Thing 23: Evaluation

1. Favorite discoveries: I think that the discoveries I made are those that I am most likely to use again: RSS feeds; delicious (which I will use to keep track of investment sites); Library Thing (which I will use to keep track of books already read & books I want to read); and podcasts (!)--I really loved finding that it's so easy to find podcasts.

2. Lifelong learning goals: Most of my lifelong learning goals don't have to do with computer....but that being said, I predict that I will be more likely to try new computer functions now that I have worked with the 23 Things online course. So I would say that the course probably added to my lifelong learning goals.

3. Unexpected outcomes: I knew more than I thought I did about Web 2.0

4. What could we do differently? I struggled to complete this course on time (by Thanksgiving) because I took an (previously-planned and paid for) long-ish vacation in the middle of the course completion time. I don't know how this could have been done differently, as it was my personal life that interfered with the course.
This said, I must say that I enjoyed the learning process. The order in which the topics were introduced was excellent! I think that the topics were introduced from more difficult to less difficult, which was a motivating factor. Some of the topics were very foreign, and some less-so. It was a nice mix.
If I could suggest one thing for this course, it would be to add in the social networking sites for us to preview: My Space, LinkedIn, Facebook. The kids around my information desk are using them, and I feel that it would be instructive to know what the differences are and how using them could promote the library.
In general, we were shown the sites and allowed to "mess around" and discover what the site was all about. Little guidance was given in the form of instructions. After a while, I decided that this lack of guidance was the whole point, as the idea was to discover for oneself.

5. Yes, I would participate in other discovery programs in the future

6. 23 Things is an experimental and experiential approach to learning cutting edge Web 2.0 applications that may assist librarians in their work or personal lives. Knowing a little something (or more in-depth, by the learner's choice) about these new technologies will help librarians to commuicate more effectively with their customers, if nothing else.

E-Books: Thing 22

I have spent time while on the information desk exploring these three e-book sites and have walked out patrons through downloading them, which can only be at home. The biggest, most important differences are:

• Net Library is more focused on supporting academics in the schools, so Cliff's Notes and other academic supports abound, which thrills our students who call from home. There are other types of materials, as well, and all are easily accessible (the most easily accessible of the three types of e-books). Just click on the title, and up comes the contents page and the first page of text. Net Library is supported by OCLC.
  
• Project Gutenberg is the oldest e-books effort, having been started in 1971 by Michael Hart, who is still involved in the project. It traditionally has run on volunteer effort, and because there are bids for donations and volunteer help on the homepage, I believe that still holds true. Project Gutenberg has the most eclectic collection of books of the e-books sites, as it carries books in many languages as well as older books and classics.
  

• Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium is responsible for Maryland's Digital eLibrary site. This collection contains e-books, videos, both educational and entertainment, and audio books. Downloading is required, so this is the least accessible of the e-books. The downloading must be done at home, as library computers are programmed not to download anything. Most confusion about ebooks surrounds this collection.

Personally, I have used an ebook only once (for LATI), as I prefer to read paper books.

Jean

Podcast Searches: Thing 21

Once again, I have already been using podcasting in my personal life. As a fan of Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion, I will sometimes take the time to listen to the show in my own time after its ordinary weekend time. I do this by going to the Prairie Home Companion site.

I had a great time playing around with the podcast search sites. (I will enjoy this even more after I get home tonight and use my MP3 player...it will be great to be able to listen to Prairie Home Companion as I exercise at the gym!)

I found the Yahoo search the most difficult to use, and the other two easier. I wanted to look, for example, for Celtic music. In Podcast Alley, I asked the search site to organize itself categorically, then click on "music." In the search within the category, I typed Celtic, and up came 4 sites, with details about each after I clicked on the text of the name.

This would be a wonderful boon if I were planning children's programs, as I could bring up tunes to suit the programs that I would be planning, download them onto computer, and then use them in the program. The library will benefit from my knowing how to use the podcast search sites so that I will be able to help library customers to download audio from our library computers.

Jean

Thing 20: You Tube

Now it's my turn to feel with-it, instead of "without-it". I have had a YouTube account for about 6 months now. I learned how to use it because my daughter started sending me links to my grand-baby's videos housed at You Tube. I learned how to use it then, have memorized my password, etc., and could spend a serious amount of time there if I allowed myself to!

Not only are there personal videos on You Tube, but politicians and would-be musicians, actors, etc use You Tube to get their points and their advertising across. And there is lots to learn on the site...video is a painless way to explore (superficially) a new topic.

I enjoy You Tube and find it user friendly.

Jean

Web 2.0 Award Winners: Thing 19

I took a look at the Web 2.0 awards and was surprised to find sites that I now know about, since I have checked them out for the 23 Things program. (Which helped me to see how far I've come since I began the program in September!)

