This assignment was interesting but some of the links did not work. When I clicked on the yahoo podcasts it took me to the main page and said that the url was not valid. It did have a link to the homepage. I did look around and checked out some of the video clips that were there. As well, when I clicked on the Podcast.net, it said the page could not be found.
In the yahoo site, I type in Podcast in the search bar and it came up with a podcast on how to produce podcasts. I found it very interesting that 52% of all web traffic is video. This indicates to me that podcasts may be a very useful marketing tool. By publishing podcasts on many websites, it would be a valuable tool for getting the word By the sound of traffic geyser, it does the work for you by publishing your podcast on several web based applications. However, there is a cost involved when using their service.
I could not access Odeo's Studio Message was Oops- Looks like you visited a bad link. Did go to it's homepage and did some exploring on the webpage.
On Podcastalley.com one had to download a Podcast Aggregator but didn't want to do that as I have been having problems with my computer.
Reading about how to make a podcast, I found informative and the steps looked fairly simple but time consuming. Both Beginner's Guide and How to podcast spelled out in an understandable manner if one was interested in making a podcast.
Overall, I think the developing of a podcast for RWL would be a very good marketing tool for our services and what we have to offer the community. Placing instructional podcasts (online courses) may also be a valuable service we could offer our clients. It is also neat to go to other Library websites and see if they have added podcasts to their website and what they use them for. Definitely something to look into a little further.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Just a note
Don't know what happened just now but when I went to publish my post, it disappeared. So here I go again.
Thought I would update as to what happened to my bookmarks. As I mentioned when I went into my yahoo and google bookmarks where I had exported my bookmarks from Internet Explorer, there was nothing there after a day of them being there. Anyway, I retrieved my bookmarks for internet explorer from my trash can and for some reason they showed up again on my google bookmarks and yahoo bookmarks. I don't know if this was just coincidence or if it was due to my restarting my computer or it was magic in cyberspace.
I have to admit my computer is getting tired and doing some strange things lately. Guess I should hope that Santa hasn't lost his shirt in the stockmarket.
Thought I would update as to what happened to my bookmarks. As I mentioned when I went into my yahoo and google bookmarks where I had exported my bookmarks from Internet Explorer, there was nothing there after a day of them being there. Anyway, I retrieved my bookmarks for internet explorer from my trash can and for some reason they showed up again on my google bookmarks and yahoo bookmarks. I don't know if this was just coincidence or if it was due to my restarting my computer or it was magic in cyberspace.
I have to admit my computer is getting tired and doing some strange things lately. Guess I should hope that Santa hasn't lost his shirt in the stockmarket.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Assignment # 10
W ell, I copied the url for a podcast here and it didn't work. I will try it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyDY0hiMZy8
I thought the podcast would show up here but maybe you have to copy the url from my blog and put it in the address bar so that you can watch it from the You Tube website. There seemed to be a lot of interesting podcasts here and I did look at some on Library 2.0 or Web 2.0. Have figured out that these are both the same thing but library 2.0 is the application of the web 2.0 tools in the library setting.
Hopefully this will work this time. It is a podcast of Mr. Bean at the library. Thought we needed a little sense of humour about now since we are nearing the end of the course, we have snow and Christmas is just around the corner. HELP!!!!
I think I will contiune the rest of the assignment in a new blog. I have to admit I am looking forward to the end of the course so that I can take some time and review the different tools that we have looked at and get a little more comfortable with them. As well, I hope that it will help me to determine what tools will benefit our organiztion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyDY0hiMZy8
I thought the podcast would show up here but maybe you have to copy the url from my blog and put it in the address bar so that you can watch it from the You Tube website. There seemed to be a lot of interesting podcasts here and I did look at some on Library 2.0 or Web 2.0. Have figured out that these are both the same thing but library 2.0 is the application of the web 2.0 tools in the library setting.
Hopefully this will work this time. It is a podcast of Mr. Bean at the library. Thought we needed a little sense of humour about now since we are nearing the end of the course, we have snow and Christmas is just around the corner. HELP!!!!
