Talking dogs

Quest 12 - Podcasts

I subscribed to a couple of podcasts soon after I learned about RSS feeds. I was in the car one day listening to Focus on the Family. The progam was especially interesting, but I didn't hear the entire program. I was excited when I found out that I could add the radio program to my bloglines feeds. I was able to listen to the entire program, and even share it with my husband a few days later.
I found an interesting library podcast by the Thomas Ford Memorial Library. The Youth Services Department provide stories read by the staff. With Click-A-Story, patrons can listen to selected stories on demand. Great idea!!

Quest 12 - YouTube

YouTube is an interesting phenomenon. Anyone can post a video for the world to see. You don't need fancy equipment - a cell phone with a camera will do. It is amazing to see the range of picture quality and creativity.
Libraries can use this technology to give the public a visual preview of programs offered. I choose the video because I love animals, especially dogs. I couldn't get the video to show in this post, but at least it is on my blog.

Test Document

 This is really cool!

Quest 11 Online Apps

Since I already had a Google account, I tried the Google docs first. I created a simple slide presentation. It is viewable at: http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dfmxww46_1dgp8zc&invite=gcw2mg I liked that it had the option of how you share your work with others. You could limit them to view only or you could allow them the option of adding to/editing the document. When revisions were made, it kept track of how many times, who did it and when it was changed. I also tried Zoho Writer even though I had to open another account. It was easier to navigate and use and it had more options. I can see the value of this technology.

Quest 9 Wiki

I became familiar with Wikipedia when I read in a news article that someone had edited an article to say someone (I don't remember who) was dead, but the person was still alive. I immediately thought that wasn't a good thing to allow anyone to edit an enclycopedia. However, after reading some of the library wikis, I can see how this could benefit many groups of people. The ones created for specific events or groups allow viewers to not only read the information presented, but also add comments or additional facts not already stated. I enjoyed reading the book reviews by the library patrons. Since I didn't have to open yet another account, I will add to the wiki in the optional exercise.

Quest 8 Social Networking

I was familiar with social networking because of young people, including my son, that use MySpace, Xanga or Facebook. It was interesting to see the list of other social networking websites. Some are very exclusive! You join by invitation only. In searching the sites, I found out that most filter content and restrict who can view the profiles. It is amazing what people would share publicly!

Quest 7 Flickr

I choose Option A because I was not interested in opening another account. Too many passwords to remember. If I need to do it for professional reasons, I know I can. The tutorial was very helpful. Of course the pictures about libraries piqued my interest. The first one I saw looked nothing like a library. It is the interior of the Toronto Public Reference Library. WOW - a four-story structure that houses just the reference department! I would love to see a picture of the children's area. The link is:http://www.flickr.com/photos/tokyoaaron/1594873061/. The other pictures by this guy were also interesting.

Quest 6 Technorati

It has been a long time since I last blogged. Like most things, I have to schedule the time. Anyway, when I first did the Technorati advance search,I forgot to put the "" around the words library 2.0. and I put it in the wrong section. Of course, I pulled up thousands of sites that had nothing to do with "Library 2.0". When I did it correctly,the tag search produced more results, but the authority given was less. It was comforting to recognize Michael Stephens' blog, TametheWeb and the blog,the Shifted Librarian.

Quest 6 Delicious

At first I didn't understand anything because the link to the video didn't work. I tried doing the discovery exercises and pulled them up, but was clueless to what I was supposed to do. I even created an account but didn't know where to go from there. Most of the tools assumed you understood what bookmarking is. I didn't and had to go back and experiment with that. Then someone added a link that did work. It all became clear. I clicked on the account created for the exercise and this time understood. I clicked a tag that 51 people had saved. It listed CCPL as using Pluggo for IM. I saved this to my account to see if the number would change. IT DID!! Now I will experiment with moving my Yahoo bookmarks to Delicious.

ImageChef

The image finally showed up. I had to save it to My pictures first. I am sure that is not always necessary because the instructions did not say that. Anyway, it worked!

Quest 5

Although we didn't have to comment on this quest, I wanted to say that I enjoyed exploring these sites. I had not heard of most of them. Some were informative and some just plain fun! I was happy to find out about Pandora.com. Palmetto Biz Buzz was somewhat of a disappointment. I thought I could find information about a particular restuarant I was thinking about visiting. However, if the business owner doesn't write a review, you get the same info that you can find in the phone book. I am trying to add a picture from ImageChef,but I keeping getting an error message. I will work on this.

RSS 2

While waiting for the next quest, I have enjoyed using my feeds on bloglines. It is great to have sites you regularly use all in one place. I experimented with Goggle Reader and have some feeds there as well. I really like this!!

RSS

Really simple syndication was not as difficult as I thought it would be. It was easy to add the feeds and the suggestions given were helpful. I will definitely use this new technology. My URL is http://www.bloglines.com/public/loony. I saw that some people thought that Google Reader was easier to navigate. I will check that out as well.

More IM

I sent a IM to the reference desk at Main during my lunch time. I guess the Librarian was at lunch as well. After waiting for a few minutes, I left to get something to eat. When I checked later, someone had sent me a reply because I didn't sign out or changed my status to unavailable. Once again, I have learned something new. When I tried later I got an "away from the desk/busy" message. Finally, on my third try I received an instant reply to my question. It is good to know that this service is available for those who choose to use it.

IM

I finally was able to send and receive an IM. Yeah! Although I can see the benefits of it, IM is not something I will do on a regular basis. If my son goes oversees, I will be able to "speak" to him in real time without amassing a huge telephone bill. It is also probably a great tool when taking online classes. I am glad I learned how to do it.

IM

I am still having trouble sending and receiving an instant message, but I am not giving up. I guess this is helping me develop Habit 3 - viewing problems as challenges. Alright I got the message!!

71/2 Habits

This tutorial was helpful in many ways. I found Habit 1 to be the easiest. Naturally, it doesn't take much to set a goal. The difficulty comes in sticking to it and completing it. I am determined to complete the Tech Trek 2.0 quests. I will work on developing Habit 3 (Viewing problems as challenges). I have been known to quit when things get difficult. So here I go - 1.. 2... 3... BLAST OFF!!!

Test Blog

This is my first blog! I finally got it to work, I think.