Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Thing #30 In Conclusion



Is it over already?

There were many takeaways from this web learning experience. The most unexpected surprise of the last few months has been how much I have been able to share with fellow staff members and help them complete their assignments. By showing them how to post a picture to their blog or add a cool feature to their sidebar I have had to revisit and hone my own learning processes.

The main change I would recommend for this program would be to highlight the interactivity of the exercises. Web 2.0 is a social, collaborative venue and real fun can be had by sharing experiences throughout the length of the journey. Once you get to talking you have reached your destination and your goals are complete with the effort expended a mere afterthought of the combined dialogue. This kind of training is great for the self-motivated individual and can be wonderful for those people who like to have some company for the ride.

I would definitely partake of another training of this sort!

Thanks Cindy!

Thing #29 Favorites



I like many of the tools that I have been able to play with during this learning program. Most I had used before in either school or personal time but revisiting them for this exercise allowed a bit of fresh air to inhabit my learning atmosphere. I don't have any distinct favorites rather a contented sense that my education has been enhanced.

Having already been exposed to so many of these web tools my lifelong learning goals seem to be on track. Generally I like to stay current and these exercises acted as an affirmation to my learning habits.

I clicked around some of the blogs of my colleagues and enjoyed reading about their experiences working through the Web 2.0 world. On the sidebar to the left I've linked to a few of my favorites.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Thing #28 Rollyo



I just finished creating my first Rollyo search tool which can now be found on the right hand sidebar. Since I seemingly always have Reader's Advisory on my mind I have gathered together some websites that may help you choose your next book. Or if you are assisting a patron you may be able to help them find that next exciting read.

So yes there are some practical library uses for a tool such as this one. I'm pretty sure that Google has a product similar to this one which may provide the same level of usefulness. The main drawback I see is the limit of 25 websites. Scrolling around for a few minutes I easily found more than 25 potential good sites for Reader's Advisory yet once the maximum was reached I (and the search tool) had reached its limit.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Thing #27 LibraryThing



Good old LibraryThing. I initially created an account sometime back so that I could get a visual display in the sidebar of my bookclub's blog. I also had the chance to hear Tim Spaulding, creator of LibraryThing, speak at last summer's ALA Conference. I have not gotten into the community aspect of LT but I'm sure you could make fast friends with someone who had the same book on their shelf.

I do like the tag search that allows me (the searcher) to skim off the wisdom of the people (you). I just combined "humor" and "nobel prize" and came up with this list. Perhaps helpful to someone.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Thing #26: Image Generator



I used FD Toys to create the image you see here. My wonderful colleagues put together a baby shower with the theme being books. How appropriate!