#23 - Summary

Well, here I am, at the end of my Learning 2.0 journey. There were definitely challenging parts for me but I'm glad I had to move out of my comfort zone. I tend to use my computer for very specific things that seem practical to me or help me complete something specific. I enjoyed the program overall and will definitely be using some of the new things I've learned like the music, image generators and podcasts. It will also be fun to read through my feeds. Housework...what housework?!?! :)

I would definitely sign up for a self-paced course again. I like the format.


P.S. I'm listening to an episode of 'Car Talk' as I'm typing this post. This is so cool!

#22 - Podcasts

Podcasts are fun and interesting. I did like searching Yahoo Podcasts the best. I find I like listening to something while I'm working on other things so I know I will enjoy this. Libraries seem to list a lot of adult and youth programs.

I was very excited to find 'Car Talk' that appears on NPR. We've spent many a Saturday morning driving in our car across the state listening to the show and it always makes me laugh.

#21 - Online Video

Wow! What a way to pass an hour or two pretty easily. It's just shocking to me how much material people have uploaded to YouTube. My kids have spent some time watching things on it but we are mindful to keep them on the G-Rated subjects but you never know what will come, even when you enter the most benign word. I think YouTube speaks to the actors and directors in all of us and it's a way to get your material out to the masses.

I tended to migrate to the animal videos and found this gem. We have rabbits and this one really made me laugh as it's just so sweet!

#20 - Special Treat

This video really struck home for me. Trying to keep up with it was how I feel about keeping up with all the emerging technologies out there right now. Technology was never of interest to my family as we were one of the last families to get a microwave in my group of friends, and that was a BIG deal. My parents, in their mid-60's, still do not own a computer and just recently signed-up for cellphones after much prodding from us kids. I know that technology is important for advancement but how fast should we be advancing? Is there such thing as to fast? The video just reiterates how much information is out there and how much we can do with it. Some of us just can't seem to keep up. :)

#19 - Digital Music

This was really fun. What's not to like about finding the music you like and listening to it any time you want. I explored Pandora and set up radio stations that played music by specific artists that I like and then set them to random. I will definitely be using this a lot while I'm at home working on my computer. I don't see myself buying music downloads as we have a fairly extensive CD collection at home but now I won't have to get up and pick out a CD to play, I can have my selections playing continuously. :)

#18 - Social Networking

I think that social networking is extremely important to some people, which I see more in my daughter's generation. She needs to be communicating with her friends on an almost constant basis whether she's on her cellphone or through her myspace account. They post pictures of themselves with friends, list music they like, list movies they've watched, etc. We have been very firm about safety and I think that is very important. With her, she can only communicate with friends that she has 'approved' through her myspace account. It can be scary with the sea of humanity out there using these websites but I think you just have to be smart about it.

I don't see myself creating a page on these sites but I can see their usefulness in keeping people connected.

#17 - Wikis

Wikis are quite the rage at the moment. It's a word you hear a lot these days. I feel they are a great way for people who have vast knowledge on a specific subject to communicate that knowledge without the formal process of publishing. On the other hand, you do need to be open to people editing and adding to the information you have posted. With the library wikis, it's a good way to introduce your library and showcase what you offer as well as linking to websites for patrons to search to answer questions and find information.

#16 - Technorati & Blog Tagging

I find that these search activities can be so overwhelming and so much time is spent going through all the links. It's just amazing the time that has gone into posting all these things somewhere where they are grabbed in these searches. I guess I am old school in that I have so much to do that is hands-on at home and feel guilty to spend a lot of time on the computer. The tagging is helpful in narrow down your searches though but so many different things can come up just by adding an 's' to the word such as cat vs. cats. It's crazy! :)

#15 - Tagging

This is more of a higher-end thing in my computer world. A lot of my family either doesn't have a computer or uses it for very basic things, myself included, so I don't know if I would use this feature. I do have a few bookmarks that I use within FireFox to get to my favorite things.

#14 - Best of Web

I really liked this exercise and was able to play around with widgets which I do use on my desktop for weather and one to even show the cycle of the moon. There are a zillion widgets out there and I'm sure someone would find at least one that they would find either useful or just plain fun. I added a couple of fun ones to my post. I chose one that shows a countdown to St. Patrick's Day because my husband's family is Irish and we all love to eat at Bennigans! And who doesn't love fortune cookies?!

Get this widget!

Get this widget!

#13 - Online Productivity

This was a good exercise and you can do a lot with your document. Since I do use Microsoft Word most of the time, I don't know how often I will use it as I don't send a lot of text to anyone but now I know about it and it's an option. See my Zoho Writer document below entitled 'Flowerbeds'. :)

Flowerbeds

Every year brings change to the flowerbeds around my house.  Though my front and back yard are very small, I pack them full of flowers to enjoy from spring until late fall.  Below is a picture of the back yard along the deck in late Spring.  I enjoy trying new plants each year and see what works and what doesn't and make changes the following spring. Most of my flowerbeds tend to be on the dry side so the plants I choose have to be able to handle those conditions and I have to be very diligent about watering.  I have found that mulching has helped to retain some moisture.  I've even incorporated my love of birds into my flowerbeds by planting bird-friendly plants and also a hummingbird feeder.

 

#12 - Customized Search Engines

I can definitely see where I would use this again. It was great to set-up searches in one specific area of interest and then have all that information at your fingertips. I'm going to really enjoy this.

For The Birds

#11 - LibraryThing

This was a fun thing to learn about and do. I knew I had read a number of books but actually getting to see them in a list was great. I liked the features of reading people's reviews of the books and getting recommendations as to what to read next.

My Library

#10 - Web 2.0 and Libraries

These perspectives are a sign of the times. Things are moving so quickly now with the internet and the search for information. Everything is about the ease of getting things and how quick you can get them because there is just so much more out there now. Libraries have to be open to what is going on out in their communities so that they continue to be useful on all levels.

#9 - Library Blogs

This was interesting but I don't see myself using these search engines much, if at all. Now that I've found some initial feeds in the areas of my interest, I will concentrate on those for a while. I did like the layout of Technorati the best though.

#8 - RSS Feeds

This step was a bit daunting for me. I've only been checking news articles on the Yahoo home page before checking my e-mail so my world has just been widened a bit. But I am happy with the feeds I chose to sign-up for and will be checking them regularly to read articles on my hobbies (gardening and birds) along with local weather, new book releases, etc.

#7 - Image Generators

WOW! How much fun can a person have? A lot when you can create things like this. So far, this has been my favorite thing. I can see where I will certainly use this tool again and send fun things to family.

#6 - Mashups

Creating a trading card was a lot of fun. It's easy to get lost when you are searching through photographs on your computer and on websites. I had so much fun with this section that I decided to add another item. The kids and I laughed so hard we cried.

#5 - Photo Sharing

It was fun to upload a picture that I had taken which was stored on my home computer and have it appear in my blog. This was something I really enjoyed as I have worked with basic image uploading before (e-Bay selling). I enjoyed learning about photo sharing.