Final Frontier

This has been a very interesting process. I know I'm not going to use everything that I learned about in this Tech Trek, but I feel I am now familiar with more aspects of technology than when I started. Some of this can be used for fun, others may have applications for a more exciting, informative and even interactive web presence for the library.

Quest 12B - Pod Cast

I explored the directory provided by podcast.net and found a wide variety available, ranging from "Learning Greek - Modern Greek Lessong 38 - At the Police Station" to Genealogy on Demand - episode 6, Family Birthday Calendar. I listened to Dances with Woofs - learning to teach your dog the following commands - down (including consideration of possible problems), stay (starting with short period of time, with distractions, and establishing a release word), shake (slap me five; getting dog to be ambi"paw"derous). Shown is Penny, who has already learned sit, stay, down and can "go around" (clockwise) or "make a circle" (counter-clockwise).


I found this a very effective way to convey information, although there are limitations, and in some situations having pictures would be very important. I could imagine using this to learn a language, make some recipes, and more. For library use, this might actually be a better format than YouTube for very short stories for young children (some libraries have storyline, a phone number parents can call and have their children listen to a 3 minute story).

Short podcasts for learning the basics of foreign languages would be an interesting service to offer patrons. They would always be available.

Quest 12A - You Tube Video

This could certainly be "just for fun" - I looked at some TV commercials from the 1970's and the library workout tape. (Now how do I get the Slinky jingle out of my head???) But this technology could also be used very effectively to convey information to visual learners. For example, this would be good for showing someone how to search the catalog, place a hold, renew items, etc. I looked for and found examples of what other libraries have already done, such as this YouTube from J. Murrey Atkins Library, UNCC on how to search the catalog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O5bmTud_2E

I could imagine having something similar available on our own library's website, and maybe some videos highlighting upcoming programs and events (who knows, maybe even short story times!!!) This technology has to potential to really offer something new and useful to our patrons.

Quest 11 - Online Apps

I set up a free account in ZohoWriter and transcribed some of my notes from a recent teleconference on Finding the Trends that Matter.

I found it very easy to use, and liked that I could access the document from any computer connected to the Internet. I often find myself with multiple versions of a document - one on the hard drive of a computer, another on a USB drive, and it can get confusing.

I think online applications can be especially useful for people who don't own a computer but would like to be able to save their resumes, etc. Sometimes people don't want to spend the money for a floppy disk (and many who do have a computer at home indicate it doesn't have a floppy drive on it). And floppy disks do fail.

I don't plan to desert MS Word, but ZohoWriter does have my interest. I will probably continue to explore its features.

Quest 10 - Son of TechTrek Playhouse

I explored ArtPad, but found it was harder than I expected. I thought this might be just a more advanced version of something like the Paint program, but Paint is much easier for me to use.

Here's the snowman that I made using the Paint program.

I've also found a great site for creating word puzzles, mazes and more: http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com

Quest 9 - Wiki - Not Wookie

WIKI - What I Know Is....



I have been concerned about the apparently increasing reliance on Wikipedia over other resources. It certainly is convenient, but my concerns are over who is accountable for the information and what authority do they have on the subject. Depending upon who posted the information, they could be a world-renowned expert on the topic, or someone with an agenda to further.

As long as users clearly understand the source of the information in a wiki, I believe that they can be useful resource, although I would prefer that they be consulted AFTER having checked other known authoritative sources first.

Using a wiki for posting library subject guides, successful practices, etc. is an interesting and promising concept. There is an advantage in being able to quickly share something that worked well for a library, so that others can make use of it. I did notice that the Library Success : a best practices wiki had added a requirement for email confirmation because of vandalism problems. It's sad that this problem would appear at this site, but the email confirmation seems a reasonable way to address it.

Quest 8 - Social Networking

I can certainly see why teens like these social networking sites. MySpace is a popular site and I see it frequently in use on computers at the library. Kids don't seem to have any problems setting up their profiles and adding pictures, etc.

I especially liked the basic safety information provided on Bebo. It was interesting, amusing and very effective at showing just who could be in the network, and how once something is posted, it is out there. Unlike a physical bulletin board where you can just take a picture down, the online world provides a fast way for anyone else to have your pictures, etc.

For libraries, using MySpace to reach out to young adults could be an effective way to make libraries more appealing.

Quest 7 - PhotoSharing - My Name in Pictures

Well, you've probably heard "You ought to be in pictures" - at least my name can be!

Quest 7 - PhotoSharing - Flickr

I created a free Flickr account to explore after I looked at the Magical Feature Tour. I appreciated the security alert, letting unsuspecting users know that there are phishing scams out there.

I uploaded some digital pictures to my new account. I think one of the pictures was too large (very high resolution) and it was unable to load on the first two tries.

This is one of the pix that I uploaded to Flickr (taken right after the new sign was installed at the branch)

This could very useful in sharing pix with family and friends, and could also be a good way to archive pix in the event of various natural disasters - many people have lost their family photographs in fires and floods.

Quest 6 - Part 2 - Technorati

Searching "library 2.0" in the suggested ways yielded results that were not surprising.

Keyword - searched using AND operator and yielded 4,734 results.
Exact phrase - 1,068 results
At least one of the words - 289,934 (the OR operator expands the search, but results not really useful)
NONE - why? No reason to search for NONE of the words in this case

Tag search yielded 495 posts and a list of related topics
Blog search - 449 posts (with authority indicating # of blogs linking to a website within the last 6 months)

The different results confirm that how you search for something still matters.

Quest 6 - Part 1 - Del.icio.us

I viewed both videos. The YouTube presentation by Liz Davis was much better and gave an excellent overview of Del.icio.us. I liked the explanation of the advantages of using this. Being able to have favorites available from any computer you happen to be using is a real plus. I know there are times when I've been at the Reference Desk and I know I have a favorite on my computer, but I can't remember the web site.

Being able to build a shared reading list also has lots of possibilities. I could imagine a committee working on a project using this to post links so that everyone on the committee would be able to access them.

I looked at Online Reference - Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki and explored some of the links for who had saved this link, and found another CCPL staff member among those listed.

Quest 4 - RSS and Newsreaders

This addresses one of my concerns about technology. I love technology, but with so many different places to look for new posts, I thought I would have to maintain a long list of favorites... and what if I'm not at my computer? So, this solves that problem.

I included several CCPL blogs in my bloglines for easy reference - view them (and others) at:

http://www.bloglines.com/public/mtpcindy

Quest 3 - Instant Messaging

Well, I've engaged in my first instant messaging session. It was easy and fun and I see why people like it - you don't have to wait for someone to go into their email and respond.

It also seemed more conversational than email.

Quest Two - Creating a Blog

Using blogger to create a blog was fairly easy - now it's a matter of playing with it and seeing what happens. Certainly for this quest using a blog to keep track of progress and completion makes sense.

Quest One

Lifelong Learning Tutorial - some helpful tips in the 7 1/2 habits of life-long learners. Viewing problems as challenges shifts the focus - this should be the easiest of these habits to adopt. Idea of using technology to one's advantage is especially appropriate for this project. I think the concept of PLAY may be the hardest one, although I realize that taking the time to explore and discover and play may very well be one of the best ways to learn.