Week 10: #23 Is this really the end or the beginning

The weeks really did go by very rapidly. I have become acquainted with many things during this time from blogging to You Tube, and especially the cute avatars. However, I found it most difficult to find the time at work to do so many lessons per week. I did have to resort to doing some of these at home. My home computer is down, so I've been lagging behind trying to get the lessons finished. The test now will be how many of the things we have been introduced to, will we actually continue with. Many great tools. I had no idea that there were so many wonderful tools available to us just with a click of the mouse. It has been a great experience even if we don't persue some of these things. I do also feel that we should have been given more training hours than the 10 for this project.

Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

HCPL's digital media has so many things available and is so easy to browse. It's great not to have to create yet another account to use this source. I downloaded classical music (Strauss) from HCPL Overdrive. I also checked out Thanksgiving Collections, The Healthy Beef Cookbook, and the Kids Party Cookbook on the HCPL media. Since my home computer has a very slow PC speed, I couldn't download anything on it. I checked out Wowio and Librivox.

Week 9: #21 Podcast

I did register to an RSS feed, but don't think I would care to use Podcast as it seems time consuming to find information and I really don't care to listen to lectures on any subject. After a bit, I lose interest. However, guess another way to communitate with people. At this time, I don't own an MP3 player or an IPod. Possibly, in the future I may get more interested in using these.

Week 9: # 20 - You Tube & Video Sharing

The neat thing about You Tube is that anyone can make a video and post it for all to see. I think it would be helpful for the library to post a video for customers to see how the library works in getting their requests to them.

Week 8: # 19 Web based Apps:

I registered with Zoho writer and found it very easy to use. Having all documents online and offline is great. Like the ability to be able to access from any computer and that your information it is saved online. However, for my personal use, I most likely will stick with Microsoft Word as I don't like the idea of putting my information out there in a non-secure envirnoment.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking: Making Friends in the Comfort of your Home

Watched the video on social networking in plain English.

Checked out several sites on social networking. Dogster didn't interest me since I don't have any pets. Infield is a great site if you're into Nascar racing. However, Rate My Space was my favorite and I registered on this site. I found it interesting to check out the various entries on newly decorated homes, kitchens, or a bachelor pad. I enjoy watching HGTV in my spare time.

Week 7: Blog About Technology

Technology is constantly changing. Just when one thinks all knowledge is there, something new is developed and more new technology is gained. For me personally, email has been a great source of technology. You can reach someone within minutes and give them info they need, or they can email it to you. Being able to view your bank statement online is great. You can even pay your bill online. This is very convenient and you can even print your confirmation. And no more waiting for the bank statement to arrive by mail to see if your check has cleared.

Technology continues to touch our lives and makes things easier. In the library, we no longer have to type out library cards or stamp books. However, when things go down, power or servers, it spells diaster and things come to a screaching halt. This past week has been an example of when things go down. We couldn't accept payment of fines, couldn't tell customers if their books on hold were in, etc. The customers just don't understand why these things can't be done for them. This will have an affect on some customers records for some time.

Week7: #16 So What's In A Wiki?

A wiki allows anyone to edit a wiki's content. It's a great way to get a variety of info on a subject, however, not all info may be factual. The possiblities of what libraries can do with wikis are endless. They can be a community resource as an online hub for local communities. Read Library Success.

I added my blog to Wiki Sandbox on Favoritie Vacation Spot. Also, added a post on Tech Doctor's blog.

Week 6: #15 Library 2.0

The library services are frequently updated to meet the changing needs of library users. Library 2.0 calls for libraries to encourage the user participation and feedback in order to devlop and maintain library services. With information flowing from user to library and library to user, the libraries have the ability to improve constantly. Libraries are constantly growing in being to serve the user in more and more ways that dreamed possible in the past.

Week: #14 Technorati

I found this tool rather difficult to use. It appears to search the entire blog, or about blogs, etc. Results can be viewed as photos or videos or even posts.

Week 6: #13 Tagging/Del.icio.us

You can use any computer with access to the internet and have all resources right there. Tagging can be a great asset for those who have a huge amount of bookmarks in their account. This makes it easy to readily find the information. Feel this is a great tool for the reference librarians.

Week 5 #12 - Library Elf

I wasn't able to create my Elf due to the system being down. However, I feel this is a great tool for customers who check out a lot of books at a time and who have several cards in the family. For me personally, I find that HCPL does a great job in notifying me with my email.

Week 5 - #11 Library Thing

The Library Thing is easy to create and use. It's great to keep track, not only of all the books I have read, but also of the ones I want to read to help me with my Diabetes.

Week 5 #10 - Avatar

What a great way to dress our avatar how we would like to portray ourself just for fun. It also brings back memories of my childhood days playing with paperdolls, but this is so much more fun especially adding aminations. Really loved the Meez site.

Week 5 -Play

Week 4 - Post 9

I did some searches on Feedster, Topix, Snydic and Technoati. While I enjoyed some stuff on Topix, I don't feel that I would use too many of these. I still rely on getting my news and information in traditional ways.

Week 4 Blogline - Post 8

I created my Blogline account and subscribed to several feeds. Enjoyed reading, not only the local news, but the worldwide news as well. It is so neat to be able to pick as many feeds as you want that interests you.

pink climbing rose

pink climbing rose
Originally uploaded by eweishei

Week 3 No. 7

My creation

My creation
Originally uploaded by eweishei

Week 3

PIC
Originally uploaded by eweishei

Barbara Bush doing story time with children at the Barbara Bush Library in Spring, Tx.

Internet Safety

I am very uncomfortable with paying bills online. Many people I know do this without a thought. On a few occasions, I have ordered online and paid a few bills, but basically still rely on Uncle Sam to deliver my check payments. A few years ago, someone used my credit card to make online purchases. I'm not sure if this happened from using my card at a restaurant, or by using it online. Thank goodness the merchant called me at work to inquire if I made the purchases online the night before. When I told them I did not, they told me to call my bank and change all my cards, etc. Since that time, I am shy about making payments, etc. on the internet. At restaurants I still use my credit card, but not my debit card to protect myself.

To know we should be careful about what we put out there should be easy, but the more comfortable one becomes, the easier to become careless. The hardest thing to realize is that it is out there for anyone to see.

The tutorial was uplifting. To Laugh ---hmmm if we could go through life laughing more easily, it certainly would make life less challenging. I'm easily motivated, however, to remain postive and to stay on track will be difficult for me.