#23 The end

There were many hiccups along the way and at times I did not think I would make it, but here I am at the end (thanks Paul and Dianna for all the on the spot help). I've certainly been pushed out of my comfort zone by actually using applications, rather than just looking at them. I'm not sure that I would call the process "fun" but I appreciate having been given the time to explore.

#22 Audio books

I have never been enthusiastic about e-books because they have to be read on a screen and for reading enjoyment I much prefer the book format. However I could get used to audio books. For a library I think the idea of instantly available downloadable audio books sounds great - unlimited access 24 hours a day 7 days a week, a great range of books to choose from, able to download and listen anywhere. For the library no more reshelving, lost books, or lack of shelving space. Apart from socialising and a place to study why would anyone need to come to a library anymore?

#21 Podcasts

Full marks to Yahoo Podcasts, click on listen and away you go. Podcast.net wanted me to install missing plugins and Podcastalley.com wanted me to download a podcast aggregator. If Yahoo can make listening so simple why can't the others?

#20 You Tube

I'm sure there is some fun stuff on this site but I really don't have the time or patience to wait for a clip to load, even those that are less than a minute take more time than my patience can bear. I reckon at least half the 9300 consecutive years that the Wall Street Journal estimates has been spent watching videos has been taken up watching a black screen with a little circle of dots zipping around and around to signify loading.

#19 Web 2.0 awards

Biblio is the 2nd place winner in the Books category, between the winner Lulu (online publishing) and third placed Library Thing. Biblio enables searching across a large number of suppliers to locate used, rare and out-of-print books which can then be ordered online. The search can be limited to a particular country and there is a lengthy list of Australian sources. Very easy to use,

# 18 Zoho writer

A frequent customer request is for use of Word which the Library does not provide. Could Zoho writer or Writely be suggested as an alternative?

#17 Peanut Butter wiki

Love the name, and yes it is easy to use. Was not impressed to find an e-mail informing me that I will be notified of any edits to plcmc learning favourite blogs. I hope I have managed to disable this function.

#16 So what's in a wiki

Prior to this I only associated wiki with wikipedia, I thought that that was all there was to it. I like the idea of a book wiki, probably because I am always on the lookout for authors whose books I might enjoy reading.

#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

After reading the first four articles (all by guys, do computers mean that librarianship is moving from a female dominated profession to a male dominated profession?) it was great to get to Dr Wendy Schultz as she still seems to forsee a place for books in Library 2.0. So often people search a catalogue, verify that the book they want is held and are disappointed when it can't be found. In the rush to embrace new technology don't neglect the old and make sure you can deliver what you advertise.
P.S. I appreciated being able to print these articles and read them away from the computer. As well as kids hearing being shot from listening to music at loud volume, staring at a computer screen for long periods probably doesn't do much for their eyesight.

14 technorati

I did get different results with the three searches- too many to be useful with Blog Posts, minimal with Tag Search, and in between with Blog Directory. Searching Learning 2.0 returned different results than searhing Learning2.0. One of the drawbacks of tagging, having no authority control.
I guess it was interesting that there was overlap in the list of Top Favourited Blogs and Top Blogs, for example Boing Boing and Techcrunch are listed in both categories.

No way do I want to the option to tag and claim my blog to make it easier for technorati searching. For me this blog is equivalent to an exercise book wherein I record my results. I am hoping that the last exercise will reveal the location of the delete button. Makes me wonder what happens to abandoned blogs- do they sit there taking up computer space forever? If the account isn't activated for a certain period of time maybe they are automatically wiped.

#13 del.icio.us

Reminds me of Backflip which we used many years ago to create quick links to useful web sites. I've had a look at the del.icio.us account that has been set up to support the SLV chat service and I guess bundling is the equivalent to the old Backflip topic headings.
I don't much like to look of it- that pale blue colour. think I'll stick to bookmarks for the few sites I tend to want to revisit

#12 Rollyo

Setting up the Rollyo was easy until step 7 - what clipboard???? Anyway with some help (yet again) I think I've done it. The create searchroll box was very easy to use, the bit about getting it onto the blog, not so easy. Quite excited to have done this. Great idea to be able to isolate relevant sites and limit a search to those sites only.

#11 LibraryThing

Full marks for ease of use - easy to set up an account, easy to add books. If I had a computer at home and could tear myself away from online games (why I don't have a computer at home) I could get into this. Once hooked on an author I tend to read through everything they have written and can see a use for being able to check which titles I already have while in a bookshop or library - if only I had a mobile phone. This is my bookshelf

#10 Online image generator

I looked at the generators listed and found the Custom Sign Generator with all the links clearly set out easiest. As with most other exercises the only limit is time, as all links lead to other links endlessly. For example the smiley generator - how many smiley faces are out there? How much time have people put into manipulating smiley faces and setting up these sites? More smiley faces than you need

#8 & #9 RSS & newsreaders

At last something I could do. Signing up to bloglines was simple, as was adding feeds. Bit confused that some sites had what look like an RSS icon at the end of the address bar but did not seem to have a was of subscribing. I got lost in cyberspace with the search tools and had to call a halt - one can use up a lot of time following links. I ended up adding feeds from sites I was already aware of, or had come across in my reading. I would like to be able to use this application outside of the exercise.

#7 technology related

I was aware of flickr before beginning this exercise and don't think I have added anything as a result of this. I still have a low opinion of the whole concept and can't see why anyone would be remotely interested in viewing other peoples holiday snaps! Dare I admit that my image came via google and not flickr. With assistance from a colleague I found it much easier to save a google image to my desktop and then attach it to my blog.

#6 mashups

Yep, had a look - not remotely tempted to create a librarian trading card

#5 Flickr

Who would have thought that this technology would develop to the stage where it is taking over the world?

#3 #4 Set up and register a blog

The second week of this learning program and already I've hit the wall. Blogging is not easy. For my first attempt I read the instructions, thoroughly confused myself and gave up. For my second attempt I forgot the instructions, followed the online prompts and ended up with a google account, whatever that is? For my third attempt I enlisted the assistance of a more techno savy colleague and here I am blogging. So much for extremely easy to set up a blog, and most people can do it in three minutes! I'm not sure I could find my way through the maze and do this again, but I can't imagine why I would want to anyway. Do bloggers actually have anything worthwhile to say or are they all just as big a waste of space as this?