Where to go from here

This has been a challenge worth working with. However, like most things that are worthwhile there is a price to pay. I found time management the most challenging aspect of the training. Only because I was so much in favor of this opportunity already laid out before me to explore and learn did I invest a lot of my own time to complete - no complaints -I wanted to do it.
My favorite discoveries were: Flickr,RSS feeds,del.icio.us,wikis,podcasts and Youtube.
My life long learning goals have been reinforced.
My take away message is to use in some daily routine the new technologies until they are second nature to me
Yes, I would choose to participate in another discovery program
This growth requires choices all along the way to completion. Unless you are willing to take charge of the task and make those choices the task will be too great to enjoy.

audiobooks

I explored Project Gutenberg because I had already explored Overdrive and Netlibrary during my LATI training. I am interested in the "free' aspect of Project Gutenberg. The background info and mission statements provided a good idea of the site. I used the Online Book Catalog, then proceeded to foreign language choices. This may be a valuable access for patrons. I chose a translation of Chess and Checkers:Way to Mastership by Edw. Lasker. The plain text book was intro duced in English and Polish and then continued in Polish. This was an eye opener!

podcasts

Using the directory podcast.net, I searched twice for library related sites: with "library" I chose Johnson County Library from Overland Park, Kansas. Their Writer's Place Poetry Reading Series looks great. Unfortunately, the podcast took too long to load. I'll try it again. Also under " library", I chose Hennepin County Teen Links and listened to " Movie review of King Kong". The intimacy created by hearing someone's voice, akin to talk radio is very appealing. My second search was " kids book reviews" I chose and added to my Bloglines with an RSS feed the podcast "Book Voyages" . I listened to #17 and enjoyed a quiet " teacher voiced" podcast which included info on using the podcast, contacting the Book Voyages staff by email and phone, contests with prizes,news from the net on Patricia Polaco,reviews of Jean Craighead George's books on care of your dog and care of your cat, review of Giddyup Cowgirl and an invitation to email comments, a student book review of Matilda by Roald Dahl. Most useful to me is the potential for appealing, brief book reviews for the child patron and his / her family.

youtube

I have been searching for a source for easy beginner guitar lessons that I can use at my own pace. I even have a tape from two years ago that I haven't unwrapped. Lo and behold! You tube! I found many possible videos to try. I "linked " the one I liked best so far to del.icio.us and will enjoy it later tonight. I chose beginner guitar chords. It seems the musician has other beginner guitar lessons too. The video can be stopped and started again - perfect! Now I just need to put those light gauge strings on the guitar. This site may offer other instructional videos of interest to library patrons. I'll take a look at it with reference questions that may relate to instruction.

arcaplay

The variety of games on the site is good. I tried the sudoku and fast food swap. Now that I know how to move from screen to screen on my computer , I'll enjoy having a game going "in the background". However, the timed ones like fast food swap need more practice. In the library, patrons often ask for game sites, so I'll try it on a public pc and test run it.

Agenda 10/17/07

Agenda Item	Contact	Task / Completion Date

zoho.com

This array of services look promising. I read just the other day about these and the stiff competition they're giving Microsoft. I'll continue to explore the spreadsheet and the word processor. I created a draft version of an agenda for our dept meeting and emailed a read / write version to myself at work. I "published" that too but don't see it as a post to my blog. One more interesting detail

sandbox wiki

I'm still adjusting to the anonymity of the blogs and wikis. But that aside, I'm enjoying the easy forum for expression. Until the "directions" given to accomplish each new step become intuitive, I'll probably print out the how tos and allow myself time to absorb it.

wikis

The wiki for Rochester was a great use of community information. As a part time reference LA, I share tasks with other hourly LAs. A wiki for project planning would be better than our clipboard that we now all contribute to and check with during the week. I am always looking for new forms of RA for our young patrons. A catalog wiki that could be "enriched' with reader's reviews is an interesting idea - all this needs ongoing maintenance.

