The End of the Quest

Photo titled "Quest" by Brady...found on Flickr

So here I am at Lesson 23: Wrap-Up/Reflections. The last lesson, the end of the quest.

So what was the quest all about?

It was about learning some specific Web 2.0 applications, but mostly it was about lifelong learning. (And it was about earning an extra vacation day, let's not forget.)

Has it helped me with my learning goals? I think it has. I've learned that if I want to really reach my goals, it helps if they're specific. It helps if there's a time constraint. It helps if I'm really personally invested in the goals. It helps to know what the rewards are (although they don't have to be tangible).

What were my favorite discoveries on this quest? Blogging, for one. I'm done with this blog now, but I'd like to do another. What about? That'll be another discovery.

Facebook was another fun surprise, expecially their photo software. It made it so easy to organize and label photos, I'm almost ready to tackle my twenty years worth of pictures in boxes.

Del.icio.us is something that I really like the idea of. I've started an account, now let's see if I can add to it and use it.

LibraryThing is another site that I'd like to browse more in. I've entered some of my library, but I'm not sure that I'd want to enter everything! (Too time-comsuming.) But seeing other folks' selections and comments can be fun.

GoogleDocs looks really useful, and I plan to use it for writing. How handy to have it accessible from everywhere.

I can also picture using a lot of these applications in my job at the library. BKC is already talking about starting a bookmobile blog. And putting department documents on GoogleDocs would make them easy to access by all drivers.

Surprises? How many different sites and applications are out there that I knew nothing about (and many I will never use--hello, Bloglines, Meebo, podcasting, Twitter...) I'm glad I know about them now. Knowledge is power and all that.

I liked the format of Discover 2.0. It had enough structure that I knew just what I had to do, but enough choices and flexibility that I didn't feel like my style was cramped. If FVRL does this sort of thing again, sign me up.

Twitter, Tumblr, and Too Too Tired

Wow, it's amazing how many different things one can do on the web that I had no idea of. Twitter and Tumblr, for example. Twitter, however, doesn't look useful to me because I don't IM. I don't have a cell phone. I just can't picture myself keeping an adoring following up to date with what I am doing every hour.

Tumblr (and yes, I did start a tumblelog) looks more useful to me. It could be a good way to keep track of useful stuff on the web. I can see the handiness.

I'm not even going to try to speculate on library uses, because I'm kind of tired and can't think of any, except on a personal level, in which Tumblr could be useful in creating a hand-picked personal library of quotes, videos, sites, usw.

Video Madness

Photo of Seattle Public Library from Flickr.

The video I watched on YouTube was about the Seattle Public Library. It's not an especially good video and made a bit seasick, to tell the truth. But I was interested in seeing what the new Seattle library looked like, and it gave me a fair view.

(Main impressions of the Seattle Public Library, based on this video: Wow, they have a lot of light, and a lot of space. A lot of empty vertical space. The books seem a bit lost. I liked the low shelving on one of the floors (seemed to be a browsing section). Where is youth services? What the heck is that red room (see above photo)?? Seems like you need to have a very determined personality to want to use this library, what with all the escalators, eyes peering at you, different floors, etc. I like the auditorium.)

I like YouTube because it has such a wide variety of videos. The other sites looked more specialized, which would be great if that is what you were looking for. I also like that YouTube has notes, ratings, and time of the videos displayed in your search results. I would not be likely to use the other video-related sites for editing, etc., at the moment because I don't create videos.

I can see libraries using online videos as part of their website--virtual tours! Book talks! Explanations of Dewey system! And yes, Dabble could be useful in collecting interesting nonfiction videos for patrons.

Imagine How Thrilled I Am...

...to do more with audio (podcasts) and RSS!

I did say that I'm not much of an audio person, right? I'd rather read than listen. Takes less time and I can skim if I'm getting bored. So the radio style podcasts simply make me want to read their scripts and not bother with all the downloading etc etc. What a fussy little twerp I am.

