Wow! Congratulations!! You’ve reached the 23rd thing. Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back for completing the program.
For your last and final exercise for this program please reflect on your learning journey and post a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you if you're drawing a blank ...
What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
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?
I can't say this has affected my lifelong learning goals significantly. If there are opportunities to learn, I intend to take them, because when you stop learning, you start dying. I also don't know that there were paticular surprises, per se...but I did learn a few new things... I found RSS feeds to be especially useful and intend to use those both professionally as well as to follow personal intrests.
I know quite a few people signed up but never finished the 23 things... I think one suggestion I have for "improvement" would be to somehow offer some sort of mini reward for completing 25% of the things... more for 50%, etc. I don't know how practical it would be from an administrative standpoint, but its a thought. That way you would give credit for making the attempt, and greater rewards for finishing.
And if another, similar program was offered? Sure I'd sign up for it! Why not?
To end with... don't let the ninjas get you down!
(For those who need clarification, see Pirates vs Ninjas.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
#22 Learn About Audiobooks
Discovery Exercise:
1. Establish an Overdrive or NetLibrary account and explore the titles. If you don't have access to these, see what you can find in Project Gutenberg.
I had established an overdrive account when our library system first got it. I had never really used it though, having found many things I wanted to check out in our physical collection. Techie or not, I saw no need to download things I was able to check out physically. That, and I'm admittedly a little odd in that I normally don't listen to books I haven't already read before. I like having read them "knowing" what's going to happen...but then there is a new thrill in hearing a narrator and experiencing the book in a slightly different way.
There was only one time (so far) I listened to a book I had not yet physically held in my hand and read. I listened to "Redwall" by Brian Jacques as I commuted to and from work. Well, my commute is normally fairly short, so there was one point where I had to park the car and stop the CD...and it was in a suspenseful part. So I grabbed the book off the shelf during my dinner hour and found where I had left off in the audiobook and read ahead. I still listened to the book....but I HAD to know what was going to happen. (I guess this pirate be an impatient scallywag!)
2. Create a blog post about your findings. Did you locate a title that you might want to try out and download?
I found at least two titles I think I want to download and try. The first...if you've been reading this blog, its predictable enough... is .... (wait for it)......
.........................
.........................................
................................................ "Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates"
Surprised? I knew you would be!
The second is "The Adventures of Robin Hood" by Benedict Flynn.
Robin Hood may not be a pirate (no one is perfect)...but he's a swashbuckling hero for sure! YAR!
OPTIONAL: Try downloading a title from one of these. You don’t have to have a portable player to listen to audiobooks, you can also listen to it from a computer.
I think I will try and download one or both of these titles. Like many Americans today, I find myself carrying a bit more ballast in the midships than I care to. (ie, I'm overweight!)....and perhaps I could listen to an audiobook as I walk or ride my exercise bike. Its nice to know there are a few titles out there an adventure loving swabby like me could enjoy! YAR!
**** edited to add *** in addition to Project Guttenburg, a friend directed me to another resource those doing the 23 things might be interested in.....
WOWIO. They have a large library as well, hundreds of titles in all genres, most of them current titles. This is a corporate sponsored website that allows you to download up to five FREE ebooks every day.
That's pretty cool, aye?
1. Establish an Overdrive or NetLibrary account and explore the titles. If you don't have access to these, see what you can find in Project Gutenberg.
I had established an overdrive account when our library system first got it. I had never really used it though, having found many things I wanted to check out in our physical collection. Techie or not, I saw no need to download things I was able to check out physically. That, and I'm admittedly a little odd in that I normally don't listen to books I haven't already read before. I like having read them "knowing" what's going to happen...but then there is a new thrill in hearing a narrator and experiencing the book in a slightly different way.
There was only one time (so far) I listened to a book I had not yet physically held in my hand and read. I listened to "Redwall" by Brian Jacques as I commuted to and from work. Well, my commute is normally fairly short, so there was one point where I had to park the car and stop the CD...and it was in a suspenseful part. So I grabbed the book off the shelf during my dinner hour and found where I had left off in the audiobook and read ahead. I still listened to the book....but I HAD to know what was going to happen. (I guess this pirate be an impatient scallywag!)
2. Create a blog post about your findings. Did you locate a title that you might want to try out and download?
I found at least two titles I think I want to download and try. The first...if you've been reading this blog, its predictable enough... is .... (wait for it)......
.........................
.........................................
................................................ "Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates"
Surprised? I knew you would be!
The second is "The Adventures of Robin Hood" by Benedict Flynn.
Robin Hood may not be a pirate (no one is perfect)...but he's a swashbuckling hero for sure! YAR!
OPTIONAL: Try downloading a title from one of these. You don’t have to have a portable player to listen to audiobooks, you can also listen to it from a computer.
