Exercise #23 I have reached my 23rd thing

My favorite exercises would have to be the ones where you create different images or words together such as Jigsaw and world clouds, they are definitely fun to do and you see results afterwards that are remarkable.

I must admit I have learned a lot despite the fact that it was time consuming and some difficulties at times but it has definitely affected my lifelong learning goals and have learned a lot such as flickers, RSS feeds, Del.icio.us, Technorati, blogs, Facebook and many more. Some of which I will definitely go back and use again where is others I may not consider using but great to know about even as a basic knowledge for future reference.

When I first started doing my first exercise I really was worried about how the whole program will go as it was hard enough to find the time yet to learn new things in a very short period of time and write blogs about them. I must admit I am surprised how the time flew and have managed to get to my last exercise and here I am writing my last blog. What a great feeling for sure.

Exercise #22: MySpace - Social Networking and Libraries

Social Networking Technologies are great tools for communications that are widely used in colleges and in the workplace, but should libraries make their presence known on Social Networking Sites? To find out I read this article http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6375465.html, what I liked most is the idea of using MySpace to promote activities and services of the library and the ability to contact students easily through specific groups.

Also the article "Libraries Get Social!!" goes on to give some excellent examples of the positive aspects of SNS (Social Networking Site) in the libraries. The question here is how safe are these webs and what are the issues involved. For example multiple schools and public libraries in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Malaysia have restricted access to MySpace.

Thinking that this action can protect students from online predators, although experts questioned the legality of such a ban not only that the students start to use web proxies and downloadable software, along with "fake browsers" in order to log in to the site! to sum up I think SNT would enables teens who are not traditionally library users and give them an opportunity to learn about and use the library, whenever they log onto their space.

Exercise #21: Get social – Bebo, Facebook and MySpace

I have heard alot about Facebook from people I know and family members but never thought of joining maybe it is because of privacy issue or there is no need yet for it since I share my photos through emails and keep in touch also through emails and msn.

Today I decided to read more about Facebook so went on their website www.facebook.com and decided to type my sister's name to see if she is on Facebook through their search engine on their homepage and without signing in and I found no match so tried my niece’s full name and found her on Facebook but it did say that you must sign up for Facebook to view her profile or send a message. I also tried searching for some library groups on Facebook but again I couldn’t read more about it as I needed to sign up first to view more info.

I can see why you should sign up to view more info about a specific person or group but since I don't tend to use it at this stage I have decided not to sign up for it.

I have also spent some time on Bebo homepage (www.bebo.com), it is a lot busier than Facebook and they are big on videos and music too. I searched for Both Rotorua Public Libraries and Auckland City Libraries on Bebo site, a great first step to both libraries targeting the younger generation.

By looking at both Bebo and Facebook I would say Facebook is more focused on social networking and keeping in touch with friends and family rather than ads, videos and music, but as I mentioned before, for me it is privacy issue and therefore decided not to join either or.

Exercise #20: This is the future of book reading

"This is the future of book reading, It will be everywhere.", and this is how Amazon introduced it’s wireless reading device Kindle.

To know more about the product I have watched the video demonstrating how it works, it is so easy and simple to use, no computer, no cables, no syncing required. You can read books, top newspapers, blogs all auto-delivered wirelessly. Then I decided to check another producer of free electronic e-books.

Gutenberg, its collection was produced by tens of thousands of volunteers.

I have checked its catalogue online, search can be done by author, title, language, or recently posted which it lists what new books added recently. There is also an RSS Feed. But (You'll need a feed reader software to read this.) I decided to search for Hamlet by Shakespeare the result was 16 books match and the one which I have chosen came in different format(s), PDF, Plain text, Plucker etc. I read act one in PDF format and it is very easy and you don’t need to spend time waiting for the download to be finish. The most amazing thing was to know that you can download entire CDs or DVDs or even to have a free disc sent to you. However the project ask to check the copyright law in the country you live.

To know more about e-books I tried to find Hamlet in LibriVox, the result was 17

Matches and have chosen: Shakespeare, William. "Hamlet - I am thy Father's Spirit (Act 1, Scene 5)" (in "Shakespeare Monologues Collection vol. 03")· (readers)

I used media player to listen to the play. I must say with all these easy tools it will be interesting to see how this can effect the libraries in the future.

