Monday, May 19, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thing #23 WRAPPING UP
Hard to believe I've come to the end of this phase of my 'technology discovering' journey. Now that I've been exposed to so much information (really just the tip of the iceberg), I know this journey will continue. Participating in Web 2.0 has proved to be an eye opener in more ways than I could ever have imagined.
My favorite things: Discovering Pandora, Podcasts and ListenNJ
Least favorite things: Sometimes the information was overwhelming...so much to look at.
Nothing was particularly difficult to figure out even for this technophobe. Although, I must admit, there were a couple of times I thought about throwing in the towel. Some of the "Things" were a challenge to complete - I had to do homework! But I was not going to quit...I knew I would regret it. I was blessed with enthusiastic mentors who urged me on and shared their thoughts about their particular interests, which in turn led me to discoveries I might never had experienced except for this challenge. It was fun sharing Pandora and ListenNJ with family and friends.
"What a long, strange trip it's been."
My favorite things: Discovering Pandora, Podcasts and ListenNJ
Least favorite things: Sometimes the information was overwhelming...so much to look at.
Nothing was particularly difficult to figure out even for this technophobe. Although, I must admit, there were a couple of times I thought about throwing in the towel. Some of the "Things" were a challenge to complete - I had to do homework! But I was not going to quit...I knew I would regret it. I was blessed with enthusiastic mentors who urged me on and shared their thoughts about their particular interests, which in turn led me to discoveries I might never had experienced except for this challenge. It was fun sharing Pandora and ListenNJ with family and friends.
"What a long, strange trip it's been."
Thing #22 ListenNJ
Hooray! I finally am listening to "Love Overboard" by Janet Evanovich...this is so cool! It took some detective work to upload/download or whatever it is I had to do to get the upgrade for my computer. (First, I had to figure out which version of Windows Media Player I had - #11). So looking forward to getting my first MP3 player. I'll be able to download all those books I've been meaning to read and listen to them instead at my leisure. Or, burn a cd and listen in the car! ListenNJ is very user friendly. An OCL Library Card, "it's a good thing"!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thing #21 Finding & Listening to Podcasts
Went to Podcast.com and searched Travel in Ireland...
"Irish Fireside" sounded like a good place to start. Listened to #44 A Walk in Ireland and enjoyed it. Will check out the photos and lots of other information offered.
http://www.irishfireside.com/44return2008.htm
"Irish Fireside" sounded like a good place to start. Listened to #44 A Walk in Ireland and enjoyed it. Will check out the photos and lots of other information offered.
http://www.irishfireside.com/44return2008.htm
Thing #2 Learning vs. Training
Forgot to post that I did listen to the 7 1/2 Habits online tutorial and should have posted my thoughts in Thing #3...
The easiest habit would be setting my goals, for example: deciding to lose those 30 extra pounds; getting back into photography.
The hardest habit would be having confidence in myself to accomplish those goals.
I found that reaching out to others for information, sharing concerns, and using the internet for information really helped me to acquire the confidence I needed to accomplish certain goals and continue to reach outside my comfort zone.
The easiest habit would be setting my goals, for example: deciding to lose those 30 extra pounds; getting back into photography.
The hardest habit would be having confidence in myself to accomplish those goals.
I found that reaching out to others for information, sharing concerns, and using the internet for information really helped me to acquire the confidence I needed to accomplish certain goals and continue to reach outside my comfort zone.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Thing #20 YOUTUBE & YOU
Hard to believe YouTube originated with an idea from three young PayPal employees just a few short years ago. I don't usually 'tune in' to YouTube...only after a friend says "you've gotta see this!" do I go there. A co-worker's son did a video recently on his college campus; a good friend sent me the video clip below that his son put together. It's a short documentary about my childhood friend's Vietnam experiences. He's currently a respresentative in Congress - (R) Maryland, and will be stepping down in January.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0O2Yl9YALY
Wonder if any of my kids have gotten into "YouTube"? Think I'll go back and do a little looking around...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0O2Yl9YALY
Wonder if any of my kids have gotten into "YouTube"? Think I'll go back and do a little looking around...
