Exercise # 23

This has been a great opportunity to learn about the Digital world. Thanks to the training team for their support and encouragement throughout the process. At times it has been a scramble to keep up and I will re-visit many of the sites to spend more time and explore further. My overall impression was the ease of access to information and the ability to share with others, both at a personal and professional level. I had assumed that it would be quite difficult to learn how to navigate through this wilderness but I was surprised that with a bit of perserverance it became easier with each attempt.
See also: Digital Divide; Digital Art;
My current favourite is Library Thing, because it is on our website and I can use it to file away titles of books I want to read instead of overloading my requests list. There were many surprises, not least the huge deposit of brilliant photographs that are freely available. I think this is a journey that has just begun and it will be a lifelong process of learning and exploring.

Exercise # 22

The heading on the article says it all for me "information wants to be free" as it epitomises the whole concept of empowering individuals by allowing freedom of access to information. Burning the books throughout history has been used as a way to repress people, but it seems as if with this new technology it is increasingly difficult for information to be suppressed. With the intelligent nurturing of parternship between librarians and library users, using all the modern tools at our disposal, the digital world indeed has the ability to create a brave new world.

Exercise # 21

I joined MySpace and saved these fantastic photos. They are typical of the many people you can see flying along Takapuna beach on a windy day. You can see the complete set at Parasurfers of Rangitoto Channel - Auckland, New Zealand. The potential for these sites is huge and I have only dabbled briefly as I want to complete the Web2 programme, but I will be back!

Exercise # 20

This exercise is of great interest to me as I have just recently joined Auckland Library and they have eBooks available. I have saved all the links from the exercise so I can go and spend more time investigating how to make use of this facility. I also used Librivox to locate a Short Poetry Collection - it worked quickly and there is an interesting range of writers.

Exercise # 19

Initially I found Podcastpickle too busy and difficult to navigate although I eventually found one or two of interest. Podnova was 'cleaner' and I created an account for myself, located the NY Times book reviews and added the RSS feed to my Bloglines. I would like to go back and find an audio/video one, but as time is running short so will carry on with the exercises.

Exercise # 18

I really liked this video that I found on 'the best of library videos Blog'. Rapping in the Library
Some were very clever and some were very sincere, but I wondered what was going on in one where some students seemed to be dropping things over the balcony! A great tool for promoting library services.

Exercise # 17

There was so much to choose from here. I quickly tried the Fun Stuff - Hair mixer which was hilarious! Then it was on to the Visual Arts - Colour blender, an astonishing tool and I can see how these tools would be used in animation and online art. But the Lulu site was where I spent most time. Part of my early working life was spent at a printers where huge machines dominated the work place. To explore this site and see how easy it would be to produce a self published book was mind blowing. Another great exercise!

Exercise # 16

This was an interesting exercise and I can see the potential for these types of tools, particularly for peolpe who work from home. I have created a little Petty Cash spreadsheet and a word document and included the northshorelibraries@gmail.com as a shared user. I will be interested to see how that works. When changing from spreadsheet to word doc I found I had to sign in again although I thought I would be able to switch between the two. The documents also took quite a while to load, but I was using it mid afternoon which is always slow. I was impressed at the functionality of the spreadsheet, and the formatting that was available in the documents. A good learning experience.

Exercise # 15

I can see the potential of this website for research. It will give a much better result than just trying to work with Google. I found it easy to set up my own searchroll and will add to it as I find new sites. My choice was to create a travel roll Rollyo

Exercise # 14

I love Library Thing and can see its potential. Already I have started my own list and because I gather my reading material from reviews on radio, in newspapers and a variety of other sources, I will be able to build my preferences in this website first instead of having them all on my request list. My Library Thing

Exercise # 13

What fun this is! I used Image Chef to create this whirling kaleidoscope as it reflects how I feel when I delve into all these amazing websites!

Exercise # 12

This was a really pleasant introduction to Wikis. I found it easy to use and simple to make an entry. I added a couple of entries in the Quotations and the Favourite endings. I can see the potential for the use of Wikis to create online communities of people who want to share an interest.

