Trek for Tech

Week 9: Summary - Thing #23

2007-07-30T14:51:00.000-04:00

Creating a blog was so simple (if the blog was as basic and template-based as mine), but it made me feel that perhaps, even I, could function in the world of today’s rapidly changing technology. Moving a YouTube.com video to my blog also felt like an accomplishment.

When I completed my master’s degree 9 years ago, I felt that I was aware of many of the new trends in technology. As I worked through the 23 Things program, I felt somewhat like the portrayed Rip Van Winkle character—the world of technology had dramatically changed when I wasn’t looking! This certainly reinforces the fact that one must continually be focused on learning new things; the world of information does not stand still.

The most unexpected outcome, for me, was that I was able to finish the program.

I thought that the program was very well organized and introduced a great variety of web resources. However, since it was virtually all new to me, it seemed that I (as Trekker would phrase it) was always either on “mountain tops” or at the “bottom of mountains”—either delighted that I had accomplished the task for the week or intensely focused on accomplishing the current week’s task. I would really have liked some “plateau” time to gain a greater level of comfort and familiarity with the new tools.

Embarking on another similar training program would depend on several factors-- the relevancy to my work, the time frame, the availability of “on-the-job” training time, and the CEUs.

I found the 23 Things program to be interesting, informative, challenging, fatiguing, and rewarding—as are all learning experiences!

Week 9: AudioBooks - Thing #22

2007-07-30T14:26:00.000-04:00

I looked at the Overdrive site; the media guided tour was very nice. I opened an account with NetLibrary. I really liked many things about this site. The tutorial was thorough; the site was well organized. I liked the “categories” tool; the “similar items” prompts; the available audio “preview”; the “show more” feature in the description; and the “favorites” tool.

I listened to the preview for Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving, and downloaded Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler.

Although the library system has offered this service for some period, this was my first usage of the resource. It brings a wealth of information to the user on a 24/7 basis—very nice.

Week 9: Locating Podcasts - Thing #21

2007-07-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

In searching Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com, when I tried to listen to a podcast, I would receive a message that “needed plug-ins were not installed.” Clicking to “proceed” with the installation did not enable me to access the podcasts. I did not have this problem with Yahoo Podcasts. I really liked the format of the Yahoo Podcasts site; the category list was helpful and the “search” tool yielded relevant results. I explored the “music” category and the featured “what we like this week” section.

I searched for book reviews and library news and looked at LibVibe: the library news podcast; Book Voyages (children’s literature); The Mr. Nice Guy Show; and NPR: Books. They were all good; but I decided to add the NPR: Books podcast to my Bloglines account.

I also searched Google for book review podcasts and found Just One More Book Podcast (about children’s books), which I added to my Bloglines account.

I explored the Merlin site and their listing of how libraries are using podcasts. I thought that the stories for kids and the booktalks were really effective.

Week 9: Discover YouTube - Thing #20

2007-07-27T09:42:00.000-04:00

I looked at many YouTube videos; I tried using the "categories" tab to find things that might interest me. In the "How To & DIY" section, I found a video on "Cool multiplication techniques for large numbers"; unfortunately, the sound quality was extremely poor. I also found "Tutorial on how to make a bottle cap bomb"; "How to Die--a Step by Step Short Cut"; and "Weaponology --Sniper Rifles, Pt. 1"--oh, which to try first!!! Moving quickly on to "Politics," I found much in the way of personal beliefs--little in the way of factual information. Undaunted, I moved on to "Travel." Ignoring many videos that seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with travel, as I would interpret it, I found a video on Aladaglar, a mountain range in Turkey, that seemed appropriate for this Trekker's blog. This is a beautiful video of the area that would certainly be helpful for library users seeking travel information (or for YouTube users seeking tranquility after exploring the site).

Week 8: Web 2.0 Awards List Sites - Thing #19

2007-07-25T17:35:00.000-04:00

Even the “short list” of the winners of the Web 2.0 Awards presents a daunting challenge to select only one to discover. The interest-peaking names of some sites makes one want to explore them.

