Saturday, May 3, 2008

Wrap up

The last module.....and very interesting!
After exploring Facebook, I actually registered! Haven't contacted anyone yet, but know of several friends that are also in "Facebook". This gives me another medium to "keep in touch" with others.
I was particually impressed with Teen Second Life. After exploring and reading the information for parents and community standards I felt that security appeared to be taken very seriously. I think that this site would be great for teens, who have to be aged between 13 and 17 years to register. To be able use it in the library would, I believe, encourage teens to utilise libraries a lot more. The problem could be access and this depends on the individual library internet setups.
I registered with Second Life and although I spent all afernoon exploring the site, still don't fully understand what it's all about! I see that it could possibly cost a lot of money though!
Well that's all folks!!
It's goodbye 'till next time.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Online Applications and Tools

' View Upload your ownhttp://

......Free!!
I didn't realize how many free applications and tools are available on the web! I can see lots of uses for Google Docs, etc. particularly in rural and remote areas.
Conferences, distance Education.... using telephone and or video conferencing with online presentations...not having to travel large distances....imagine the fuel savings! There seems to no end of possibilities.....and mostly FREE!!!!
I spend a lot of time exploring Slideshare.....there are fabulous slides, etc. I have embedded one of my favourites into my blog.

Mashups for me!

Again I've spent several wonderful hours.....including coffee breaks.....exploring Star Viewer, Google Maps and creating mashups on Bighugelabs!
I had a problem adding the mashup to my blog. Eventually I added a page element and posted it into that.
Google maps seem to be great to find various places around the world. I searched for towns in England, where our ancestors lived, and was able to find not only the location, but got an idea of the terrain as well!
I can see mashups being used in libraries. The maps are excellent for students, travellers and genealogy research. Bighugelabs provide many project options for everyone.....I loved that site!!
I will keep exploring Star Viewer....fascinating!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Podcasts

Having spent over three hours, (just stopping for a coffee break), browsing through and listening to some podcasts, I believe they would be a great asset for libraries, particularly smaller rural libraries.
I can see lots of uses for this medium.......book reviews, storytime, learning modules and of course, the experts....... teens podcast!
I enjoyed listening to various podcasts ranging from ABC Correspondents, poetry by school students, health reports and childrens' stories. I am amazed at the variety of podcasts and although I am not willing to subscribe to some sites, because of the possiblity of viruses, etc, will continue to use podcasts for information and entertainment.

Q & A

I have never seen these Answer Boards, (other than on Ebay), before! I think they would be of great value for all users.
I can imagine all types of questions......."what 7 letter word means 'useless medicine' and "who invented peanut butter" etc...etc...? The mind boggles!
Now I know where to find questions for trivia night!
I have posted a question on Yahoo7 Answers and eagerly await an answer!

Deliciously easy!

I found it quite easy to set up accounts on both Delicious and LibraryThing. As I didn't fully understand bookmarking and tagging I haven't used it very much. I can see the benefits in using these tools in a library. I found it difficult to add the links to my blog but finally did it!
I really like LibraryThing......so much information.....check out "Zeitgeist Overview"!!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Me and YouTube

No Cookies in the Library



Wow!! It worked!! After much deliberation and effort I have managed to embed a video into my blog! The hardest part was picking out a video from the thousands available.