But what joy to realize that I can get the audio I don't want via the RSS I think is useless! Wow. I did add one podcast (Book Bites for Kids) to my Bloglines page, but I don't expect to use it much.

Of the three websites listed for locating podcasts, podcast.net wouldn't load and Yahoo podcasts brought up too many random results, but podcastalley.com had a useful search engine which allowed me to easily see information about each podcast and find out how often they podcast; I would use them again.

For people who like to learn by listening, I think podcasts are great. They could be a valuable library service for their patrons. I can envision podcasts on how to use the library, book talks, library news, and lots more.

Just make sure there's still printed material for visual folks like me.

Music, Audio and Such...a Mixed Bag

Hmmm. This is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I don't see myself using the social networking music sites such as last.fm or IMEEM. I'm just not that much of a music listener. I almost never listen to music at home (unless you count my husband's singing) and only occasionally in the car. I don't have an iPod. I'd rather read than listen.

On the other hand, I think the Internet Archive is a great idea. It describes itself as a library, and I think it will be a great reference source for librarians. Some of the other sites with audio books could make an important alternative to libraries, for those who want audio books, or who want to download classics. The selection is currently spotty, but I'm sure they're working on that.

The absolute sound effects archive is a hoot. If I want the sound of horses clopping on cement, I'll know where to go (if my coconut halves have gone missing, that is).

Mango Languages looks like another great resource, and one that I might actually use myself. Having the combo of spoken and written available for free online is great.

I could see libraries of the future, all full of computers as they will be, as a place where people come to use these sites. Of course they could use them at home--but many people like to be social, or get help. And libraries will always be a resource for those who can't afford computers, internet access, iPods, and the other gadgets that seem to be considered necessities now. Libraries, the Great Tool of Social Justice. Go libraries!

What's Up, Google Docs?

I had no idea that anything like Google Docs existed. Wow! What a handy thing! My first thought is that it would be great for writing. I'm an occasional writer, but I have my writing in so many different formats and medias, depending on how long ago I did it and what typewriter/computer/wordprocessor/pencil/pen I had, some of it is practically inaccessible. It would be great to get it all in one place, in one format, and easily communicated to friends or editors.

I can also see applications here at FVRL. For instance, BKC could post our list of shelves on the bookmobile that need refreshing, or even the list of what needs to be stocked for the next day. We could all access it (assuming the satellite connection was working!), add to it, and work from it, knowing it was up-to-date.

It is of course all based on Our Trust In Google. I think I would back-up my writing to my own computer, also. Back-ups are good.

PS The bulk of this post was directly uploaded from Google Docs. The title didn't come, so I added it now. I also couldn't figure out labels in Google Docs, but I think it's possible.

Answers and Wordshoot and Facebook, oh my!

I had fun with all the above, not to mention the Blog Readability Test -- the score is posted at the bottom of the right hand column.

At Yahoo Answers, I answered a question. A lot of the questions there looked strangely random or unanswerable, but I found one about purchasing comforters that I felt I had something to say about. And I earned points! Points are good.

Wordshoot was fun. I do think it would be good for anyone learning to type. I finally had to quit in the middle of my first game because I had gotten the idea and I didn't want to play it out to the bitter end.

I did the most with Facebook for this lesson. I recently took a trip and took a lot of digital photos (see above photo take at the lovely Getty Villa in Malibu, CA), and I know (because my daughter does it) that you can post photos on Facebook. So I did it! It was very easy to upload them from a folder on my desktop at home, but the really nifty thing was how I could edit them on Facebook. I added comments to each photo (date, location, etc). Boy, is that ever easier than labeling actual physical photos. I could use cut and paste for the same date, location, etc. Facebook also has this really great feature whereby you click on a person in your photo, and then type their name in. The next time you click on a person in a different photo, it will bring up all the names you have already inputted, so you just have to click which one you want. Then, when you're viewing the photo, you roll your cursor over the person and the name appears! The wonders of modern technology... I will definitely keep using Facebook for photos.