I found this video while cruising around YouTube this morning and had to post it here. It's a really neat little visual introduction to Web 2.0 for anyone who might still be a little confused about what it really means.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Thing #10
Here is my image made with an online image generator. I liked it because it represents a combination of the history of libraries with the future of libraries. I found it on the Generator Blog, and the actual page where you can make your own is here, at blyberg.net.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Thing #9
RSS Discovery Exercise
I played with Bloglines a little more and added some more feeds, as well as organized my feeds into folders. I was pretty happy with the search function within Bloglines, which I used to find some library-related feeds. I also tried Feedster, Topix, and Technorati. I wasn't as satisfied with Feedster...I don't know if I'm using the search function correctly, but it seemed like my search results weren't very relevant. I tried some keyword searches like "public library" and "dogs" under the blog category, and the results were all over the place, such as the Sherwood Gazette, New Media Business Blog, Harvard School of Public Health, etc. It locates blog entries containing these keywords, not the actual blog itself, so I'm guessing that Feedster is where you can go if you just want to browse what bloggers are saying about a certain topic, such as Barack Obama, the Oscars, Iraq, etc. Topix was pretty cool. You can type in your zipcode and get current news stories within your area from various feeds, like San Jose Mercury, SiliconValley.com, and local news channels. Users can then post their reactions to stories in various forums on the site. Technorati seems similar to Feedster, but I found it easier to use. Their search allows for searching within posts, entry tags, and a blog directory.
Check out my updated bloglines page here. I will probably keep playing with it and adding more feeds and folders.
I played with Bloglines a little more and added some more feeds, as well as organized my feeds into folders. I was pretty happy with the search function within Bloglines, which I used to find some library-related feeds. I also tried Feedster, Topix, and Technorati. I wasn't as satisfied with Feedster...I don't know if I'm using the search function correctly, but it seemed like my search results weren't very relevant. I tried some keyword searches like "public library" and "dogs" under the blog category, and the results were all over the place, such as the Sherwood Gazette, New Media Business Blog, Harvard School of Public Health, etc. It locates blog entries containing these keywords, not the actual blog itself, so I'm guessing that Feedster is where you can go if you just want to browse what bloggers are saying about a certain topic, such as Barack Obama, the Oscars, Iraq, etc. Topix was pretty cool. You can type in your zipcode and get current news stories within your area from various feeds, like San Jose Mercury, SiliconValley.com, and local news channels. Users can then post their reactions to stories in various forums on the site. Technorati seems similar to Feedster, but I found it easier to use. Their search allows for searching within posts, entry tags, and a blog directory.
Check out my updated bloglines page here. I will probably keep playing with it and adding more feeds and folders.
Thing #8
RSS is Fun!
RSS is really neat...I first learned about it in a web class I took back in college. It's a really neat way to filter the infinite wealth of information out there on the net into digestible chunks that you can actually read. There are definately tons of feeds out there for fun and amusement, but they are also really great professional tools. If there's one thing I've found, it's that there are plenty of librarians out there who love to blog, so keeping tabs on library-related feeds is an excellent way to stay current with what's going on in the field. There are tons of interesting things to read about, whether it's book reviews, current legislation pertaining to libraries, new software that people are using, innovative program ideas, etc.
I picked a few feeds for now but I will probably go back and add some more, and group them into categories. I really will use this!
My Blogline Account
RSS is really neat...I first learned about it in a web class I took back in college. It's a really neat way to filter the infinite wealth of information out there on the net into digestible chunks that you can actually read. There are definately tons of feeds out there for fun and amusement, but they are also really great professional tools. If there's one thing I've found, it's that there are plenty of librarians out there who love to blog, so keeping tabs on library-related feeds is an excellent way to stay current with what's going on in the field. There are tons of interesting things to read about, whether it's book reviews, current legislation pertaining to libraries, new software that people are using, innovative program ideas, etc.
I picked a few feeds for now but I will probably go back and add some more, and group them into categories. I really will use this!
