Task 23 - Summing up

Thank you so much for providing this course. I really thought at the beginning that I wouldn't find much interest or use in these resources. But you really can teach an old dog new tricks.

There are some "things" which I probably won't ever use, but I have looked at them and seen what they can do. Some of the sites were so interesting and I enjoyed immensely, especially YouTube, Twitter (what a surprise!)and the podcasts.

The biggest surprise for me is that I now have the confidence and interest to really investigate new tools and resources for my work. Our branch blog has never looked so good!

I came across a fantastic program called Jing which allows you to make a video of what is happening on your screen. I think that resources like this would be a great addition to the course.

It has been a really interesting journey and I recommend it to others.

Task 22 - Social networking

I know that Facebook and other social networking sites have lots of followers, but they are not for me. I didn't create an account.

Task 21 - Twitter

I must admit that I was pretty sceptical of Twitter - I really don't care what celebrities do and I don't think that I need infinite details about what my friends do either. But I have noticed that quite a few libraries are now on Twitter, including Library of Congress; New York Public Library; and our very own ICML page now has a Twitter link.

I also came across an article titled "9 logical reasons why you need to integrate Twitter into your website" which had some very valid reasons for using it. I was wondering why you would bother to have a blog and a twitter page, but this is a good explanation "Each time I post to our blog, I RT the post title and link (Tiny URL’d, of course) on both my personal Twitter account as well as the CHROMATIC Twitter account. Those tweets are then displayed on various pages found throughout our website and blog, instantly increasing the exposure of the latest article and, as a result, increasing the odds that we experience the “Twitter Effect“ (from the previously mentioned article).

After looking at some of the personal Twitter pages though, it reinforces my original lack of interest in the site. Apparently 60% of Twitter users stop using the site after one month (from the Charleston Report, May/June 2009).

Task 20 - Podcasts

I have really enjoyed some of the podcasts I've been able to download to my iTouch via iTunes, including Margaret Throsby's interviews.

Out of the 3 links on the 23 Things page, I could only access Podcast Alley. This was easy to search, but I wasn't sure what to do with the podcasts when I found them, as I wanted to load them into my iTouch. So, then I found the same podcasts in iTunes, but needed to try several before I could get any to download - kept getting an error message, which I found a bit frustrating as a still uncertain podder.

Great technology, huge range of material to download, I think this is one of the most enjoyable tasks I have done. I will soon be an expert on the meaning of life; the path of the heart the evolving thought and more!

Task 19 - YouTube

I haven't used YouTube much, I have seen a few of the really popular sites, but generally don't search for videos. But I did find a video on the Cochrane Library recently when looking for something for a lecture.

The Library of Congress have a YouTube page now, with some fascinating pieces of footage- the current one is the Buffalo Fire Department in action (1902).

I can see that it would be quite addictive and what a time waster!!! I really like this treadmill dancing video ( I am no. 1,004,408 to view it, so obviously a bit behind the times).

Task 18 - iGoogle

I set up my iGoogle page quite a while ago, but hadn't used it for sometime. I have revisited it since doing 23 Things and have added a few more gadgets. I really like the way you can customise your page, and some of the add-ons are really nice. Such as the National Geographic photo of the day; Places to see before you die; Word of the day;Delicious etc.

Task 17 - Google

I'm very impressed with the range of Google products, I didn't know about a few of these. Google docs is an interesting idea - I like the templates and the ease of creating a range of documents. It would be really useful for sharing information, but I wouldn't want to save anything at all confidential on the Google server.

I have seen a few items of information about the amount of data that Google has stored and I admit it seems a bit scary.

Really like Google maps too. But when I did a search on University of Queensland I got some quite strange results. I checked on my house, and my neighbour is on the footpath mowing his lawn.

Tasks 15 / 16- Wikis

I have had quite a lot to do with Wikis at UQ, particularly our branch wiki and find them to be a great tool in keeping all of the information and communication in one spot.