I think I will try and download one or both of these titles. Like many Americans today, I find myself carrying a bit more ballast in the midships than I care to. (ie, I'm overweight!)....and perhaps I could listen to an audiobook as I walk or ride my exercise bike. Its nice to know there are a few titles out there an adventure loving swabby like me could enjoy! YAR!
**** edited to add *** in addition to Project Guttenburg, a friend directed me to another resource those doing the 23 things might be interested in.....
WOWIO. They have a large library as well, hundreds of titles in all genres, most of them current titles. This is a corporate sponsored website that allows you to download up to five FREE ebooks every day.
That's pretty cool, aye?
#21 Discover some useful tools for locating podcasts
Discovery Exercise:
1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
Library news podcasts seemed very area specific. Book reviews, though sounded more my speed. Nancy Perl has a book review podcast I thought I might subscribe to, and there was another one devoted to children's books called "book voyages" that seemed intriguing.
2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account.
Done
3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. What did you find that was most useful here?
I think the most useful thing was simply to know there were resources available to search for podcasts. I have several personal intrests -- such as quilting...and was surprised to find podcasts on this topic! There are even podcasts to help someone learn another language - like itallian, or mandarin chinese! Isn't that too cool? On a customer service note, that might be something to suggest to a customer for more practice -- although the library has an excellent resource in Rosetta Stone.
The optional item was to create a podcast yourself, but i'm not quite sure I'm ready for that. I have the capability for doing it at home, but also I don't know that many others outside of those that work in my branch (and a few good friends) know who the "pirate-librarian" is. :)
1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
Library news podcasts seemed very area specific. Book reviews, though sounded more my speed. Nancy Perl has a book review podcast I thought I might subscribe to, and there was another one devoted to children's books called "book voyages" that seemed intriguing.
2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account.
Done
3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. What did you find that was most useful here?
I think the most useful thing was simply to know there were resources available to search for podcasts. I have several personal intrests -- such as quilting...and was surprised to find podcasts on this topic! There are even podcasts to help someone learn another language - like itallian, or mandarin chinese! Isn't that too cool? On a customer service note, that might be something to suggest to a customer for more practice -- although the library has an excellent resource in Rosetta Stone.
The optional item was to create a podcast yourself, but i'm not quite sure I'm ready for that. I have the capability for doing it at home, but also I don't know that many others outside of those that work in my branch (and a few good friends) know who the "pirate-librarian" is. :)
#20 Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow you to upload video
Discovery Exercise:
1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
Easily enough done. I'm very familiar with YouTube - given my husband has an account and uploads videos.
2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?
I didn't really see anything I disliked about the site. Sure, there are videos that weren't to my personal taste, but as long as it wasn't anything illegal (which I'm sure is not allowed!), who am I to judge? The wonderful thing about people is that we are all so unique and what one person likes another may heartily dislike.
I can see videos being a useful part of library websites. We could have video tutorials for how to use databases, or look up one's library record in the catalog... or things of that nature. For staff, I could even see videos of training presentations. That way perhaps trainings could be done when even only a few people want to take the class or something... (This last, obviously, would be more for the staff webpage than the public page, but still...)
OPTIONAL: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.
Here's my optional video: Pyrates Royale "Shanghai Brown"
As to why I chose this particular video -- do you really need to ask? It's PIRATES a'course! YAR!
The Pyrates Royal are a local group, and I first enjoyed their music at the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. This particular video was the clearest in terms of video and sound quality. They are awesome performers and really funny folks.
1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
Easily enough done. I'm very familiar with YouTube - given my husband has an account and uploads videos.
2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?
I didn't really see anything I disliked about the site. Sure, there are videos that weren't to my personal taste, but as long as it wasn't anything illegal (which I'm sure is not allowed!), who am I to judge? The wonderful thing about people is that we are all so unique and what one person likes another may heartily dislike.
I can see videos being a useful part of library websites. We could have video tutorials for how to use databases, or look up one's library record in the catalog... or things of that nature. For staff, I could even see videos of training presentations. That way perhaps trainings could be done when even only a few people want to take the class or something... (This last, obviously, would be more for the staff webpage than the public page, but still...)
OPTIONAL: Try placing the video inside your blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” Note: you'll need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code.
Here's my optional video: Pyrates Royale "Shanghai Brown"
As to why I chose this particular video -- do you really need to ask? It's PIRATES a'course! YAR!
The Pyrates Royal are a local group, and I first enjoyed their music at the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. This particular video was the clearest in terms of video and sound quality. They are awesome performers and really funny folks.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Test post from Zoho
Years ago, I met one of my dearest friends online. We met through the "Prodigy" service...specifically through a common intrest in gaming. And by that I mean role-playing games, specifically Dungeons and Dragons.
