located. For example, students can continue working on a paper instead of having to stop and physically go to a library. Librarians can push down web pages to the customer. It also greatly improves the image of a librarian as a modern tech-savy person instead of their past image.