#21 podding with the muggles

i forgot how funny some american accents can be (with myself being one)... the intro to pod-cast #121- "Bellatrix needs some love" from the MuggleCasters was quite interesting...but that is the point.. there really are no rules for podcasts, like radio may have (well organized radio at least)... you can make the rules yourself.

anyway, back to the podcast:

not only was there the typical sounding Harry Potter instrumental intro sounds to the movies when they begin to zoom into Hogwarts, they did it in Metal-music style... v. interesting,and this could be because it's hosted by 20something or other dudes... with loads more metallica-esque guitar riffs with that halloweeny-ness of harry potter movie music.. gotta love the dramatization of it all.. pod casts can do anything ,really, can't they. they do news, (did you know there is going to be a Harry Potter theme park opening in 2009 "Holidays at Hogwarts" at Universial Studios in Florida!?!) and well all sorts of news for muggles.

i picked this podcast b/c it relates to young adult lit, and it does have this YA edge to it (esp the music.. )

podcasts are a great idea for libraries. currently there are podcasts of book talks, lectures, seminars, meetings, etc and there could be podcasts much like the one i'm listening to now which could be 'run' like a radio station by youth for youth on behalf of the library doing book reviews on new books like "King Dork" or the Gossip Girl series. all worth the technology this tool has to offer.

ps. man if only i were back in america, i'd be a hop skip and a jump away from harry potter land at universal studios.. that would be kinda cool.. don't pretend you don't think so too :)

#22-- Audiobooks and ebooks

I wanted to access the following quite badly... how fantastic does it sound-- and what beautiful covers that are available for viewing... it would have been a delight to see the illustrations inside as well... i do enjoy those old school Edwardian and Victorian designs. This website for e-books (http://worldebookfair.com/Childrens_eBooks.htm) had a bit like---

Alice and Other Fairy Plays for Children

Author: Freiligrath-Kroeker, Kate, 1845-1904
Language: English
Keywords: Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898; Children's plays
Alice -- Snowdrop -- The bear prince -- Jack and the princess who never laughed
Publisher London : George Bell and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden
Date 1881

i'll have to listen to the talking book options some other time when i have proper audio and an audio player (there is the story of Rumpelstiltskin which could have been a flash to the past with a touch of nostalgia and a hint of reminiscence of a childhood spent hanging out in the local library back in Virginia and my mother reading to us.

I think this sort of open-source material which allows anyone anywhere (as long as there is access to the technology supporting such initiatives (which is a whole nother kettle of fish regarding the issue of providing technology to third world countries but not having literacy and educational programs to support the technological-educational process behind how to use a computer and the wonderful benefits information access to the world can provide... there must be grass-roots work to support it all-- another digression)) to hear the stories or download for flights, road trips, etc which allows for more room than having a whole box worth or bag's worth of talking book kits, this sort of downloadable audio-text can be quite useful... it's a great idea.

i am really interested in the idea of having talking books available for loan through the library website where one can borrow the 'item' and then it disappears from their mp3 players... great concept...hopefully we'll see such technology in practice sooner rather than later at MLS... imagine the ease of tram ride 'reading!'

#20 you-tube

there seems to be a bit of junk on youtube (wrestling videos, weird stunts, random takes like bad renditions from america's funniest home videos) and sometimes there are things which aren't so bad; like the Aarhus video posted in the right hand column of this blog and the few decent 'book trailers' out there like the one embedded above-- a young adult book recently published/released. such 'book trailers' can be used to advertise up and coming material in the library as a more audio/visual way of previewing a book or 'reviewing' a book, rather than long-winded reviews.

#18 Zoho

i did a post. i attempted to publish through the blog, but it was having technical difficulties (three attempts but no success) but was able to get html code (i hope!?)

http://export.writer.zoho.com/ZExport.do (a link)

#16 and #17 Wikki wikki woo

The concept of a wiki is quite cool. I've always thought it an interesting practice to edit content, etc and that's why i was mesmerized by Wikipedia when it first started growing in reputation. I had a go with adding my blog to the list of wiki'ed blogs and also put in a couple of vegetarian/vegan restaurants on the PLCMC wiki which lets you talk about your favorite restaurant, etc. A great little tool when used in ways which don't undermine the truth, threaten cultural identities and histories, or offer false information in general.

#15 Web2.0 (Library(ian) 2.0 reflections)

Rick Anderson says: "No profession can survive if it throws its core principles and values overboard in response to every shift in the zeitgeist. However, it can be equally disastrous when a profession fails to acknowledge and adapt to radical, fundamental change in the marketplace it serves. At this point in time, our profession is far closer to the latter type of disaster than it is to the former. We need to shift direction, and we can’t wait for the big ship of our profession to change course first. It’s going to have to happen one library—one little boat—at a time."

