Mistress Mary, quite contrary...

Week 9

2007-08-28T17:09:00.000-04:00

Summary - I really enjoyed exploring the 23 Things in this program and I will definitely use many of them. I have signed up at the Loudoun Co. Library for RSS feeds of their BookNews on my Bloglines. I like getting notified on new materials so I set my Bloglines up to check for BookNews and other library news. I plan to do more exploring of the Mashup sites, such as the Yahoo Pipes. I also plan to go back and spend time on LibraryThing. I found accomplishing the program a bit difficult with the busy summer schedule; covering for co-workers on vacation break, kids on summer vacation, and the SRC. In order to finish the program, I worked mostly on it from home where I was able to find some uninterrupted time.

Week 9

2007-08-23T13:39:00.000-04:00

Overdrive, Netlibrary, and Project Guttenberg - I did explore Netlibrary and Overdrive when they first were available. At that time, I downloaded an audiobook from Overdrive. Then I glanced through a Storytime ebook fom Netlibrary. Since I do not enjoy listening to audiobooks or spend that much time commuting, I did download and listen to a children’s book. Because I do not visit these sites regularly, I have again revisited these sites. This was an excellent review. On Overdrive, I downloaded a movie (the IMAX films are amazing), and adobe ebook (The Eensy-Weensy Spider, adapted by Mary Ann Hoberman). Then on Netlibrary, it is fabulous having access to many Storytime planning ebooks. I really should take more advantage of accessing them. While, I personally feel that I spend too much time in front of the computer, I believe having access to these materials are fantastic.

Week 9

2007-08-23T11:50:00.000-04:00

Podcasts - I searched for library related podcasts on Podcast.net, however after finding one titled Open Stacks, I was unable to add it to bloglines. So I tried searching for Open Stacks on Yahoo Podcasts, and in their details the RSS feed address was available and I easily added it to bloglines. I then added OPLIN4cast and LibVibe to my bloglines. I also found Podcast Alley user friendly. I prefer using Yahoo Podcast. I find helpful to have access to library related news in one location on bloglines.

Week 9

2007-08-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

This site is very addicting. I love this song performed by the Muppets, Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson and Frank Oz. Finding clips on YouTube was fun!

Week 8

2007-08-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

Web 2.0 Award List - I had a bit of fun today checking out two widget sites - http://yourminis.com/ and http://springwidgets.com/. From the yourminis site, I copied a Quotes of the Day widget. Then from the springwidgets site, I copied an Etch-A-Sketch widget. Both of these fun widgets can be found at the bottom of this page. Take a moment to play with the Etch-A-Sketch. Just click on the screen and use the arrow keys to sketch. There were many neat widgets to choose such as; games, news, video, shopping and so on. They were so easy to add to my blog. Cute.

Week 8

2007-08-20T20:27:00.000-04:00

Online Productivity Tools - I found Zoho writer http://writer.zoho.com easy to use for creating a document. However, I failed at publishing the document to this blog. So after many unsuccessful attempts, my frustration and the lack of time, I gave up and decided to write a post. I'll try again another time. I hope to have better luck with Google docs.

Week 7

2007-08-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

Wikis & Sandbox Wiki - I first learned about wikis during LATI, when we used a wiki to contribute a few of our resources. At that time I could not see any great benefit for using a wiki. I thought that this would just be another location to have resources listed that would change and need to be updated. After some study, I now see the possibility of how this can be a used within the library system. Wikis would be a good tool for the collaboration of sharing ideas and resources for programs; such a place to brainstorm and contribute ideas for the Summer Reading Program. I added to the Sandbox wiki, my favorite children's books. I could have added many more, those were some of my top favorites.

