Beginning

Thank you Allana, Christa, Michael, and Susan for the amazing 23 experiences! And thank you for your patience and endurance!

After completing all of the Discoveries, I feel I'm no longer on the fringes...not really knowing...about these technologies. The difference was the hands-on experience! Invaluable!

My favorite discoveries were: Image Generators, Delicious, Slideshare, PBWiki, GoogleDocs, and My Heritage from the Web 2.0 Awards List! My least favorite was probably Twitter.

I really liked how I could work on these activities at my own pace and on my own time schedule. I didn't have to "be" at class at a particular hour of the day. I could work on an activity at my home computer for awhile, do laundry, come back to the activity, make a meal, come back to the activity, etc. And some days I could work on activities while I was at work. That kind of schedule really works for me!

I know that I haven't retained all the knowledge that I gleaned from this class. I need to go back & keep using the technologies so they become more automatic for me. Any chance that these 23 things will stay posted online beyond Jan. 30 so one could go back & refresh one's memory?

Depending on the topic, I'd most likely participate in another discovery program. I need to keep "stretching." Thanks again!

podcast

My daughter loves podcasts, so I thought this lesson would be a great way to connect with her. I used a couple different directories and ended up subscribing to 5 podcasts, 3 of which are NPR podcasts. The 3 NPR podcasts I chose were: All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Talk of the Nation. Then for fun I chose 2 others: Uncontrolled Vocabulary and Circle of Seven.

So now maybe my daughter, who lives out-of-state, and I can discuss various common podcasts!

YouTube

I've heard tons about YouTube, but I'd never before looked at it, so this was a first for me. I searched for newspaper digitization & was disappointed, as most was pretty commercial stuff. Then I searched around for genealogy stuff and found A LOT! I certainly picked up some pointers by watching a few genealogy videos.

I created a YouTube account & before I end this blog, I'm going to try to embed 2 basic genealogy videos that I thought were good.

What I liked about the YouTube site was the search bar was prominent & it seemed to work fairly well.

As for what I didn't like about the site, there was one genealogy video that I watched that was REALLY amateur and a waste of my time. So I guess that's the downside, that you have no idea how good or bad the video or its information is. I'm looking for accurate and helpful information, not cheesy entertainment.

Since I'm new at this YouTube thing, my "dumb" question is: how do you actually make the video? The genealogy videos I watched were live action shots of a computer screen, complete with clicks, highlights, links, etc. So did that person set a camera up on a tripod over his shoulder to record the screen and every click of the mouse?

As for applying YouTube components to library websites, I'm wondering if this might be a way to publish some electronic database tutorials??????????

Okay, now I'll try to switch to Edit Html & embed those 2 genealogy videos. Wish me luck! Hmmm...I see the copied code when I'm in the "Edit Html" tab, but when I switch back to "Compose" mode, I see nothing.

Web 2.0 Awards

I LOVED the site myHeritage! I spent way too much time creating the beginnings of my family tree. It was so easy to use! The site also provided great tips. Loved how you could easily access those tips any time you wanted to. The great part is the collaboration potential! I can build as much (or as little) of the family tree as I want to & invite some of the others in the family to join & work on the family tree, also. So my siblings can go in & add their children & grandchildren, etc. And if I don't have the birth date or maiden name of a deceased relative, maybe someone else in my family does. This is so cool!

As the reference librarian I work with a lot of patrons who are working on their genealogy. You can bet that I'll be bringing this "myHeritage" site to their attention. I used the free version of myHeritage. But there was the option to purchase a "premium" version. For now, I'll see how far I can get with the free version.

There were also tabs for calendar & newsletters & several other things. But I couldn't tear myself away from building the family tree.

Grant application

Let's say several of us are working on a grant application.  We could each have access to this document, therefore any/all of us could work on any part of the grant.  Liked how I could insert a comment & assign a color to it, asking a particular person to work on a particular question. Also like that it's so much like working in MS Word.  I could insert a table or picture.  My biggest question was how to get this document shared so the other participants could work on it.  By playing around a bit, I believe that you click on the SHARE tab, where you have the option to invite others as collaborators or viewers.  Then they will receive an email invitation.  So then I assume invited participants log in to Google Docs & search for the document in question.  I thought it would be easier, though, to name this document.  Just saving the document didn't give the chance to assign a name to it.  It was merely "Untitled." Finally decided that the best option was File > Rename.



Another use for this web application might be collaborative work on Summer Reading projects.



OK, now I'm going to try publishing this "document" to my blog.  Which I think involves going to the "Share" tab again & choosing "Publish as web page." Wish me luck!  OK, the Share > Publish as a web page thing didn't do the trick.  Had to do a HELP search, which said I needed to go to the Docs list page, click on Settings, and enter some stuff there.  The HELP document also noted that I could do all the same things from Share > Publish as web page.  But I think they lie. 



NONE OF THIS WORKED!  It said once I clicked on Share > Publish to web page, that I should choose "Post to Blog."  THAT NEVER APPEARS ANYWHERE AS AN OPTION UNDER "PUBLISH TO WEB PAGE."



I'm going to try it again.  Went back to the Docs list page, clicked on Settings, verified my blogger info, but this time I scrolled all the way down & clicked on SAVE.  Maybe that's the key!  Here we go..................





PROJECT TITLE.

Historic Newspapers Online



REQUEST AMOUNT.

$30,000



TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET.

$320,000



EXPLAIN HOW THE NEED FOR THIS PROGRAM/PROJECT WAS DETERMINED.CollaboratorA, can you work on this one? -Rita Horst 12/21/08 1:51 PM 



DESCRIBE THE BENEFITS TO BE ACHIEVED BY THE PROJECT.



GEOGRAPHICAL AREA PROJECT WOULD SERVE.



POPULATION SERVED BY THE PROJECT.

PBwiki

Wikis are kind of fun and not too difficult. I can see where one could use a wiki in planning a class reunion or a family reunion or coordinating wedding details when participants are geographically spread around.

Wiki

I just loved the "Wiki in Plain English" video! I am such a visual learner, as I think many are, so seeing & hearing what a wiki is & how it works, via the video was perfect!

I think the wikis that had Subject Guides are similar to a current page on our library's website called "Helpful Websites." On our Helpful Websites page, I have links to a bunch of websites under named categories. The big difference, though, is that I did all the work hunting up those websites myself, whereas if we'd had a wiki, I could've had help from the global community!!! And the global community could be helping me still by making sure all the links are current! Hmmm......

I loved the concept of the Book Lovers' Wiki and how it could be used for Adult Summer Reading or for book clubs. Hmmm..........