There are the social sites—“43 Things” and “Cocktail Builder.” I have some trouble thinking of library applications for “43 Things”; but it is interesting to explore. It gives one an idea of the customer base to which libraries need to relate.

I tried to explore Google Docs & Spreadsheets, but couldn’t get further than the general site information. I went through the procedure to set up an account. Each time it seemed to work, but the page went blank. I checked the FAQs; that provided some instructions on how to change my computer settings to allow “cookies.”

I decided to explore another site; I have already noted earlier in this blog how much I like LibraryThing and can see its potential for use by library customers.

This time, I explored Yelp—Real Reviews by Real People. By entering the city, state, and zip code, one receives a varied and certainly potentially helpful guide to businesses, restaurants, gas stations, etc. in the designated search city—along with a map of the area.

I can see where this information could be more current, and therefore more accurate, than the print travel guides found on library shelves. The information is certainly more specific to the area of interest than one would normally find in a print travel guide that needs to provide similar information for a larger overall area. The personal reviews of restaurants provide a practical level of useful information not found in print travel guides that often seem to be worded with the objective of promoting, and thereby retaining, the publication-supporting businesses listed therein.

This bias works in the online format as well; businesses could add embellished positive reviews for promotional purposes. Submitters of reviews could be voicing their emotions of the experience rather than the professional perspective of the person whose life work is to make these travel reviews. The user of this online information needs to evaluate the reviews accordingly. Still, the site certainly does have appeal and value.

Week 8: Online Productivity Tools - Thing #18

2007-07-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

I created an account in Zoho Writer. The site seemed nicely organized, and movement between tool options seemed easy. I used the Zoho Writer online word processor to create a document. When I tried to publish the document to my blog, I kept receiving a message that a match to my information could not be found. I was able to email the document, as an attachment, to my email.

This is the document that I prepared using Zoho Writer:

Trekker Watchword

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-Tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)
www.quotationspage.com

I looked at the Template Library, and was very impressed with the availability of such a variety of practical templates. I expected to find resume templates; I did not expect to find an "Outline for a Talk" or "Creating Recipe" templates. I saved the recipe template to my "Template Library"; however, I found it difficult to work with to adapt the format to a recipe that I wanted to use. The site offered an extensive and fairly well organized FAQ section; I was not able to find information on templates to assist me with their usage.

Week 7: Sandbox Wiki Entry - Thing #17

2007-07-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

I created a login account with the Maryland Libraries Sandbox and added this blog to the Favorites Blogs page. I added my favorite to the Favorite Vacation Spot wiki. As I said in a previous blog entry for Thing #16, I really can see the value of wikis; it is a quick and easy means of gathering collective knowledge. I do prefer a Wiki format that has some degree of structure and organization; I guess it is that ingrained librarian thinking!

Week 7: Wikis and Libraries - Thing #16

2007-07-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

I really liked Princeton Public Library’s Book Lovers Wiki. I see this as a great tool to get the public involved with their library, to have the users publicize the resources that the library system has available, and to boost usage of those resources. We have so many customers ask us, “What do you have that would be good to read?” This enables the community to answer those questions for library staff and allows customers to browse the wiki content at their leisure. While the librarian at the reference desk tries to instantly think what this one particular customer likes to read and what items might match those interests, this wiki is organized in a more user friendly manner than Novelist and allows the customer to know what other readers thought of the items. At our branch we have a notebook with entries from our two monthly book discussion groups about the books they have read. This is a very popular tool for both other community book groups looking for monthly selection ideas and for individuals. I think something like Princeton’s Book Lovers Wiki would be really well received.

I also liked St. Joseph County Public Library Subject Guides. I think that this wiki is a great tool to help people in searching for their informational needs. People know what they seek, but they frequently do not have a clear idea of the search terms to use to get to this information. This subject guide wiki has solid format and good depth of content. I tried a search on “careers.” I saw the topic “jobs”; but many people don’t want a “job”—rather, they want a “career.” I wanted to see how well the search feature would work, and I was pleased with the results. This wiki is another great library tool to enhance the customer's searching experience.

