Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Week 9 #23

2007-03-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I enjoyed realizing that by taking one's time and reading help screens, one can usually figure things out. I learned a lot more about You Tube which should come in handy. I had a few ideas that were sparked along the way about things that we could do here in the library.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I am not sure how this will affect my lifelong learning goals but I do feel far more capable of understanding the current technology and will feel less intimidated by moving forward. A friend of mine once told me that if you get too far behind with technology, it's almost impossible to catch up. Programs like this one, keep that from happening.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I have been blown away by the creativity of some of my colleagues blogs.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I have been thinking about it and think that many people had a roadblock in the beginning. I would look into making the beginning a little easier.

And last but not least…

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Of course!

Week 9 #22 Ebooks and Audiobooks

2007-03-26T18:38:00.002-07:00

I love audiobooks and have downloaded from our site on several occasions and recently downloaded the Silicon Valley Reads book The Tortilla Curtain.I do find that the interface can be a little tricky. I think many of our patrons may find it somewhat daunting. I only wish one could download to an iPod. I figure that might happen sometime in the future. I have yet to find a Windows based player that has the ease and simplicity of design that the iPod has. If you listen to a lot of audiobooks, it is very helpful to have a player with bookmarking capabilities. Those are things you learn as you go along.

Week 9 #21 Podcasts

2007-03-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

I have been listening to podcasts for awhile on my computer and also on my iPod. I have subscribed to them in iTunes but never in Bloglines before. There are a lot of boring podcasts out there. It's kind of like karoke-everything thinks he/she is a star! I do like the NPR Podcasts however. I have listened to some travel ones that were interesting also. I think 5 mintues is about my limit, unless I am commuting on a long trip. I did find a new podcast to subscribe to however-Americana Roots. I like old style country or alternative country music and this fits the bill.

http://www.americanaroots.com/content/cd-reviews/index.php

Week 9 #20 You Tube

2007-03-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

You Tube is way too much fun. I love Conan the Librarian and a few other library videos that have been making the rounds. What a huge variety of material! Something for everyone! I also think it is a very democratic tool-anyone can film an event and share it with the world.

I did find that travel videos-what a great way to see if your vacation spot is on film. As far as library applications, we could film events, speakers, storytimes, and instruction sections. We could also film tours of the library! Lots of possibilities.

This Seinfield sketch is fun-nothing like a little library stereotyping!

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Week 8 # 19-Library Thing

2007-03-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

I have checked out Library Thing before but I don't really see that much of an advantage to it. It's kind of fun to play around I suppose. I don't think I would use it much. Maybe it would be good to use it if you had a book club and wanted to keep track of the books that have been read. I usually just keep a list in Google Docs and Spreadsheets of what I have read. I did add my 5 favorite books however.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=WhereDIdISeeThat

Week 8-#18 Zoho Writer

2007-03-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

I have opened a Zoho writer account and did do a test document. I am so used to Google Docs and Spreadsheets which I use all the time that I don't know if I would use Zoho. I do like the Zoho templates however. That is a very nice feature that I haven't yet seen in Google.

Week 7 # 17

2007-03-26T17:27:00.001-07:00

I have added my blog to the sjlearning2 pbwiki site. I wish I had done better following along with every week rather than trying to catch up at the end. Oh well-live and learn.

Week -Wikis

2007-03-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

I have been fascinated by wikis ever since I heard Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, talk at the ALA Convention in Chicago. I love the wikis that include the public such as St. Joseph County Public Library and Princeton Public Library. The PPL book pages are great. I get lots of good ideas for new reads from them. I have been subscribing to the PPL emails but I think it might be a great idea to just check the wiki now and then. I had an idea as I was looking at the wikis. One of the problems that we have encountered here at the library is knowing about events. I am thinking a wiki calendar might be a great idea. It has given me food for thought and I am going to see what we might be able to do in this regard.

Week 6-Perspectives on Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

2007-03-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Once again-Information Overload! I do like how Wikipedia has so much information all in one place on its site. From scrolling through the articles, I came across a publication by Sirsi that was very interesting. Take a look http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/Upstream/index.php
There might be some good ideas that we could incorporate here in San Jose. One idea that comes up repeatedly is the thought that Library 2.0 may be a new term but that the concept isn't. Trying to make the library a more user friendly place has been an important goal for years. John Blyberg says that http://www.blyberg.net/2006/01/09/11-reasons-why-library-20-exists-and-matters/ L2 is essential for our survival. I don't think I would go that for but he does acknowledge that libraries need to change or be considered irrelevant.

Week 6- Technorati

2007-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

I opened a Technorati account and have been playing with it using the same search terms that I used in del.icio.ius and Rollyo. I think I don't really need to know what thousands of bloggers are saying about my search. Information overload to the max!

It is amazing though the difference between searching blogposts versus tags and the blog directory. I found the blog tags and directory far more interesting and much more manageable.

Week 6-Tagging and Del.icio.us #13

2007-03-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Once I discovered Google bookmarks, I didn't think it would be necessary to have a del.ci.ious account. I do like the ease of having it in my toolbars however. Also-the L2 del.ic.ious site has some great articles.

I guess it really is harnessing the power of the group ideas or knowledge. When I have more time, I am going to look at some topics that I have a personal rather than professional interest in. I used the same account name for my del.ic.ious account WhereDidSeeThat as my Rollyo account so it will be easier to remember. http://del.icio.us/WhereDidISeeThat

Week 5-Rollyo

2007-03-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

I am not wild about Rollyo. I usually don't have trouble finding what I need on the web so I don't feel the need for this tool. I did establish a Rollyo account, calling it WhereDidISeeThat? but left it private. I did a search on audiobooks which is a subject I have a great interest in. It worked ok but not great. Also-Rollyo has so much advertising that I found it annoying.

Week 5-Web 2.0 List

2007-03-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

Web 2.0 awards list is another black hole of fun :). Anyway, I had a good time playing with the social networking site http://ning.com. There is a librarian group on this site which was great to see.

Week 5-Online Image Generator

2007-03-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

This was lots of fun and I was spending lots of time playing around. Take a look at this creation.

Week 4-Rss Feeds

2007-03-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

I love Bloglines and have been using it for several months. It is a great way to stay up-to-date. I have it bookmarked on my cellphone so I always have reading material. At the present time, I have about 70 feeds.

A few of my favorite feeds:

http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/

http://infoblog.infopeople.org/

Week Three-Technology Related Post

2007-03-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

I just discovered Yahoo Widgets. They are lots of fun and add a whole new dimension to my desktop. www.widgets.yahoo.com

2007-03-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

Week 3

It's time to get back down to business. Flickr was lots of fun and I can see spending many hours playing with all the tools. I enjoyed the trading card generator and some of the other tools. Here is one of my creations:

Week 1 # 2

2007-01-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Do You Know the Way to San Jose? This blog will be incorporating the Learning 2.0 23 Things http://sjlibrary23.blogspot.com/ while sharing news and notes about about my native city.

Week 1 #2
I have always found the 7 Habits to be annoying but I do like the habit "use technology to your advantage". I found that viewing problems as challenges is the hardest habit for me.

Here's a clue-it's downtown.

2007-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

What and where is this building?

Week 1 #1 I have listened to the podcast and have looked around at the various sites. I needed to follow the directions for the 23 Things though. That is why I am back here at #1.