What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite part is discussing the program with other employees. And it's always fun finding out about new applications or sites.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I think playing is an important part of learning; and it's just as valuable to try something out and decide it's not applicable as to find a success. It's nice to have this philosophy be reflected in this program that encourages exploration.
Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
It's nice to see all the people who embraced the program.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Yes.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Podcasts
I'm not a big fan of webcasts, but only because of time! Having the time to listen to them! For a while I was downloading them to my iPod and listening to them during my commute, but it didn't become a habit.
I looked at both PodCastAlley and PodCastDirectory and found both a bit hard to use. First I looked for podcasts about books; not only didn't I see book podcasts I know about it (Just One More Book) which I ended up finding at PodCastAlley because I went look ing for it. Turns out it's labelled as music, not books!
So I ended up looking for something completely different: food. And settled on APMs Splendid Table: Kitchen Questions. So now I'm very very hungry.
The important thing is not whether I like podcasts or not; this to me is about me knowing enough to understand them, try them out, and then figure out how to use this at work. And do I think some library customers would be interested in a weekly podcast? Yes.
I looked at both PodCastAlley and PodCastDirectory and found both a bit hard to use. First I looked for podcasts about books; not only didn't I see book podcasts I know about it (Just One More Book) which I ended up finding at PodCastAlley because I went look ing for it. Turns out it's labelled as music, not books!
So I ended up looking for something completely different: food. And settled on APMs Splendid Table: Kitchen Questions. So now I'm very very hungry.
The important thing is not whether I like podcasts or not; this to me is about me knowing enough to understand them, try them out, and then figure out how to use this at work. And do I think some library customers would be interested in a weekly podcast? Yes.
Wacky Wiki
What has always frustrated me about wikis and blogs is people who really don't "get" what they are, hear about them as a new shiny thing or something other libraries are doing, so say "we can use a blog/wiki for that." Without thinking about what the technology is, what they want as an end product, etc.
So, do you want something that highlights the latest news? A blog.
Looking for a way to organize information, and create something that will be more for reference? A wiki.
Blogging about findings:
SJCPL Subject Guides:
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page I like how it's not library-organized, but customer-organized, and pretty clearly reflects the types of questions real! live! people! ask. It works on two levels: helping librarians answer frequently asked questions, and being there for patrons to discover and use on their own.
Library Success Wiki:
http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page What's not to like about a best-practices resource, and having a place to not reinvent the wheel. It's great that people can add to it; and respect professionalism to allow people to add to it.
ALA Chicago 2009 Wiki:
http://wikis.ala.org/annual2009/index.php/Main_Page I was about to say I'd bookmark this for future reading, but I guess I should really del.icio.us it.
In library setting, this works well for:
-- Information that you want everyone to know. The library ones that show subject guides for frequent questions is a good illustration for that.
-- Where trust exists. It's a bit scary for some places to say, "anyone can change this...anyone can change what I write...anyone can have input into something "official."" Realistically speaking, this means it depends on the purpose and mission of the wiki. One for HR policies? Only HR staff would have authority. One for marketing ideas? That can have more people who contribute.
-- Time to play. It takes time to master the technology, to draft and revise things. Time encourages people to do things.
-- Respect differences. Writing, editing, etc. is not easy; is not quick; and is not for everyone. Those of us who like writing (like me!) will embrace it. Making someone do this does not help anyway. But at the same time, that's no reason to only have one or two people do all the work! That creates burn out.
So, do you want something that highlights the latest news? A blog.
Looking for a way to organize information, and create something that will be more for reference? A wiki.
Blogging about findings:
SJCPL Subject Guides:
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page I like how it's not library-organized, but customer-organized, and pretty clearly reflects the types of questions real! live! people! ask. It works on two levels: helping librarians answer frequently asked questions, and being there for patrons to discover and use on their own.
Library Success Wiki:
http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page What's not to like about a best-practices resource, and having a place to not reinvent the wheel. It's great that people can add to it; and respect professionalism to allow people to add to it.
ALA Chicago 2009 Wiki:
http://wikis.ala.org/annual2009/index.php/Main_Page I was about to say I'd bookmark this for future reading, but I guess I should really del.icio.us it.
In library setting, this works well for:
-- Information that you want everyone to know. The library ones that show subject guides for frequent questions is a good illustration for that.
-- Where trust exists. It's a bit scary for some places to say, "anyone can change this...anyone can change what I write...anyone can have input into something "official."" Realistically speaking, this means it depends on the purpose and mission of the wiki. One for HR policies? Only HR staff would have authority. One for marketing ideas? That can have more people who contribute.
-- Time to play. It takes time to master the technology, to draft and revise things. Time encourages people to do things.
-- Respect differences. Writing, editing, etc. is not easy; is not quick; and is not for everyone. Those of us who like writing (like me!) will embrace it. Making someone do this does not help anyway. But at the same time, that's no reason to only have one or two people do all the work! That creates burn out.
You Tube
The YouTube Post I have to include, by a couple of book loving college grads who are currently living in Jersey:
But using a video I already know about is cheating, isn't it? Even tho it is about books! And twentysomethings who love books enough to create this HSM influenced video.
I love the idea of a virtual library tour, and found these:
Interestingly, searching "library tour" gives mostly university/college videos. Is it that those libraries think this targets their customers better? Why aren't more public libraries doing this?
Like/dislike:
While I love tags & tagging, the limitation is figuring out what the poster used as a tag. For instance, are New Jersey libraries NJ? New Jersey? Or omitting their state altogether? When posting on YouTube.
Love how easy it is to link/embed the video. If we want people to link to us, let's make it easy!
Related videos; aren't always on target, but YouTube does a decent job of trying to guess what is "related" for you. A library? The same user? A different tour? Some aren't on target because it's hard to know what the viewer deems "related." But they at least try to do it.
But using a video I already know about is cheating, isn't it? Even tho it is about books! And twentysomethings who love books enough to create this HSM influenced video.
I love the idea of a virtual library tour, and found these:
Interestingly, searching "library tour" gives mostly university/college videos. Is it that those libraries think this targets their customers better? Why aren't more public libraries doing this?
Like/dislike:
While I love tags & tagging, the limitation is figuring out what the poster used as a tag. For instance, are New Jersey libraries NJ? New Jersey? Or omitting their state altogether? When posting on YouTube.
Love how easy it is to link/embed the video. If we want people to link to us, let's make it easy!
Related videos; aren't always on target, but YouTube does a decent job of trying to guess what is "related" for you. A library? The same user? A different tour? Some aren't on target because it's hard to know what the viewer deems "related." But they at least try to do it.
Japanese tea bowl
Image From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelrays/365367790/
Creative Commons Use: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en
Creative Commons Use: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en
Flickr, Part 1
My existing Flickr account; which I haven't added to in a while. I've also posted an image from Flickr, so I satisfied this answer in time for tomorrow's deadline. But I may do the extra challenge next week.
Adding to the Wiki
I added my blog to the wiki. I'm not sure why the brackets were required; it's much simpler to use just link to the page. So I did it both ways, tho the brackets took me longer.
And added my current TV shows to the Favorite TV page.
And now I'm blogging about it.
I began using PBWiki a few years ago, when it was much more like coding. I much prefer the current way, which is more wysiwyg. This is a bazillion times easier to use than Media Wiki, which I really dislike.
And added my current TV shows to the Favorite TV page.
And now I'm blogging about it.
I began using PBWiki a few years ago, when it was much more like coding. I much prefer the current way, which is more wysiwyg. This is a bazillion times easier to use than Media Wiki, which I really dislike.
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