Final Thoughts

· What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? Looking through the 2.0 award winners was very educational. As I looked through each category, I found myself second guessing some choices. It's always easier to be a judge after the fact, but some choices were very questionable in my opinion. There were of course a number of gems that I will look at in greater detail in the coming days and months. I think some of these gems will become part of my repertoire of regularly used sites.

· How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? I listened again to the lifelong learning presentation (7 and half things...). Although this program was not on my personal list of goals I see how it enhances my learning in other areas and offers benefits for me, colleagues, and library users at work. It also reminded me to get renew pursuit of goals that have been pushed to the sidelines for a while.

· Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? One thing that surprised me was the level of freedom we had in choosing topics and exploring sites. My expectations were that the exercises would be heavily weighted toward library topics and issues. This was not the case and, generally, that was good. On the other hand there is quite a lot of new technology that was not covered but might be useful for library work. Missing out on an opportunity to review some of them was disappointing.

· What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I think the program should be structured in modules that build upon each other. Although I see the benefit of a survey or discovery course, the educational model that builds on information previously received has an automatic assessment built into the program. Thus participants know their level of progress at the end of each module. I would also say that just because something looks easy or intuitive does not mean it is either.

---A recurring question was "I am doing this correctly?" A personal or group orientation about expectations would answer that nagging question.---

· And last but not least…If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate? This was very time consuming but the opportunity to do it at work was never there. I literally completed the entire program from start to finish at home. If that would be the pattern for future programs and the opportunity was voluntary I might have to refuse.

· How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?
I learned about, used, and manipulated some new tools and some familiar tools. I think this will help me on the job.

Wikis

I am of two minds about Wikis. The good is the information is easily accessible. Of all the quick informational resources on the web wikis are the best. If you don’t know anything about a topic I take a look at Wikipedia to get the lay of the land.

But are you getting reliable information? The bad is that in most cases you’re not sure about reliability and authority. One simplistic amendment can take an article from factual to arguable to unusable.

I don’t subscribe to never using Wikis as many academicians do. I would say that if you find information in a Wiki you have to investigate the source(s) and verify with other reliable information. This may be more than most users are willing to do.

As for practical uses, I see Wikis as a great collaborative tool. If you don’t have or want to use document sharing software or work with emails and attachments the Wiki can be great way to get several colleagues’ ideas in a place where everyone can access it. Of course, the problem of reliability and authority arises here too. Some of the most vocal may be the most unreliable. However if you want to get everyone’s opinion or brainstorm, the Wiki may be the best route.

The best use of a wiki that I have seen is preconference planning. Conferences have used wikis as a tool to get collaborative discussions going on lodging, restaurants, conference speakers, and sightseeing.

I like to listen...

I already have Netlibrary and Overdrive accounts and have listened to several books. I have downloaded an equal number of fiction and non-fiction books. I cannot say that I prefer listening to one better than the other.
This format is not my favorite and is usually my last resort for obtaining a book. Although I will listen to a recorded books, I don't like downloading them as a rule. The format is fraught with problems that I don't encounter with the CDs or audiotapes. So I would rather drive to Frederick or Carroll County to borrow the book or recording than download it from one of these vendors.
Of course, there are times when you cannot get the book from any other source or it cannot be obtained in a timely manner. In these cases, I have used Netlibrary and Overdrive to listen to the book or other material. One such instance has been the language programs. Overdrive offers access to multiple languages by multiple publishers. This material supplements material and resources that is in local libraries. Best of all the access includes explicit permission to copy the lessons to your own disks or load them onto portable media players.

You Tube

One of the "perks" of public library work is being privy to what excites users about You Tube. Library users send me links or pull me aside to view their favorite clips. That was my experience prior to today. Today I searched for applicable information resources and library related postings. This is a sampling of what I found: (1) the World Digital Library; (2) the Library of the Future; (3) Ibiblio Digital Libraries; the Harlem Digital Repository; and Jolanta Dickute on Digital Libraries.

