Wow! Having just lost all my documents with a hard drive malfunction, I'm excited about the use of document-makers that don't necessarily reside on my hard drive. I should have explored what was meant by off-line use, since I would most likely want also to have an edition on my hard drive. I don't currently do anything fancy with Word or Excel, so whatever features might be missing from Google Docs and Spreadsheets isn't obvious to me. I do have Vista, so I noted that the docx items I create cannot be uploaded in Google, from one of the comments.
I used the Zoho planner to set up some reminders of items to take care of (including completing my homework assignments). I'm not sure if they email or if you have to go into Zoho to look at the calendar listing, in which case I would need a reminder to look at Zoho daily!
I don't know how easily documents could be hacked. I did note that each site had the option to share or not to share. I'd want to learn more about that.
I also checked out Snipshot, which had a lot of ads to purchase the Pro version. I played around with one picture, but was not truly sure whether I saved it over the same picture name (I hope not) or if it's living in the download box from Firefox. I do have an old version of Adobe Elements and need to spend time learning the ins and outs before I would start paying for something else. If you want to do a quick resize or cropping and some tuning up I think Snipshot could work. I tried to undo something I had done (like distort the picture!) and either it didn't work, or I didn't wait long enough for it to work. I would not be inclined to use this tool at the moment.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wikis II
In my last post about wikis, before I set up my own, I commented that book suggestions from patrons can be done via email, phone call, etc. and would not be a useful idea for setting up a wiki. However, as I set the wiki up, it occurred to me that another possibility would be for book reviews by readers that could help in making selections. The problem is mainly that I need reviews prior to publication and I'm not sure that readers would have access to the content. Possibly, there are larger libraries that get prepub copies that could share impressions of the books.
I do search for prepub reviews in a variety of the journals that I am able to access - Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, however, the vast majority of consumer health and alternative medicine books are not reviewed. Any suggestions?
As to setting up the wiki. Following the instructions made it fairly simple, however, if it were to become a viable wiki, it would take a lot more thought about design and end result desired, than I have been able to do now. I am a member of the MLA09 wiki, which also uses WetPaint and found adding pictures where I wanted them a bit difficult. I tried to set up a picture album and that didn't work. When I decided I wanted to move a picture from the original location where I set it up, I found out that there is no way to delete the photo. I found it fairly frustrating, although I have to add, that I only added entries 2-3 times.
I do search for prepub reviews in a variety of the journals that I am able to access - Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, however, the vast majority of consumer health and alternative medicine books are not reviewed. Any suggestions?
As to setting up the wiki. Following the instructions made it fairly simple, however, if it were to become a viable wiki, it would take a lot more thought about design and end result desired, than I have been able to do now. I am a member of the MLA09 wiki, which also uses WetPaint and found adding pictures where I wanted them a bit difficult. I tried to set up a picture album and that didn't work. When I decided I wanted to move a picture from the original location where I set it up, I found out that there is no way to delete the photo. I found it fairly frustrating, although I have to add, that I only added entries 2-3 times.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wikis
I agree with the comments that were posted, I'm not sure how to use this in the public library I work in. The uses that came to mind are not things that would be suitable for public input, such as new book lists, bibliographies. They would be better as links on the website. A place for posting patron book recommendations, comments, etc. can by done by sending an email to the library.
I liked the University of Calgary wiki very much. Maybe an internal wiki would work better - for communal writing or commenting on library policies, bibliographies, etc. before they are published.
I liked the University of Calgary wiki very much. Maybe an internal wiki would work better - for communal writing or commenting on library policies, bibliographies, etc. before they are published.
Molokai07154
This is a photograph of taro fields on Molokai that are being reestablished by the residents. I took this picture on a hike through Halawa Valley to see Halawa Falls during a field trip which was part of the 2007 Association of Hawaii Archivists conference.
Flicker
Hi -
I'm stoked that I was able to post a picture to my blog. I already had a flickr account so that I could share photos with colleagues who attended an archivist conference in 2007 on Molokai. Previously, I've used Snapfish to post private photos and sent friends the access address. A number of people did not want to register at the site, since they would have ended up getting email from them. A friend on the trip suggested using Flickr, so I've added some photos from various archival field trips to share.
I went to Nancy's blog (http://nancylombardo.blogspot.com/) and saw that an online guide had picked up one of her photos. I had the same thing happen for an online Maui guide. I had tagged the photos with the name of the trip and did not individually identify each photo, so it was mislabeled in the guide. The producers said this had happened with other photos and were going to redo it. I have not heard from them since then, March '08, so working on this exercise reminded me to check out what's going on.
I recently had my hard drive crash, so loading pictures to Flickr is another layer of protection. Too bad I didn't add my most recent photos!
I'm stoked that I was able to post a picture to my blog. I already had a flickr account so that I could share photos with colleagues who attended an archivist conference in 2007 on Molokai. Previously, I've used Snapfish to post private photos and sent friends the access address. A number of people did not want to register at the site, since they would have ended up getting email from them. A friend on the trip suggested using Flickr, so I've added some photos from various archival field trips to share.
I went to Nancy's blog (http://nancylombardo.blogspot.com/) and saw that an online guide had picked up one of her photos. I had the same thing happen for an online Maui guide. I had tagged the photos with the name of the trip and did not individually identify each photo, so it was mislabeled in the guide. The producers said this had happened with other photos and were going to redo it. I have not heard from them since then, March '08, so working on this exercise reminded me to check out what's going on.
I recently had my hard drive crash, so loading pictures to Flickr is another layer of protection. Too bad I didn't add my most recent photos!