For my in-depth examination, I chose Craig's List. My 29-year-old nephew Will talks all the time about what he finds on Craig's List....jobs, possible rides and traveling partners, romantic interests. But I have never taken a close look at the site.

Craig's list is well-designed for people to search for their many needs according to locale, in my case the Baltimore area. The site resembles a gigantic newspaper classifieds section. The needs covered would most appeal to young people (which is why my nephew is so fond of it). Romantic encounters, ride sharing, house swapping, travel, and job listings cover just a few of the potential opportunities offered by Craig's List. There are also opportunities for older people, but from the tone of the listings, it does seem that young people are the target audience.

Craig's List basically covers the world with the listings on their site. From Manila to Australia and from Ottawa to Hong Kong, there are the same possible opportunities for everyone in the world. The classified listings are the same for all places, but people in foreign counties might participate more or less according to their English skills (the site reads in English, no matter what the country) and according to their internet capability.

I can see myself using Craig's List on occasion and am happy to have had this chance to look at it in depth.

Jean

Maryland Libraries Sandbox Wiki: Thing #17

I have spent some time playing around in the sandbox and reading others' blogs and wikis. Fun! Take a look at my blog--Book-elation--while you're there.

The new web tools make a wiki, a blog, and other applications easy to create and fun to do!

Jean

Thing #18

I created the text below to test Google Docs, which is in Beta.

Test Document

This is a test document created for 23 Things, an educational online program about Web 2.0.

I am testing the Google Docs online word processing program.

1. I'll use this opportunity to try different textual functions such as italics, underlining, and color.

1. Here's a link to the Howard County Library's website. (On second thought, there will be no link, as the link function does not seem to be working. There is no response from the pulldown menu.

• I found that the numbering system is not perfect either. See above numbers for the three points that I have made so far.

• Because this program is in Beta status, I am assuming that there will be further work to complete the functionality of Google Docs.
  
• I have enjoyed working with the new Google effort and will use this type of program should I find the need created by the desire to collaborate with others who are located at a distance.

Signing off for now,
Jeanie Pfefferkorn

Thing 16: Wikis

What did you find interesting?

What's interesting? Everything about a wiki is interesting--a wiki is the ultimate democratization of information.

I read them and enjoy the concept that people like me, but maybe with more expertise, can share their knowledge with/for others to use. After all, we can't all know everything. As I have said previously, I don't even suggest using a wiki to school kids, who I work with extensively, because I don't consider the information to be as reliable as vetted or peer edited sites or books. But for those of us who can verify the source and the information, wikis are great.

I can see using a wiki as a collaborative planning tool. For example, each member of a team could use the wiki to share ideas without all the back-n-forth of emailing. This would be particularly useful in groups which collaborate but are in remote locations.

The wiki could supplement the use of delicious as a collaborative research tool. Research on delicious could be reacted to in a wiki, by a group of people or by just 2.

Jeanie

Thing 15, Toward Library 2.0

While the success of J.K. Rowling and Janet Evanovich show us that reading as a pleasurable pastime is not obsolete, the winds of change are in the air. The library as a research institution needs to keep one eye on business and the other on its future.

As the Web changes the nature of research, libraries need to accomodate customer needs by spotting trends and planning for the user, (not the institution), says Michael Stephens. We need to use "lightweight [internet] services, which can be "remixed" by our customers, says Chip Nilges, and allow others to contribute their expertise to the cooperative.

Questions: Does this mean that our middle-school patrons will be adding their expertise and remixing our data in their research papers, or is this paper discussing academic libraries? What about the library's mission of providing highly accurate information--wouldn't our accuracy be compromised by the collection of user intelligence?

Those of us who are accustomed to the "traditional" library will have some surprises ahead.
While it may be difficult to envision the kind of library the is being discussed by the OCLC article, one thing is for sure....it is an interesting time to be involved in library work! I can't wait to see what the future will hold.

Jeanie

Thing 14:Technorati

I explored Technorati and will do so again, especially the listing of the 100 top favorited sites by Technorati members. There are some very interesting blogs on this list. The blog about Ron Paul made me stop and think....he is definitely the most controversial & unusual candidate for Pres. out there.
I also skipped into Lifehacker and learned about sink-top toilets. Seems that we can wash our hands, then use this gray water to flush the toilet, thus saving water. It's used in Japan. Ever the environmentalist, I find this concept to be very interesting. But, said Lifehacker, 70% of the water used worldwide is by agricultural irrigation. If a drip irrigation system were more widely used, the harvest might be greater and the water used less. Again, stop and think.
In the future, I will spend time on Technorati teasing out sites that might be helpful here at the library.
Jeanie

Delicious: Thing 13

Two months ago, my younger brother (who runs a small web programming firm) told me that I should check out delicious, that he uses it every day to his advantage. I didn't but now that I have checked it our for 23 Things, I can see what he was talking about.