I think I will contiune the rest of the assignment in a new blog. I have to admit I am looking forward to the end of the course so that I can take some time and review the different tools that we have looked at and get a little more comfortable with them. As well, I hope that it will help me to determine what tools will benefit our organiztion.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Just a note about my bookmarks
Well today I was working away on my computer and decided to go to my bookmarks on yahoo and look for a site I had been to before. Guess what! All of my bookmarks had disappeared. I had removed my bookmarks from my explorer and transferred them all to yahoo and google. They are gone on both sites. Guess I get to start over. Does anyone have an idea of why that would happen.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Web 2.0 Assignment #9- Zoho
I was working with Flickr today and since I had exceeded my 200 photos I thought that I would burn them to disk so that I could remove them and add other pictures to my flickr account. Well there didn't seem to be any way to burn my pictures to a disk. I was very disappointed with the lack of this feature in Flickr. As well, when I did save a picture from flickr back to my computer it was saved the size of a postage stamp.
The other thing that I have taken advantage of is the use of yahoo and googles bookmarks. That way I have been able to reclaim some of the ram from my computer.
As to the use of zoho, I could see some benefits to this program. If several people are working on an assignment, they could edit their parts offline and then syncronize it when they go back online and everyone would have access to the information.
As well if several people were working on a presentation they could insert their parts of the presentation in the appropriate spots so that everyone working on the presentation could edit and make improvements or make comments to the other participants.
Well, I was typing away and I thought I had lost everything. I ended up relogging onto zoho and low and behold what I had written was still there.
Last winter I went on a Caribbean Cruise so will insert a few of the pictures here and see how that goes.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Assignment #9
When I first starting to look at wikis and realized that participants are also the authors of these pages, I thought that the information could not be reliable and the use of wikis is not a resource that I would reccommend to a patron for research purposes. I still feel this way but did find that there were a couple of wikis that I thought would be very useful for me as a librarian and for the public.
For the librarian, Library Success: A best practices wiki is wonderful. If offers a wealth of information for the librarian with links to tons of information and resources for learning. I definitely willl return to this site and make use of the information here.
The format of the the Front Page wiki may be useful for book reviews. I found it to be more of a blog where the participants could state their opinions on a subject.
Another wiki that I found had some merit was the mfagen wiki. This would be very beneficial for an individual planning a road trip or wanting to find where a place was. I liked the way it was broken down by country, county, province etc. I found that there was some replication and possibly a little confusing as it did not give any sort of description of the different map sites or how to use them.
Overall I think that by the examples given for us to look at, it is important to set up a wiki in a way that is user friendly and has pertinent information.
As well, the library success wiki provided links to many sites that provided even further sites for more information. I found that this wiki was more controlled and the content was not as opinion giving as it was providing information links pertinent to the librarian.
Basically, I think that a wiki, if used would have to have controls on the content and someone overseeing the content that is being added to give the wiki some credability.
For the librarian, Library Success: A best practices wiki is wonderful. If offers a wealth of information for the librarian with links to tons of information and resources for learning. I definitely willl return to this site and make use of the information here.
The format of the the Front Page wiki may be useful for book reviews. I found it to be more of a blog where the participants could state their opinions on a subject.
Another wiki that I found had some merit was the mfagen wiki. This would be very beneficial for an individual planning a road trip or wanting to find where a place was. I liked the way it was broken down by country, county, province etc. I found that there was some replication and possibly a little confusing as it did not give any sort of description of the different map sites or how to use them.
Overall I think that by the examples given for us to look at, it is important to set up a wiki in a way that is user friendly and has pertinent information.
As well, the library success wiki provided links to many sites that provided even further sites for more information. I found that this wiki was more controlled and the content was not as opinion giving as it was providing information links pertinent to the librarian.