I think this is a brilliant commentary on the importance of Web2.0 and the need to make intelligent, user-centric decisions which will help the library services grow in such a way which will allow users to have personally defined appropriate access to the services on offer. Taking this a step further, Michael Stephens states "“the Library is human” because it makes the library a social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience. Librarian 2.0, then, is the “strategy guide” for helping users find information, gather knowledge and create content." What a great commentary on the flexibility and malleability of library services through time. As long as the library continues to listen to and keep in touch with the 'patron environment' and the living breathing organism which it is (its wants, desires and needs) then maintaining a legitimate service as technologies advance and demographics fluctuate can be first nature. It takes a whole team together to create such a service environment to fulfill the general needs (not every one, unfortunately, can have everything they want all of the time) of the public. Matching appropriate technology with services (such as paying for overdue fines, lost fees, etc online with a credit card instead of having to front up to the counter and admit to the $189 or so fines that have accrued because of an insolent teenager or rogue partner). we can never know why a patron gets all feisty on us, but making their lives easier, so in turn our work lives are less stressful and smoother (even happier!) because we are easing their minds. Sometimes, and it can be hard to admit, it is better for us to work a bit harder initially to have an outcome that will benefit every one and make life easier... a conundrum for some, even paradoxical, for those who cannot understand putting in a lot of work dealing with bureaucracy and time (which we never seem to have enough of) when we want to do something contrary because it seems more logical or easier on us, but playing 'their' game in the end will benefit every one.. or at least this outcome is the hope... ahh hopes and dreams. what else is there to hold onto when one's work environment is all in... what? disorder? chaos? these aren't such bad things really.. Tom Barrett (which one, I'm not sure- the politician, the doctor?) said “Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth" which I do wholeheartedly believe.. and maybe this is because I'm a 7-- an eternal optimist... only good can come out of what goes on in the world-- eventually..

I'm probably off topic a wee bit (digressions are lovely, aren't they?) so I'll end this post here.

gracias!

#14 Technorati and blogging management

so i did the assignment.. or discovery tool... to search Learning 2.0 through tags, blog directory and blog posts. the tags and blog directory were v. different. formatting alone (page layout & whatnot) were different and the wee blurbs on the blog directory weren't as helpful as the tag search option which gave a decent synopsis. then doing the keyword search after brought up varied results as well... it just shows that tagging requires an organized way of labelling something.. (also known as folksonomies) to tag an object with the exact phrase which we're searching helps us when the bot web crawls searching for appropriate hits, but if the tagging isn't consistent or up to date, then results can vary... or if the crawler works differently for different search types.. don't know the logistics of it, however.

when i did the second part of the discovery exercise (explore popular searches, etc) it isn't much of a surprise that people are searching popular persons, sport, intrigue, current events *the fires in Cali*, and facebook... ah facebook.. the 'new' uber cool thing to do when social networking on the web.. not surprising at all...

el fin.
adios.
buenas noches.

#13 de.li.cious (or something :) )

I read through the informal, yet entertaining, narrative from the "us.ef.ul" link about how to sign up and use de.licio.us. it is fairly straight forward and i was able to create an account, but will have to wait until i can get back to my work desk computer to download the bookmark tabs for saving those webpages found (i hope it won't prevent me from downloading, which is quite possible).

i, as with rollyo, am not a huge fan of the whole creating an organized system for my bookmarks. i keep very few bookmarks, and even when doing research for an assignment at uni, i tend to make a folder with an appropriate title and just whack all those need-to-remember pdf file pages, etc into that folder, then delete the lot when finished with it. I spend most my time on the computer organizing digital photos, using photoshop, going into email accounts to keep in touch with my family and friends in the states and abroad and to access Facebook for that same social reason. i'm a reader, and sometimes get caught up in a page i've stumbled upon, but mostly i like to spend my time reading books...the turning of each page in anticipation for what's to come, the excitement of picking up the book when you've had a break.... and besides: i get a headache eventually from looking at the computer screen too long.

i like the concept of tagging for when a search needs to be made metadata does make life easier (hence the whole LC index which organizes everything for us)... metadata is a great concept, but i'll leave that to the database creaters and taggers who like to do the tagging.

i am more than aware of how this tool can help people, especially those in the information management fields or any other extensive researcher (just thought of Caroline Wilkinson when she spoke of 10 years of research about dragons; imagine her file system!!) who may enjoy using the internet. but as the guy on us.ef.ul said, he hadn't heard of many historians taking advantage of this tool... wonder if that has changed over time?

it's amazing how wise children are!