When you have a delicious account, it's easy to save website locations and then share them with others. I enjoyed going through the PLCMCL delicious site--there were all kinds of websites saved there, from local libraries to sites on YALSA, to sites teaching about RSS feeds and FLICKR. Many of the sites made video available to make the information accessible to a largeraudience (and to vary the presentation of material in a more entertaining way). Previously, websites could only be read by the visitor. Hearing and seeing speakers present is a good complement to reading, and with a less literate population, may be the best way the audience can learn.

Yet another tool on the Web2.0 toolbelt.

Jeanie

Thing 12, Rollyo

I created a private Rollyo search engine called "Tips for Travelers," then performed a search for tips in it.

Here's the result when I asked it for "tips:"
http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?q=travel+tips&sid=326698

and here's the result when I asked it to look for a narrower term, snake bite:
http://www.rollyo.com/search.html?prevsid=326698&q=snake+bite&sid=326698

Jean

Library Thing (Thing 11)

I found LibraryThing to be a very easy and pleasurable site to use. No authentication was necessary...just quick start a new account and I was off! To practice, I added five books from my gardening book collection, and found it interesting that others have added them to their accounts, too. For example, my book Landscape and Memory was also added by textivore, who's a gamer/fantasy type.

Take a look at the beginnings of my Catalog at
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/Book-elation

Jeanie

Thing 10: Online image generator playtime

So, back from Slovenia & Croatia....had a wonderful trip, but did get sick....now ready to drop everything and return to 23 Things.
I enjoyed creating my library avatar, including a "Read" tee-shirt. Great fun.
But I was the type who never liked to color inside the lines and tried to draw my own pictures, as an exercise in creativity. Picking which skirt to put onto my avatar felt more like getting dressed in the morning than creating art. I hope that playing with avatars does not substitute for creating art in our future generations...otherwise, we will have no more "Gardens at Giverney."
Signing off,
Jeanie

Merlin

When I found Merlin, I started my work by first creating an avatar, which was great fun. I recommend the Yahoo Avatar site, because it's so easy to then post the avatar. And, I can change her clothes easier than I can change mine.
The social networking possibilities on Merlin are wonderful. I read a blog created by librarians in London, something that wouldn't have been possible just a short while ago
And added Merlin to my Bloglines.

My Avatar

Bloglines

I really enjoy the RSS feeds that I chose for Bloglines. I am still tweaking it to make it uniquely suited to my interests. I'll definitely use this site long after 23 Things is in my rearview mirror.

Technology 2.0:Thing 7

New, visually-exciting technology is great fun to play with.
Before Flickr, email was my favorite form of technology....now it has some competition! Now, I need a scanner to get all my photos into digital format......

There is a change in our culture going on because of all of the visual stimulation, rather than textual transfer of information. I believe that over the years, we will become less likely to express ourselves with words and more likely to just put it into visual format. The change can be both positive and negative, at the same time. Time will sift it out.

Blue Vase

Blue Vase
Originally uploaded by {platinum}

I found this in "Squared Circles," which is part of the Flickr Color Picks site. There's also a group called "Squared Circle," which collects photos of circular things.

Rowing on Lake Bled

Rowing on Lake Bled
Originally uploaded by donnacorless

This is Lake Bled, which has a castle of historic significance. I'll learn what the significance is next month.

Thing 2: 7 & a Half Habits

The love of learning has driven me all of my adult life, and is the most important quality I pursue when choosing a job. "Does the potential job give me an opportunity to learn something new?" Yes, then I will consider it. No, then absolutely not. I have had a rich and varied work life because of this rule. Obviously, working at HCL qualifies as a learning opportunity.

Reading is an important tool to use when learning, especially when learning ideas. You can do it anywhere, you don't need a group or any special equipment, and it's a relaxing, pleasurable leisure activity. While reading doesn't teach a learner how to play a musical instrument or to hang glide, learning even these kinesthetic activities can be enhanced by reading about them.

I particularly appreciate "Habit" #3, View problems as challenges....it encourages persistence, which I view as one of the most vital qualities of a lifelong learner. Persistence encourages confidence (#4) ...in fact without persistence, learning anything is impossible.

Thing 3 1/2

Time flies when doing 23 things! After galloping through the first three things, it was nearly 5 p.m. when I set up my blog. I gave myself a quick name and a place-holding saying....now I'm tweaking and wondering if anyone out there really wants to know THAT much about me!

Personally, I don't have the time to read blogs....scarcely have time to read my emails! I'm skeptical that blogging will become part of my everyday life. That said, I find that so far, it's a convenient place to store information and inspiration on the trip that I will be taking in a month to the Balkans. The links are in one place and seeing the beautiful castle energizes me to do the necessary work: get immunized, find little containers of shampoo, find wrinkle-free clothing, etc. Lots to do!

Thing 3

What fun this Thing stuff is! I wish that I started the day before yesterday!