Assignment #10 - Library Thing

Played around with Library Thing. Very simple and easy to use. If I ever have the time, I will create a full blown "library" with at least a portion of my fairly sizable paper library.

Lesson #21 - Mashup Editors

I couldn't come up with two things I wanted to "mash", but I like the idea of combining two useful applications into one. I always feel like I don't have time to keep up with everything new coming out, and anything that can make my life simpler and easier is absolutely a good thing.

I especially liked Popurls: http://mashupawards.com/popurls/

Lesson #20 - Mashups

Went to the Mashup directory and browsed through some of the mashups. Spent a little time in the "Secret Fishing Holes" site and found a cool mashup of ACT scores comparisons of all 50 states.
Pretty cool...

http://www.1001seafoods.com/fishing/fishing-maps.php
http://www.mibazaar.com/education/actscores.html

Lesson #19 - Podcasts

Tried Yahoo first, but didn't have a lot of luck. Moved on to podcast.net. Searching for "information literacy", I found a podcast series called "Open Stacks" by Greg Schwartz. They are primarily news items related to librarianship Mr. Schwartz had come across. Interesting. I added a feed in my bloglines account and will keep an ear on it in future.

Lesson #18 - Video - Discover YouTube

YouTube rocks! ;-) It is very, very addictive and easy to get off track. I started out searching for videos that had something to do with librarianship and wound up 30 minutes later realizing that I was watching animation clips of how famous films should have ended. Hah! :-)

Lesson #17 - Processing Words on the Web

I chose Google Docs as the word processing app I would explore. GD compares favorably to Word, in my opinion, since Word really frustrates me at times, trying to be too helpful. GD is a little more basic and intuitive, at least to me.

Again, the collaborative features of GD are the main selling point for me, along with the ease of use in comparison to M-Office products. I think students will find this to be of great use as well.

Lesson #16 - Intro to Web Based Applications

Of the apps mentioned, I found Google Docs to be of the most interest. I have used it myself and it is a very easy to use and powerful application that lets you collaborate in real time. You can literally be editing one part of your document while a colleague is editing another at the same time. You can see the changes being made and can comment on them in real time.

This would be a great tool for our students, especially commuters or distance students. who want to work on group projects without having to travel to Richmond.

I don't think we have to implement or be users of every web 2.0 app that comes down the pike, but we should be aware of them and at least conversant in the major players, because our students are going to expect that, at least.

Lesson #15 - Wiki Sandbox

We've used wikis in the learning 2.0 planning project, to help plan conference presentations. Wikis are a great way to collaborate in groups that are separated by time and distance. Asynchronous or synchronous.

Lesson #14 Wikis

I've used LibSuccess with great success :-) to see what other libraries are doing and to get ideas for new things we can do here at EKU Libraries.

Lesson #13 - Tagging part 2

Exercise 2:

I think tag clouds effectiveness is spotty, and depends on what you're looking for and the flexibility of the searcher. they are great for acquiring ideas when you're not exactly sure what you're looking for. I basically would expand on the ideas that tags clouds are good "zeroing in" tools, but can be used to expand your search as well and that care needs to be used in employing them.

Exercise 3:

I've presented on del.iciou.us four separate times, so I definitely think it and other social bookmarking sites are worthwhile. I use it to store bookmarks in a central location, search for websites others have tagged, and to share my own. It is great for expertise mining - identifying someone who really knows what they're talking about - and monitoring their bookmarks.

Exercise 4:

tried a search , but didn't get my blog.

Lesson #12 - Tagging

I tried "web 2.0" in Google and received 517 *million* hits.
I chose "web 2.0", tried a simple guided keyword search and got 388 hits. They were scattered all over the place. I got titles on the Eisenhower roadway system, national forests in Arizona and the like in addition to titles on web 2.0
Tried a subject search in Equest and got 0 hits.

The parallel between between the catalog and tagging is that both describe the object and are intended to make retrieval easier and more efficient. The difference is that tagging is assigned by "real" users and isn't part of a controlled vocabulary. It trades ease and breadth of searching for precision, so the searcher needs to be aware of that caveat.

