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.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
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.
Friday, December 12, 2008
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..........
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..........
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Library2.0
In order to wrap my head around Library and Web 2.0, I read all of the articles in Thing #16. I found myself underlining or highlighting key parts of each article I read. What I had to keep reminding myself was that Library 2.0 is NOT a set of technologies, but is a way of thinking. It is "right now" collaboration. Very interactive & very participatory. Library 2.0 puts users in charge, at least in part, of their own learning. This is made possible by all the tagging and sharing.
Rick Anderson wrote about 3 icebergs; potential disasters lying in our current path. As he shared about the second iceberg, "Reliance on user education," I started thinking about how I teach patrons how to use all of our electronic databases. I've spent a lot of time thinking about & planning for an evening class on a particular database, only to be disappointed with the poor attendance. Rick says to "focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need...But if our services can't be used without training, then it's the services that need to be fixed-not our patrons." So I still don't know how that translates into helping patrons use & utilize our databases, but it means I need to keep thinking on this.
I agree with almost everything that I've read about Library 2.0. However, in my mind, I definitely see a younger set embracing all of the Library 2.0 concepts, in addition to other age groups that are already fairly computer savvy. But I serve a lot of people all day long that are very unfamiliar with technology in general. I don't see Library 2.0 happening for those folks. Even though I know that Library 2.0 isn't a set of technologies, the concepts still require technology skills that many, many of the people I serve don't possess. And they have no interest in obtaining any more than the most basic of computer skills.
So far, of the 16 "Things" we've explored in Nebraska Learns 2.0, my favorites & ones that I can see incorporating into my professional life are: Flickr, Library Thing, Delicious, and SlideShare. But there are still 7 more "things" to discover, so maybe I'll have 7 more favorites to add.
Rick Anderson wrote about 3 icebergs; potential disasters lying in our current path. As he shared about the second iceberg, "Reliance on user education," I started thinking about how I teach patrons how to use all of our electronic databases. I've spent a lot of time thinking about & planning for an evening class on a particular database, only to be disappointed with the poor attendance. Rick says to "focus our efforts not on teaching research skills but on eliminating the barriers that exist between patrons and the information they need...But if our services can't be used without training, then it's the services that need to be fixed-not our patrons." So I still don't know how that translates into helping patrons use & utilize our databases, but it means I need to keep thinking on this.
I agree with almost everything that I've read about Library 2.0. However, in my mind, I definitely see a younger set embracing all of the Library 2.0 concepts, in addition to other age groups that are already fairly computer savvy. But I serve a lot of people all day long that are very unfamiliar with technology in general. I don't see Library 2.0 happening for those folks. Even though I know that Library 2.0 isn't a set of technologies, the concepts still require technology skills that many, many of the people I serve don't possess. And they have no interest in obtaining any more than the most basic of computer skills.
So far, of the 16 "Things" we've explored in Nebraska Learns 2.0, my favorites & ones that I can see incorporating into my professional life are: Flickr, Library Thing, Delicious, and SlideShare. But there are still 7 more "things" to discover, so maybe I'll have 7 more favorites to add.
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