Learning 2 part 2

I am finally getting around to starting the Learning 2.1 course conducted by the State Library NSW.

I have refreshed my blog with a new look. I love the new template options that Blogger have released and it's made it so much easier to customise the look. I'd actually changed the template of my personal blog, and the blog at work, at the start of the year. I've discovered recently that Blogger has also added "sharing options" so that readers can easily share posts on Facebook or Twitter.

So to questions from Week 13 of the Learning 2.1 blog
1. How much have you blogged since you finished the original course? 
Quite a bit. I update the library blog and I have my own personal Book Review blog for a variety of reading challenges I'm doing in 2010
2. What do you like about blogging?
I like how easy it is to blog. I started the Book Challenge blog to reveiw the books I've for the different challenges, but I've started wanting to write about other things as well.
3. Have you found other blogs to read?
Yes, I've mostly come across other book blogs. It's really useful to see the way other people structure their blogs. I have to admit though that my Google Reader subscriptions are getting out of hand.
4. Do you comment on others' blogs? Occasionally I do.

Wordle

I'm probably behind, but I have just discovered Wordle . Which makes a picture out of tags from sites such as del.icio.us .
Here's mine


I think it's lots of fun. It's not just for sites like del.icio.us, but you can copy and paste any text and it will come up with a picture!

Week 12

How very sad it is to get to week 12! It means the end of the Learning 2.0 program...

After all the very practical weeks it was a bit odd to finish up on a less practical one... there was no signing up to anything.


I wonder about the LeMonde map of the popularness (is that a word?) of the different social networks in different countries. It says that My Space is the most popular one in Australia, but I only know 1 person with a myspace page... compared with (nearly) everyone I know has a Facebook page. I think Facebook has become more popular since 2006 because it was opened up to everyone.

I think that the social networks can be an online extension of groups that already exist in the library. This is the best way to start them up, because you already have an existing audience and you can build on that presence with people find the page online. It would be great to have a book club extend online. You could set up a Facebook group and have extra things related to the books you are reading, such as youtube videos.

slideshare

I love slideshare! What a great way to share your conference papers... and not just your slides. I think it's a great way for people who can't go to some of the overseas conferences to get to see them!

Slideshare could also be used for Local History projects and could be displayed on screens in the library. Though, you'd have to make sure there is no copyright infringements.

Week 11 - Online Documents

This is the first time I've had a look at Google Docs and Zoho. I knew about the Google products, but I'd never had a reason to use them. I think they are useful for libraries who want to collaborate on grants or work with external groups. It's also means that you don't have to worry about incompatible software.

What I really like about both Google Docs and Zoho is that there is an offline function where you can edit your documents offline. This is handy for use at home where you can't always sit on the internet for hours.

Mysterious mashups

I always thought it would be fun to create a calendar from my photos, now with Mashups I have the technology to do just that! YAY! It was much easier than I thought it would be. Mashups have mystified me for a while.

We could probably use mashups to come up with advertising for events in the library... or personalised library cards! Mashups could also be used for an interactive map of the area or library and you can link podcasts to give a discription about the different areas...

A pod of Podcasts

I have just checked out the Library of Congress podcast site. I found they have a podcast of a talk with Terry Pratchett! He is an author I respect.I enjoy listening to him talk because he has some valuable things to say. He talks highly of librarians as well! I was very impressed to find him talking via podcast!

I think this is a very useful tool to use in libraries. If you have an event you can now have a permanent record of it! It also means that if you missed out on going to an event in person, you can still participate from the comfort of your own home!

I'm sure many Local History Projects could be enhanced with oral history podcasts as well.

I found the ABC podcast site has a huge amount of pod and vodcasts. I think it's great that some of the ABC shows, such as Enough Rope (which I always forget to watch) have vodcasts.

So many uses.... so little time....