"Thing 23: Summarize your thoughts about this program and learn more about where to go from here."

I appreciate having the online learning opportunity. This was my first online training session. It was helpful to share experiences with colleagues to enhance learning and support each other. I had little experience with these topics (blogging, avatars, "RSS & Newsreaders, wikis, podcasts etc.) so this training was very beneficial.

It is ironic that there is a recent book and movie: Julie & Julia: my year of cooking dangerously: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen: how one girl risked her marriage, her job and her sanity to master the art of living . Julie Powell blogs about her experience cooking each recipe found in Julia Child's cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julie Powel's experience demonstrated the power of blogging; it led to being featured in the New York Times Newspaper, a book, Julie and Julia and a feature movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Also, after creating my own avatar, there is another oscar nominated movie called Avatar.

This experience encourages you to approach new technologies and topics with a sense of adventure and fun. If you get stuck you can ask your colleagues, but better yet, ask your children or their peers!

"Thing 22: Take a look at the titles available on Overdive, NetLibrary or Project Gutenburg and learn about downloadable audiobooks."

I explored NetLibrary and Project Gutenburg.

Project Gutenburg does not require you to set up an account. It has a broad scope and includes items in many languages including Chinese, Russian, Tagalog, and Sanskrit. I was surprised that NetLibrary does not include titles in Russian but it does allow you to change "your interface language" from English to Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai or Dutch. Project Gutenburg also has unexpected entries, for instance, in the"Data" category there items in the Human Genome Project arranged by chromosome number.

It is easy to set up a NetLibrary account and search the site. The basic search can be conducted in English, Chinese, Spanish, French or German. As noted above, you can choose your interface language from Chinese, English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, Thai or Dutch. An advanced search feature allows you to limit "econtent language" by the following languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Haitian, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Spanish. You can access ebooks, ejournals, eaudibooks and databases. You can browse subject areas in these sections. For instance I explored the "Children's Classics" (25 titles) and "Children's Nonfiction" (14 titles) in the eaudiobook browse search of the 23 things interface. NetLibrary is also featured on MCPL (Montgomery County Public Libraries)'s website and linked to the catalog.

"Thing 21: Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts."

I was referred from podcast.net (not available) to podcast.com and found some interesting library related sites.
At "Meet the Author UK Podcast" I listened to brief book reviews presented by the authors including Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction by Adam Silverstein. "This book argues that it is impossible to understand the place of Islam in the world without knowing its history." The author pointed out that readers didn't necessarily have to choose his book but it was important for westerns to learn about Islamic history.

I also liked "Picture Book Originals". I explored Babette Cole's podcast where she promoted her book Princess Smartypants. You could see the book and hear her read it. Rosemary Wells was also a featured author. In addition to her artwork, book tours and exhibition dates were included. This podcast site promotes the purchase of "original artwork and giclee prints from the most beloved children's book illustrators".

I also explored the news sites including CNN News Update. It featured the recent death of author, J. D. Salinger and his works.

I used podcastalley.com too but I prefer Podcast.com. I found it easier to use and it has a broader range of subjects.

"Thing 20: Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow you to upload video."

I explored children's songs and rhymes on YouTube. Karen of "expertvillage" demonstrated some classic preschool songs, rhymes and short stories using simple fingerplays or props. This would be helpful for parents and new storytellers (parent teacher section of the library website, and the library storyteller training resource site). She also includes some more complicated clapping games and songs for older children.

I couldn't resist the suggestion to look at the "funny dog" videos. The husky dog "saying" I love you was amazing. I wasn't able to upload this video or the whistling puppy to my blog despite several attempts.

YouTube offers an amazing array of videos.

"Thing 19: Explore any site from the Web 2.0 Awards List, play with it and write a blog post about your findings."

I explored "imcooked"from the short list of winners. It is described as the "web community for video recipe sharing". You can search and view cooking videos or create your own. I searched under the keyword "wontons" and there were two videos on how to make wontons including wonton soup. You can also search under broad categories: beverages, desserts, casseroles, pastas, salads, holiday dishes, ethnic/regional, kids etc. There are also options to search users and groups. A special section helps you creating their own cooking video. I can see why this site won the first prize in the cooking section.