(Come on now, with my intrest in pirates, and the way I like to slip into "pirate voice" -- tell me my intrest in role-playing games didn't come as a surprise!) LOL
Actually, I know role-playing games have been an important part of my life on several levels.... personally -- several dear college friends, in addition to the one I mentioned earlier....and I met the man I married through our college's Dungeon's and Dragons roleplaying club.
I would also like to think roleplaying has helped me professionally. Sometimes its completely necessary to 'roleplay' the cool-headed, consumate professional when faced with an irate customer. And, as a children's librarian, I think roleplaying brings an added level to "performance" during storytimes. I enjoy doing voices and sometimes adding sound effects to books I'm reading -- it makes it more fun for me, personally...and I believe that when I'm having fun that love and pleasure will transer itself to the children. Granted, you don't have to be a role-player to do a good storytime...but it can't hurt, either!
The following document was created in zoho writer. I'm going to attempt to post this to my blog.
And, too, if the public feature works as I feel it does, I might suggest it to my friend that he either revive our old online game, or... as a friendship gone bad (not me, thankfully!) has soured him on that campaign world... maybe he'd start another one. He is a creative writer and I missed the roleplaying game.
**it did post fine, although the title originally came up as "untitled" -- I'd have to play about with the features to learn how to put the title into a zoho document.
I'd say this is an intriguing application.
#18 Take a look at some online productivity tools
Discovery Exercise:
1. Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer or Google Docs (which just won top ratings in the Web 2.0 Awards).
Done! I am, of course, piratelibrarian. Arrrrr
2. Explore either site and create a test document or two.
For someone who often talks a lot... probably too much.... I encountered writer's block when looking at that blinking cursor. So I didn't really create a test document. I did look to see where all the usual suspects were that I look for in a document...and zoho seems very straightforward and easy to use. I know of colleagues who work on committees and have to share minutes or other items...and there used to be a problem with those who use microsoft word vs wordperfect, etc. This sort of thing -- shared documents, might be a way around that difficulty (although I'm not so sure it is a difficulty any more.) at any rate, it would make collaboration between long distance committee members much easier!
3. Try out some features and create a blog post about your discoveries.
Optional: If you're up for the challenge, try using Zoho’s "publish" options to post to your blog.
I'm going to try and write a further post... an #18b if you like, as I don't know if I can publish from there into an already existing post. Better to play it safe and make a new post.
1. Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer or Google Docs (which just won top ratings in the Web 2.0 Awards).
Done! I am, of course, piratelibrarian. Arrrrr
2. Explore either site and create a test document or two.
For someone who often talks a lot... probably too much.... I encountered writer's block when looking at that blinking cursor. So I didn't really create a test document. I did look to see where all the usual suspects were that I look for in a document...and zoho seems very straightforward and easy to use. I know of colleagues who work on committees and have to share minutes or other items...and there used to be a problem with those who use microsoft word vs wordperfect, etc. This sort of thing -- shared documents, might be a way around that difficulty (although I'm not so sure it is a difficulty any more.) at any rate, it would make collaboration between long distance committee members much easier!
3. Try out some features and create a blog post about your discoveries.
Optional: If you're up for the challenge, try using Zoho’s "publish" options to post to your blog.
I'm going to try and write a further post... an #18b if you like, as I don't know if I can publish from there into an already existing post. Better to play it safe and make a new post.
#19 Discover any site from the Web 2.0 awards list
Discovery Exercise:
1. Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees. (If you prefer to select from just the winners, here’s a link to the short list.)
2. Explore the site you selected.
3. Create a post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?
I'll be perfectly honest and admit I explored a few "fun" sites first. All work and no play at all makes "Johnny" a dull pirate. But then I looked at some of the categories to see what might be applicable for use in a library setting. The one I decided to explore a bit further was in the Content Aggregation and Management category...
Wufoo.com
This application allows you to design your own forms and surveys.... I think this would be good in terms of customer service, getting customer input, etc.
One of the example forms they gave was in terms of "Bug Tracker" -- which might be useful to our IT department.
1. Select any site/tool from the list of Web 2.0 Awards nominees. (If you prefer to select from just the winners, here’s a link to the short list.)
2. Explore the site you selected.
3. Create a post about your discovery. What did you like or dislike about the tool? What were the site’s useful features? Could you see any applications for its use in a library setting?
I'll be perfectly honest and admit I explored a few "fun" sites first. All work and no play at all makes "Johnny" a dull pirate. But then I looked at some of the categories to see what might be applicable for use in a library setting. The one I decided to explore a bit further was in the Content Aggregation and Management category...
Wufoo.com
This application allows you to design your own forms and surveys.... I think this would be good in terms of customer service, getting customer input, etc.
One of the example forms they gave was in terms of "Bug Tracker" -- which might be useful to our IT department.
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