Tech Trek: The Final Countdown!

Welp, I think I made it. Just wanted to say a big thank you to the Tech Trek Committee and fellow Trekkers who made this a VERY worthwhile learning experience. I think I may have actually taught my husband a new thing or two about Web 2.0 and that's saying something. Usually he's the computer freak of the family. I can't wait to keep on learning and expanding on the new tools you've brought to light. Thanks once more.... till we blog again. ;c)

Quest 12: Media 2.0

YouTube - Mr. Bean In the Library-
Here is one of my favorite Mr. Bean videos. He's so funny from his big red leather bookmark to his bottle of white-out. Thanks goes out to Mr. Bean and Ashstarr for posting it. Enjoy!



YouTube has turned everyone into a potential Steven Spielberg - at least self-proclaimed anyway. I first checked out YouTube when my brother posted some videos of my niece and sent family the link. So Missouri was only a click away, which is pretty neat.

However, I must say, finding a professionally appropriate video to post was no small feat. How shall I put this - I'm sure we all found a little bit to blush about. Some of the intro photos show you more than you ever wanted to see of some nameless male or female shaking something in your face. Anyway.... this brings me to my point about parents really needing to keep an eye on what their kids are viewing on the Internet. As a future parent in the pretty near future, it really opened my eyes and got me thinking about what young eyes can see. Just last week from the children's reference desk, I watched a girl, probably 7 years of age at the most, hop on over to the Internet(no parents in sight), quickly type in the YouTube address and away she went cruising for videos. Things that make you go hmmmmm. And as librarians, what role do we play? Internet guardians? Parental alerters? Innocent or uninnocent bystanders? Look out next generation. You are Web 2.0 and beyond.

Podcasting: NPR: Fresh Air
I listened to a podcast via iTunes. It was a "webisode?" of NPR's Fresh Air featuring Jerry Seinfeld who talked about his upcoming Bee Movie. I can see the real value in podcasts in that it's sort of like TiVo for the radio and real-life conferences. For example if you missed the NPR interview on your way to work that morning or were unable to make it to the National Book Festival to hear your favorite author, you can go a-searchin and listen or watch it all via podcast. We can't exactly record in advance though, maybe someday. ;c) Podcasting really brings the world to you, much like YouTube.

Quest 11.2 Online Apps Lessons Learned

Hey! Somehow I did it. Below is my Zoho document published to my blog. In Zoho I had bullets for each line and it was nicely centered, but I'll take what I can get. I tried to fiddle with the blog template settings to stretch the text box area wider, but no luck so far. Maybe other templates are more flexible.

I can see Zoho having great potential in the public library computing world. So many times patrons don't have a disk or can't open their flash drive for whatever reason and this could be a great alternative. I liked some of the other templates in Zoho too - resumes, cover letters, receipts, even nutrition logs. Very multipurpose. This IS an interesting movement away from Microsoft Office products. I found the buttons and features very similar to Office and easy to use. Still has that "ooooo, it's somewhere out there on the Internet and not my own private personal computer" feel though. What would happen if they suddenly went out of business? Still pays to back your material up, but it can be great in a pinch.

Quest 11: Online Apps

 

Things I've Learned From My Dog

 

 

• When a loved one comes home, always run to them.
• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
• When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
• Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
• Take naps.
• Stretch before rising.
• Run, romp, and play daily.
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
• On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass.
• On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
• When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
• No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.
• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you've had enough.
• Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.
• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Quest 10: Son of Tech Trek Playhouse

Cruising through some sites:
Evite - neat concept. I've received some Evites from friends before and always thought it was fun to respond and see who else is coming to the party. I never noticed all the other added features like recipes, activity ideas, decorations, etc. I can definetely see that coming in handy for children's programming. The blog had some very creative postings too. May have to add that to my Bloglines. Oooh, just saw the drink calculator. That could come in handy for some holiday parties.

Dogster was pretty cute too. Some of the videos were really funny. Can't wait to add my pooch.

artPad I liked looking through the gallery at other people's creations.

The Generator website was very interesting too. I think I know now where some of the customized clip art comes from in those mass emails that go around from time to time. The customizable threat generator looked very familiar.

Thanks for bringing these site to light Tech Trek!

Quest 9: Quick Like a Wiki!

Would anyone care for a Wiki Wacky Bowl? Okay, enough corny wiki jokes. I love that "wiki" is the Hawaiian work for "quick". If you know me, you know I love all things Hawaiiana. Ahhhh, enough daydreaming about the "Aloha Days."

Wikis are way cool. As many fellow Trekkers have said in their posts, it reminds me of a big editable blog post. Wikis were just coming out when I finished library grad school and I'm sure the University of Hawaii has incorporated it into their curriculum in some way. We used WebCT for a few classes and I think it was a precursor to a wiki.

My thoughts on the Discovery Resources: As much as I mildly hate to admit it, I go to Wikipedia from time to time for quick surface level info, overview of a topic or a basic definition. I always keep in mind to check the source notes at the bottom and keep aware of bias or other glaring inaccuracies that could pop up. But I'll tell ya, many times for patrons looking for obscure information, it can be the best first place to go and scroll down and look at their External Links and find more info from there. Many of these are good creditable websites like .gov and .edu. And it's often the quickest, straightforward place to get an author's listing of works and titles in chronological order. So those questions of "What comes next in the ....series are easily answered or are often just a click away. I'm always reading with a keen eye, but I think Wikipedia has come a long way since the beginning and it's editors are pretty on the ball.

The SJCPL Subject Guides (St. Joseph County Public Library system) Pathfinder Wiki was interesting in that the edit button said Librarians Only . And the Library Success: A best practices wiki requires an email for confirmation after stating it had been having vandalism problems. Just shows you some of the caveats of "edit-away" wikis. We all have to be on our best behavior for the greater good.

I also visit the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) wiki quite frequently. They have lots of good stuff from lists of award books, to forums for posting program ideas. There isn't a lot there yet, but hopefully more people will contribute to make it a robust resource. I may even get up the nerve one day!

As far as practical applications for libraries - I could definetely see it being used for committee work right here in our own library system. Or even by department to link the different branches - Circ, reference and children's services all sharing tips and info.

In closing, I liked the Tech Trek wiki and your lists of lists! I had fun contributing.

Quest 8: Social Networking

I have now entered the world of MySpace, thanks to the great TLC class I attended a few weeks ago and the tips from a few knowledgeable fellow staffers at STA (Ms. KS, Ms. KB, and Ms. KM - AKA "The K Krew" - like K-Fed, but a whole lot cooler). I have a pretty basic page now, but I'm looking forward to getting some time to pretty it up with some of the user friendly profile editors like www.whateverlife.com and www.pimpmyprofile.com.

I think one of the neatest revolutions of Web 2.0 is the whole concept of push-button publishing and the fact that so many popular sites (YouTube, Blogger and profile editors like www.pimpmyprofile.com)give you access to the html code so that you can just copy and paste it into the right box and VOILA! there is your background, video, music player or picture; no need to learn complex code anymore.

I tried a few different times to get a Facebook account and try things out, but each time the security code area of the page said LOADING... and I wasn't able to complete the sign-up process. I plan to give it another go on a different computer. The one I was using in the staff room has been known to have a mind of it's own sometimes. ;c)