Ex 19: Simply an Audio

I learned today that A podcast is simply an audio and sometimes a video with recording made available online for those who have PC and internet access to download and listen. A basic podcast contains only audio and is easy to listen to. There are other podcasts that has both audio and slides like the Powerpoint presentation that we sometimes get as an attachment in our emails. There is also a vodcast which contains both video and audio.

I knew before this exercise about listening to music online or watching documentary videos online but didn't know what the actual term was used for it. I normally use Windows Media Player since it was free to use and came with the PC.

I didn't have iTunes installed in my PC but I only found out today that it is free to purchase by Apple. So I went and downloaded the iTunes software to check it out for myself. I then used the list on the left hand side and had a look at playlists with 90's music to listen to and all sort. I also decided to search for the best of Beethoven music. This is a great tool to have I recommend it to all who are wanting to listen to their favorite music online or even watch video clips or documentary clips.

Below is what I found when I search for Beethoven:
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica" - Scherzo: Allegro Vivace 5:56 Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia The Best of Beethoven Classical

There are also a long list of all type of radios to listen to live online.

As for podcasts through iTunes, I had to connect to podcasts directory to view more info. I then searched for a book that I am reading right now and couldn't find a review for it. I tried to search for other things and got frustrated. I would only use iTunes for music but not for searching other info to be honest.

I have also spent sometime looking at http://podcastalley.com/, the search engine was very easy to find. I have added http://podcastalley.com/ to my RSS feed in my Bloglines account.

Exercise #18: YouTube

I went to find Web 2.0 Awards nominees in YouTube as I wanted to see if there are any videos related to what we have been doing in the past few weeks. I also checked one of the tools which is StumbleUpon and I quiet liked it because it allow you to share pages recommended by other websurfers whom have similar preferences. StumbleUpon uses ratings to form collaborative opinions on website quality, it is easy tool and it help lot to locate relevant content.

I was going to search for del.icio.us as I really liked it in the beginning of this program but then I decided to look to something new.

I have also spent sometime looking at http://libraryvideos.blogspot.com/ and I personally think it is a great idea to have all library videos in one place rather than trying to search in YouTube among millions of videos. It is great to share library videos with those of the same interest and be able to upload your own. Library videos in my opinion can be a fun marketing tool or even infomercial depending on how you look at it. Either way, all videos online these days are somehow used as a marketing tool.

It would be great to have a blog like this: http://libraryvideos.blogspot.com/ in our libraries with more education related videos to show our patrons how to use a certain machine or service as it is easier for people to learn by watching a video rather than reading the instructions. Whether it is a photocopy machine or a borrowing machine etc.

Exercise #17: Im Cooked

I first looked at the Award Categories and decided to pick food as I enjoy cooking. First place under this category was Im Cooked - an entire site dedicated to food, Im Cooked lets members share recipes, make friends, watch cooking videos and learn more about culinary arts without the frills that often come with gourmet food television shows and websites.

I watched one of the videos myself of making simple pasta with spicy tomato sauce. Very easy to follow and a great website to check out for those who love cooking or wants to learn how to cook. Lots of recipes and you could even share your own recipe with others out there. You must sign though for free online. I decided not to sign at this stage but will definitely sign in the future as it is worth checking from time to time to learn new tips and ideas.

Exercise #16: Zoho Writer

I personally didn’t know that there is such a thing online and available free of charge. I was amazed when I saw it and wondered how I bought my current computer few years back and demanded Microsoft Word with it. What a great idea for our libraries and for those PCs who don’t have Microsoft software installed but wants to do a document and print it on the spot. The only disadvantage is you will need internet access and so you won’t be able to use it if you don’t have internet access on the PC you are using.

I registered online for free on Zoho Writer and I first used my Google Account since I have already got username and password but something strange happened, it asked me to give Zoho access to all my contact list which I didn’t really understand why so I ignored and it didn’t let me sign in so I decided to register for free instead. I typed my first document and saved it and then I did my second document but decided to make it look different so added some fonts, colors, changed the size and added happy faces. All straight forward and very easy to follow and use. It has almost everything Microsoft Word has and everything I would ever need in Word. I recommend it to all.

