Week 3 - Technology Related

I really enjoyed the Filckr Mashup. Making the magazine cover was fun. I'm thinking of trying the trading card but I'm not sure what I would do with it. There are some neat activites you can do here. I would like to try them in the future.

Week 2 - 7 1/2 Learning Habits.

The easiest habit for me is Mentoring Others. Since I am an ex-teacher this is like breathing, automatic. I have always enjoyed helping and teaching others. It gives me great satisfaction to use what I know or have learned to pass along to others. The most difficult habit is Use Technology to Your Advantage. Being of the precomputer generation I have struggled with technology and certainly keeping up with new advances and methods. Technology does not come easy to me and it's oh so easy to fall back on my old ways or to just ignore technology altogether. However, this gets harder and harder to do in our technological age. I do not want to be an old dinosaur.

Week 9 - In Summary

I guess I could sum up my experience with 23 Things in two words "not bad". When I first went into this program I was filled with trepidation. It sounded very intimidating and being of the "technically challenged" generation I imagined all kinds of problems that I was going to have, thus the usage of the word "anxious" in my blog title. But the program was "not bad". Yes, I did have some trouble trying to do some of the activities but I surprised myself with all that I managed to do with very little guidance from anyone else. I learned about a lot of new concepts (new to me) like blogging, blog lines, RSS, and image generators to name a few. My favorite activities were the image generators, YouTube, podcasts, and online productivity tools. I also liked Flicker. Can I use these concepts in the library? I would say yes; it has it's place. I could incorporate some of these concepts into programming and also refer patrons to various sites. At some point in time I would like to explore some of these ideas on my own. If nothing else it has given me an overall education of technological programming.
How could the program be improved? I think some of the directions we had to follow on the different sites were difficult to understand especially for novices. There was really no "expert" we could turn to for help except each other. But in many cases that was the blind leading the blind. Also people were at different places and working on it at different times so it was hard to find someone to help you. I think it would have helped if we had someone who would always be available and patient to lend support. Another idea might be to work in study groups. Those of higher ability could help those who struggle. There was a lot of work involved and the time frame was a little tight (at least for the prizes and CCUs) especially since this fell during the summer with vacations and summer reading.
And my overall feeling of accomplishment? "Not Bad"! I learned I am capable of much more than I had thought. I am open to more opportunities like this.

Week 9 - Audiobooks

I checked out the various sites for downloading audiobooks. Overdrive looked the best to me. I especially like that you don't have to worry about deleting the material when the due date arrives. One less thing to do! I am anxious to try downloading books and music to my new mp3 player which I hope to get when I complete this course. The Overdrive tutorial seemed very complete with information on how to download and transfer to another audio device. Lucky me, I also have a good friend who is a techie whiz who will be able to help me if I get stuck. Once I get use to using Overdrive I will feel more secure talking to the patrons about it and giving it a plug. There are many, many titles that I would like to download so I plan on making good use of this service.
I also saw on the Project Gutenberg site that there is a need for volunteers to read for their audio books. I might consider this in the future when I have a bit more time. I read for McDaniel College for awhile and enjoyed it but it is time consuming. I'll put this on the back burner.

Week 9 - Podcasts

I was already somewhat familiar with podcasts having heard them before in the 23 Steps program and in other places. I think they can be useful and/or entertaining to people because it's just like listening to a radio broadcast. You can listen to them on your mp3 player or pc whenever you feel like it. I added the podcast, Mr. Nice Guy, to my blogline. It's a really humorous broadcast by a librarian who comments on everyday life as well as news articles. I think everyone needs a little humor added to their day. I have to say that I do prefer the videos to the podcasts because I am more visual than auditory. It's interesting though to see what else is out there in the techie world.

Week 9 - YouTube

I really like this website. I had fun watching the various videos but I must say it's rather addictive. I added the Seinfeld clip about Jerry and the New York Public Library police officer, Mr. Bookman. It's just classic Seinfeld and manages to produce quite a chuckle over how the public often view the library with all of it's rules and regulations.
I also emailed one of my sons a video on prize winning aquariums which inspired a discussion on which of the many things we would like to add to ours. The YouTube site is really user friendly. Even I could figure out how to do most things. I can see how the library could use videos to create an interest in its website, whether it would be something already cleverly made like the Seinfeld clip or one that the library produced themselves. People like visuals and they like to be entertained. Besides storytimes and book reviews we could add an infomercial showing upcoming programs. I'm sure there are many other interesting things we could add too.