My biggest gripe is attaching documents and then having to reattach when the document is updated.

I also found some interesting wikis from the examples listed - the Library Success: a Best Practices Wiki had some good links to information literacy which I have bookmarked.

I liked some of the public library wikis and found some new authors to try. Also a fan of Wikipedia.

I loved the quotes and ideas on the Task 16 wiki.

Task 14 - Technorati

I must be particularly cranky today but I HATE the flashing and intrusive adverts on every page of Technorati.

Had a browse of the top 100 blogs including Boing Boing, but really don't think this site is for me.

I did the required searches of tags etc but was so frustrated by the ads that I had to exit.

Task 13 - del.icio.us

I created a delicious account last year after I attended a Web 2.0 conference at the State Library but had forgotten about it. I rediscovered some interesting sites such as "Remember the milk", 'PogoFrog" (a medical search engine) and a few other gems.

I like the tagging options, and prefer the cloud to the list (and I thought I was so unimaginative!).

I guess the most frustrating thing is that you need to do your search in delicious and it isn't the best search engine. But I have discovered a fascinating site called Blurb which allows you to create your own book and have it printed (for a cost of course). Looks great.

Task 12 LibriVox

How cool! I have subscribed to 2 books via iTunes and they are there waiting for me. I haven't listened to the items yet, but this is great.
It wasn't difficult at all, and I'm looking forward to listening.

Task 11 - GoogleBooks

I also like this site. I can see that it would be good to keep track of my favourite authors. The list keeps growing. The reviews and related books are also quite handy. I have created my own library, but would prefer that there was an option to make it private.

As far as fulltext books, I opened the Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, but must admit it doesn't do much for me.

Task 10 - Library Thing

I really like this site. I have heard people talk about it before, but never investigated it. I love all of the detail you can access so easily. And I especially like how little information you need to provide about yourself. My Library Thing page is here.

Task 9 Library RSS feeds

I don't know if it is just that it is Friday afternoon, but I can't imagine I would ever be interested in most of the stuff that I have been browsing. Who has time to look at all of this??
Technorati was "experiencing technical problems" (and I'm not sorry!)

The news feeds are good, but I read the newspaper, so have seen many of the stories.

Strangely, the most interesting item I have read recently about Web 2.0 was about libraries using Twitter for messages to clients and this came via my email.

I now need to eat my words! We have subscribed to some news feeds searching for very specific topics so we can add these to our Branch Library blog - a very useful thing.

Task 8 Bloglines

I have created a Bloglines account and subscribed to some RSS feeds. I have done this previously on my iGoogle page, but never bother to look at them. I just find that it is one more thing to look at in the day and I always seem to have other things to fill up my time.

The link to my bloglines account is here.

Task 7 - Blogs and comments

I am delighted to say that I have received some comments - thank you kind bloggers!

I've also posted some comments, it was a little strange at first, but quite a nice experience.

Some time ago I came across this great blog from the University at Buffalo Health Sciences Library, and I think it's a great example of a professional blog. It incorporates all sorts of elements: news, resources, personalised reference support. Could we try and do something similar at UQ?

Task 6 Picasa

Well, didn't do very well in the Where on Earth (none at all correct!), but quite fun.

The photo (right) is of Trinity College Library, Dublin. It is a fascinating example of an historic library. This is a photo of the Long Room. More detail from the official site here.

Task 5 Flickr

Well after much time wasting, I have discovered that it is almost impossible to upload photos using Firefox. I had much more success using IE.

Have added a few images and looked around at some groups including Librarians' groups.

I couldn't add the page using a Gadget, but the link is here: You will see some of my buddies (three and four legged ones).

Tasks 3 & 4

Done!

Task 2 - Lifelong learning

My goal for doing this course is to be more familiar with all of the new technology. For me, one of the biggest obstacles is finding the relevance in all of this stuff - I know what a dinosaur! I also need to become more confident in my ability to use these tools.

I find learning easiest in a structured environment, so I think this will be really useful for me.