"Thing 18: Online Applications & Tools-Online Productivity (Word Processing, Spreadsheets) Tools"

I prefer Google Docs to Zoho Writer There are literally thousands of templates to search in Google Docs: holiday lists, resumes, cover letters, budgets, business cards, photo albums, calenders, mailing lists etc. Many in various languages as French, Spanish, Russian, etc. I explored the "Holiday Gift Shopping List" and the "Cover Letters" templates. It is easy to sign up for Google Docs and use their templates or applications. These free options are a great opportunity.

"Thing 17: Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 SandBox Wiki created with PB Wiki."

"Sandbox is the term that wikis often use to describe the area of the website that should be used for pure play."

I am having technical difficulties and I am not able to "play". I am unable to login into the "Maryland Libraries Sandbox" or the "Favorite Blogs", my email address and password are not accepted. Also the "PB Wiki Tour" and "PBWiki Video Gallery" said "page not found." Perhaps I can "play" later. I love the idea of having a place for "pure play".

"Thing 16: Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them."

Wikis

"What is a Wiki?
From Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
A wiki allows a group of people to collaboratively develop a Web site with no knowledge of HTML or other markup languages. Anyone can add to or edit pages in a wiki -- it is completely egalitarian. Anyone can create new wiki pages simply by creating a new link with the name of the page. Pages are connected not hierarchically, but by hyperlinks between pages.
According to the creator of Wiki, Ward Cunningham, wikis can be identified by the following characteristics:
"A wiki invites all users to edit any page or to create new pages within the wiki Web site, using only a plain-vanilla Web browser without any extra add-ons."
"Wiki promotes meaningful topic associations between different pages by making page link creation almost intuitively easy and by showing whether an intended target page exists or not."
"A wiki is not a carefully crafted site for casual visitors. Instead, it seeks to involve the visitor in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly changes the Web site landscape."
(From Leuf, Bo and Ward Cunningham. The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2001: 16.) "


For me, Wikipedia is a common wiki that most internet searchers have experienced. It still is a little unsettling to me that wiki users can constantly change the information on the website. Close monitoring for spam and misinformation seems warranted. Despite this, wikis work very well for many groups. Library applications include disseminating information about conferences, training, subject guides, programming highlights and generally sharing knowledge and innovations among colleagues and the public.

"Thing 15: Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 & the future of libraries"

"Maryland Libraries Learning 2.0"



Wikipedia describes Library 2.0 in a concise nutshell: as "a loosely defined model for a modernized form of library service that reflects a transition within the library world in the way that services are delivered to users. The focus is user-centered change and participation in the creation of the content and community." It describes the "Key principles of Library 2.0:

1) Browser +Web 2.0 Application + Connectivity= Full-featured OPAC

2) Harness the library user in both design and implementation of services

3) Library users should be able to craft and modify library provided services

4) Harvest and integrate ideas and products from peripheral fields into library service models

5) Continue to examine and improve services and be willing to replace them at any time with newer and better services."



Rick Anderson of the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries, says to "Row Your Library Boat (Away for the Icebergs) into the Web 2.0 Environment" His "icebergs" to avoid are keeping materials in the collection "just in case" they are needed, "reliance on user education" (he feels library services should be accessible without training), and the "come to us model of library service (he feels we need to place "library services and content in the user's environment...the Web, daily patterns of work, study and play." He feels this is crucial for libraries to be relevant now and in the future.



Chip Nilges of OCLC says "Build New Services with Web 2.0 Technologies for More Powerful Ways to Cooperate." He feels it is important to"touch the entire web, collect user intelligence, release lightweight services and build better data " by cooperating.



Micheal Stephens, librarian & blogger, says to "Sharpen these skills for Librarian 2.0" and "Enter into a New World of Librarianship".

He says "user-centered libraries breakdown barriers and allow users access wherever they are: home, work commuting, school or at the library. The "Librarian 2.0 embraces Web 2.0 tools, controls technolust (uses technology to meet users needs not just because it is new), makes good yet fast decisions, is a trendspotter and gets content (guided by how users access, consume and create content."

I love his ending paragraph: "Librarian 2.0 also listens to staff and users when planning, tells the stories of successes and failures, learns from both, celebrates those successes, allows staff time to play and learn, and never stops dreaming about the best library services.



