13 Things/Learning 2.0 course is sadly at its end. And one of the last task is to share my thoughts about my journey to discover Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and its implications for the library's future.
I think as librarians, we seemed to have integrated the 2.0 phenomenon into our daily lives without even thinking about it. From all the exercises required for this class, I found out that at some point, whether regularly or not, I have been using most of the applications associated with Web/Library 2.0. I think this has a lot to do with librarians' intimate relationship with the information process, from creation, documention, retrieval and usage.
Yes, libraries are indeed changing. Maybe not with its core mission, but definitely with the way we reach our patrons. There are times when the "fastness" of how we want to do things creates a feeling of sadness in me. Only because we sometimes forget to savor whatever it is that we acquire and learn in the process.
Undoubtedly, I would be utilizing a lot of the freebies that I have discovered in this class. The library I am in right now does not have a lot when it comes to funding, but we have a lot to share. Learning as I did of the various ways to make this possible, I can now try and reach more potential users, maybe even reach those who would not mind donating some time and expertise in putting our tiny library on the map.
My thanks to everyone who made this class possible. Though I've had to do it on my very little spare time, I definitely learned a lot and it gave me avenues to pursue so I can continue learning.
Friday, April 17, 2009
language learning thru podcast
I find podcasts very interesting. And Rebecca's right, there seems to be a podcast of just about everything out there.
I used Podcast Alley for this exercise and found all these podcasts on italian language (well, just about most languages really). This could prove to be an alternative to going to school or buying that foreign language software. Of course, one would need to verify the accuracy of the podcast (I'm not exactly sure how), to make sure that what I would be learning is correct.
Using podcasts also elliminates the strain on one's eyes associated with reading, whether from printed matter of straight off the computer screen. Plus hearing someone talk gives one a feeling of connectedness, somewhat to the person speaking, making the exchange (though one way) a bit more personal.
In some of my MLIS class, professors have been using podcasts to deliver their lectures. For me this is definitely more effective than just reading lecture notes. Being in fully-only program, its always great to hear the professors voice. It gives me a feeling of involvement in the class and provides a better impression of what the professor is like since we're missing the face-to-face component of a traditional classroom scene.
I used Podcast Alley for this exercise and found all these podcasts on italian language (well, just about most languages really). This could prove to be an alternative to going to school or buying that foreign language software. Of course, one would need to verify the accuracy of the podcast (I'm not exactly sure how), to make sure that what I would be learning is correct.
Using podcasts also elliminates the strain on one's eyes associated with reading, whether from printed matter of straight off the computer screen. Plus hearing someone talk gives one a feeling of connectedness, somewhat to the person speaking, making the exchange (though one way) a bit more personal.
In some of my MLIS class, professors have been using podcasts to deliver their lectures. For me this is definitely more effective than just reading lecture notes. Being in fully-only program, its always great to hear the professors voice. It gives me a feeling of involvement in the class and provides a better impression of what the professor is like since we're missing the face-to-face component of a traditional classroom scene.
libraries @ youtube
I have seen numerous postings on youtube relating to libraries and they have all been very informational. This is a great and inexpensive (read, free!) way to advertise library events and services. It can also be a great orientation tool for incoming students (for school and universities), and a professor can also post a video of a class lecture. Talk about not ever having to set foot in a classroom... A video is almost always a better way to communicate a message across.
Admittedly, my first usage of youtube is mostly for music videos. I found a lot of hard to find music from this site. Sure there's a lot of junk, but such is the nature of the web and not just for youtube. Lately, I have found movies posted on youtube in parts... some taken down by management for violating copyright, but still a lot of them are out there. Makes me wonder how we're going to really get ahead of piracy. Youtube can only do so much in trying to regulate postings from millions of users.
I know I've done this before... but without practice it takes some time tyo figure it out again. If the video comes out then its a success... if not, well then, I'll try it again.
This is just a funny video... one of the many that made these brothers somewhat famous in the Philippines. They are now part of a tv comedy show in the Philippines.
The next video is the one that made this guys dream a reality. He is now the lead singer (Arnel Pineda) of the band Journey.
Admittedly, my first usage of youtube is mostly for music videos. I found a lot of hard to find music from this site. Sure there's a lot of junk, but such is the nature of the web and not just for youtube. Lately, I have found movies posted on youtube in parts... some taken down by management for violating copyright, but still a lot of them are out there. Makes me wonder how we're going to really get ahead of piracy. Youtube can only do so much in trying to regulate postings from millions of users.
I know I've done this before... but without practice it takes some time tyo figure it out again. If the video comes out then its a success... if not, well then, I'll try it again.
This is just a funny video... one of the many that made these brothers somewhat famous in the Philippines. They are now part of a tv comedy show in the Philippines.
