#23 Summary

Yes, the program was at times challenging, some components were fun and yes, I'm glad I took the journey. I now feel as though I am on the same page as the techno-literate. Atleast I can nod intelligently if some one asks have you heard of...? Some of the technologies I knew in name only, so it was great to have first hand experience . Wikis, podcasts, RSS and library thing were stand outs , and I'll definitely look in to these further and use these applications at work. YouTubes were a personal favourite . The 2.0 activities has given me a good basis and the confidence to explore further and build on skills. Thanks to Lynette and the team for making the Learning 2.0 program available.

#22 Audio books (or The end in sight)

There are library members who prefer audio books, so the World EBook Fair -Gutenberg really adds another dimension that we can promote. I noticed that there are books in various languages that would suit some of our local community and extend the library's community language collections. - example -Classic Chinese Literature Collection. The cost to the user is minimal, if not free. The Project Gutenberg surprisingly started as far back as 1971. The Australian site was set up in 2001. As all titles are in the public domain the titles tend to be "the classics" - adult and children's titles. Some titles are regularly on school reading lists - My Brilliant Career and For the term of his natural life as an example. - a good alternative if all print copies are on loan. The fact that these are all downloadable to the various mobile technologies out there is fantastic.

#21 Podcasts, smodcasts

Like Youtube, I can see many practical applications for the library setting - use as an information services tool,introduction packages - new members, author talks and link podcast to themes /preams to library events, podcasts to highlight library innovations and other news, surveys, guides. Exploring Podcast.net I discovered podcasts for all subjects imaginable. I scanned some of the author and writer podcasts example Diana Gabaldon Podcast. A link to her website is also available. In Podcastalley there were Authors on Tour live, a free weekly podcast featuring bestselling authors reading and discussing their newest books, Much ado about books - a book talk radio show- interviews from New York Times bestselling authors and Meet the Author - a podcast where leading writers tell you what they feel about their books. Podcasts, definitely have potential as an enhancement for the library website.

#20 You too can YouTube

Hi, I love YouTube! I even found videos of my fave pianists performing fave compositions . Some of the videos showed the performances close up so I was able to have a look at the more technical aspects of their playing .

I believe the max length of video is 10 minutes. This application could be used in the library setting for promotion, recap of events and library activities, surveys ,various instructional/ training programs for staff or public - e.g. new members - library layout , how to use the catalogue.

Groups, under the Community Tab enables you to share videos and have discussions on a common theme. The videos can not be downloaded to watch later . You can subscribe and be alerted to new videos.

If you like jazz, here is one of a number of videos that Joe has on YouTube. playing the standard 'Smoke gets in your eyes". Joe Chindamo, is an Australian Jazz Performer /friend from college days . Support Australian artists.... To see the full screen you can click the button bottom right of the video.

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 tools

I dipped in and out of the various categories from the winners lists. Biblio.com- a useful tool for searching out of print, rare books, and even signed copies. Being a music buff the ability to search for sheet music and other genres of music titles appealed. Bookstores and booksellers can be searched by name or country. The various spreadsheet and word processing applications such as Writeboard and Google looked like good practical tools. The "Listdumps" were diverse and fun to browse. However the application that caught my eye were the "Hosted Wikis". Within "Wetpaint" are examples of subject Wikis . I explored the Classical Music for Everyone Wiki. A new feature of Wetpaint is the 'Wiki Whiteboard' . You can create a Wiki within a facebook application . Videos can be posted including those from YouTube . In this application there are also privacy settings to control who sees the information. The other Hosted Wiki I looked at is 'Stikipad'. Again this a tool that could be used to write and update manuals and procedures and more, a collaborative tool for planning etc. You can make your own templates. Tags and tag searching is available and the site claims to have enhanced security.

#18 Web based applications

Looking through the site, Zoho offers not only word and spreadsheet facilities but also Zoho Wikis, Zoho meetings for online conferencing, Zoho Show for online presentations and more (under Switch to). with the advantage of not having to have the necessary software installed to your desktop. You can download files from your desktop, add images and all the usual facilities and tag documents for easy access. You can create various templates for specific tasks- resumes, cover letters etc If you happen to lose your documents Zoho can provide a backup copy. The FAQ 's give useful tips including how to post the document to a blog. I created a document and tagged it Debussy-Bibliography- imported the page from a URL.

# 17 Building Sandcastles in the Sandbox -PB Wiki

Hi, besides taking a while to sort out creating an active link on the Favourites Blog page this exercise was very straightforward.... I popped an entry under 'Favourite Vacations' and added it to the Favourite Blogs page.

#16 Exploring Wikis

I love the potential of Wiki's as an information sharing and learning tool for staff/public. I can see its application for various library services , such as Youth Services . The Wiki could include a Reading Book Club where teens and children discuss what they have read. It could be linked with the Premiers Reading Challenge, advertise upcoming events, add staff aids for story time activities, link up with the catalogue and favourite reads, provide links to programs available in the local and wider community , parent discussion group on favourite reads/developing their children's reading skills, subject guides and more.......

An Information Services Wiki could include online training, newsletters, minutes of meetings, use to workshop/exchange ideas for special projects and policies, add links so staff can be informed of external training programs , provide links to journal articles you'd like staff to read, links to wider groups, such as the Reference Co-operative.... You could run surveys... ...... .....

There is the issue of control over content, protecting Wiki's from spam. I noticed registration or log in such as an e-mail confirmation can be used to help overcome vandalism problems, another had an edit tab (for librarians only). I like the fact you can easily create a Wiki and that you can control participation by make a Wiki private or public.