The world of digital libraries, archives, and repositories is a very interesting area of the profession and a key issue of concern for the future. All of the above sites or clips had something interesting to contribute to the "virtual discussion." The media I decided to embed in the blog concerns preservation which an equally important topic for the future and one of particular interest to me. If you view this, pay attention to her examples and discussion of data migration (a project I am personally working on). Notice also that it is product is free and open source.

This is one topic about which I would like to see some discussion. Watch the media and respond.

Podcast Subscription

I am now a subscriber (through Bloglines) of the Capitals Report. Unfortunately, Caps fans aren't getting a lot of positive news of late. Maybe their season will turn around.

Podcast Recast

I looked at all three suggested sites. My preference is Podcastalley. It just seemed more accessible to me. Podcast.net returned the fewest quality hits for my searches. I also may have been influenced by the fact that Yahoo podcasts did not start and generated error messages on both of my personal computers.

Using Yahoo’s podcast search area and Podcastalley, I searched for rugby and ice hockey podcasts. The selection is pretty good for both. I found national and international podcasts for both sports. There is a lot of good broadcast action for fans and a number of informative talk show formatted programs.

Libraries could easily transform this tool into a communications link between the library and users. Why not produce a regular podcast about the most interesting title discussed in book groups in the county? I can also see the library highlighting materials and resources in podcasts. The A+ partnership might benefit from podcasts aimed at parents, students, and teachers.

On this functional angle, I am rethinking the utility of podcasting.

Award winners: Worthy or Unworthy?

I always like finding a new site to use or recommend to users. The award winning Farecast caught my eye. It is travel site that is as good as Kayak. The interface is nice. I also like that it brings up a proximity map for hotels that you’re considering. The search for airfares offers great features like predictions for a 90 day period; grids and sliding scales for departure and arrivals; and, of course, fare comparisons. Worthy.

Omnidrive: If you are looking for a way to open up documents when you are away from your home or work Desktops, this may be the answer. Omnidrive, a file and media sharing tool, makes it easy to work on documents of all types from any location. The choice of clients (Windows or Mac) makes it automatically user friendly. I want to test it out on some "real"documents. Until then, the user guides show that the product has some promise. Worthy

Games 2web.com: Too much "fun" for me…Confusing and crowded interface…Social and other games border on the obscene and absurd. I don't know by what criteria they are judged. Unworthy.

iGoogle: I'll admit that "Start" pages are beyond me. Customization is interesting and fun, but ultimately unnecessary. Unworthy.

GOOGLE Docs and ZOHO Writer

The biggest advantage of these tools is skipping the step of emailing attached documents between users. I have worked with document exchange software with several groups. This resource is a real time saver. In the process of working with a "shared" document, I think it may also cut down on the number of times participants have to resend emails because the attachments failed to open.

I have also worked with Google Docs. I recommend the tutorials and getting as much help as you can from the vendors/suppliers. There are quite a few features for this tool and I would not say that they are all intuitive. Still these are innovative tools that committees or other groups of individuals can take advantage of while they remain free services.

Sandbox Play

I went to the site and added a note about some favorite activities. (argh!)

This site works as a collaborative exercise but it is a bit too playful and disorganized to be of any use to a researcher or library user seeking information. It reminds me of a free wheeling social site. For this sort of collaboration to be practical, I would prefer a wiki.

2 x 2.0

2 x 2.0...I enjoyed Michael Stephens’ article. “Into a new world of librarianship.” I particularly liked the point that a “librarian is human.” Of all the ways users will interact with libraries, the thing that makes the actual and virtual institution unique is the human factor. Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 point us to an ever increasing demand for technological competence. Current and future librarians will have to deal with the pressure to remain up-to-the-minute on nearly every new technology tool. That’s because libraries and librarians have to be where their users are. Users are working with technology of all types. We have to understand and deliver content and resources in it most current form. Yet, the thing that will distinguish us from the technology is the librarian. Pull back the curtain and you find an individual pushing content not software. This distinction will make all the difference when users make their choices of where to go for information.