These articles stress the importance of embracing quality changes to meet users' needs. It can be exciting and challenging.

"Thing 14: Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts"

For "posts relating to "learning 2.0" there were 1165 entries and only one specific blog: "learning2.0.elearningplaceblog.com. It was interesting to view the "top favorited blogs, top searches and top blogs in Technorati. You can see items related to subjects of interest i.e. politics, technology, business, entertainment etc., and their corresponding "technorati" authority rating number. There is also a column for newest articles. A lot to explore!

"Thing 13: Tagging and Discover Del.icio.us"

I couldn't access the "12 minute Del.icio.us tutorial". I was able to explore del.icio.us using the PLCMCL2 account. It is interesting to see which "tags" were chosen and to view items with related tags and "Top 10 Tags". You can easily get sidetracked exploring. I think it is best to create a few important tags. Creating labels for our posts is similar to creating tags.

I also like the definition of tags and concept of tag clouds, "a list of tags where size reflects popularity" (with "pictorial" example) on the del.icio.us website, but again as others have reflected, it is best to be judicious with the choice of a few key tags.

"Thing 12: Roll your own search with Rollyo"

I created a ROLLYO account and a searchroll about traveling to Australia. I was able to get a lot of good "url"s to add by clicking on the suggestions at the right. This made it easy to create my searchroll.

"Thing 11: Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books."

My LibraryThing catalog is here: http://www.librarything.com/home/rleb .

LibraryThing is an easy way to create your own unique, customized catalog. When adding a title, I browsed through other related titles and ended up finding other interesting books. It was also helpful to see other suggested tags when you aren't using the traditional Library of Congress or Dewey classification.

I also like the ability to view and share catalogs/titles, author promotions and offered free titles.
LibraryThing is also called "MySpace for books" and "Facebook for books." It is an interesting site to explore.

"Thing 10: Play around with an online image generator"

I created my avatar using yahoo. I found this had the most appealing options and was the easiest to use.

"Thing 9: Explore MERLIN and locate other library-related blogs and/or news feeds"

I found it is easier to subscribe to blogs/news feeds, as it was for MERLIN, when I have my blog account open. This is also true of other activities as adding comments to other blogs.

Today it was easier to get into and use "Blogline's Search Tool" than "Feedster" and Syndi8.com". I also had better results for China travel" with the Blogline's Search Tool".

I like "Topix". You can enter a search or use the subject tabs at the top: top stories, sports, popular, local, world, offbeat, health etc. You can click on the local tab, put your zip code and get timely articles including crime and health related ones that were of particular interest. You can get caught up exploring all the subject tabs. "Offbeat " articles include "Curry is a ?cure for cancer", "Owls take over a high school football field", San Francisco Bay Bridge closed Indefinitely". It is an informative and entertaining site to explore.

"Thing 8: "RSS 'Real Simple Syndication' feeds and Bloglines"

I set up a blogline account. There have been some technical problems viewing the video tutorial and accepting my blogline favorites. It is a great idea to get automatic updates from your favorite blogs and online sites.

"Thing 7: Technology Blog Post"

When adding graphics from the internet I found it is important to check the URL extension. It is easier to use the ones with "jpg" extensions.

A "Sunny" colleageue helped me with the "Special Friends" slideshow below.

I posted my first comment on another blog. You need to logged into your account to post a comment.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"Thing 6: Flickr Mashups & Third Party Sites"

Flickr users have found many innovative, expanded uses and applications (mashups) for photographs: trading cards, mosaic makers, jigsaw puzzles, mapmaker, posters etc.

"The Library of Congress Trading Card" is one of the most dramatic trading cards.

"Thing 5: Explore Flickr"

Flickr is a great way to manage and share online photos and short videos. You can "upload", "edit", "organize", "share", display by map location, make "cards, photobooks framed prints, etc and "keep in touch" with family, friends, special interest groups and organizations. You can create private viewing by invitation or public viewing of your photos and videos.

"Thing 4: Register you blog and track your progress to journey into Learning 2.0 together."

I have emailed my blog URL to register my blog. I have also been tracking individual "things" posts onto my "tracking log". I am glad we can copy and paste the long addresses to track each assignment's completion.