My Learning 2.0 Experience

I really enjoyed this whole program, but probably my favorite tools to play with and experience would have to be the blog itself, Facebook, and Flickr. Though I had used blogs and Flickr before enrolling in this program, I learned quite a bit more than I had known coming into it. Most of this was due not only to the well structured lessons (what do you mean my nose is turning brown?), but also the great atmosphere of collaboration and sharing that we experienced at our library.

My goals for lifelong-learning have not really changed, I'll still be an autodidact until my dying day, but I have learned the value of looking outside of my own experience to enrich my learning experience by sharing it more with others. I have always been eager to share my knowledge with others, and receive theirs in turn, but this program really pointed out the wonderful benefits that can come from participating in a collective learning experience.

Checking out the blogs of my coworkers only highlighted the extent to which they have really embraced these "things" and used them as springboards to their own lifelong learning goals. I had a great time commenting on some of those that I explored, and it was very interesting to see how others approached the same challenges that I faced in my own journey. I also was surprised to learn a few things that I had missed in my initial evaluation of each of the "things", so the review and comment process was a valuable one in and of itself.

In conclusion:

Blogging, Good!

Learning 2.0, Good!

Blue hair, Good!

Thing 30

What a great series of trainings! I can't clap my hands loud enough in recognition of all the hard work that went into pulling all of this together for the enrichment of all participating VBPL staff... Kudos.

While I was previously aware of many of the sites and tools that we explored in this training, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were many "things" that I was either completely unaware of or did not know the full potential of. Marrying these discovery exercises to library related services and concepts really brings them home for me in ways that looking at them for their own sake could not. I especially liked the pointed questions and discussion starters that helped me to focus my thoughts around how these new tools and gadgets could really make a difference in the way we do business here in library land. It is easy to become mired in the "this is how we have always done it" philosophical swamp, and these exercises were a great way of breaking out of that mold.

Finally, I especially enjoyed the collaborative aspect of the program, allowing and even encouraging staff to work through problems together for the benefit of all. It is my sincere hope that this strengthened spirit of teamwork and cooperation will continue to grow from this experience and will help an already wonderfully productive staff to work together even more smoothly in the future.

Rollyo

Select...Whole EarthSearch The Web

This is the Rollyo search bar I created for ecology/conservation related searches. This tool is pretty cool, but you have to be careful with it because it does not seem to do as much ranking as other search engines do, and it can potentially return a huge quantity of hits. Wading through all these hits can be much more time consuming than it would be to search individual sites, or even a more selective search engine such as Google or Exalead. I will play with it more to see if I can customize it to produce better results, but even so it is pretty neat to be able to customize the search in that way. Very interesting.

Library Thing

I like Library Thing! This is a really neat way to not only catalog and tag items that are part of your personal favorites, but to see other readers who are interested in the same types of items and how they have chosen to represent them in their own catalogs. This tool is similar in many ways to Shelfari, which I also subscribe to and am a big fan of, and it even seems to have some functionality associated with it that is not found in Shelfari. I am only just beginning to tap into the possibilities that Library Thing offers, but it seems that there are many ways that we might take advantage of it here in Libraryland. The Library Thing for Libraries feature, for example, would seem to be a great way to encourage customers to tag items in our catalog with their own info. The tag clouds that are generated from such input could potentially entice readers to try things that they might not if they are only looking at the cataloging that we generate. I plan to update this post once I have had a chance to play a bit more with the LT features, but till then I will just say that I am excited about this tool and am looking forward to using it more in the future.

Video and Audio

I have to say that I think there are many possibilities for using podcasting and vodcasting in the library environment. We could use this technology to advertise new programs, reach new audiences with recorded programs, and communicate more effectively with staff and customers in general. For example, it is logistically impossible to get all employees to each LCDT session, but if we created a video or audio recording of that program, we could share it with all staff on their own schedule. I think this is one of the more promising new technologies for us as a system and for libraries in general, and I look forward to exploring new ways of taking advantage of it.

Podcasting

Podcasts are a great way to stay up to date with my favorite radio content. I am an ardent supporter and fan of public radio, and their podcasts allow me to easily keep up with the news and programs I may have missed while at work. I also use the podcasts provided by the University of Tennessee for my online info science classes. This tool is a convenient way to review past lectures and stay on top of my coursework.

I have not tried creating my own podcast yet, mostly because I don't have a mic on this computer, but I plan to give it a go on my home computer! I have really enjoyed the podcasts Cindy has used in this series of exercises and I think that they can really add to the richness and depth of an online educational experience.

YouTube

I have used YouTube before to post video to my blog, so this one is not really new to me, but I think it works pretty well. I don't think the resolution is as high when video is added this way as opposed to say when I add it to my Facebook page, but it is a really easy way to get content up on your blog...

I chose to add this clip because it highlights some of the work I do with the VAQ Stranding Response Team, and because Andy Fox makes such a big deal of the smell. Enjoy!

Image Generators

My creation, originally uploaded by surfing librarian.

Just one more fun FD toy I thought I'd add to the blog... this is a bit scary, but really cool at the same time. I can think of plenty of uses for this in the library environment, such as creating posters for programs or displays. Fun!

Flickr Toys

What fun! I love that so many users have devoted their time to creating fun and exciting tools that other Flickr users can make use of for their own enjoyment. This is one of the great things about Web 2.0 technology in my opinion: Users take the services in new and perhaps unanticipated new directions, creating new functionalities along the way and making the tools living, growing entities rather than letting them stagnate. These piggyback tools not only allow users to expand upon the original service in creative ways, they also offer new opportunities for their creators to potentially profit from them in ways that were not possible in the Web 1.0 model.

Tagging with Flickr

Tagging is one of the features that sets Flickr apart from other photo sharing sites because it allows users to categorize the images in ways that make sense to them which, in theory, facilitates access and retrieval of those images. Of course tagging lacks the authority of a controlled vocabulary, but this is somewhat mitigated by the idea of a tag cloud which emphasizes frequently used tags over those that appear only sporadically. The result is a kind of democratized naming authority that may make use of terms and phrases not traditionally found in controlled vocabularies. Though Flickr is not the only means of collaborative photo sharing, it is certainly one of the simplest to use and has the added benefit of being one of the more popular sites. This means that more images are available to use and tag, and this is undoubtedly better for all users.

deep

deep, originally uploaded by surfing librarian.

This is a photo of me surfing in Kitty Hawk back in March of 2003 or 2004... time flies, so it is hard to keep up. This was a great day though, and everytime I look at this picture I get a warm fuzzy feeling all over remembering it. On the subject of posting photos to the blog via this Flickr tool, I really like the option to add content in this way. It makes it very easy to search for photos and to then link them to my blog without having to wory about crediting the photographer or other rights issues. Very nice.