Exercise # 11

I had heard many references to Wikipedia and used it myself but didn't really understand how it worked. I can now see why it is so popular and a constant reference for up to date information.
Once again the Youtube video was brilliant and made everything so easy to understand.
One question I wanted to ask and which didn't seem to be answered in the tutorials was where are Wikis created? So I did a Google search and found that there are many sites where you can create one.
I liked these www.wetpaint.com and www.wikispaces.com and I liked the 'Bad Ideas'
on this site http://wikispot.org/Create_a_wiki !!

Exercise # 10

This was such an interesting exercise. The video was just what I needed to get my head around the whole Web 2 concept. I was unable to view it yesterday afternoon, so had to run it early this morning. I also found it was very fast, so intend to re-visit it so I can take it all in.
I thought the first sentence in the 'Away from icebergs' summed up my impression of all the libraians I work with. They work so hard, and the world is changing so rapidly. I have gained a better understanding of how Web 2 is impacting on libraries and look forward to seeing how our libraries are adapting to these changes as we move into the future.

Exercise # 9

I have noticed that any searches I do are much slower in the mid to late afternoon. So, when I tried this Exercise, at first I kept getting no results. Then I found that because I had copied and pasted the words from the exercise, I had a space at the end which seemed to make a difference. Even so, the results were not what I expected, with very little relevant content. The most popular blog 'Boing Boing' seems to be a peculiar mix of serious items, comics and video clips. I wonder if it is operating like an underground newspaper?

Exercise # 8

This is a very interesting area to explore. I found time just slipped away! I wonder if our new website will incorporate the use Del.icio.us? Auckland's new website has.
I also stumbled across this entry on Del.icio.us in the L2Discoveries bookmarks.
http://60sitesfortla.pbwiki.com/
It's not very visually appealing but has some interesting sites and the Shifted Librarian has a huge amount of information, including 'gaming'?? in libraries!

So much to learn, so little time.

Exercise # 7

This exercise was really demanding. I kept getting lost, but eventually managed to subscribe to some news feeds. I also followed the excellent instructions and amnaged to add the Exercise list to my blog. However, when I tried to follow the same process and add my news feeds, I just ended up with Bloglines.
There is so much to learn in just this one exercise!

Exercise # 6

I am really interested in the way that technology is changing the way news is gathered and disseminated. Have you ever wondered about the source of the film and pictures you are seeing on television? Many experienced journalists are losing their jobs in in television and print media because more and more people are using the internet to keep up to date with world events.

There is a wonderful cyberworld which can instantly record and react to world events. This also means that it is increasingly difficult for anybody to censor or prohibit the publication of information which should be freely available to all.

At the same time, however, it is possible for those with malicious intent to manipulate images, or distort the way that information is presented on the internet.

There is ongoing discussion about the possibilty of creating some sort of editorial processfor the web, to ensure that what you are seeing is 'really' what you are getting. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Westpac-fraud-claims-untrue/0,130061744,120273231,00.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4175/is_20030408/ai_n12926382

Exercise # 5

This exercise was fun. I enjoyed creating my card, although I wasn't sure where it would save to! However, it landed safely on my desktop, so I am now able to include it in this Blog.

Exercise # 4 flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grace_flowers/529567127/

You can find this photo at this link. A promise of spring at the end of winter.

Exercis # 2 and # 3

Creating a Blog was such an interesting experience. Like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole into another world, I have left my safe environment and entered into an enchanted forest of strange creatures, wonderful language, mysterious labyrinths and exciting adventures. All this while sitting comfortably at my desk with a kind and wise mentor happy to guide me through this new land.
Where will this adventure take me in the weeks ahead?
I am looking forward to leaping into new spaces, (hopefully landing on my feet) and bouncing back into 'real time' to catch my breath, all the while learning how to navigate in cyberspace.
Yeah! I am learning to fly!!!