Technorati

I am not into blogs, but I am in the minority. People like to participate in blogs. Technorati is a resource that bloggers and non-bloggers like me need to know about.

I recently met a champion / expert blogger. This gentleman quit his 60 hour a week job to blog full time (which I think requires about 20-30 hours a week but he does more because he loves doing it). He explained the lure of blogging.

Using Technorati, I verified all the things we talked about. Then I searched tags of interest. I found a few with a basic search and expanded my results with an advanced search. I'll need to keep working at searching millions of blog entries.

http://del.icio.us

Having my bookmarks in one place is not very exciting. Book marking is a temporary place marker for me. I am adding and deleting bookmarked sites as I concentrate on various topics.

What were of interest to me were other users’ bookmarked sites. For instance, the library bookmarks were excellent.

Among the sites I used archive.org. This is a superior digital resource. Any book that you can find offers digital reading, browsing, and searching. Many of the books can also be accessed aurally.

Are you looking for an archived website? Try the Wayback Machine. It has archived sites back to 1996. Need some citation help, work with Ottobib. Then there are plenty of other suggestions for great sites to bookmark from users and librarians. This is good.

Rollyo

Searching selected websites is like searching your own corner of the web. I do like to check out statistics from my favorite clubs. Accumulating the best sites for these searches will make that easier.

On the research front, I can see users pulling together the most useful sites for a research project. If they have given themselves enough lead time they can probably get these sites to do the majority of the work for them. The student or researcher is on solid ground since they have preselected the “trusted” sites for the search.

Librarything.com

I joined a group that had put together an extensive list of physics references. Although many of them were unrated and did not have reviews, I thought it could be a good resource for new books to read on this topic. I used the social network area to speak ("talk") to a physics professor in Pittsburgh who sent me a private list for even more potential choices.

Image Generators…Signs, Signs, everywhere signs…

Signgenerator.org provides thousands of images that can be manipulated for signs of all kinds. I used the heart sign. After imposing my text the site offers a free upload on imageshack.us. Not bad.

These signs could provide information about the status of the computer or other library or branch information (i.e. Station temporarily down… Or Our Branch’s Computer programs are held on….)

BLOGlines

It wasn't easy getting Bloglines to let me in. Once the confirmation email arrived, I found it simple to search for and add topical feeds. I searched for feeds on Hockey (Pro and College), Baseball, College Basketball, Boxing, and Rugby. If you're into rugby you'd probably enjoy the feed from the World version of the Rugby Union.

As for a potential use by libraries, I can see us having people sign up for the “library programming feed” that sends up-to-the-minute updates on library programs including changes in speakers, locations, postponements and cancellations.

Merlin Products

I looked around the site. There is a wealth of information and an incredible amount of resources available. I tried WIMBA – People teaching People (look in the Sandbox). I signed up for a live demonstration. In the meantime, I looked at an archived Wimba Classroom session. In addition, my searches lead me back to Virtual Meeting Spaces. This is a resource that everyone who is interested in expanding their “virtual horizons” should try. As a side note, I judged a Middle School Debate this morning on the topic of banning social networks. I wonder what would happen if during a Virtual Meeting session you encountered a rogue participant or someone who was not invited to participate. In the two sessions I've hosted it has not happened to me, but it is certainly a potential problem.

Mash 'er' ups

There are mashups and then there's the mashup of the Best Sports Bars at which to watch the Super Bowl as ranked by Forbes Magazine. Locally, the article suggests that you can go to Looney's Pub in Canton. That's five star information in a tech savvy format.

As a library tool, I found two librarians making good use of a mashup to provide resources to users. The first librarian works in an academic library with a concentration in the Sciences. He used a mashup to provide a resource guide for undergraduates in chemistry and physics. The other librarian, working in a public library, used the mashup to provide the bestseller lists to users.