Week 6: Web 2.0, Library 2.0 Future--Thing #15

2007-07-11T15:31:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed the two articles, "Away from the 'icebergs,'" by Rick Anderson, and "To a temporary place in time," by Dr. Wendy Schultz. These articles blend well to give a total picture of libraries.

We do need to look again at what we have come to believe are those "tried and true" avenues of quality library service and realize that guidelines for sharing information and ideas are constantly evolving--they always have been and they always will be. It just comes as such a shock now because of the exponentially increasing speed of information accessibility, the quantity of information we are able to tap, and the quickly changing informational formats.

Nine years ago I can remember that the University of Maryland library system was working to achieve a uniformity of search access for its approximately 50+ online databases to make information access easier for the students--as the Anderson article said, "spend as little time...wrestling with...interfaces and as much time as possible actually reading and learning."

Now, Web 2.0 presents libraries with the same challenge of access to this constantly changing collection of information being formed by its users. I really like the YouTube video, "The Machine is Us/ing Us," where it says that Web 2.0 links people who teach the machine through their input of information--and the machine is us.

The Schultz article mentions Library 3.0 and Library 4.0. That is as it should be because libraries do have an exciting future.

Week 6: Explore Technorati - Thing #14

2007-07-11T14:00:00.000-04:00

I looked at Technorati and did a search for "Learning 2.0." There were 506 blogs and 24,629 blog posts about Learning 2.0. There seemed to be a very low relevancy rate in the search results. I searched under PLCMC Learning 2.0; the results were 13 blogs and 213 blog posts--with what seemed to be a very high relevancy rate.

The Top Favorited Blog (by 2,275 members) that I searched was Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things. I am not sure how "wonderful" the featured "things" were; it was diverse and interesting--probably helpful if you were having a really slow, boring day behind a desk and looking for a way to make time pass. I wasn't, however, having such a day.

I looked at the Online Directory; noticeably absent were topics such as libraries, Learn 2.0, books, Web 2.0.

I looked at the Top 100 Tags from A to Z. The importance of Technorati as a tool for interacting on social topics was clear. Life, romance and relationships, music, weblog, and blogging were clear favorites. News and politics was surprisingly less popular; Iraq was markedly less used than I would have expected.

As for my "discoveries," I had never visited Technorati until this assignment, even though it has been around for 3 years. So, it was all a discovery for me!

Week 6: Del.icio.us Bookmarking - Thing #13

2007-07-11T12:29:00.001-04:00

I viewed the Del.icio.us tutorial and the PLCMCL2 link.

I visited Del.icio.us and looked at a site, The Beauty of Ruby, that was bookmarked by 132 people and had 113 comments. I found the comments so technical that I am still not really sure what "Ruby" actually is--one comment said it was "somewhere between Smalltalk and Perl." A couple comments noted, "some of the best things about Ruby aren't obvious to newcomers"; that pretty well summed it up for me!

I looked under the tag "science" and found an interesting article from the Infoworld Staff dated 2/19/07, "12 Crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise." One section discussed the expected and actual acceptance of e-books.

I tried the optional challenge to set up an account in Del.icio.us; however, I have been unable to receive their confirmation via my work email that requires my response to complete the process.

I like the idea of being able to access my bookmarks from different computers. I can see where this tool would be useful for tracking research or creating a shared reading list. The idea of folksonomy and using this peer-driven tagging is so very different from the strict criteria of using recognized subject headings to search the various online databases that was the instilled in me at library school less than 10 years ago. What changes!

Week 5: Online Image Generator - Thing #10

2007-07-05T19:56:00.000-04:00

I looked at the listed discovery resources for online image generators. I tried the Caricature Generator on The Generator Blog. The avatars are to be a representation of oneself--yet the selection options seemed limited to blonde, brunette, redhead--and young! I really had trouble relating to avatars! The 4-image avatars are certainly clever and fascinating to watch for a few minutes--but distracting, as well. I tried Speech Agents; they were definitely interesting!

