Finished

It's hard to believe 20 for 2.0 is already finished! I've enjoyed becoming a regular blogger and learning about tools I may not have been exposed to otherwise. It was fun to make my own avatar, explore the endless possibilities of image generators, play around with Pandora streaming music, and discover photo sharing with flikr. I think I am more prepared now to assist customers at the Information Desk, particularly those who are so tech savvy! I would definitely participate in another program like this in the future. It was something to look forward to each week, and I appreciated that it was self-paced and flexible. I'm thankful for this opportunity!

Gaming

Gaming was fairly new when I grew up and not encouraged. My mom always said, "Reading a good book is a better use of time." Perhaps that's why I'm a librarian... All that to say, there are so many games out there that I am unaware of. I enjoyed exploring a few. I especially like the educational options for kids on Fun Brain and Primary Games. It would be interesting to observe a teen gaming day sometime. To become expert at some of these games requires great problem solving skills and mental concentration. I've played DDR and Guitar Hero, but I still need to experience the Wii. I've heard it's really fun!

Google Earth

Google Earth is definitely impressive! I was glad to see the picture of my house in Seattle has been updated since we've made some significant changes. I enjoyed "traveling" to well known locations (e.g. Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, St. Peter's Basilica, Eiffel Tower, Google campus). I like how layers can be added and removed such as weather, traffic, and borders/labels. I can see how this would be extremely useful when planning trips or helping a patron at the Information Desk. :)

Second Life

To be perfectly honest, I have a hard time grasping the second life concept. Why not live to the fullest in your real life instead of creating a second one? That said, it is valuable to have an understanding of this Web 2.0 activity so that we can better serve our patrons. Here is the avatar I created for myself: I don't have a desire to "live" in Second Life. There is so much happening in my actual life that it seems time consuming to create and live in another one. As with many online applications (e.g. chat) people can choose to represent themselves as someone their not. This concerns me. It might be fun to play around with Second Life for an hour or two, but other than that I can't see myself using it faithfully.

Web Apps

I must admit I was unaware of the great applications available on the Web! I have grown so accustomed to Microsoft Office that I hadn't considered there was something else out there. I really like the options to share documents with others and track the history of revisions. Both Google Docs and Zoho seem like they could be really useful. I need to remember to show them to patrons who want to save their work but don't have a flash drive and are hesitant to use email. I also like the ability to convert documents into PDF format. I can see myself taking advantage of this feature.

Search Engines

Our task this week is to explore a variety of search engines, specifically Rollyo, Mamma, and Dogpile. Some of these are new to me and offer unique and interesting features. Rollyo allows users to create a customized search engine. Mamma eliminates any unnecessary results and provides a shorter list to select from. Dogpile combines search results from Google, Yahoo, Ask, and Live Search. It also provides a list of favorite searches done recently by users. All three appear to work well and returned results relevant to my search (bridal shower ideas). Some of the same websites were in the top ten of each search engine. Overall, I think Dogpile is my favorite because of its ability to combine all search engines into one. That said, I will probably continue to use Google since I am most familiar with it.

Podcasting

I listened to several library related podcasts: Nancy Keane's Simple Booktalks, Pierce County Library System Book Reviews, Sno-Isle Libraries Hear a Story, Uvula Audio Kids Podcasts, and LearnOutLoud.com Lit Summary Podcast. Podcasting is definitely a useful tool for our patrons. It provides information in yet another medium. It is great for people who may not use the physical library space on a regular basis, but still have Internet access. Potential topics include book reviews and "how to" workshops (e.g. how to plant bulbs, how to make a cake, how to compost, how to conserve fuel and energy). I have a small amount of experience with listening to and creating podcasts. I check in with the Sno-Isle Hear a Story podcast regularly and have recorded three stories in the past several months as well.