Thing #19 WEB 2.0 AWARDS
Found a few 'award winner' sites I'll be going to frequently:
-Music: PANDORA
-Photos and Digital Images: flickr and Picasa
-Travel: KAYAK and realtravel
A Committee member shared with me her enthusiasm about Pandora last week...and I've been building radio stations and listening every day. It is so cool to listen to songs I haven't heard in years (except when I play my albums at home! - yes, I still have every album and 45 I ever bought in almost pristine condition) . Just pick an artist/genre and similar songs/artists will be at your fingertips to give a thumbs up or down.
Flickr and Picasa will be interesting and helpful working with and sharing my photos; and just snooping around to see just what else is out there. I already have a flickr account and will try to use it more often.
KAYAK and realtravel will be interesting to work with when planning my next 'ideal vacation' or just a 'get-away for a while' jaunt. I look forward to reading other users' comments on past trips - what to look for and what to avoid.
-Music: PANDORA
-Photos and Digital Images: flickr and Picasa
-Travel: KAYAK and realtravel
A Committee member shared with me her enthusiasm about Pandora last week...and I've been building radio stations and listening every day. It is so cool to listen to songs I haven't heard in years (except when I play my albums at home! - yes, I still have every album and 45 I ever bought in almost pristine condition) . Just pick an artist/genre and similar songs/artists will be at your fingertips to give a thumbs up or down.
Flickr and Picasa will be interesting and helpful working with and sharing my photos; and just snooping around to see just what else is out there. I already have a flickr account and will try to use it more often.
KAYAK and realtravel will be interesting to work with when planning my next 'ideal vacation' or just a 'get-away for a while' jaunt. I look forward to reading other users' comments on past trips - what to look for and what to avoid.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Thing #18 - Web Apps
Logged onto Google Docs - added my name to the list. Had a little trouble getting the background to work, but figured it out. Definitely will be a useful tool ... once I set up various files, I'll be able to update, share (if I so choose) and edit information without having to worry about my computer crashing...and do it from anywhere. I can see any OCL Committee or subcommittee using this tool for minutes of meetings, things to do, people to see, contact lists, etc.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thing #17 Sandbox
Entered the Sandbox via the invitation link. Had lots of fun editing the Sandbox - even added a picture to the end of the list (some of the entries are a hoot!)...hit SAVE and NOTHING!!! The dreaded "this page cannot be displayed" prompt came up...I'll try again tomorrow!
Couldn't wait...went back to the Sandbox and there it was!
Couldn't wait...went back to the Sandbox and there it was!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thing #16 WIKIS
Checked out WIKI's "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki" and was surprised at how much information is there (looking like I'm always surprised at how much information is "out there") .
Went to "Training and Development for Librarians"; Staff Training; Tips for Training Librarian Staff; Tips for Floating Librarians. Some basic common sense issues, but good tips nonetheless.
Then checked out "Staff Development" and the Blog of Memphis Public Library and Information Center; Professional Training and Staff Development; NEO - New Employee Orientation. Looks like I'll be going back to this one!
Next, I went into "Ocean County Library". I found that clicking on number 2, 'Branches and Reading Centers" [1] brought me to the OCL webpage; Stafford brought me to Wiki's information on Stafford Township. Also checked out the 'History' tab and saw the various changes made - March 2008 seems to have corrected our domain name to 'theoceancountylibrary.org'.
I hope to go back to this site in the near future...so much information, so little time...
Went to "Training and Development for Librarians"; Staff Training; Tips for Training Librarian Staff; Tips for Floating Librarians. Some basic common sense issues, but good tips nonetheless.
Then checked out "Staff Development" and the Blog of Memphis Public Library and Information Center; Professional Training and Staff Development; NEO - New Employee Orientation. Looks like I'll be going back to this one!
Next, I went into "Ocean County Library". I found that clicking on number 2, 'Branches and Reading Centers" [1] brought me to the OCL webpage; Stafford brought me to Wiki's information on Stafford Township. Also checked out the 'History' tab and saw the various changes made - March 2008 seems to have corrected our domain name to 'theoceancountylibrary.org'.
I hope to go back to this site in the near future...so much information, so little time...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
THING #15 LIBRARY 2.0
Read "Away from the "icebergs" and "To a temporary place in time...". Lots of food for thought.