The next video is the one that made this guys dream a reality. He is now the lead singer (Arnel Pineda) of the band Journey.
my Zoho experience
Zoho...what?!?
Ah! The wonders of technology. Using this tool had been easy because it allowed me to log in using my yahoo account, elliminating the need to create a new one. Hooray! Sometimes, just to create a new account, no matter how easy can also be time consuming.
Obviously, I'm trying this new thing (looks suspiciously similar to Google) for the 13 Things seminar. The interface itself is much like MS Word (is it?), only online. Not to mention it gives you the option to directly post it to your blog, how cool is that? It does automatic save too, very useful for me since I always forget to save my work.
I would have to agree with Deb C on this one. It needs to be explored further to determine how best to utilize it.
It seems funny that I've always said I know nothing about Web 2.0, but here I am discovering that most of what Web 2.0 has is the almost the same thing that I've been using before... only online. Hmmm... I wonder if that is perhaps the main difference.
Flickr power!
I love Flickr! Though admittedly, it was my friend who forced me to open an account so we can post a lot of photos on the web... Of course I only have the freebie account so the features that I can use are limited. But no matter, it serves its purpose.
This is a photo I took to mark my first sunrise in NYC. It felt very strange waking up and having to take a moment to figure out where I was.
This is a photo I took to mark my first sunrise in NYC. It felt very strange waking up and having to take a moment to figure out where I was.
Monday, March 23, 2009
my very own wiki
Surprisingly, creating my own wiki using Wetpaint proved to be painless... and it looks like my other blogs! :p The interface looked really easy, it has tabs for just about everything you'd want to do on it. Talk about idiot's guide to creating your own wiki. I haven't had a lot of time to explore this new found "techie thing" under my belt, but I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun figuring it out.
The ads do take up about 1/4 (total) of my page, which is a shame but alas necessary for the site. I did see the instructions on how to take away the ads... something I'd try out next time and give an update later.
Wetpaint gives you a lot of leeway in terms of customization... something else to explore later. I think I might keep this one for my graduate class. It looks nicer and appear to be easier to use than PBWiki (at least for me).
http://marawiki.wetpaint.com/
The ads do take up about 1/4 (total) of my page, which is a shame but alas necessary for the site. I did see the instructions on how to take away the ads... something I'd try out next time and give an update later.
Wetpaint gives you a lot of leeway in terms of customization... something else to explore later. I think I might keep this one for my graduate class. It looks nicer and appear to be easier to use than PBWiki (at least for me).
http://marawiki.wetpaint.com/
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
wiki-ing my way to...?
Wikis... collaborative websites... Wikipedia. Hmmm...
I know there are more wikis (what is the plural form of this word? if it is a word) than Wikipedia, but I just wrote it down because this one seems to be the most widely used by almost everyone. Why? Because it contains information. Never mind that sometimes the information does not seem accurate, it can still provide you with a starting point with which to focus your research.
A wiki is a great tool that can be used for collaboration... at times, but not all the time. I say this because no matter how specific the community you've created (when it comes to access), and no matter how convenient using a wiki is because you don't even have to get up from where you're sitting, I still think face-to-face collaboration works the best.
I love my laptop and I love surfing the internet, but there is a certain formality in the way one communicates things over the net that is absent when people interact personally. I guess I'm old fashioned in that way. I like to see people's faces when they agree or disagree with each other because it gives you an idea on how they really feel about an issue. Not to mention I think face-to-face collaborations tend to draw more creative juices from each individual than merely posting it on the wiki.
I do so love technology, but I would not want to totally elliminate the people aspect of collaboration.
I know there are more wikis (what is the plural form of this word? if it is a word) than Wikipedia, but I just wrote it down because this one seems to be the most widely used by almost everyone. Why? Because it contains information. Never mind that sometimes the information does not seem accurate, it can still provide you with a starting point with which to focus your research.
A wiki is a great tool that can be used for collaboration... at times, but not all the time. I say this because no matter how specific the community you've created (when it comes to access), and no matter how convenient using a wiki is because you don't even have to get up from where you're sitting, I still think face-to-face collaboration works the best.
I love my laptop and I love surfing the internet, but there is a certain formality in the way one communicates things over the net that is absent when people interact personally. I guess I'm old fashioned in that way. I like to see people's faces when they agree or disagree with each other because it gives you an idea on how they really feel about an issue. Not to mention I think face-to-face collaborations tend to draw more creative juices from each individual than merely posting it on the wiki.
I do so love technology, but I would not want to totally elliminate the people aspect of collaboration.
RSS feeds
I was already subscribed to a few RSS feeds even before strating in this class, mostly news. I like it because it gives me a truncated version of what's new or if indeed something new has come up with the sites I like to follow. This way, I don't need to visit the sites if nothing new has been added or if what's been added is not really of interest to me.
