Thing #23

I can't believe I'm at Thing #23. Nebraska Learns 2.0 was such a good experience. I learned so many things I might not have otherwise. While I wasn't impressed with every lesson, especially Twitter, I will probably continue to use many of the tools in my own life. I would like to find ways to use them at work. At the very least I'll know what the patrons are talking about.

I've been out of school for awhile so starting the program with the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners was encouraging to me. Now, after completing the program, I am thinking about taking more classes, maybe even going back to school. I would recommend this program to others and if another discovery program were offered I would definitely sign up for it.

Podcasts

There seem to be podcasts on just about any topic imaginable. I listened to a few genealogy ones. They were interesting and informative. I'll be following them regularly. I also found one called Listen to Stories Read by Librarians. I like the idea of putting storytime online but can you include video? Would there be any copyright violations?

YouTube

I've just recently started visiting YouTube, but I really like it. My family, friends, and I are always trying t find funny clips to share. I think it is a web 2.0 tool that libraries should really make use of--to show what they have to offer or that librarians can be fun too.

Web 2.0

For Thing #20 I explored My Heritage. The Megadex feature seemed great at first but once I started looking at the results I wasn't as impressed. Maybe I just need to work with it some more. I can't wait to try out the Face Recognition feature. It will be fun to set up a website and invite family members to join. I would recommend My Heritage to patrons interested in genealogy.

Thing #19 -- Apps

The apps are a very useful tool. They have many of the same features as Microsoft Word or Excel and you don't have to worry about different versions. It's also good because you don't have to have a disc or flash drive to save your work and you can access it from any Internet computer. With that said, I still don't think I'll get rid of my Microsoft Office.

Thing #18 -- PBwiki

Working with a wiki really is as easy as all the articles said. The editing process was very simple and straightforward. It was even fun. It was interesting to read everyone's opinion on their favorite things. In terms of using it in the library, it would be a great way to connect patrons with each other as well as the librarians. But at the same time I'm also glad that you can change the settings on a page so only a few select people can edit that page.

Wiki

I really like the idea of wikis. It's nice to have something that can bring the community together and you don't have to be incredibly tech-savvy to use it. I think a wiki with book reviews and recommendations by patrons, like the Book Lovers Wiki, would be useful. I also liked how the the Antioch University New England Library put their staff training manual in a wiki.