The "icebergs" article made me rethink the traditional "library" ... no longer just a place to do some research or get a good book to read. Information is easier and less expensive to obtain, forcing us to take a look at the traditional notion "of a library collection". There's just so much information available.
"To a temporary place in time" reminds us that "librarians today are not just inventory management biobots". Instead, "they are people with a unique understanding of the documents they compile and catalog, and the relationships among those documents." When the author mentioned that "libraries are not mereley in communities, they are communities", I immediately thought of OCL and all we do for and with our communities; and how the nature of libraries have changed over the years.
Library 2.0 - particularly liked the idea of library users being able to have a greater impact on sevices provided by libraries.
But right now, I'm looking forward to going home, getting a cup of tea and reading a good old-fashioned book...
The "icebergs" article made me rethink the traditional "library" ... no longer just a place to do some research or get a good book to read. Information is easier and less expensive to obtain, forcing us to take a look at the traditional notion "of a library collection". There's just so much information available.
"To a temporary place in time" reminds us that "librarians today are not just inventory management biobots". Instead, "they are people with a unique understanding of the documents they compile and catalog, and the relationships among those documents." When the author mentioned that "libraries are not mereley in communities, they are communities", I immediately thought of OCL and all we do for and with our communities; and how the nature of libraries have changed over the years.
Library 2.0 - particularly liked the idea of library users being able to have a greater impact on sevices provided by libraries.
But right now, I'm looking forward to going home, getting a cup of tea and reading a good old-fashioned book...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thing #14 Technorati
Took a look at Technorati ... searched "Learning 2.0" on the main page - so much information. Clicked on the Photos tab - lots of photos for Web 2.0. I checked out the 2cents worth blog which "explores the changing nature of information...what it means to be literate in the 21st century". Some tags: Education, Web 2.0, Literacy, Teach, School and quite a few others. I clicked on the Literacy tag which brought me to tons of blogs.
Some of the Top Tags (is this a 'cloud'?) had links to even more stuff. I clicked on the Travel tag which brought me to blogs on Maps, Bison, Seattle...
Searched Ireland Travel - Looking forward to taking my time to explore this site in more detail. There is just too much information out there to take in at one sitting....videos of actual travels in Ireland and blogs about personal adventures in Ireland.
THIS IS FUN!
Some of the Top Tags (is this a 'cloud'?) had links to even more stuff. I clicked on the Travel tag which brought me to blogs on Maps, Bison, Seattle...
Searched Ireland Travel - Looking forward to taking my time to explore this site in more detail. There is just too much information out there to take in at one sitting....videos of actual travels in Ireland and blogs about personal adventures in Ireland.
THIS IS FUN!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Thing #13 TAGGING
Started out by checking out our webthings cloud sidebar...this will be helpful when I need to refer back to something I've already done. Checked out del.icio.us and was impressed with all the information available ( an awful lot of information!). To make it simple, I kept with the photography theme. My search started with 'photography' and I chose Kenneth Parker Photography - this has been saved by 2055 people as of today. Some tags associated with this were photography, photos, art gallery, google nature photo, picasa. Still trying to find others' comments on this bookmark...must be missing something! Like the idea of bookmarks not being confined to a particular computer.
Thing #12 NetLibrary and WorldCat
Have signed up with NetLibrary...very easy to do. Searched for a couple of books, full text. No results for "The Hobbit" or "Lord of the Rings" (doing something wrong!); but did get a hit for "Pride and Prejudice". When I put in a subject, 'digital photography', I got lots of hits. Focused on "Digital Photography for Dummies" 2nd edition. What a great resource tool! "turning pages" seemed a little slow - will try to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
WorldCat - easy to use. Searched "Digital Photography for Dummies" and OCL came up within 1 mile, of course! Curiously, the Lakewood branch shows up as "LAKEWOOD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY", not Ocean County Library.
Clicked on the various tabs:
Details - document type (book), notes, description, responsibility.
Subject - Photography - Digital techniques, digital cameras
Editions - lists various editions available
This would be helpful in filling out the ILL form...most of the information seems to be right there.
WorldCat - easy to use. Searched "Digital Photography for Dummies" and OCL came up within 1 mile, of course! Curiously, the Lakewood branch shows up as "LAKEWOOD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY", not Ocean County Library.
