Just about anywhere I might be at any given time, it's about 99% certain I'd rather be snuggled up and napping with this cat...
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
House of Smoke and Ashes
I haven't made a blog post in about 10 days, and it took me a few tries to get this thing up and running. Lesson learned: I need to keep using the tools from Learning 2.0 regularly or my newly acquired skills will get rusty fast.
I am headed to my father's for the Super Bowl this weekend. I love the old man dearly, but I can't breathe when I'm at his house. He's a chain smoker with a fireplace that's roaring from November through April--even if it's 60 degrees outside. Then add two profusely shedding (but adorable) cats to the equation... By the time I leave after a visit, the oxygen level in my bloodstream is dangerously low due to the fug, and every allergy known to womankind has descended upon me.
Thank goodness his TV screen is big--or I wouldn't be able to see the game through the smoke and ashes.
I am headed to my father's for the Super Bowl this weekend. I love the old man dearly, but I can't breathe when I'm at his house. He's a chain smoker with a fireplace that's roaring from November through April--even if it's 60 degrees outside. Then add two profusely shedding (but adorable) cats to the equation... By the time I leave after a visit, the oxygen level in my bloodstream is dangerously low due to the fug, and every allergy known to womankind has descended upon me.
Thank goodness his TV screen is big--or I wouldn't be able to see the game through the smoke and ashes.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Finis
Can you believe it?! I actually made it all the way through Learning 2.0.
I've gained a lot of new knowledge in this process and my horizons--if not the bandwidth I have access to--have been broadened greatly. I do wonder if libraries that regularly use podcasts, vidcasts, blogs, wikis (etc.) have a better computer response time than we do.
For me some of the Discovery exercises in the Things could have been simplified. Then I think I would have gotten less bogged down in the preliminary reading and understanding of each concept or tool. But maybe that's just me... Most VBPL people just whizzed right through, so I'm willing to chalk up my difficulties to 'dinosaurism'--the fact that I'm old as dirt and technology sometimes flummoxes me.
CERTAINLY I would take part in a program like Learning 2.0 again. It's a great means of continuing education. I know that some schools with outreach programs have peer or 'cohort' groups of students who sort of mentor each other through the educational process. I was fortunate enough to have several dear and knowledgeable friends form a cohort "shield" around me while I worked my way through Learning 2.0. So to Dorcus and Delilah--all my thanks.
I've gained a lot of new knowledge in this process and my horizons--if not the bandwidth I have access to--have been broadened greatly. I do wonder if libraries that regularly use podcasts, vidcasts, blogs, wikis (etc.) have a better computer response time than we do.
For me some of the Discovery exercises in the Things could have been simplified. Then I think I would have gotten less bogged down in the preliminary reading and understanding of each concept or tool. But maybe that's just me... Most VBPL people just whizzed right through, so I'm willing to chalk up my difficulties to 'dinosaurism'--the fact that I'm old as dirt and technology sometimes flummoxes me.
CERTAINLY I would take part in a program like Learning 2.0 again. It's a great means of continuing education. I know that some schools with outreach programs have peer or 'cohort' groups of students who sort of mentor each other through the educational process. I was fortunate enough to have several dear and knowledgeable friends form a cohort "shield" around me while I worked my way through Learning 2.0. So to Dorcus and Delilah--all my thanks.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Denouement
The end of Learning 2.0 draws near, and I must admit I'm glad. I let myself stress out over this way too much, and I know that wasn't the point at all.
I've had fun with Flickr and YouTube: the visual stuff was a blast! (I'm still hunting for a suitable photograph to 'Warholize.') And I feel more comfortable with the the new technology that libraries--and the world at large--are using. I needed a program like this to kick-start me into investigating beyond my comfort zone.
I've read blogs, watched clips from YouTube, and listened to podcasts before. However, having everything laid out in a week-by-week lesson plan truly gave me a good idea of the big picture. Above and beyond the technology and "mechanics" of this, the sociological and psychological aspects of social networking fascinate me.
