Final Task - Summary

Well, I can't believe this is really the end, the very end my friends. It's been a fun adventure for someone who is pretty technologically challenged. It's seems like I started a long time ago and there have been some bumps along the way, places where I've needed assistance.

For me, the biggest thing was just seeing some of the technology that is out there and getting some inkling of what we could possibly do with it. It's hard to be creative in a 2.0 world if you're not aware of your options.

Of the tasks, I think my most challenging or frustrating was Flickr. I wanted to do things with my pictures that just didn't seem to work, and I couldn't always access pictures in Picasa that I wanted. DP helped me with it and I thank her. The whole world of digital photography is new to me, but I'm very interested in it and I'll get better.

I wish I were more prescient about new technologies and more creative in their use. The blogs we already have are a start. Classes in the use of the technologies should be popular and helpful. Certainly, the digital photography programs have been a huge success. Using MySpace and Wikipedia are ways to communicate with people around the world. A creative film on YouTube might really attract attention to the library. There a lots of possibilities for an imaginative staff like ours.

The "self-directed" model has been very successful for me. It's been fun to learn new things and it's always good if you can figure something out yourself, but it's also nice to help and receive help when it's needed. I've had a lot of fun doing this and I've especially enjoyed looking at the other blogs and reading about people's experiences. I've always enjoyed reading biographies and autobiographies. It's a good way to get to know a little more about fellow staff members, at least what we're willing to share.

The end.

Task 10 - Explore MySpace.com

I signed up for MySpace and it was pretty easy to use. I had to downsize one of my pictures so that it would be accepted, but I did that on Picasa. It was fun to browse and search for people, though it took me a few minutes to realize how I should add a friend. The social networking aspect is fun, but it's easy to see that there could be problems for the unsuspecting. Here's the address for my MySpace account, http://www.myspace.com/167297841.

Task 9 - Explore Online Office Tools

I did the Google Docs & Spreadsheets assignment. It seemed pretty straight forward. I can see that the ability to share and collaborate on a document or spreadsheet would be very useful, particularly when you are collaborating at a distance.

Task 8 - Explore YouTube.com

I have explored YouTube before, mainly looking at funny videos that had been posted. I loved the USC song girl cheering for the wrong team - twice, including once for the Bruins. I can see there would be real value for libraries posting short video clips promoting various programs and services. I also enjoyed the video of the holiday parade that L.A. posted.

I looked at two videos that I would like to share. The first one came from T.S. via Libby, and I think it is perfect for our Learning 2.0 exercise. It is called "Introducing the Book."Any similarities between St. J. and myself are purely coincidental.

My second video was sent to me by my stepson and it's for dog lovers every where. It's called "Skidboot."You might want to have a box of Kleenex at hand. Thanks to LB for helping me with the images.

My YouTube username is LSpvld.

Task 7 - Explore Wikipedia

I've been looking at Wikipedia. It was pretty easy to use and to edit. I added a brief section on computer classes offered by the District. My user name is LSpvld. I don't believer that I have ever gone directly to Wikipedia for research but I have been directed there through Google. I can see that it has the potential to offer currency and expertise that might not otherwise be available. The authority of those posting can be a potential problem but I haven't encountered any problems to date.

Task 6 - Instant Messaging

Here is the little exchange I had with my new buddy: Auto Response from PVLD2007: swallowr: Hey, Buddy. How's it going? You must be getting a lot of boring messages. Mine will be no different - sorry. Just don't end up like HAL in 2001.Auto Response from PVLD2007: Congratulations! You have successfully sent an Instant Message. Please copy and paste this text into your blog.

I can see that, if you have buddies (sadly, I have none), this could be a good and informative way to chat.

This was easy at work but I had problems with the pop-up blocker at home - maybe it's because we have Internet Explorer 7.0.

Task 5 - Explore Flickr.com

I've been using Picasa to manage my digital photographs, so flickr was a little new to me and I had to get used to how it works. I had trouble linking my pictures but DP helped me this morning. She loves this and is getting great at it. I'm still learning. The tags are definitely nice for organizing your pictures, a very librarian (cataloger) type thing to do.