Thhhhhhhhhhat's all, Folks!

Well, here it is, December 1, and I am posting my last blog entry. Once the blog was set up, I found the blogging itself fairly easy.
I enjoyed learning more about the origins of Wiki, and it is always fun to poke around YouTube.
The thing I will definitely use in the future is the NetLibrary EAudiobooks. I at least want to try downloading some and see how that process goes. I would also likely use image generators again.
If I was to do a course like this in the future, I think it would be very helpful to have groups working together. This way we could meet for a few hours per week and go through the exercises together. I think this would enable us to learn from each other as well, as there are some topics which are a struggle for some which might come easily for others. I really feel that this group learning experience would allow everyone to get the most out of the new information as possible.

eAudiobooks

I had looked very briefly at EAudiobooks before. This week's exercise gave me a legitimate reason to go back and dig a little deeper. I was surprised at how many titles I found that were of interest to me! I had to start making a list for future reference. I have never listened to a book before but I am definitely going to borrow my husband's MP3 player and give it a try. Not only did I find my all-time favourites, "Emma" and "Sense and Sensiblity", I also found newer mysteries as well as an Agatha Christie mystery that I actually had not read!
I would definitely use this in the future, and I feel more comfortable recommending it to patrons as well.

Podcasts

The Odeo site caused my computer to freeze on 3 occasions when I was attempting to view a particluar podcast. The Podcastalley site did not have anything of interest.

I did not like the lack of search options for podcasts. You can initially search a topic, but then there is no option to further enhance your search.

The site that appealed to me the most was the ITunes site. Unfortunately, you had to download software to access the podcasts.

Youtube

Some of my favourite Youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWGQaczNL5I This reminds me of my son, as it was one of his audition songs for the music program at University.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg This one is fun. You have to watch the entire thing. Definitely a trip down memory lane!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWRyj5cHIQA For all the Shamwow and SlapChop fans out there :)

Wiki

I enjoyed reading about wikis and the history of Wikipedia. The concept is interesting, being that a wiki allows a group of people to enter and communally edit bits of text, that can then be viewed and edited by anyone who visits the wiki. I also found it interesting that the word wiki is a Hawaiian word which means "quick". Also, I had wondered who writes the Wikipedia entries. The article revealed that Wikipedia is written collaboratively by an international group of volunteers.

I would use Wikipedia as a jumping-off point for research. It could help by giving an overview about a topic, then providing some subject search headings to look within our library catalogue. Also, I find that if I personally just want a really quick summary of a topic, Wikipedia is helpful by keeping the facts concise.

I would not want students and others to rely on what they read in Wikipedia as bona fide facts. They should definitely review facts from a reliable source.

Library 2.0 and Web 2.0

One of the articles I read was called "Into a new world of librarianship". It disussed how a 2.0 Librarian uses advances in technology to meet the changing needs of patrons. Barriers to access are removed so patrons can utilize the library's collection and services from different access points, such as home, car, Blackberry, etc.

Technorati

Checked out Technorati. Pretty busy for my liking. Tried to search for my blog and it did not show up.