Assignment #11 - Search Tools

I tried Rollyo and wasn't impressed. Very clunky. I spent probably the same amount of time fiddling with it that it would've taken me to do the searches normally. I do think it could be potentially useful, although I prefer to use other tools to do pretty much the same things.

http://rollyo.com/ehlrond/my_first_searchroll/

Assignment #9 - Finding Feeds

i generally used the search tools of the reader when I'm focused and looking for a specific thing. I keep an eye open for the icons and add when I come across stuff I'm interested in.

Assignment #8 RSS

i was already pretty familiar with RSS feeds and have accounts in Googlereader and Bloglines. Its a great way to stay up with topics you are interested in without having to troll the web to find the info. I have to say though, it is still hard to keep up with all the feeds sometimes.

Assignment #7 - More Flickr

Had a blast with the "create a trading card" app. Created one of a certain coordinator of the library. Won't mention which one... she might hurt me. Rumor has it the card still exists somewhere in the bowels of the DEPO office. :-)

Assignment #6 - Flickr

I uploaded some images from a recent trip a couple of friends and I made to a conference. I played around with sharing images and downloading from my friends. Was pretty simple and easy to use.

Lesson #5, Facebook

Reflections, Take #5:

I’ve been on Facebook a while now. Cindi mentioned in one of her blog posts that poking each other into oblivion can get a little boring and that apps are an extra spice to Facebook and I agree. It is kinda cool to be able to find out extra bits of info about the interests of your friends that may never come up in random conversation. It gives you a way to enhance shared experience that you would almost never get. Almost all of my friends on Facebook are friends or at least acquaintances in RL.

I’ve tried MySpace, and it left me pretty cold. Too many ads, too much junk, the search engine stinks, and it just seems like a big mish-mash of profiles. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance, but if a web app doesn’t grab me immediately, I usually move on pretty quickly. To be honest, I am a little weirded out by Facebook and MySpace, especially MySpace, when it comes to librarians and students and providing library services. I am just unable to shake this feeling of being the too-desperate to help, creepy “old person” trying too hard to jump in the middle of the students and “be cool”. Maybe that's my failing, but it is the truth. I’m all about having a presence, or portal, if you will, but going beyond that is too much, imo. That said, I like “playing” with Facebook, and think it is a tool that has a lot of potential for professional uses, and like any tool we just have to be careful in how we use it.

I'll step off my soapbox now... I welcome any comments, and am willing to debate the issue. :-)

Lesson #4, Social Networking

Ok, here are some *really* random reflections on social networking...

Social Networks – the hidden nature and depth of it – Just having all your information laid out to your friends and friends of friends and so on… is a powerful function of social networking, yet scary, too. When I changed my “status” in Facebook to reflect the ending of a relationship, it was transmitted to all my “friends” when usually only a few people would know. I received condolences from a couple of folks whose intentions were 100% pure and would’ve found out anyway, but it was a little weird. I didn’t think of how quickly and how efficiently the info would get out there, even though I should’ve. A simple demonstration of the power of the social network…

That said, the potential for professional and special interest networking is awesome to say the least. Chances are, no matter your interest, you can find someone who shares it on one of the social networks. And through them, a whole community. Awesome... Dude. :-)

And this is the end of my regularly scheduled random reflection...

The End of an Era -aka- "The death of the 'stache"

Today I shaved the goatee and the mustache. The 'stache and I have been constant companions since the age of 15. He will be missed.

It will be interesting to observe the reactions of those who know me. I think I may start a poll to see if he should return or stay gone. :-)

The Machine is Us/ing Us

Learning 2.0, Lesson Two...

"Web 2.0: the machine is us/ing us"

One of the themes I think the clip gets across so effectively is that of the increasing flexibility and rapid change we are experiencing in accessing/storing/evaluating information.The "organizing" of information is leaving the purview of librarians and is being passed to the user. I think that is part and parcel of what "Library 2.0" will be. We will still be helping people find the information they need, but we won't be setting the rules like we have in the past.

A Beginning...

I like to think of myself as a fairly well kept up and savvy internet netizen, but I have never bothered to create a blog. Go figure. I guess the reasons are equal parts laziness, concern for privacy and the lack of anything really compelling to say. Well, as you can see, I’ve laid aside the first two, while number three remains to be seen. So begins my first blog. I don’t promise any great insights or even to post regularly, but here goes!