Summary of Thoughts (Thing #23)

Well, I have finally come to thing #23. There were many great things that I have learned. I really enjoyed Flickr and mashups. I have thought of some great ideas of things that I can do with photos that I can use for Christmas gifts. I am not sure if this had really changed my lifelong learning goals; however, it has given me some insight to what is out there.

I was definitely surprised to see that so many people are out there doing a lot of these "new" technologies. Also, I was very suprised at how much of their own work people are willing to share with the general public.

I liked the way that the program was presented. Self paced learning is great for an organization like ours. We were all able to do a "thing" or two whenever our busy schedules will allow.

Downloadable Audio (Thing #22)

Downloadable Audio is such a great idea for people that like to listen to books on CD. I had no idea that a lot of these items were out there. I took a look at overdrive and net library. Overdrive seemed to have more of the popular fiction titles. Net library seemed to have a lot of non fiction items that could be used for teachers and military employees. I could not understand the idea of being on a hold list for a item. If the item is available in a digital format, then why would there be a wait period for it?

I might be able to use some of the titles for information. However, I do not think that I would be able to read a whole book from my computer screen. I very much prefer to curl up with a good book. There is just something comfortable about being able to flip through a real book. I do think that I would use an audio format. I already like to listen to music and/or books in the evening when I am unwinding. I do wish that they had more of a selection of non-fiction titles.

Locating Podcasts (Thing #21)

Since I received my ipod last Christmas, I have regularly used itunes to search and podcasts. I find it amazing that there are so many different podcasts out there. There really is something for everyone. I think that using podcasts for storytimes and booktalks is really cool. It enables libraries to reach an audience that they might not be able to reach otherwise.

Discover YouTube (Thing #20)

I think that YouTube has some incredibly funny things. It is great for entertainment. It is also a bit scary. I think that the scarriness and entertainment part overshadows what could be the possible educational side.

Yahoo Answers (Thing #19)

What amazed me from the web 2.0 awards list was how many different catagories there were. I remember back in the forth grade playing the first version of Oregon Trail on the old Apple IIc. It was mostly text and mechanical bleeping sounds. Now, there are so many different things that you can do. It is amazing. I took a look at yahoo answers. Although I would not seek medical or personal advise in this way, I still found it very interesting. People can ask any question and then wait for someone to answer.

Online Productivity (Thing #18)

I have previously used google's spreadsheet productivity program for a collaborative genealogy project that I had worked on. It was very user friendly. I liked how I could do my work and then send it on to the next person to work on. Everyone that was working on this project could participate even though we used a variety of productivity packages.

I was thinking that google's online productivity program might also be useful to me to use for my schoolwork. I normally bring in my flash drive so that I can work on my school homework during my breaks or lunches. Instead, I could set up my homework and work on it from both home and work.

Sandbox Wiki (Thing #17)

The Maryland Libraries Sandbox wiki is a nice idea. It is another way to get suggestions and recommendations. However, I did not really care for the format. It would have been hard to find specific information is that was what I was looking for.

Wikis (Thing #16)

I really found the idea of wikis to be interesting. I took a look at several library wikis and can see the use for them. It is a great way for people to share their own wealth of information. I like the thought that anyone can add to the information alrealdy in place.

I did a search for genealogy wikis and have already found a few that I have bookmarked. I plan on using them to share information and to provide stories about my ancestors.

Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 (Thing #15)

I really like the thought of web and library 2.0. Being able to share and collaborate information and ideas has many implications. To tell you the truth, I am a little bit leary of putting to much of myself onto the internet. I think that while the sharing is expanding, sometimes people forget the privacy implications. There are way to many scary people out there.

Technorati (Thing #14)

I am not to sure that I completly get the idea of this site. The way I understand it is that it will place HTML code inside of your blog so that web searches will be more likely to pick it up. Will it also create "hot links" (like I have seen in other blogs) that will lead me to other websites for more information on that subject?

I don't think that I will use this much because I have not become interested in the whole idea of blogging and reading other people's blogs.