Basically, I think that a wiki, if used would have to have controls on the content and someone overseeing the content that is being added to give the wiki some credability.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Assignment #7, Part 2
"Away from the Icebergs" by Rick Anderson is I think basically asking us to step out of the "librarian box" and into the "Patron Box." As he says the time is coming where we will not necessarily need to build on our collection of print materials, I think, especially the non-fiction print materials, but we need to find ways that our patrons can access the information easily from the web at home. As Anderson says, patrons will expect to have access to everything -"digital collections of journals, books, blogs, podcasts etc." He also feels that staff need to "eliminate barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need."
I agree in part with what Anderson says but there will be some challenges ahead. The library is a recreational service that we provide our patrons. There are still many patrons who like to read from hard copy and enjoy coming into the library to pick the books they want to read. As well, the library provides an opportunity for patrons in our small communities to have social interaction.
By providing easier access to patrons for material they need, I think the focus will be more for the younger generation who have grown up in the computer age. Our challenge will be to reach these people and introduce them to the new services that the libraries offer, that are geared to their needs.
We, as librarians, will need to find ways to make the assess of information as user friendly as possible and only a click away.
Power from the People: Assessing the New Online Participatory Tools for Your Organization by Colin Delany
In this article Delaney goes through many tools that are available for organizations. One critical thing that he does say when discussing the pros and cons of the tools such as blogs, online video, rss feeds, social networking, social media, viral marketing, is that one has to have the time to update, the skills to implement, and in some cases the money to develop. For each tool, he discusses what each tool is capable of and then gives one guidelines to determine if the tool is worthwhile and feasible for your organization.
This was a good article for me to read as it gave me a little better understanding of the tools that we have already been introduced to. I still have the nagging question though as to how the library can implement some of these tools with the limited resources we have(time and staff) to make them useful for the patrons that we serve. One tool that I thought may have some merit was the use of Social Media. This could help to bring the comunities we serve and the libraries on the same page. The community could submit video clips of community events or on the community and we could post them. In this manner as Delaney says,"Participating ties them to you and your issues at an emotional level." By contributing to our website, they are showing their confidence in us as an organization.
Other tools such as Viral marketing would be too risky for our organization. Too many things could go wrong and would or could devalue our organization.
To More Powerful Ways to Co-operate by Chip Nilges
Basically I think the message that Nilges is trying to say in his article is that libraries need to band together to provide one database for everyone. By using the web as the platform, patrons and all libraries would have access to the same information. "Open Worldcat" is being used by the OCLC to help them integrate collections and services into one Web space. It is hoped that they will be able to expand the database in ways that will keep pace with the constant evolving of collections.
I think that this could be a very valuable tool for the libraries. The co-operation with reciprocal agreements and ILL has been a great value to our libraries. We need to look at ways to expand this service and to make it easier for patrons to access the same information.
In conclusion, these articles were very informative and gave me much food for thought. I do feel that the structure and the availability of library materials will always be a need for our patrons as they perceive libraries as a form of recreation and as a social venue. But, libraries need to expand their services into the information network of the web. How to do that to make it worthwhile and effective is the challenge that we as service providers are faced. For myself, I hope that the social interaction of the patron and the library continues and that our organization does not get swallowed up into cyberspace.
I agree in part with what Anderson says but there will be some challenges ahead. The library is a recreational service that we provide our patrons. There are still many patrons who like to read from hard copy and enjoy coming into the library to pick the books they want to read. As well, the library provides an opportunity for patrons in our small communities to have social interaction.
By providing easier access to patrons for material they need, I think the focus will be more for the younger generation who have grown up in the computer age. Our challenge will be to reach these people and introduce them to the new services that the libraries offer, that are geared to their needs.
We, as librarians, will need to find ways to make the assess of information as user friendly as possible and only a click away.
Power from the People: Assessing the New Online Participatory Tools for Your Organization by Colin Delany
In this article Delaney goes through many tools that are available for organizations. One critical thing that he does say when discussing the pros and cons of the tools such as blogs, online video, rss feeds, social networking, social media, viral marketing, is that one has to have the time to update, the skills to implement, and in some cases the money to develop. For each tool, he discusses what each tool is capable of and then gives one guidelines to determine if the tool is worthwhile and feasible for your organization.