Exercise #15: The World of Rollyo

I personally think Rollyo is confusing and hard to follow. Maybe it has the potential for librarians to choose sites that are common and make them available to the public via Rollyos using specific subject. But I personally found it confusing and not so clear to follow.

I signed up easily by following this link (http://www.rollyo.com/) I registered and then decided to build my own customized searchroll by entering up to 25 website addresses. I chose my favourate links as a subject. I added about 6 links and have also added tags so people can find my links if they are looking for any of the topics I picked. I made it public for everyone to see. It then took me a while to find where my list has gone! Maybe it is not as easy as it looked at first. I managed after 10minutes to finally figure out where the list went and it was under home.

I then decided to explore other user’s entry and I picked Garden as a subject and managed to add to my Rollyo a user's list of links all about home and garden which then helped me to narrow down and search for DIY Home and Garden tips. Even though it is hard to use at first but worth a try. I don't however see myself using it after this.

Here is my link: http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?prevsid=458287&q=gmail&sid=458287

Exercise #14: Library Thing

What a wonderful idea for all booklovers out there or for those who are cataloguer at heart. It is definitly a great tool to have for libraries and booklovers. I managed to add tags, catalogue some books, find out the ratings for some, and read other people's blogs or comments they made. It is great as you can have your very own online catalogue with your favourites. I must admit though that I couldn't find some of the books I was reading at the moment so selected different titles for the same Author.

Here is a link to my own online catalogue with help of Library thing:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/amyemmanuel

Exercise #13: Word Clouds

I firstly looked at the Generator Blog to see what they have and then decided to try one of the many different generators online myself so I picked word clouds (http://wordle.net/) and it was as easy as entering few words in a text box and hitting go.

So I decided to search in Google for some flower names and its common names since I like flowers and then I copied the list and pasted them in the text box. I made two different word clouds with the same list but used different colours, layouts and fonts for each to see what more I can do.

Really enjoyed the experience and never thought it would be that easy to do. I always thought it must be really hard to create these but now I know how easy it is. I have added both of my word clouds to this blog for everyone to see.

I have also tried the flying flag and the book cover. They are both as easy as the word clouds.

Exercise #12: Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki

I first went straight to NSL Learning Wetpaint wiki and decided to join for free to add my favourite topic there instead of entering it as anonymous and so I did.

Here is my entry: http://nsllearning.wetpaint.com/thread/1826196/Favorite+Prayers
I decided to start a new thread called "Favourite Prayers" and chose my favourite prayer for my Web garden Blog.

I then decided to check Favourite Blogs page and added a link there to my blog which will take them straight to my web garden Blog. Here is the link to my entry (My Web Garden):
http://nsllearning.wetpaint.com/page/Favourite+blogs

I then decided to read more about Wetpaint to see how easy or hard it is to create my own social webpage that anyone can edit. It is as easy as three simple steps. First one is to choose the website name, your own URL, get to choose a topic to talk about plus category and then you get to choose if your website for anyone or specifically for your friends and families that you invite.

Then you will need to sign up to Wetpaint if you are not a member and then edit your website and invite users to join. Really easy to use and never knew such an easy tool exist. I always thought it was a lot more complicated to create your own website for friends and family to keep in touch.

It is also a great idea to have for all libraries to bring them all together in one place where everyone can add their experiences or sharing their knowledge about a certain topic whether it is work related to help others resolve a similar issue if occurs or whether it is a general knowledge. Each new thread can be labelled as a different topic where people can reply to posts and add their own ideas and solutions to that thread.

Wiki Wiki

It is great to know about Wikipedia, I personally didn’t know wiki means fast which comes from the Hawaiian phrase "wiki wiki” (means something fast).

Wikipedia is a great collective knowledge base and as mentioned unlike other encyclopedia this will actually let you write your own knowledge and edit an existing blog about a certain subject without having to wait for approval. This can also have a disadvantage and that is anyone can write about a specific subject and it will get submitted as if the information given is correct.

Despite its disadvantages, a wiki is a good way of gathering facts quickly and pooling expertise from a large number of people.

I personally went and had a look at Wikipedia today to see it for myself, there are all around the world languages, tones of articles and blogs, what a great tool to have in our libraries.