I know a lot of libraries already use RSS feeds on their website. This is a great idea to let patrons know what's going on in their local libraries. Announcements for upcoming events can be sent via RSS feed and one need not worry of sending out too many notices because the patron have chosen to receive such notifications. Just like statistics, this is a way for libraries to monitor how many patrons are being reached.
I know a lot of libraries already use RSS feeds on their website. This is a great idea to let patrons know what's going on in their local libraries. Announcements for upcoming events can be sent via RSS feed and one need not worry of sending out too many notices because the patron have chosen to receive such notifications. Just like statistics, this is a way for libraries to monitor how many patrons are being reached.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Delicious
First of all, I am curious as to why this social bookmarking site is called Delicious. While I understand what Delicious is trying to help me accomplish, that is to organize my bookmarks and be able to share it as well as create some form of tagging, it still did not answer why its called Delicious. But I guess its just a choice of name for instant recall... although I don't think of social bookmarking when I think of the word. but that's just me.
As is expected, though to some starting to use Delicious might be easy, being no techie, I did encounter some difficulty in using the site. I did open my own account and tried using it, but I had such frustration in trying to bundle my tags that I had to give up... sorry. I wish I had more patience in trying this one out, but since I rarely bookmark anything on my own computer, I find that this is not for me.
Don't get me wrong. I do see how convenient it is, but I think I'd stick to following someone else's bookmarks than to create my own.
As is expected, though to some starting to use Delicious might be easy, being no techie, I did encounter some difficulty in using the site. I did open my own account and tried using it, but I had such frustration in trying to bundle my tags that I had to give up... sorry. I wish I had more patience in trying this one out, but since I rarely bookmark anything on my own computer, I find that this is not for me.
Don't get me wrong. I do see how convenient it is, but I think I'd stick to following someone else's bookmarks than to create my own.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
catching up
I am terribly behind this class, so sorry.
I've just signed up with Delicious. Not much there yet but am figuring out how things work. I saw the short video Rebecca has graciously provided to introduce us all to this social bookmarking network and found it very informational, even for someone technologically challenged as me. I'm a bit frustrated though... when I type in my tags, delicious insists on breaking it up into single words when what I wanted to do was bunch them together (e.g. Learning 2.0, comes up as 2.0 and Learning). There must be a way to do this... but that's for another post as I try to discover how things work on this newly (for me) found technology.
I've just signed up with Delicious. Not much there yet but am figuring out how things work. I saw the short video Rebecca has graciously provided to introduce us all to this social bookmarking network and found it very informational, even for someone technologically challenged as me. I'm a bit frustrated though... when I type in my tags, delicious insists on breaking it up into single words when what I wanted to do was bunch them together (e.g. Learning 2.0, comes up as 2.0 and Learning). There must be a way to do this... but that's for another post as I try to discover how things work on this newly (for me) found technology.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Learning 2.0
Last year I suddenly decided that it's time to go back to school and finish MLIS. The idea itself of going back to school is not new but its been placed in the backburner for so long that I ended up stressing myself. It turned out that there was really nothing to stress about. Its just a continuation of what I do everyday, that is learning... only this time I get something back other than the knowledge gained, the satisfaction that I am doing it. I consider myself at the 1.0 phase though I can manage to navigate my way in creating a blog, I would really love to get myself up to speed before we move on to 3.0 or 4.0
For a while there I forgot what was to me second nature... viewing problems as challenges. But only for a while. Like most people, I like having a goal in mind... the way towards that goal can be straight and narrow or it can be winding and full of detours. I've always believed that every moment we have is a learning moment. At times we probably don't notice any of that learning happening, but it does happen. The next time something similar happens, we know exactly what to do, how to act, sometimes even surprising ourselves for doing the right thing. Listening to the lecture on the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners I was amazed at how easily we take for granted simple things that can make life easier and fun.
The human brain is a curiosity to me. It keeps goings no matter what accumulating information, enabling us to learn new things, pushing us to do more... as long as a person lives, there will always be learning. Isn't it curious that man can live without a functioning heart (with the help of machines of course), but not without a brain?
For a while there I forgot what was to me second nature... viewing problems as challenges. But only for a while. Like most people, I like having a goal in mind... the way towards that goal can be straight and narrow or it can be winding and full of detours. I've always believed that every moment we have is a learning moment. At times we probably don't notice any of that learning happening, but it does happen. The next time something similar happens, we know exactly what to do, how to act, sometimes even surprising ourselves for doing the right thing. Listening to the lecture on the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners I was amazed at how easily we take for granted simple things that can make life easier and fun.
The human brain is a curiosity to me. It keeps goings no matter what accumulating information, enabling us to learn new things, pushing us to do more... as long as a person lives, there will always be learning. Isn't it curious that man can live without a functioning heart (with the help of machines of course), but not without a brain?
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