Clicked on the various tabs:
Details - document type (book), notes, description, responsibility.
Subject - Photography - Digital techniques, digital cameras
Editions - lists various editions available
This would be helpful in filling out the ILL form...most of the information seems to be right there.
Thing #11 LibraryThing
Had some fun with LibraryThing and plan to utilize in the future...every new title I read will find it's way to my LibraryThing account. What a great way to keep track of what I've read. I also enjoyed reading the various reviews of books I've enjoyed. Most of my choices were quite popular, having been read by thousands of others. The comments about The Hobbit by Tolkien were fun to read...brought me back (quite a few years!) to when I first discovered this character; and, of course, The Lord of the Rings. My mom bought me the first anniversary edition and I still cherish it today. I just may post a thought or two myself!
http://www.librarything.com/rsshtml/recent/csomersocl
http://www.librarything.com/rsshtml/recent/csomersocl
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thing #10 Technology Blogging
Just a few comments on the digital camera as my Thing#10 ... I'm loving it.
My journey with photography began at a young age with the Brownie camera.
Found out about the twin lens reflex camera and had some fun with that until I graduated to a (non-automatic) 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) camera. Managed to take a photography class and learned about developing and cropping; even had some fun developing my B&W photos at home. Hate to admit it, but I got lazy and started using a simple automatic 35mm, more for documentation than artistic expression.
Which brings me to the here and now - digital photography. With today's technology, it's almost impossible to take a bad picture. I like to think that "art" does come into play sometimes (something about having an "eye"). Editing is a lot of fun - and there is so much to do with a photo after playing with it. Talk about instant gratification...no more taking 10-50 shots of one subject hoping to get a good shot...'delete' is my friend. Adobe Photo Shop is one of the 2-3 software packages I use...and still learning about. The most difficult time I had was trying to find my pictures after saving them...I'm still working on that. There's so much more to learn about using the actual camera - so many settings, so little time...
Downloading pictures onto my computer (and again, trying to remember where I put them) was an adventure, too. But I now enjoy seeing my photos (good and bad) scroll across my screen saver at work -- the Ireland trip is relived daily; my son's high school graduation and prom; my eldest son's 21st birthday celebration; my dad's 75th birthday party; Thanksgiving with my brother and three sisters - all of us (and our families) in the same place at the same time; holidays and family; FlowerFest photos; backyard lawn and garden photos taken by my proud husband.
There are some people who have difficulty adjusting to some aspects of this new technology...My brother-in-law, an awesome photographer, has finally come into the digital age (kicking and screaming). As the digital cameras became more popular, he asked that we keep an eye out for 35mm film, afraid he wouldn't be able to find any more rolls for his camera (I actually bought him several rolls). He purchased his first digital camera last Christmas and hasn't looked back since. His 16 year-old daughter, my niece, had one of her photos published in the local Philly newspaper using her dad's camera. My sister-in-law bought her first digital camera three years ago and gave me advice on what to look for in a digital camera, for which I was truly grateful.
Every other day, it seems, something new comes onto the digital camera scene...megapixels, lenses, memory cards...so much to choose from. Picking the brains of people who enjoy photography is a great way to get tips and helpful hints. And sharing your pictures with those same people is particularly gratifying.
When I see an Ansel Adams photo, I wonder, would he enjoy today's cameras - would his pictures be a little different? Now, that was a guy with an "eye"! http://www.anseladams.com/content/ansel_info/anseladams_biography2.html
Just posted a comment to Karen's Library Blog...her comments have been helpful.
My journey with photography began at a young age with the Brownie camera.
Found out about the twin lens reflex camera and had some fun with that until I graduated to a (non-automatic) 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) camera. Managed to take a photography class and learned about developing and cropping; even had some fun developing my B&W photos at home. Hate to admit it, but I got lazy and started using a simple automatic 35mm, more for documentation than artistic expression.
Which brings me to the here and now - digital photography. With today's technology, it's almost impossible to take a bad picture. I like to think that "art" does come into play sometimes (something about having an "eye"). Editing is a lot of fun - and there is so much to do with a photo after playing with it. Talk about instant gratification...no more taking 10-50 shots of one subject hoping to get a good shot...'delete' is my friend. Adobe Photo Shop is one of the 2-3 software packages I use...and still learning about. The most difficult time I had was trying to find my pictures after saving them...I'm still working on that. There's so much more to learn about using the actual camera - so many settings, so little time...
