Although it's been hard to find the time to get everything done, this really has been a wonderful journey.
There were a number of parts of the course which were not completely new to me but I was able to find new things to explore even within sites I already new. I keep a blog at Wordpress, so it was good to spend some time with Blogspot. Similarly, I use Google reader and Google docs so it was good to spend some time with Bloglines and Zoho. I will definitely stick with Google reader, but am going to keep going with Zoho for a while.
Of particular interest to me was Rollyo simply because I had never even heard of it before and it hadn't even occurred to me that the concept would be useful. But it is.
Another useful exercise was Technorati. I was aware of the site and what it did, but had never really played around with it. I have now registered my blog there and use it for searching blogs when I know it is blog-type information I am looking for. In the past I would have just used google.
The other wonderful thing about doing these exercises is that they have led me of on slight tangents to discover other interesting sites and applications that weren't covered in the course. It's daunting but also exciting how much useful stuff is out there.
All in all the course was fun and very worthwhile.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
#22 - audiobooks
This directory of free audio books is a nice little gem to know about. The selection is obviously limited by copyright and the fact that there is no money coming in to support production, but nevertheless a useful collection. Knowing that these books are available freely means we can direct library users there if we don't have the audio book on CD/tape (or even if we do). Some people may prefer to download an mp3 than to listed to CDs or cassettes.
Compared to the human voice files, there are a huge number of computer generated voice files. I tried one to see what the voice was like and I don't think I could bear it. It was very clearly computer generated. Of course, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
On the other hand I listened to human voice recording of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. I've never really listened to audio books and it was quite fun to sit and have a book read to me.
Having audio books available online is a clear area that libraries could and should be looking into. There is technology around to look after the digital rights management side of things, like files that stop working at the end of the loan period. How nice would it be for a users to be able to get a new audio book from us even when in the middle of their holiday at Noosa?
Compared to the human voice files, there are a huge number of computer generated voice files. I tried one to see what the voice was like and I don't think I could bear it. It was very clearly computer generated. Of course, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
On the other hand I listened to human voice recording of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. I've never really listened to audio books and it was quite fun to sit and have a book read to me.
Having audio books available online is a clear area that libraries could and should be looking into. There is technology around to look after the digital rights management side of things, like files that stop working at the end of the loan period. How nice would it be for a users to be able to get a new audio book from us even when in the middle of their holiday at Noosa?
#21 - podcasts
Podcasts are an area of web 2.0 that I have been curious about for some time but have never really played with. This exercise was therefore a good opportunity. I had a play with the listed search tools & found a few library related podcast feeds.
However, at the time I was working on this I was directed to a podcast about the Amazon Kindle as part of a discussion in the comments of my other blog. I decided that I would use that as the experience for my first podcast. It was really good to listen to, but I'm not sure that I will get into podcasts in a big way simply because the format does not quite suit me. I follow enough blogs now that I simply can't read them all in depth and tend to skim through the feeds, stopping on things that grab my attention. It's much harder to skim through a podcast. I could listen to them on the train, but this is the time I do most of my book reading.
This leaves me in a slight quandry. I think that podcasts are wonderful and definitely hear to stay. Their usefulness for broadcasting library events is obvious, but they don't quite suit the way I operate. I might try subscribing to a couple just to see how I go for a while.
However, at the time I was working on this I was directed to a podcast about the Amazon Kindle as part of a discussion in the comments of my other blog. I decided that I would use that as the experience for my first podcast. It was really good to listen to, but I'm not sure that I will get into podcasts in a big way simply because the format does not quite suit me. I follow enough blogs now that I simply can't read them all in depth and tend to skim through the feeds, stopping on things that grab my attention. It's much harder to skim through a podcast. I could listen to them on the train, but this is the time I do most of my book reading.
This leaves me in a slight quandry. I think that podcasts are wonderful and definitely hear to stay. Their usefulness for broadcasting library events is obvious, but they don't quite suit the way I operate. I might try subscribing to a couple just to see how I go for a while.
#20 - youtube
Playing with Youtube was lots of fun. There is so much stuff on there it is amazing. Of course much of it is probably breaking copyright laws. Want to see a Duran Duran video clip to relive the eighties? Easy. Looking for a good laugh from a a clip from great show like Whose line is it anyway? No problem. Trying to remember the scene in Friends with Billy Crystal and Robyn Williams? It's there too. Youtube is also an easy way to upload videos for friends or relatives to see. There are also a large number of people using Youtube as a video blogging tool.
Aside from the sheer volume and variety of content, the great thing about Youtube is that is all works so well. It is easy to upload clips, to search for them, and to embed them in your own blog. As for library uses, perhaps it could be used to broadcast storytimes or author talks for people who can't make it to the event.
Or we could use it to broadcast run of the mill, everyday library activities like this one...
Aside from the sheer volume and variety of content, the great thing about Youtube is that is all works so well. It is easy to upload clips, to search for them, and to embed them in your own blog. As for library uses, perhaps it could be used to broadcast storytimes or author talks for people who can't make it to the event.
Or we could use it to broadcast run of the mill, everyday library activities like this one...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
#19 - discovering web 2.0 tools
For this activity I decided to explore Twitter. Twitter provides the opportunity to regularly answer the question "what are you doing right now". It is often referred to as a "microblogging" site. Posts are restricted to 140 characters, so they can be submitted via text messaging.
It is a very simple site to use. Once signed up you can choose to "follow" other people's posts and view a running list of your posts and those of the people you follow. I have also been using a Firefox plug-in called "Twitterfox" so posts can be made and followed in a small pop-up window accessed by clicking a small button at the bottom of the browser, rather than having a seperate tab or window open. It was also very simple to create a widget to display my most recent posts in the sidebar of this blog.
It is a very simple site to use. Once signed up you can choose to "follow" other people's posts and view a running list of your posts and those of the people you follow. I have also been using a Firefox plug-in called "Twitterfox" so posts can be made and followed in a small pop-up window accessed by clicking a small button at the bottom of the browser, rather than having a seperate tab or window open. It was also very simple to create a widget to display my most recent posts in the sidebar of this blog.
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