Week 9, #23

Aah.. last one! So for this last exercise, we are supposed to answer these last questions about the Learning 2.0 program.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

»My favorite discovery in the program would probably be exploring and learning about youtube.com. I found that it was the most interesting discovery. I liked searching for videos and watching the videos. I also liked how there were random videos from random categories.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

»The program gave me new tools to help me achieve my lifelong learning goals. The websites and discoveries enabled me to explore new and shorter ways of doing things and getting things done.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

»The only thing that really surprised me was that some of the exercises were actually difficult to comprehend at first. Some of the programs and websites that we were instructed to explore were slightly confusing. It took me a while to figure some of them out, but it was still a good experience nonetheless.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?

»I guess the only thing I would suggest would be to choose sites and programs that were a little more interesting and a little less confusing.

Lastly... If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

»Yeah, I suppose I would. The program was pretty easy and overall, pretty interesting also. That flashdrive is pretty good motivation too. ;D

Tada! All done.

Week 9, #22

For this exercise, we were asked to explore eBooks on two different websites. One was the San Jose Public Library page. I've never really searched for eBooks before so I didn't really know what I was doing or what I would find. I discovered that eBooks are texts of novels and other books that you can access online. You check them out like you would a normal library book, except that it is a computer file. When the checkout time is up, the file automatically becomes unreadable and are then deletable. On the SJPL page, there is a specific source for Technological eBooks called Safari Tech. This site narrows the search more if what you're looking for is technology related. The World's Ebook Fair site is another site where you can download books online. The only catch with that site is that you have to register in order to download the books. Registering to the site means you have to pay a yearly fee to download from their database.

Week 9, #21

For this exercise, we discovered Podcasts. I had always thought that in order to use Podcasts, you needed an iPod. However, I found that podcasts are actually soundbytes that are uploaded by a variety of people for a bunch of different categories. I explored podcasts.net but I wasn't able to play any of the podcasts for some reason. I guess the computers at Rosegarden don't have the software for it. However, I was able to play the podcasts at Yahoo! Podcasts. I clicked around the music section and the entertainment section. I was able to listen to an episode of beats from the DNAE Beats Podcast. You are also able to subscribe to different podcasts and get updates of new episodes whenever they come out. There are hundreds and hundreds of categories and subcategories to explore. I also found another Podcast I liked under the Entertainment section at Yahoo! Podcasts. It was called Nobody Likes Onions. It was a sarcastic take on a newsshow. It actually reminded me of the online newspaper called The Onion.

Week 9, #20 YouTube.com

For this exercise, we had to explore YouTube.com and find a video that we thought was interesting. The video I found was of a Hip-Hop dance group called Pheonix Dance Company. They were one of the competitors at Battlefest Live v6 this year. This event took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City. I attended this competition and Pheonix was actually one of my favorite groups. The video is of their performance at the event.

I like this site because it allows people to post video clips of pretty much anything they want. However, one drawback would be that some of the videos that people post that may be inapporopriate. The site also limits the size of the video that can be posted.

Week 8, # 18 and 19

For #18, I discovered Zoho Writer which is an online application that allows you to write documents and save them online. The Zoho Writer is like Word Document but online. You can type up a document and format it any way you want. Then you save it and are able to publish it to your blog, email it to yourself or to other people, or even print the document as you would from Word. I tried to post a blog onto blogspot, but for some reason the browser on this computer wouldn't let me publish it to my blog.

For exercise #19, I explored LibraryThing.com. Using this site, I was able to create an account and select certain books as my favorite and add them into my library. I was also able to see reviews from other members that have read the book and see suggestions of other novels to read. The site also shows information on the book, including different editions, ISBN numbers, publishing information, etc. The most popular book in my Library was Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Here is the link to my Library.

Week 7, #16 and 17

For week 7, we are instructed to look at and learn about wikis. Wikis are webpages filled with information that can be edited by anyone, registered or unregistered to the site. One of the library wikis that I explored was the SJCPL Subject Guides. I thought it was like an online catalog for the library but with more of an interactive feel. It was familiar like a search engine or a search site but it was for a library. Another library wiki I found interesting was the Library Success wiki. This wiki features several articles and reference sites grouped according to specific categories. I thought this could be useful because the site narrows down the problem and offers advice.

For #17, we had to add an entry to the SJLibrary Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki. I added this blogsite to the Favorite Blogs page on the wiki. I thought this was a really fun site simply because it was created mainly for play. I think wikis can be useful for work at the library because we can use it to update information about certain events for library or city employees. Also, we can use it to find out more information about employees and discover personality traits.

Week 6, #13, 14, and 15

Exercise #13 is about tagging and social bookmarking, mainly via a website called del.icio.us. This site reminded me of the RSS feeds we discovered during a previous week. Although this site isn't for continuous updates, the social bookmarking website allows people to save bookmarked pages, as they would on their personal computers at home, onto a del.icio.us homepage and access them from any computer in any location simply by logging on to the site. When I visited the SJLibraryLearning bookmarking site, I was able to see the resources used and the number of people that also subscribed to the site. One of the options allows you to see the other tags used by people to search for the particular website. The link I explored was infoisland.org. I saw that the link was saved by 113 other people and had common tags such as blog, community, library2.0, secondlife, sl, social, web2.0, etc. I think this tool can be useful for students that have to do research projects or papers. They can use the websites that they found most useful from anywhere, whether it be at home, at school, or at the library.

Exercise #14 had us explore Technorati. This site allows for searches in blogs and in the blogging community. When I searched Learning 2.0 in the search engine on the site, each of the three categories presented me with different results. When I looked through the popular blogs, searches, and tags, I saw that many people tagged popular sites that I also visited. I found one video that I thought was interesting. It was a youtube.com video about a rare, prehistoric shark called the frilled shark that was caught off the coast of Japan. According to Technorati, a lot of people use and tag youtube. Tagging and bookmarking, along with the RSS feeds, can be very useful tools. They allow for more efficient and quicker researching and updating.

Exercise #15 asks us to reflect on Library 2.0 and what it means to us. In a perspective written by Rick Anderson, he talks about how libraries today are trying to create stronger bonds between library patrons and librarians. This would minimize the unneccessary time currently spent by patrons and librarians dealing with programs and search engines that neither understands. With a stronger relationship, patrons and librarians can work together, learning and efficiently researching to find what they are looking for. To me, Library 2.0 is a constant learning experience.