Wednesday, November 7, 2007

#23 Is this really the end

My favourite aspects of learning 2.0 were
  • Flickr
  • Image generator
  • Del.icio.us
  • You tube

I think I am now more confident with technology tools and understand the terminology and buzz words. I still have a lot to learn but feel confident to continue practicing and using these tools . The sites were easy to use and access and I was surprised that you could contain the browsing exercises to fit into the timeframe available.

I feel more confident and competent which was surprising.

It would be good to do some of the exercises as a group exercise or even as a one day workshop to increase knowledge share skills and resources. However it is very convenient & accessible to do online.

#22 Audio books

I found the sites very interesting and a great way to preserve older literature particularly the Grimm's childrens books a good way to preserve multiple or first additions specifically overtime when versions are changed or modernized. I was also impressed with the other books links with the complexity and range of sites particularly for users who wish to access books in languages other than English and research books very useful and accessible

#21 Podcasts, smodcasts

I was unable to access the podcasts themselves but explored the general sites. I think it would be an excellent tool for libraries to use as education, information literacy tools and to complement on line tutorial programs. I guess you could also use it as a communication tool in a project accross teams and sites

#20 You too can You tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7GSIxd896E
I enjoyed watching this video it was amusing and yet strangly informative about technical services such as library security. It could be used as an education tool if it had more information. It would keep students interest.
It certainly has an education element but I found that you had to sift through a lot of entertainment to get to educational or informative sites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezjc3jQrj_k
This site provided book reviews which could be useful for libraries

#19 Discovering web 2.0 tools

http://www.care2.com/

I searched under philanthropy and found care 2 it is an amazing tool on a range of social, environmental and human rights issues the search function is extremely specific searching sweatshop locates sites that are very specific unlike other search sites. The searches locate a range of formats such as videos articles blogs and reply links. The site has a member link to link people with similar interests. The site has amazing content and petitions linking users. There are social networks, commercial links and joint projects. Searching within an issue such as global warming links you to community linking to petitions and subjects are broken down to manageable and user friendly parts. Issue appear current.
There is a large amount of content but the tags and icons contain it very well. The user does not feel overwhelmed as it streams information into manageable parts. It is a one stop link for a number of issues.
An application in a library setting would be for research on human rights and issues and students would benefit from the articles and updated information available
An excellent site for content, navigation and a range of information formats.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

#17 Playing around with Pwiki

I found this exercise a bit confusing but muddled through it I was not sure if we needed to type a response in a wiki or just add a link Anyway I had a go and learned something new.

#16 So what's in a wiki?

The wiki sites varied in content, purpose and functions available. I was really impressed with the flexibility the technology has. Developing a library wiki would require a lot of communication and pre planning however with the degree of flexibility it can be adjusted as you go to adapt to your user group.
I would tend to use a wiki for readers advisory, reference and joint projects. I would also benefit from links to other resources and a reference list. I found the experience of browsing enjoyable. I think though at times there was a bit of information overload and the sites were very busy and difficult to navigate. I think to begin with it would be worthwhile keeping the site simple. There was some duplication on sites with advise to wiki contributors on functions etc.