Library2.0

Listened to "The Machine is Us" again, OCLC's Next Space Newsletter and Away From Icebergs. Rick Anderson ( Away From Icebergs)presents the issues in terms that I can think about and begin to stretch my understanding. My on desk reference desk interaction with patrons include leading the patron from "collection" available to databases always available online at the library and at home. My favorite interaction is introducing / educating a patron to the use of a database from our webpage. I'm all for 2.0, but the learning curve is steep.

Technorati

Yes, the world of blogs is huge. Technorati offers an organized means to get what you want without getting lost. The top favorited blogs and top blogs overlap in content. Top searches is a list all its own. Different strokes for different folks. I did claim my post. http://technorati.com/account/blogs/edit/1?status=bc&blogid=209163267

Tagging and Del.cio.us

This is huge! I thought I had a place to list sites. More than a bookmarking tool. The podcast was an excellent intro to the use of Del.cio.us. Tagging becomes crucial. I'll have to spend a lot of time improving my use of this.
http://del.icio.us/lizweaves

Rollyo

I thought at first this would hold a collection of chosen sites, so similiar to Delicious, but my choices as entered resulted in many sites. I'm not sure if this is what I'd use. I'll give it a try.
http://rollyo.com/search.html?q=first+thing+am&sid=315504

Library Thing

Library Thing may be something I would enjoy. Both logging my reads and sharing those reads with a virtual book club.

cow bubbles

The quote generator was quick and easy. After exploring the image generators, I found I was more interested in color and language options.

#9 Merlin and other

After exploring the suggested tools ie: Feedster, Bloglines search tool, Topix.net,Sindic8.comand Technorati. I included Merlin on my RSS feeds. I enjoyed a look at my hometown newspaper on Topix.net. I prefer to choose a source that I like rather than a topic.

Mashup of Norristown

I explored some mashups and liked montager, photo mosaics found on Flickr. Great way to have a one page viewable collection. TEXT

RSS and Bloglines

RSS will be as fun as trial subscriptions to my favorite magazines. Thankfully, I chose my first "bunch" from the Directory. Then, feeling more confident with TEN feeds on my list, I began to delete and add. The Search tab was a very helpful tool. I think I'll read these for a day or seven and continue to add and delete. Best of all ! No coffee table to clean up or recycling to carry out.

silene virginica

(my latest fav in the garden)
http://missouriplants.com/Redopp/Silene_virginica_page.html

searching for old photos

I search old postcard collections for places from my family's past. The business on Rte #40 above the Susquehanna River and the bottle show held each year in Essex are good sources. But now I can search from home with Flickr.
In Montgomery County: The Second Hundred Years, a description of the hosiery mill, Globe Knitting Mill founded in 1885 by Joseph S. Rambo became Rambo & Regar in 1886. It was one of fifteen textile mills in Norristown, PA. My g g grandfather, a weaver since the age of 7yrs. came from Leeds, Yorkshire in 1841 to settle in Norristown and worked in the textile mills.
I want to post the Flickr picture of the Rambo mills, but have run into a glitch. At least the link is below.TEXT

Week 5 / thing #5 Back at it

I am back on task after forgetting my password. I'm looking forward to exploring Flickr to find college reunion pictures that I uploaded. I need a site for smooth storage and sharing of email and camera pictures.

genealogy at the beach

Post a blog – June 20, 2007

Genealogy at the beach

Accomplished – loaded the flash drive with outlines;

Brought the data with me;

Found wireless internet access

Obstacles – mountain of data collected over 5 years;

Desire to save /share the information electronically;

Create a narrative for each family group.

This week-Build a timeline for William H. Hogan b. 14 Sept. 1828, collecting dates and facts;

build a citation source list.

Resource- tips on writing from interview with Roald Dahl in Twits edition;

Ancestry magazine j/f 2007 on Timelines.

lifelong learner

I am a life long learner. I just can't deal with the frustration/obstacles. The contract suits me well since I am already a listmaker. Making goals is the easiest of the 7 1/2 habits. Listing the obstacles is not something I usually do, but want to try.