Blog Week 10

I think the podcast webquest assignment was a good one to tackle. If for no other reason than understanding the process and appreciating the time involved in creating a podcast. The negative was the learning curve involved. The littlest technology snafu created frustration and wasted a lot of time.

Reading blog posts of other class members was helpful.  Their discussion of the uses for podcasts or the things they learned helped me put a few more pieces of the puzzle together.  The blog was not as helpful as the group meetings.  They were essential.

My group was great.  I really enjoyed them.  We each played a different role.  Mary kept us on track. Bonnie was the techie. I contributed graphics and content.  Bonnie recently got a new MAC.  It has great podcast capabilities but the platform was unfamiliar.  Sometimes we knew that we could do something but we didn't know how to do it.  It slowed us down to have to figure things out as we went along.  All in all, it was a great group experience.

I would highly recommend the Bettendorf Library as a meeting place.  The study room we used worked really well and we had no interruptions.

Reminds me of education today :-) Week 9

It was easy to convert the file and post it.  I loved the free file converter.  It was great to learn how to do this. 

Wiki

I'm working on a Guidance department Wiki.  Take a look. http://west-hs-guidance.wikispaces.com/

How does Web 2.0 affect the future of libraries? (wk. 8)

I would say the the majority of the articles accurately forecasted the recent changes in libraries over the last  few years.   I have noticed the following changes:

• downloadable e-books
• library cafes
• community spaces for patrons
• library book discussions (libraries as a place to discuss ideas)
• more on-line data bases
• renewal of library materials on-line
• more computer availability for patrons and more help to learn to use them (Bettendorf uses volunteer teen techies)
• on-line, live homework help
• librarians as leaders in incorporating web 2.0 skills (thanks, Marcia)
• wikis incorporated in classes as collaborative tools
• librarian blogs (infowiz)

I'm not very good at predicting the future, but here are some things I think might happen. 

• Twitter could be used to inform or remind patrons of upcoming library activities
  
• Social networking could be used instead of a face-to-face book club
• More blogging by librarians to teach and inform (this is already happening for some)

Zoho vs. Goggle docs

Now this is a great idea.  I think this is great for students who must use multiple computers.  When my daughters created a document on someone else's computer, they emailed it to themselves.  That allowed them to open the document from any  computer.  It also saved their document in cyberspace--a backup that saved them a few time when they had computer issues. Online programs like Zoho and Google Docs are a more sophisticated way to accomplish the same goal.

Zoho has great toolbar tabs. I greatly prefer them to drop-downs.  Unfortunately, Safari is not supported by Zoho.  But that issue can be circumvented by using another browser.

We have been using a google doc spreadsheet to keep track of my husband's blood pressure.  It works well because anyone can record the numbers.  This is a great way to share a document.  

Technorati--Blogging Activity Week 6

Technorati is a great way to explore blogs you might want to follow.  Before, if I found a blog I liked, I checked out the links on that site to find more blogs I might enjoy.  Technorati accomplishes this more reliably and faster.  I appreciate the short review about each site.

http://wigflip.com/automotivator

This has some real possibilities.  You could make some awesome, custom posters.        http://wigflip.com/automotivator