Number 23!!!!

1. What were my favorite discoveries or exercises on this journey?
The online productivity was my favorite. I think that was the one that had the biggest "Ah-ha" moment. The application fits exactly in what I am doing at the moment.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I definitely feel more comfortable talking to my middle schooler about Web 2.0 issues. Kids don't realize there is a difference. He wants to set up a myspace and has settled with a blog. Last year, I didn't know what that was. With the Web 2.0 discussion, I have come into the know a little better.

3. Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I didn't expect it to be as intensive as it was. Most of the beginning finishers did theirs at home, which wasn't an option for me. With the advent of the summer and other personal obligations, it became an obstacle I wasn't sure it I could complete.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?
Start a program like this over the winter when things are a little slower. I am sure there isn't a best time but it felt like a lot of stuff hit around a few month period. Other than that, I thought the program worked well.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Yes!!! We all need to continue to learn something new every day and what better way than through programs like this.

6. How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?
We have to work hard for the things that are worth the most and this program certainly fits that. It is time consuming and sometimes completely frustrating but well worth all of it in the long run.

Next to the last

Here it is... Almost done.

Podcasts. What is there to say. It feels like the radio through your computer and headphones. I love that there are sermans and lectures on the web that we can find and tap into. This certainly allows one to sit in the comfort of their home. No more fighting traffic, masses of people, early mornings or late nights. Simply find the podcast and you are set.

I listened to two seperate sermons. One was quite dull and the other was half in Japanese. While this affords users to exert less physical energy on their parts, the information out there is so wide and varied that it may take longer to initially get started. I found it overwhleming to try to find something I was interested in. I used Podcast.net. It would be very easy for someone to become addicted to trying all of these out. The same with YouTube. How easy for someone to just sit down and get lost in this new cyberworld.

Overdrive

This is a cool resource. I always here patrons telling us they are very happy with this service. I don't find it helpful on my own personal level. Most of the materials are "checked out" and require a hold. I think the beauty of something like this is getting when you want. You don't have to get in your vehicle and go to the library. If it is 1 in the morning, you can get the material. Not on Overdrive. I tried to use the search function to look for books by Avi. It returned 193 hits and none of them were by Avi. I looked up a title of his. (Crispin, the Newbery Award winner. Nothing. A book by Crispin was found. When I did find something I thought I might like to check out, I put in my system and my card. Nothing. Maybe, the fact that items are overdue affects it. So I tried my son's card. Nope. Maybe the small fine (under $2) affects it. Success! I finally found a card that it would accept. (Don't worry, this is a member of my family)Maybe I am just tired and couldn't figure this out sooner.

Bottom line: I like the service just not for me.

Sandbox

I am not sure what the point of this was. I probably have been so goal oriented while doing this assignment that I have forgotten hoe to have fun. Is that possible? It looking like everyone had their blog info up there. How awesome is Harford County? We rock!!! Look at our humoungous list and then go to some other counties. WOW. What a difference in participation.

Web 2.0

After reading the Web 2.0 pieces, I can't say that there is a lot of surprises. Are they teaching Library 2.0 in library school? Is this something that our next generation of trained librarians are bringing with them? In this changing age, I hold to the tenent that we are going to be irreplacible for the amount of information filtering we will do. Everywhere you go, it is information all the time. With so much coming at us, it is going to be our responsibility to help people filter through the bad and poor quality information. This almost beggs another questions for me. (I was a history major.) In this age of free information, will we ever see a rise of dictatorships again? Most violent leaders would destroy information to keep people ignorant. Interesting? The fact that Web 2.0 can have such broad scope ramifications is completely unprecidented. Probably hasn't happened since the creating of the American Constitution and the security of democracy in the World.

Wikis abound

Wiki's are cool concepts. Recently, I tried to get my cousins to work with me on a weight loss wiki I set up. I couldn't get them to work with me but it was cool nonetheless. I think for libraries it becomes a little more disorganized. I liked the book review site. That worked well but the library catalog wiki seemed disjointed. I couldn't follow where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. I think it would work well for internal groups to minimize meeting time. Very interactive.

Technorati

I had a blast with this activity and plan to play with it even more. I searched a few of the top sites. I had never heard of Boing Boing but found it facinating. Very cool for ecclectic information. I decided to search for blogs on Harford County. Boy, there was a lot of interesting pieces out there. For anyone wanting to know the local low-down, I think this has potential. All those times we just want to scream at the Aegis for getting it wrong, this allows you to make the comments immediatley and get the satisfaction of getting things off your chest. HarfordNow is looking for bloggers to add to their site. Maybe.. Nah.

Del.icio.us

This seems like a better use of software than Rollyo. At first, I didn't think I would like it. First searching the library sites, the rag-tag assembly of the sites threw me of. When I started playing with the tags, I found a lot of sites that I had not idea existed. It was very fun to just play with these sites and tags. The more you can say about a site, the more beneficial. I can see the library doing this or at least having a branch set of favorites. I also liked that you can see who else has added this site and check their list. I found a couple of interesting sites that way as well. It was very easy to set up an account. Most likely, I will use that rather than bookmark. The TAG button is easy and totally accessible on my taskbar.