Obviously Learning 2.0 has included useful ways of organizing web information and searching. It also has enlightened me about the way people meet, get to know each other, and form personal and professional relationships using this technology. I wonder if "in the flesh" human interaction is aided or hurt by how easy it is to communicate with others while remaining at a comfortable distance. Or maybe in today's society this distance is more appealing than ever for safety reasons...
I don't know. I'll think on that... In the meantime, this program was very worthwhile. There were frustrations with computer response time and filters, but those were far outweighed by the rich continuing education opportunity Learning 2.0 provided.
I've had fun with Flickr and YouTube: the visual stuff was a blast! (I'm still hunting for a suitable photograph to 'Warholize.') And I feel more comfortable with the the new technology that libraries--and the world at large--are using. I needed a program like this to kick-start me into investigating beyond my comfort zone.
I've read blogs, watched clips from YouTube, and listened to podcasts before. However, having everything laid out in a week-by-week lesson plan truly gave me a good idea of the big picture. Above and beyond the technology and "mechanics" of this, the sociological and psychological aspects of social networking fascinate me.
Obviously Learning 2.0 has included useful ways of organizing web information and searching. It also has enlightened me about the way people meet, get to know each other, and form personal and professional relationships using this technology. I wonder if "in the flesh" human interaction is aided or hurt by how easy it is to communicate with others while remaining at a comfortable distance. Or maybe in today's society this distance is more appealing than ever for safety reasons...
I don't know. I'll think on that... In the meantime, this program was very worthwhile. There were frustrations with computer response time and filters, but those were far outweighed by the rich continuing education opportunity Learning 2.0 provided.
Rollyo-ver Beethoven
I created a "mini" search roll on Rollyo of several websites covering the museums, shops, and attractions of Florence, Italy.
As I entered search terms , I noticed that the three sites I put in were the always listed on the top of the results list. There were other websites below those, though, that I hadn't specified. Where did they come from? Were they linked to the sites I did choose specifically?
I can see where this could be a useful tool to group frequently used websites and search within them for specific topics. Didn't we do something similar to this a few weeks ago? Del.icio.us perhaps? That was bookmarking sites and this is creating a search engine within a batch of sites, right?
"Things" are beginning to run together in my mind!
As I entered search terms , I noticed that the three sites I put in were the always listed on the top of the results list. There were other websites below those, though, that I hadn't specified. Where did they come from? Were they linked to the sites I did choose specifically?
I can see where this could be a useful tool to group frequently used websites and search within them for specific topics. Didn't we do something similar to this a few weeks ago? Del.icio.us perhaps? That was bookmarking sites and this is creating a search engine within a batch of sites, right?
"Things" are beginning to run together in my mind!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Library Thing
This is a cool tool !! I certainly can see consolidating all my lists of books I eventually want to read into this one spot.
It seems as though you have to choose a specific edition when you enter a title, though. I hope people using this as a general list understand that a bookstore or library may not have that specific edition or ISBN, but may well stock the title.
And 'Display Style E' looks like a real library catalog. Neat-O!
It seems as though you have to choose a specific edition when you enter a title, though. I hope people using this as a general list understand that a bookstore or library may not have that specific edition or ISBN, but may well stock the title.
And 'Display Style E' looks like a real library catalog. Neat-O!
Image Generators
I enjoyed playing with the online image generators!
The "Warholizer" was a real kick. I didn't have the right kind of photograph to make the best use of it, though.
I ended up on MagMyPic.com embracing my inner cover girl. Not exactly being a model or pin-up queen, I opted for converting one of my photos from Italy to a National Geographic cover.
What a hoot!
The "Warholizer" was a real kick. I didn't have the right kind of photograph to make the best use of it, though.
I ended up on MagMyPic.com embracing my inner cover girl. Not exactly being a model or pin-up queen, I opted for converting one of my photos from Italy to a National Geographic cover.
What a hoot!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