Yamdrok Tso (Turquoise) Lake, Tibet
What a gorgeous photograph by Katarina 2353. I spent 3 days in Lhasa, Tibet in 2006. Since we did not get outside of Lhasa, I did not see this lake. I'd love another opportunity to go back and see more of Tibet and do some hiking - although breathing at altitude is difficult for me. The scenery is just too gorgeous to miss.
RSS feed
I wrote the second paragraph as a comment on November 7th. When I started to blog about it, I couldn't remember what I'd said and left it for later. I was on the verge of catching up to the assignments. Here I am, three weeks behind again. Drat.
Nov. 7 - I just added three of the feeds listed in the assignment. I tried adding another, but apparently didn't have the correct address. Except for the one that didn't work, it was very easy. I was surprised to see that the posts went back in time and didn't start from today forward. A bit overwhelming to have so many posts pop up instantly.
Nov. 24 - In the past I could never figure out which part of the code I was supposed to enter to start an RSS feed. Now it turns out it is just the url. Not sure why I couldn't remember that earlier.
Nov. 7 - I just added three of the feeds listed in the assignment. I tried adding another, but apparently didn't have the correct address. Except for the one that didn't work, it was very easy. I was surprised to see that the posts went back in time and didn't start from today forward. A bit overwhelming to have so many posts pop up instantly.
Nov. 24 - In the past I could never figure out which part of the code I was supposed to enter to start an RSS feed. Now it turns out it is just the url. Not sure why I couldn't remember that earlier.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Delicious Part II
I wanted to bookmark some sites and had succeeded previously adding the delicious icons to my toolbar. I went to the CAPHIS, consumer health, site and clicked on the tagging icon. Nothing happened. I tried several more times at different sites. Still nothing. I went back to the exercise page and rewatched the short video tutorials. I was thinking that my aging brain was pretty sad, since I had just watched the tutorials one day prior. Still, rewatching did not solve the problem of why the tagging icon did not work. Finally, I decided to end my computer session and shut down the various open windows. Lo and behold there was the small tagging screen, hidden under everything else and waiting for my attention. Sheesh!
I've been open to each new lesson, and not expecting problems and have discovered each time I've hit a snag. The difference now is that since I'm committed to finishing the course and learning how to use the various tools we're exploring, I am trying again. Before this, I would have just given up and muttered under my breath about the Internet being for the young. Now, I'm determined not to let it get the better of me (at least while the class is still in session!).
I've been open to each new lesson, and not expecting problems and have discovered each time I've hit a snag. The difference now is that since I'm committed to finishing the course and learning how to use the various tools we're exploring, I am trying again. Before this, I would have just given up and muttered under my breath about the Internet being for the young. Now, I'm determined not to let it get the better of me (at least while the class is still in session!).
Sunday, November 9, 2008
I looked at Delicious a few days ago, loaded the toolbar and then imported my bookmarks. Unfortunately, I was thinking of the bookmarks I had in Yahoo, but since I was in Firefox, it imported all the MSN bookmarks which is not terribly helpful. When I opened up Delicious today, I saw how I could delete, so I got rid of some that are unnecessary. I guess if i access Delicious from my yahoo account, I can import those bookmarks.
Today I opened Delicious and even remembered my log in. I wanted to save the agenda for the class learning 2.0, but clicked on the bookmarks icon (wrong one anyway) and the tag icon with no result. I guess you have to be at a web page. I was able to do it in my yahoo account, however.
I definitely appreciate the ability to look at my bookmarks wherever I am. I have encountered in the past wishing i was at my own computer so I could have my marked pages. As for the rest, I am also feeling confused. I tend to use just as much of a program as I need, a bare minimum, and not learn the rest. If I can keep myself using Delicious after the class, that will be a milestone for me. I can see the use for it at work to share websites with my co-workers. I recently moved to a public library where I am the selector in the medical arena, but I'm no longer at a medical library. Setting up something for patrons is more challenging and something that will require much more thought and conversation with colleagues.
Today I opened Delicious and even remembered my log in. I wanted to save the agenda for the class learning 2.0, but clicked on the bookmarks icon (wrong one anyway) and the tag icon with no result. I guess you have to be at a web page. I was able to do it in my yahoo account, however.
I definitely appreciate the ability to look at my bookmarks wherever I am. I have encountered in the past wishing i was at my own computer so I could have my marked pages. As for the rest, I am also feeling confused. I tend to use just as much of a program as I need, a bare minimum, and not learn the rest. If I can keep myself using Delicious after the class, that will be a milestone for me. I can see the use for it at work to share websites with my co-workers. I recently moved to a public library where I am the selector in the medical arena, but I'm no longer at a medical library. Setting up something for patrons is more challenging and something that will require much more thought and conversation with colleagues.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Hi - This is my first blog and my first blog post. I'll repeat some of what I said in my posted comment on the Learning 2.0 blog. I chose Habit 4, having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner, as the easy habit to achieve, however, due to my aging brain and faulty memory, I'm not sure "easy" is the correct word. I can relate to habit 4, more than the others, however. The difficult one, as it is for many of you, is seeing problems as challenges. I tend to be intimidated by problems first and ask questions later.
As part of the boomer generation, I don't find using new technology intuitive or comfortable. I do like learning and have always thought of myself as a life-long learner. I have continued to take a variety of classes since graduating from library school, although I've been somewhat less successful at immediately putting what I've learned into practice. I'm hoping the tools and habits I'll learn in this class will help me be braver and more motivated in that arena.
As part of the boomer generation, I don't find using new technology intuitive or comfortable. I do like learning and have always thought of myself as a life-long learner. I have continued to take a variety of classes since graduating from library school, although I've been somewhat less successful at immediately putting what I've learned into practice. I'm hoping the tools and habits I'll learn in this class will help me be braver and more motivated in that arena.
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