This was a good article for me to read as it gave me a little better understanding of the tools that we have already been introduced to. I still have the nagging question though as to how the library can implement some of these tools with the limited resources we have(time and staff) to make them useful for the patrons that we serve. One tool that I thought may have some merit was the use of Social Media. This could help to bring the comunities we serve and the libraries on the same page. The community could submit video clips of community events or on the community and we could post them. In this manner as Delaney says,"Participating ties them to you and your issues at an emotional level." By contributing to our website, they are showing their confidence in us as an organization.
Other tools such as Viral marketing would be too risky for our organization. Too many things could go wrong and would or could devalue our organization.
To More Powerful Ways to Co-operate by Chip Nilges
Basically I think the message that Nilges is trying to say in his article is that libraries need to band together to provide one database for everyone. By using the web as the platform, patrons and all libraries would have access to the same information. "Open Worldcat" is being used by the OCLC to help them integrate collections and services into one Web space. It is hoped that they will be able to expand the database in ways that will keep pace with the constant evolving of collections.
I think that this could be a very valuable tool for the libraries. The co-operation with reciprocal agreements and ILL has been a great value to our libraries. We need to look at ways to expand this service and to make it easier for patrons to access the same information.
In conclusion, these articles were very informative and gave me much food for thought. I do feel that the structure and the availability of library materials will always be a need for our patrons as they perceive libraries as a form of recreation and as a social venue. But, libraries need to expand their services into the information network of the web. How to do that to make it worthwhile and effective is the challenge that we as service providers are faced. For myself, I hope that the social interaction of the patron and the library continues and that our organization does not get swallowed up into cyberspace.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Assignment # 7
Just finished up the first part of the assignment and will have to do the rest at another time.
Meredith Fargas's article reaffirms my thinking about the various tools of Web 2.0 that we have looked at so far. As I was going through the assignments I kept asking myself, would the patrons use this. In most cases I felt the answer was no. Our clients for the most part use our services for entertainment -reading, listening or watching movies. Most of the clients who come to the library to use our computers use them for social purposes - to check their emails, chat with their friends on msn or facebook. Some do use the computers for research and writing their assignments but more and more patrons have their own computers at home. Like the cellphone, the computer is becoming a household necessity.
When I look at the patrons who come into the library, these patrons come to the library to get books for reading. Some use our non-fiction as reference. Patrons are pleased with the idea they can order books from home, renew their books and then come to the library to pick them up.
So for me, unless we can change our patrons thinking that the library is more then a book lending facility, our patrons will continue to think of the library as just that.
Like Fargas points out, we need to continue to assess what the patron needs and wants and not assume that if we offer them a service, they will use it. In my opinion, it would be more beneficial to see what our patrons are using the computers for and to be knowledgeable of the tools they are using so that we can assist them if they run into problems. An example of this is we had a patron who went onto ebay and was checking out prices and wanting to make bids. None of us at the library had any exposure to ebay and so we were not able to help the patron.
Another example would be facebook. Recently they have changed the interface of facebook and there are so many different applications that it gets quite confusing. Would it not be better for librarians to learn all of the facets of facebook so that if a patron ran into problems we could help them?
I guess basically what I am saying is that Librarians should be aware of the newest tools but should learn only those that the patrons use and want.
Meredith Fargas's article reaffirms my thinking about the various tools of Web 2.0 that we have looked at so far. As I was going through the assignments I kept asking myself, would the patrons use this. In most cases I felt the answer was no. Our clients for the most part use our services for entertainment -reading, listening or watching movies. Most of the clients who come to the library to use our computers use them for social purposes - to check their emails, chat with their friends on msn or facebook. Some do use the computers for research and writing their assignments but more and more patrons have their own computers at home. Like the cellphone, the computer is becoming a household necessity.