I created an avatar in Yahoo, but was unable to move it to my blog. I received a message from Yahoo that I needed to download a program (Adobe Flash Player 9); when I tried this, I received a message (from my computer) that I did not have the authorization to download this program.

Week 5: Library Thing - Thing #11

2007-07-03T15:27:00.000-04:00

I created an account in LibraryThing. Search my catalog at the bottom of this blog under TrekkerReads.

The process to add books to my catalog seemed easy enough; I like the associated information that is added to each entry. This seems like a great tool for tracking the books that one has read.

Week 5: Rollyo Search Tool - Thing #12

2007-07-03T08:24:00.000-04:00

This is my Rollyo search roll. I can see where this would be a useful tool for frequent searches for information that one knows can be quickly obtained from a select number of resources that have served the searcher well in the past. My search roll is to answer the varied questions that one might receive working in Reference in a public library.

Week 4: RSS and Newreaders - Thing #9

2007-06-29T17:57:00.000-04:00

I looked at Merlin and made it one of my 10 feeds. Copying the URL and using the "Add" designation in the Bloglines account was the my method of choice. I found the search tools a bit confusing--just too much. I liked Technorati the best because it seemed to have a more organized format.

The Bloglines account and the feeds seem like a really great way to put together the sources that I frequently use. I found it to be a bit like grocery shopping; if you don't have a list to know what you want, it's easy to end up with a cart full of spur-of-the-moment purchases that you really don't want or need. I can see where this time-saving tool could easily become just another means to information overload.

Week 4: RSS & Newsreaders - Thing #8

2007-06-29T11:28:00.000-04:00

This is my bloglines account.

The Bloglines newsreader account is really great. Once you have selected the sites that you want to regularly track, it is such a time-saving approach to use the Bloglines account rather than enter the URL for each site.

For my first 10 sites, I selected 4 news sites (ABC News, Bloglines-News, Time, and Reuters: Top News); 2 library news sites (Merlin and Library Bytes); a book review (NYT); and (for personal growth) a dictionary and This Day in History.

I then added feeds to the blogs of 3 other participants in Learn 2.0 - 23Things. I also added 3 additional types of news feeds--Library Journal News; It's All Good (OCLC blog); and (for fun) Unshelved-Library Cartoon Feed.

Week 3: Photos & Images - Things #5 & #6

2007-06-22T09:46:00.000-04:00

I love the Flickr Color Pickr!!! This is the high-tech version of the always mesmerizing kaleidoscope toy of childhood--an online toy at one's fingertips.

Week 3: Photos & Images - Thing #7

2007-06-22T08:37:00.000-04:00

I am interested in the ongoing advances in wireless capsule endoscopy--called by gihealth.com as "The Camera in a Pill." Although the idea began in 1981, usage required technology that was unavailable. Now, technology is enabling a variety of uses--diagnostic and therapeutic for this device. You may hear it called the "Given Video Capsule," with the capacity to take 50,000 color images during its 8-hour movement through the digestive tract. Then there is Johns Hopkins' "Fluoropill," which uses magnetic coils to control movement of the capsule and a molecular camera that can release fluorescent probe compound or therapeutic drugs--with a possible capability of securing and storing harvested tissue samples. This pill-sized technology can examine areas of the digestive system (especially in the small intestine) that are currently not able to be satisfactorily seen--and without the discomfort and sedation required for traditional endoscopic examinations.

Week 2: Blogging - Things #3 & #4

2007-06-21T19:16:00.000-04:00

Well, imagine that! I'm the proud owner of a blog! Trek on!

Week 1: Introduction & Lifelong Learners - Things #1 & #2

2007-06-13T19:19:00.000-04:00

The 7 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners certainly seems logical. The easiest habit for me would be to "accept responsibility for my own learning." The most difficult habit would be to "begin with the end in mind."

I was not a traditional age college student. Attending college was a goal that I held for many years. When I actually registered for one class at a community college, I found that the goal of completing one semester at a time seemed more attainable than the seemingly too-large goal of completing a 4-year-degree.