Downloading pictures onto my computer (and again, trying to remember where I put them) was an adventure, too. But I now enjoy seeing my photos (good and bad) scroll across my screen saver at work -- the Ireland trip is relived daily; my son's high school graduation and prom; my eldest son's 21st birthday celebration; my dad's 75th birthday party; Thanksgiving with my brother and three sisters - all of us (and our families) in the same place at the same time; holidays and family; FlowerFest photos; backyard lawn and garden photos taken by my proud husband.
There are some people who have difficulty adjusting to some aspects of this new technology...My brother-in-law, an awesome photographer, has finally come into the digital age (kicking and screaming). As the digital cameras became more popular, he asked that we keep an eye out for 35mm film, afraid he wouldn't be able to find any more rolls for his camera (I actually bought him several rolls). He purchased his first digital camera last Christmas and hasn't looked back since. His 16 year-old daughter, my niece, had one of her photos published in the local Philly newspaper using her dad's camera. My sister-in-law bought her first digital camera three years ago and gave me advice on what to look for in a digital camera, for which I was truly grateful.
Every other day, it seems, something new comes onto the digital camera scene...megapixels, lenses, memory cards...so much to choose from. Picking the brains of people who enjoy photography is a great way to get tips and helpful hints. And sharing your pictures with those same people is particularly gratifying.
When I see an Ansel Adams photo, I wonder, would he enjoy today's cameras - would his pictures be a little different? Now, that was a guy with an "eye"! http://www.anseladams.com/content/ansel_info/anseladams_biography2.html
Just posted a comment to Karen's Library Blog...her comments have been helpful.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thing #8 Make life "really simple" with RSS & a newsreader & Thing #9 Finding Feeds
Today I established my account with BLOGLINES and added the feeds below. I've been able to forward quite a bit of interesting information.
Art Knowledge News - Keeping You in Touch with the World of Art. (10) (0)
CNN.com (10) (0)
Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips (10) (0)
The Food Section (10) (0)
Gardening Question of the Day (from the Old Farmer's Almanac) (0) (0)
Joke of the Day (0) (0)
Nutrition Journal - Latest articles (10) (0)
NYT Book Review (10) (0)
Rolling Stone: Features (10) (0)
Rotten Tomatoes: Movies (10) (0)
USATODAY.com Health - Top Stories
Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips was the first RSS feed I added myself. I found it (I think) when I used Bloglines Search tool. I put in a few words, "Ireland travel tips", and clicked on one of the posts, which brought me to the Eyeflare site. I'll explore this and all the sites more thoroughly and decide whether or not to trash/keep. The Bloglines Search tool was pretty easy to use. Now if I could just stop worrying about clicking in the wrong place...
Art Knowledge News - Keeping You in Touch with the World of Art. (10) (0)
CNN.com (10) (0)
Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips (10) (0)
The Food Section (10) (0)
Gardening Question of the Day (from the Old Farmer's Almanac) (0) (0)
Joke of the Day (0) (0)
Nutrition Journal - Latest articles (10) (0)
NYT Book Review (10) (0)
Rolling Stone: Features (10) (0)
Rotten Tomatoes: Movies (10) (0)
USATODAY.com Health - Top Stories
Eyeflare - Travel Articles and Tips was the first RSS feed I added myself. I found it (I think) when I used Bloglines Search tool. I put in a few words, "Ireland travel tips", and clicked on one of the posts, which brought me to the Eyeflare site. I'll explore this and all the sites more thoroughly and decide whether or not to trash/keep. The Bloglines Search tool was pretty easy to use. Now if I could just stop worrying about clicking in the wrong place...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Thing #5 Flickr & Thing #6 More Photo Fun
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7142190@N04/?saved=1
I've been tagged...see my photos here!
I've been tagged...see my photos here!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thing #3 Grab yourself a blog in 3 steps
just posted a picture for my blog...getting more comfortable navigating around this thing every day...
Monday, March 10, 2008
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