When I look at the patrons who come into the library, these patrons come to the library to get books for reading. Some use our non-fiction as reference. Patrons are pleased with the idea they can order books from home, renew their books and then come to the library to pick them up.
So for me, unless we can change our patrons thinking that the library is more then a book lending facility, our patrons will continue to think of the library as just that.
Like Fargas points out, we need to continue to assess what the patron needs and wants and not assume that if we offer them a service, they will use it. In my opinion, it would be more beneficial to see what our patrons are using the computers for and to be knowledgeable of the tools they are using so that we can assist them if they run into problems. An example of this is we had a patron who went onto ebay and was checking out prices and wanting to make bids. None of us at the library had any exposure to ebay and so we were not able to help the patron.
Another example would be facebook. Recently they have changed the interface of facebook and there are so many different applications that it gets quite confusing. Would it not be better for librarians to learn all of the facets of facebook so that if a patron ran into problems we could help them?
I guess basically what I am saying is that Librarians should be aware of the newest tools but should learn only those that the patrons use and want.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Assignment # 6
Well, del.icio.us and technorati were interesting to look at. I don't think at this point I would have much use for technorati. For the time that I spent on it, I did not really find anything that was really of interest to me. Possibly if I spent a little more time with it, I may find some value for it. That said, I don't think that it would be of much benefit for our organization. As well, with using the search engine and the web 2.0 link under technology, I did get different results. When looking for things through the search engine parts of the blogs were displayed given an idea of what the subject of the blog was. On the other hand, when using the other method to do a search, it gave the title and the url address only.
As for del.icio.us, I found it much more user friendly and easier to navigate around. When we were first given this assignment, I wondered why anyone would want to use this as it is very similar to the favourites on windows explorer. One thing that I did like about this was that the titles were larger and the tags made it a little easier to get to the topic you were looking for. Although you can make folders for different subjects on your favourites, it is one extra step to find what you are looking for. I think that if someone spent any amount of time on del.icio.us, they could set up some pretty interesting bookmarks.
As for del.icio.us, I found it much more user friendly and easier to navigate around. When we were first given this assignment, I wondered why anyone would want to use this as it is very similar to the favourites on windows explorer. One thing that I did like about this was that the titles were larger and the tags made it a little easier to get to the topic you were looking for. Although you can make folders for different subjects on your favourites, it is one extra step to find what you are looking for. I think that if someone spent any amount of time on del.icio.us, they could set up some pretty interesting bookmarks.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Assignment # 5
Must admit this assignment was much easier then the last two. Still need to spend a little more time with rss. Anyway, quite impressed with the library thing. Very easy to navigate and very user friendly. Only disadvantage is that once you have 200 books on your list you have to start paying for the service.
Now onto Facebook. Have been a member for about a year now and still trying to get used to the new look of facebook.
Anyway I went directly to the green page and found it interesting but not too sure if this would benefit our organization. As well, I am not sure that Facebook was designed for advertising, rather more a way for friends to find friends. Facebook is a worldwide bog and I don't think our region would benefit from having a page on facebook that can be seen by someone who lives in Africa for instance. As well, I would be a little concerned of the chance that a patron who did not get possibly good service could post a message telling of their experience. Do we want to take the chance.
Just a note, though, facebook does have an application called visual bookshelf and an application called books where you can post the bookds you are reading and the books you want to read.
Now onto Facebook. Have been a member for about a year now and still trying to get used to the new look of facebook.
Anyway I went directly to the green page and found it interesting but not too sure if this would benefit our organization. As well, I am not sure that Facebook was designed for advertising, rather more a way for friends to find friends. Facebook is a worldwide bog and I don't think our region would benefit from having a page on facebook that can be seen by someone who lives in Africa for instance. As well, I would be a little concerned of the chance that a patron who did not get possibly good service could post a message telling of their experience. Do we want to take the chance.
