#23 Is this really the end? or just the beginning...

YAY - it's over.......................



well .... is this really the end? I can honestly say that it has taken way longer and been a lot harder to do than i expected. 45 mins a week i don't believe. Trying to fit it into work - impossible. DOing it at work almost impossible. trying to finish it at work really hard. I stayed back for several hours after the library had closed so i could concentrate with no one around.
i do believe there is a benefit to having others completing it around you so you can discuss things and help each other out. I have found looking at others blogs helpful when i haven't fully understood something.
I could imagine having a group of people undertaking Learning 2.0 together in a room and having a couple of days to really play and show each other what they have found - everyone looks for different things so that would be a good way of seeing/learning more than just by yourself. You have a dedicated time frame to work in as well which is enforced which would be much easier. Trying to run branches and concentrate on new things can be quite difficult. Everyone's motivation is also different so it might motivate people more in a group environment.
Trying to fit learning 2.0 in has been a major juggle - but am i glad i have perservered and made myself finish by the completion date.......?
Yes i am. Having a date to complete by has made me complete the task. i don't want to put it off and then never finish. i have learnt an amazing amount about what is available at our fingertips. To be honest - i thought i knew a bit but know i realize how little i know, and we have only just touched the tip of the iceberg.
I am pleased that i made myself finish - i may not have had a chance to search and discover everything avaialable on some of the tutorials but i do believe i have a good understanding of what is behind most of it. To be able to recommend to others or help with questions is a good reason to have completed.
To others struggling to complete learning 2.0 i suggest you really try to make the time to do it - you can put as much effort in to it as you like but at least you have tried and it really is suprising how easy some of the things are to search and use.
I really want to make sure that i use some of what i have learnt - making myself complete more than half of it in 1.5 days has been hard - but i am determined not to waste what i have learnt.
i'm thinking of revisiting each thing in our work environment and trying to see what we could use to make our job easier or better. It really does seem to be time keep up with technology and embrace change.
Personally i enjoyed all the image generator stuff - i like the idea of playing around making cute things.... i know i will use that!

so...... ask me in 3 months how i'm going - hopefully i'll be able to teach you a thing or two!

I would like to apologise for all my typos - good lesson to be learned - don't leave yourself too little time to complete something well! sorry....

# 22 Audiobooks

So - i looked at this site and didn't really find anything so i tried browse by collection. This was so slow.... I've found it really hard getting anything.
I have listened to some poetry - again reminiscing about year 11 and 12 literature. It is so nice to have poetry ready to you.
i have just been to see my nieces dance concert of Thumbelina so i was disappointed to find that although they had some Hans Christian Anderson - i couldn't find Thumbelina. Oh well - maybe another time.
I am an avid audio book listener - so the whole idea of downloading straight onto my ipod or computer is a fantastic idea. I have several books on my ipod at the moment that i am enjoying listening to.
SO i can definitely see a future in this idea. Bring it on ....

#21 Podcasts, smodcasts

So the first thing i have to admit to is that until recently i believed podcasting was to do with iPods. Goes to show i really have learnt something!
So my 4 year old helped me choose podcasts. Unfortunately this meant listening to some bad adaptations of Christmas stories! David's bedtime stories.. not that fussed on them but he liked them! We even got to listen to "if you're happy and you know it" Then i made him listen to some Mary Poppins!
I have to really make myself look for library related stuff - fancy we have to think of work while we learn!
So i searched yahoo for library and books - and found a set up phone call to a public library - which is filed under comedy but i didnt find that funny!
So i found a "Librarian Live" show that is recorded in Texs - got to hear about fundraising.... not really the most riveting thing i found but it is amazing that you can find such obscure things.
That got me thinking and i remembered last year attending the Nancy pearl talk at SLV - so i thought i'd give it a go and look her up. I loved listening to her and found her inspirational so i was very happy to find some reviews on books from her. So i heard her review on setting up book clubs for kids. Very handy - and worth a read. I'll have to recommend it to our YS staff!
Very happy - i've added the RSS feed for nancy pearl to my bloglines - my life is complete!

# 20 You too can youTube

Well Mr Bean has always been a personal favourite and i remember squirming uncomfortable in my chair a few Christmases ago when we gave my dad the MR Bean box set for Christmas. Of course i made everyone watch the library clip and it was hard to sit through!

So when i say it on utube i had to show it to everyone, i can only assume everyone has already seen- but i like it still...
I found it quite easy to include on my blog so that was a relief.
I have been amazed recently at how many people talk about utube and what they have found or watch on it.
Yet again i think i will have to start spending more time glued to my PC so i can enjoy all this new technology that seems to pass you by if you don't jump in with both feet!
Well - i read the notes and noticed the reference to Johnny Depp - so couldn't help but look him up.
HOw cool - i got to relive 21 jump St days and even found Brad Pitt in an episode with him. SO i was very excited - who ever knew. Think i'll have to go search the catalogue to see if we have it on DVD! I am now a real utube convert!
Back to the work side of it - i found it quite easy to use, so will definitely be using it again!

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

Well - this one looked a little boring so i skipped a week and figured i'd come back to it!
Again - me and organsiation. I checked out the exercise for the week and as soon as i saw personal organsiation i was hooked.
So when i had a browse i thought i've used google, played with zoho - must be Backpack's turn.
Obvioulsy i went straight to keep a calender. Quite a cute little package. It has a function that you can have multiple calenders on one ie work, home, vacation - so it would be really convenient for me. As i've said previously i have an outlook calender for work and one for home so it could come in handy to be able to join them together. But i think i would still need some convincing - there are many good reasons for having them seperate - and anything important i put on both calenders anyway...hmmmmm will keep pondering.
I liked the idea of set reminders. I am someone that is easily sidetracked so i am a heavy user of Outlooks reminder function - the fact that Backpackit will text message your reminders is pretty cool. I could see myself loving that and everyone else pissed off cause i keep getting text messages. Funny to think people spend years working out ways of remembering things and now you can send yourself a text message in 20 minutes time to remind you to go collect your pizza! sometimes i feel way older than my 30 something years!
So can i see the use of these features in a library setting..... send a text message to a patron to tell them their internet pc is now available. No different really to cafes that have little buzzers they give you to buzz you when your meal is ready for collection. Just a different format.
My favourite would be to text staff members to remind them their 10 min tea break is over...would that be considered harrassment! I don't think i'd be that popular.

#18 Wb based Apps

Zoho - anyone that know me won't be suprised that the first thing i looked at when i joined zoho was the zoho planner. I love my Outlook calender so much at work, that i make my whole family use it at home! We then print it out and put it on our wall calender. SO i was a little disappointed with it's limitations.
But i had a play with zoho writer and thought it was fairly easy to use. the icons are all pretty self explanatory which always makes using a new package so much easier.
I would be happy recommending it to patrons if they didn't have an office or word processing package at home.

# 17 playing around with PBWiki

Ok - so i've added my blog to the Favorite blogs page 8 times and it doesn't seem to link
so - i'm not playing anymore! I think i have spent 5 hours this afternoon playing learning 2.0 and my sense of humour has run out.
SO i am leaving it as it is - you can see that it is there - just won't link. But again - i'm not playing anymore!
I've added a favorite leisure time activity but to be honest - it doesn't seem easy at all.
Perhaps too many hours in front of a computer trying to finish weeks of activities in one night wasn't meant to be.
But - i'm crossing #17 off my list and moving on to #18..... perhaps i should be wise and just go to bed and finish off tomorrow....