I received my first email notification of a blog update from Library Bytes (aka Helen Blowers from the PLCMC in the US). It has a link to a new video put out by Aarhus Public Libraries in Denmark (some of you may have come across this library for it's innovative and interactive vision for a contemporary library experience). This new video is called Xperimentarium: Workshop of children's ideas *which you can watch by clicking there*. As quoted from the Library Bytes text in the email sent to me "the takeaways from all these ideas are the themes of " active spaces", "engaging activities", "fun" and "play" - which when you come to think about it, are really the most important esential [sic] elements for creating meaningful learning."

Have a look at the video and be inspired! It is truly wonderful to see children being allowed a voice within their community, given a forum that isn't a round-table-adult-like set-up but one which is entirely hands-on, integrative and interactive. I am more than inspired--- makes me wish I could speak Danish, move to Europe and be a part of the new space they are building for 2014!

#11 and #12 -- build your own library

I've completed this task, but have not gone all the way into it as i am already a member of "iread" on Facebook which documents books read, favorites, books reading, ranking systems, reviews, etc. Obviously this application is available only to those on Facebook, but rather than start another list and having to remember the books i've read in my life time all over again, i thought i'd do that task and then move on.

Neat concept though.

rollyo could be a good idea for some people-- list makers, organized folk and the like.. however, not for me.. i know what i like and i go to it quickly and effortlessly just like i mentioned below about blogline. i don't do a lot of searching on the net. mostly it's a recipe or a conversion from farenheit to celsius so i can bake something. i created a rollyo with only three links-- the post punk kitchen website, the author's blog for the post punk kitchen and your restaurant.com .

not really interested in this tool. but have done the task.

whew! that brings me up to the October tasks finally!

task #10 --now this is fun!

Immediate responses with visible outcomes-- am I impatient, not in all circumstances, but when it comes to the web i definitely can be... here are some things i played around with:


Blues Name Generator:




'Washboard' Agnes Beech



Street Sign Generator:
and last but not least... the Pocket Emo! Feed him, name him and overall be emotive with him!

his name is Kurtis.


and then there is the Bob Dylan poster generator. I like this one. I remember watching this music video on the SBS channel when they showed a doco on Dylan. Good stuff.

then there is the M&M character generator

or the south park generator!

there are of course SOOOO many more generators. GO HERE: http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/

that's it for now!!!

My tasks are all over the place... #8

I am not so sure about RSS feeds-- and this reasoning is mostly because I'm not one to spend heaps of time online reading something (maybe this is the GenY in me popping through). The only time I go through the news is the quick pull down tab that SBS and BBC news provides in Firefox or when I google something I need for say a recipe or a quick check on something (like dictionary.com). I don't spend heaps of time online 'informating' myself. It's more about the social aspect of things unless I absolutely MUST look up something. I like using Facebook and Myspace (if I ever use that b/c it's not as cool as Facebook anymore! oh how quickly things change.. how fickle even.) and checking my email accounts, skyping with friends and family and just keeping tabs. However, if I did this correctly, here is a way to subscribe to my Blogline and see what I might, maybe won't?, keep tabs on:



or you can go here: http://www.bloglines.com/public/Leonee


I'm not a huge fan. I think it's because it takes too much reading (again GenY of me?) to figure it out... not straightforward. Example, I can't share my blogline (there isn't a 'share' tab like the Learning2.0 blog shows their should be, and when I attempt to make public my info, save and then exit, the info isn't saved and I go back into the account and change it again... and again.. and again... it doesn't save. glitch? who knows, but i've wasted 5 minutes trying to figure it out, when it's something I'm not entirely interested. Ah well, I gave it a go, right? :)

Task #6 (i think?)

So there are some pretty groovy things you can do through the Flickr website to transform photos all thanks to some techno-heads who have taken the time to develop programs which will allow you to have some fun with your photos like this Warholizer found at "fd's Flickr Toys"

I tried out a couple other ones which weren't so bad, but this was one I was able to upload the photo for blogging. There was another from the actual Flickr Website which allowed you to draw a picture, swirl some color, or what not and it would bring forward a selection of actual photos which have similar aspects (be it color or shape). That was pretty cool and the photos shown were beautiful, but un-blog-able, so not worth posting much about.

Well. That's it for today. Not much time to do more than this entry I must say.

Adios por ahora, me.

W.I.F.E.