Just a note, though, facebook does have an application called visual bookshelf and an application called books where you can post the bookds you are reading and the books you want to read.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Well, I have completed my homework for the week. Did have some trouble finding websites that I could find an rss on but when I used the search tool on bloglines had more success. I did find this exercise a little challenging but it may be useful to place reader advisories, book reviews and author sites in one spot so don't have to search each time for the site. Bloglines may help me to become a little more organized.
Well, I have added a few of you to my bloglines account. Took a little doing but did have success. Finding that the course is taking more then an hour a week especially since it is all new to me and there are so many things to try. Have to say I am learning alot and hope that these tools will help me down the road. Too bad the chores aren't getting done but we are becoming lifelong learners right. Not too much you can learn from sweeping a floor.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
After several attempts I finally figured out how to add a badge to my website-with a little help from my daughter.
I did take a chance and looked at the montager. Interesting but not too sure it will have much value in our organization. Found the mappr intersting and put some of my pictures on the map in Algonquin Park.
Have yet to have the time to look around the web to find some other sites that uses mashups and other tools that may benefit us.
I did take a chance and looked at the montager. Interesting but not too sure it will have much value in our organization. Found the mappr intersting and put some of my pictures on the map in Algonquin Park.
Have yet to have the time to look around the web to find some other sites that uses mashups and other tools that may benefit us.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Boy, there is so much to figure out in flickr. Had to change to my daughter's computer as mine would not let me download flashplayer. Still have not figured out how to upload pictures to my blog from flickr. Uploading from my computer is pretty straightforward. Of course using my daughter's computer I have to be careful what I upload.
Have edited some of my pictures with picknic -I think that is what it is called. Have looked at mappr. Found it a little confusing. Will have to play with it a little more. I am a little concerned about trying Montager as it uses a lot of Cpu and can crash the browser. Did look at Color Peckr but am not sure how useful it will be unless I am planning on decorating.
Anyway, there is lots to do and at times, very confusing but fun to try new things.
I gather that from the definition of mashups, various resources are integrated into a website to make more information available on one website.
Anyway, after a few hours of playing, guess I should get back to my chores.
I am sure some of these tools will be useful - possibly in making reader advisories, book reviews with a display of the author and cover of book etc.
Have edited some of my pictures with picknic -I think that is what it is called. Have looked at mappr. Found it a little confusing. Will have to play with it a little more. I am a little concerned about trying Montager as it uses a lot of Cpu and can crash the browser. Did look at Color Peckr but am not sure how useful it will be unless I am planning on decorating.
Anyway, there is lots to do and at times, very confusing but fun to try new things.
I gather that from the definition of mashups, various resources are integrated into a website to make more information available on one website.
Anyway, after a few hours of playing, guess I should get back to my chores.
I am sure some of these tools will be useful - possibly in making reader advisories, book reviews with a display of the author and cover of book etc.
Monday, September 15, 2008
My first time blogging
Well, this took quite awhile to set up. For some reason, I kept being kicked off the blog sight when I was setting up the blog. Finally made it though and hope whoever wishes to can find my blog.
With this course I am hoping to become more familiar with the various technologies that are available on the internet such as blogging. Hopefully, it will help to communicate with others who have similar ideas and we can exchange information.
Most of the areas that this course is covering I have no knowledge about and so am kind of excited about learning about these new areas. I am familiar with facebook but sure don't know a whole lot of the tools offered on that site. Seems everytime I go on facebook there is something different. Possibly the one thing that I am kind of nervous about is the security of these websites and how I can protect myself from hackers etc.
With this course I am hoping to become more familiar with the various technologies that are available on the internet such as blogging. Hopefully, it will help to communicate with others who have similar ideas and we can exchange information.
Most of the areas that this course is covering I have no knowledge about and so am kind of excited about learning about these new areas. I am familiar with facebook but sure don't know a whole lot of the tools offered on that site. Seems everytime I go on facebook there is something different. Possibly the one thing that I am kind of nervous about is the security of these websites and how I can protect myself from hackers etc.
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