#15 Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

We all know the younger generation have already much experience of what has been covered in 2.0. They are the "plugged" in generation - using mobiles, ipods, myspace, MP3s, blogs etc as a regular fabric of their lives- relating to friends and learning, in the techno world. So where do they sit as users of libraries and what direction do we need to take for the future . Libraries definitely need to embrace their world and connect with their online lives. Through our web site alone we know that there are some members that are purely virtual members - using the online resources we offer, web links and relying on the online environment to be alerted to activities and other resources offered. It is obvious libraries are at the cross roads . All of the technologies in 2.0 and beyond such as RSS, Wikis, web logs will help us to provide a library service that is much more dynamic, connect to our community , package information in an intuitive way, promote and generally expand service delivery. The notion of Library 4.0 of connecting from virtual reality to 3d reality, library labs, knowledge spas - we can only wonder and explore - it really seems a huge experiment being propelled of its own volition - always evolving. The journey is going to be fascinating......

#14 Technorati

The idea of 50 million blogs in 'blogosphere" is totally overwhelming - doubling in size every 6 months or so. I read that in 2006 175,000 blogs were created each day and has moved on to- 2 blogs being created every second of the day!!! I looked at the 2.0 blog posts . The most popular Blogs in Technorati all seemed to be techno-related. To make thse blogs more useful the art of tagging becomes important.

#13 Del.icio.us

Well looking at the site and articles on Delicious, I have discovered that this is a good resource for streamlining your bookmarks, sharing them and has a definite advantage over the old "favourites" folders being able to access them from any internet connection. The inbox allows you to track what has been added. You can add others bookmarks and add to your inbox. RSS are also available on most pages. You can have bookmarks autoposted to your blog daily. This way of organising bookmarks could be a useful aid in research and for creating bodies of information on any subject imaginable e.g. use for bookclubs. You can make them private or public, and you can share a link with a friend and tag it with forusername. "Linkrolls" are also a way to share bookmarks with the people who read your blog.

#12 Rollyo

Rollyo would be handy for gathering together links etc on a specialised or esoteric subject e.g. where there has been a lot of research gone into finding relevant links . In the library setting it would be useful for the regularily asked for school projects. It is really an enhanced version of your "favourites" address book.

Here is the link to "My music"

http://rollyo.com/createroll.html?sid=320660

Library Thing Chat

Of all the exercises in the 2.0 program we have covered so far, I could see myself using Library Thing with my work and for personal interests.
1. Able to generate lists simply.
2. Able to add reviews under each item.
3. Able to use to create lists - limited only by your imagination.
4 Use it as an interactive tool - forums and conversations - ie bookclubs, workshop ideas.

I chose to create a list of Piano Music by Debussy and added a few reviews commenting on the edition. Tags were used to grade the pieces by technical difficulty

#11 Library Thing

#10 Online Image Generators

Hi everyone, So many image generators ---. Here are two that I explored. The first is Warholizer in Flickr toys http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/warholizer.php

- simply upload the image - the rest is virtually created for you - I think "Sophie" would like her portrait.

The second is at http://artpad.art.com/.

If you are artistically inclined this is the one for you. You have a palette of colors and a brush to work with. From here you can create you own paintings or text. I f you want to rework simply press 'undo'. Frame it and add to the gallery. From here you can create a link, print it or send to a friend. Loads of fun......

#8 and #9 RSS & Newsreader .... and Newsfeeds

Until this exercise I'd never heard of RSS and Newsfeeds, even though they have been around since 1999. I found the Feedme Palinet tutorial and Using Bloglines tutorial very informative and clear and can see the value of Newsfeeds as a great tool for keeping up to date with the latest information/trends in a profession or a subject you are personally interested in - and as a communication tool. The down side is the sheer volume of material - are there enough hours in the day? - and as Julie said, it is very addictive.... I noted that a browser such as Firefox can be used enabling automatic notification of new items to be read. I looked for a number of newsfeeds on some subjects of personal interest with no success. Maybe they were too specialised? Anyway the exercise was interesting.

My Blogline account:

http://www.bloglines.com/public/ravel

#7 Techno talk

Yes, I remember the introduction of computers in libraries, learning basic keyboard skills ,how to use a mouse and the introduction of internets in to the workplace. I remember when we had to sleuth out information using book resources only. The world we live in moves at a frantic pace and continual change. This is also reflected in the technology around us and its ability to transform at every turn. The beauty of it is its immediacy - people demand answers and delivery of information now! and more often than not, almost by magic we can deliver - no matter how esoteric the subject. There is something online to cover whatever you need to find, create and communicate - and being part of that is exciting.

#6Flickr Mosaic

Hi, after popping on the trading card I became a little more adventerous and tried Mosaic.

#6Flickr Trading Card

With a little help from my friend..... I managed to create this. Pictured here is Riki and Co-CO - always partners in crime. Co-Co for those who wonder is a 'color-point'. The chocolate points deepen with age. The fur is silky and never matts so is easy to care for. The eyes are an azure blue. She moves with the grace of a ballerina and has the appeal of a panda - I never tire of looking at her. Riki, is the circus act - retrieves balls and drops them at your feet and rolls over on cue. Click on the image to see them in their full glory.

#5Flickr The light flickr (s) on

Hi, I popped on my image the other day. One step along the way. The combination of Flickr and Blogging is a great tool for communication and learning. I 'd like to use this for newsletters and subject related projects. I can see how careful you need to be with privacy and ownership.

Music Reflections

Reflets dans l'eau is one of the most beautiful works composed for the piano. It is from the Images Suite by Debussy, composed 'round 1905. He has been compared to the Impressionist painters and composes music based on impressions in nature. His pieces are particularly delightful if you play on a day when the skies are blue and there is a soft summer breeze. This photo was taken by a friend.

Linda's Journey

Hi, It's going to be an interesting journey -- am looking forward to all that it may reveal--- have a happy day.