W.I.F.E.
Originally uploaded by {strange pilgrim}

I love this photo.. the balance of light and shadow is brilliant... the geometric print of her dress compliments the sharp edges of her hair and the angle of her face. muy bonita!

part 5

#5 Using Flickr


Through the 'discovery' aspect of this Learning2.0 task we have going I came across these librarian 'playing' cards and there are heaps of them on Flickr. I made one for myself. That photo of me is becoming quite repetitive, but what can I do when I'm doing this 'assignment' from work and haven't many photos to use!? The tag attached to my card is one you can use to connect to the website and create your own. Maybe one day we'll be seen as the super-info-heroes that we are and these cards will be popular! Ha! :) Much doubt in that, but ya never know, do you?? :)

I also went through the popular photos from the last 7 days and found 3 photos that I really liked and added to my favorites. I made sure as well that these photos were part of the creative commons which allows me to share them with others. This idea of creative commons and attribution with copyright is incredibly important as a family from Texas in the US is attempting to sue Virgin Mobile and it's stakeholders for using a photo of their daughter giving the peace sign and the captioned remark to the side "ditch your pen pals text instead" or something like that. she happens to look Asian, so being a Texan American she of course has received emotional abuse from strangers and friends. It will be interesting if her case goes through or not. It's all about creative commons; apparently the person who took her photo put it on Flickr with the public having the right to use it any which way they pleased; so, be careful when you upload photos!

here's an article: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/21/1189881735928.html

the advert can be seen here: http://flickr.com/photos/sesh00/515961023/

technology and human evolution...or something like that... sort of...

How much of who we are is influenced by the technology we encounter? We can sit back and deny the technological advances which are prevalent like the i-pod or mobile phones with this widget and that gadget and even be deemed a 'technophobe' by social standards; but, in the end our denial or acceptance of an invention, a social norm, a custom or technology inevitably molds us into the human being which we present daily to the natural world. This commentary may warrant a sarcastic 'way to point that out captain obvious,' but to date, the ability for humans to interact in a modern, urban (and even agricultural or rural) world relies heavily on technology.

Technology isn't just the computers, mp3 players or wide screen plasma tee-vees, but it is the whole of the un-natural world-- public transport, pencils, shoes, glasses, umbrellas, printing presses, silverware, handbags, rubbish bins, shower heads, detergents, and bottled purified water to name just a few. Why is it then when a new technology is developed there are many people who cringe in fear at the possibilities, who worry about the 'change' which will come? What are we so worried about or afraid of? Pain is a part of life (we cannot experience or know pleasure without having known the opposite). Challenges and hardships happen to every one. Unrest, growth, stagnation, joy and all other types of life 'moments' are all part of the human experience. The change which technology brings about is just another 'moment' we experience; if we open our eyes and look into ourselves at these times then we will realize that how we react to technological advancements, societal or cultural change is simply a response to our own issues: losing security, fear of pain, loss of love, status or wealth, concerns at how others will perceive you, et cetera.

In the past, (think of the controversy surrounding the 'truth' the Church indoctrinated into human ideology about the world being flat) there were technological advances like the wind mill, yokes, the wheel, rope, spear heads and even fire which would have frightened humans of their respective times; but, there would have been others who saw the undeniable, sociocultural evolutionary potential for such technologies to advance a civilization. Looking back at those advances, we now barely recognize the astounding achievements these technologies brought to human culture because they are viewed as 'old hat' and we are so used to their presence that they are taken for granted. Maybe eventually one day the 'scary' or 'difficult' or 'controversial' technologies which have been or are being introduced into the world such as alternative forms of energy (solar; wind) cloning, space travel, mobile phones, hybrid cars, the latest greatest mp3/4 player, computers, water purification systems, et cetera will all be passé.

We cannot live without technology (unless you are running around naked through life, foraging for food with only your hands and teeth to eat.) As explorers discovered on their sea travels that they would not fall into a black, abysmal hole at the edge of the world thus learning the world was not flat, but round and tilted on its axis, so it may be those technologies, theories, beliefs and ideological systems of our times will shift into new arenas in the future. The latest greatest gadgets available for sale today are just another stepping stone in the human evolutionary process. Each new discovery takes the knowledge bases that were once established and shifts them forward, outward, backward and sometimes, depending on what you believe, simultaneously on parallel planes of existence.

We as consumers have the choice to select which forms of technology we employ in our every day lives thus determining and defining our place in the universe and developing who we are. And as that consumer we determine which technologies will last through time and which will be made obsolete; so, hopefully we will not be driven by our personal fears and concerns about change and will be conscious of what we censor and how we vote when those technologies are employed to effect a whole nation.

Technology is just another aspect of living as humans in the world. We can whinge and moan about it all we want, but in reality, if we choose to live in a '1st world' country, then where would we be without it?

Library 2.0 lesson 2

Okay, so technically i've already created a blog in my lifetime (or two), but since this is for training purposes, i thought i may as well do it right and start from scratch.... so here it is. entry 1 of my Web2.0 training blog.

for those out there who are interested there are a couple of great videos from YouTube on Web2.0 to get your creative juices flowing :)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

and

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w