Week 6

2007-08-19T16:52:00.000-04:00

Future of Libraries - In order for our library to serve our community, we first need to find out what they expect and need from us. It would be great to jump in and provide the public with all of the latest and greatest services; but if they are not fully utilized it would be a waste of time, effort and resources. I believe we should update our services as the patrons' needs change. Technology is evolving and changing faster than the need of the majority of our patrons. Rather then trying to have all the latest automation gadgets and wireless connectivity, I feel that the library's resources would be better utilized by providing more computers for use by the patrons. They should be newer ones, but all the bells and whistles are not needed for research, web surfing and after school use. The funding for cutting edge equipment is not there and the automation staff currently has their hands full just keeping a few computers at each branch. Most of the time our computers are utilized by patrons checking their email, browsing through MySpace pages, playing video games, working on genealogy, filling out online applications, and homework assignments.

Week 6

2007-08-19T13:26:00.000-04:00

Technorati - I am not certain how much I would use Technorati. It is neat that it provides searches for blogposts, video, and photos. I do find that there is a benefit of tagging items for my own use, however, searching tags could become a bit frustrating. For example, looking for flannel board ideas that could be tagged using different terms like felt or flannel. While checking out the top blogs on Technorati, I clicked on the top blog called engadget. I scrolled down through the site and came across an article on a new concept for a yoga mat. You can join in a yoga class remotely with a built in screen, speakers, and a flash-based music player. The article can be found at http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/19/conceptual-yoga-mat-triples-as-stereo-display/. I found it interesting since I'll be starting some prenatal yoga classes soon. With all that goes on with that mat, I wonder how relaxation can be found.

Week 6

2007-08-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

Tagging and Del.icio.us - I found this a bit confusing at first - I had a difficult time trying to install the browser button. I had to have my husband help with the installation. Once installed, tagging my favorite sites was easy. I then tagged some sites that I thought would be useful for storytime planning.

Week 5

2007-08-18T12:36:00.001-04:00

Flickr Toys - Image Generator - Rollyo - I could spend a great deal of time creating with the different generators! I used the Lolcat Generator found at http://bighugelabs.com/.

My creation Originally uploaded by contrarymary22

While I would spend time working on the computer, this was my kitty's favorite hangout until we got LCD monitors. Poor Kitty! I added my Rollyo search box to the sidebar. It's neat to have my own search engine.

Week 5

2007-08-17T16:04:00.000-04:00

LibraryThing -

Week 4

2007-08-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

RSS Feeds and NewsReader - I think this is a benefit to have an online location to access a listing of my favorite and useful Library sites. No matter what computer I am on, I am able to access to this list. http://www.bloglines.com/blog/mghiorzi - Being a patron a the Loudoun County Library System, I have subscribed to RSS Feeds for any new books, dvds, cds that have become available in their system. I love having the option of placing some of these books on hold right away. They also have RSS available for their Library Events. What a great feature.

Week 3

2007-08-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

Flickr & Mashups - I uploaded some picture of my cats onto Flickr. http://flickr.com/photos/contrarymary2/ I checked out the many neat Flickr tools and added a thought bubble to my of the photos. http://flickr.com/photos/contrarymary2/1126555674/ I also had a chance to take look at Mashup sites, Yahoo Pipes and IBM QEDwiki (had a nine minute presentation on Youtube).

Week 3

2007-08-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Technology Related - There is a useful site that provides file conversions. This site provides file conversions of many different document, image, music and video formats. For a the list of conversions the site is at http://www.zamzar.com/ Also, there is a video search engine called Truveo at http://www.truveo.com/ which is a neat site to search videos from YouTube, myspace and AOL. I also came across a neat feature called LibraryLookup Bookmarklet Generator. This is feature can be used who those who search for books on Amazon or BN, where they can be linked up with their local library http://http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/stories/2002/12/11/librarylookup.html. If a book isn't available at the library, it can be added to their wishlist. Then, when it becomes available at the library, it shows up in a special RSS feed that watches their Amazon wishlist.

Week 2, Thing 2

2007-08-14T17:23:00.000-04:00

Lifelong Learners - I would have to say that the easiest learning habit would be viewing problems as a challenge. I love the challenge to search for an answer to question and to find a way to overcome a problem. The most difficult for me is to have the confidence in myself as a competent effective learner. I find that I am sometimes lack the confidence in myself and my abilities.

Week 2, Thing 1

2007-06-09T16:12:00.000-04:00

About this Program - How exciting- to play & learn while we work!