#23--Just Beginning

There is so much that I need to revisit if I'm going to apply it, so I really am just beginning. I have really enjoyed sharing this Learning 2.0 experience with my co-workers. Reading others' blogs has made the learning so much fun. Wasn't play the most important tool? That's how I remember it. Anyway, as tentatively as I began, I have enjoyed blogging about the experience, too.

Library Thing is probably my favorite discovery. I'm trying to pace myself so that I don't have to join a 12-step group for compulsive book catalogers. I hope to learn how to add my own images for my books that lack images in Amazon.com.

YouTube is irresistible, which surprised me. I've played on it almost every day since I found the Star Wars cockatiels. I'm pretty sure I'll be listening to pod casts and digital books on a regular basis from now on, too.

I would welcome another discovery program like this. Working on and completing Learning 2.0 has increased my confidence a hundredfold that I can competently learn and use new technology. That is very exciting.

Thanks to everyone who added a comment to my blog. You encouraged me to keep on going, especially when I was stuck.


Tiki is reminding me that it is neck-rubbing time, so that's all for now.

Audiobooks

Overdrive is really great. I love audiobooks. Being read to feels like a real luxury to me. I was only vaguely aware of digital books before this lesson.

There is so much to tempt me in the Greater Phoenix Digital Library. The instructions for this lesson were among the clearest. I "checked out" two Hebrew courses. If only I could sync them into my ipod! Next it's either Cyberchase: A Tikiville Turkey Day or Parrot Tricks. I really want Tiki to learn the Tap Your Foot dance. She may have other ideas.

I'm not really understanding why only one person at a time can "check out" digital material. Anyway, I love this technology and wonder how long it'll be before I NEED a portable, compatible player.

Almost done!

Podcasts!

This is something that I will really use. I've been lookin forward to this lesson. I subscribed to NPR's book-related podcasts both on my bloglines and itunes account just to see if I could. I also found Parrot Chat. It was very easy. I have a lot of exploring yet to do. There is so much to learn, and I notice that as I age I'm becoming more and more an auditory learner. What a great tool!


Now, how do I add to the hours I have to listen?

Let's All YouTube

YouTube is just plain fun. Yeah, there's a lot of junk, but I can usually find something along the lines I'm looking for. Libraries can use YouTube for all kinds of things--limited only by imagination.

What a hard decision of what video to embed! I was tempted to use the 70 minute academic library 2.0 presentation, but my laptop shut down in the process. I took that as a cosmic sign that there was something else out there for me.

It was obvious to include two excellent videos produced by our former page Jake Morgan. And, of course, I found a little cockatiel something I couldn't resist even though embedding had been disabled on it. It's well worth the look!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhjbazNuqvs

Library Thing is the Winner for Me

What's not to like about Library Thing? Library customers are sure to love this. Who wouldn't want to network with others who like to read the same things you do? I've already added dozens of books I want to read from seeing other people's libraries.

I'm still confused about how to add a picture of a book that is not on Amazon.com. Once I solve that mystery, I will be completely hooked. Until then, here's a link with an image for one of "my" books: http://www.singularitypress.biz/northsight.html

Web-based Apps

Wow, this is really interesting. I played around in Google Docs. I found it really easy. That's saying something. What a great way to coordinate with a team or be able to access your own documents wherever you have access to the internet! I really liked the calendar. I'll use this again.

PBwiki

This is interesting. I added my blog. I tried to add my favorite blog, but sometimes, like today, my links don't work. OK, so I forget how to do it, and remember later. I'll be back when my memory returns.