My Blogline Account
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Thing #7
My Post About Technology
Being the Young Adult Librarian that I am, I was reading the current issue of Young Adult Library Services, the journal of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) the other day, and a particular article caught my eye. This edition's theme is "Get Connected @ Your Library" in honor of YALSA's 1st Teen Tech Week celebration this March, and the article that struck me was "Cyberbullying: From Playground to Computer", by Tara Anderson and Brian Sturm.
Yes, we've been hearing over and over again about teens and MySpace. We know that it's here to stay (for now), and that as professionals working with youth, we need to accept that it is a major form of communication for today's teens. However, it is nice to see that people are starting to take notice of the social implications of this new form of technology. I have a B.A. in Sociology, and combined with my interest in technology and my career as a librarian working with youth, I find it fascinating and important to consider just how different technology has made the lives of today's teens, even compared to someone like me who was still a teen just a decade ago.
The article addresses the problem of "cyberbullying", which is defined as "the use of information and communication technologies such as email, text messaging, instant messaging, defamatory personal websites, and defamatory online personal polling websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others". To put it into real-life perspective, take MySpace. Almost every teen has one. With each profile customized to represent what that teen is all about, along with all of their "friends" and their comments on display to see, it has become an extremely important part of a teen's reputation and image. Just like nasty messages scribbled on a locker or a bathroom stall at school, trash-talking about others on MySpace can be devastating for a teen. What's worse is that technology-savvy teens can use embarassing pictures, audio, videos, etc. to further humiliate others, all while remaining anonymous to their victim, and they can spread it like wildfire to everyone they know through text messages, IMs, emails, social network sites, message boards, etc. There have even been a few tragic cases where cyberbullying has led to teen suicide. Adolescence is such a fragile stage of life, and this persistent form of bullying can sometimes be one extra push over the edge for troubled teens.
So what's to be done? We all know that new forms of technology like MySpace will only continue to expand the means of communication for teens. And we all know that teens need freedom and space for their voices to be heard, so censorship and excessive intervention are not the way. SO how do we get involved without getting too involved? According to the article, it's up to parents, educators, and technology experts to help raise awareness about the seriousness of cyberbullying, and to help kids cope depending on the situation, whether it's learning to ignore it, learning how to use functions to block this type of unwarranted behavior, or in some cases, taking it to the authorities.
Technology is power, and with power comes responsibility, so we are all responsible in making sure that the justice, freedom, and respect that we work towards in the real world extend to us in the virtual world as well.
Being the Young Adult Librarian that I am, I was reading the current issue of Young Adult Library Services, the journal of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) the other day, and a particular article caught my eye. This edition's theme is "Get Connected @ Your Library" in honor of YALSA's 1st Teen Tech Week celebration this March, and the article that struck me was "Cyberbullying: From Playground to Computer", by Tara Anderson and Brian Sturm.
Yes, we've been hearing over and over again about teens and MySpace. We know that it's here to stay (for now), and that as professionals working with youth, we need to accept that it is a major form of communication for today's teens. However, it is nice to see that people are starting to take notice of the social implications of this new form of technology. I have a B.A. in Sociology, and combined with my interest in technology and my career as a librarian working with youth, I find it fascinating and important to consider just how different technology has made the lives of today's teens, even compared to someone like me who was still a teen just a decade ago.
The article addresses the problem of "cyberbullying", which is defined as "the use of information and communication technologies such as email, text messaging, instant messaging, defamatory personal websites, and defamatory online personal polling websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others". To put it into real-life perspective, take MySpace. Almost every teen has one. With each profile customized to represent what that teen is all about, along with all of their "friends" and their comments on display to see, it has become an extremely important part of a teen's reputation and image. Just like nasty messages scribbled on a locker or a bathroom stall at school, trash-talking about others on MySpace can be devastating for a teen. What's worse is that technology-savvy teens can use embarassing pictures, audio, videos, etc. to further humiliate others, all while remaining anonymous to their victim, and they can spread it like wildfire to everyone they know through text messages, IMs, emails, social network sites, message boards, etc. There have even been a few tragic cases where cyberbullying has led to teen suicide. Adolescence is such a fragile stage of life, and this persistent form of bullying can sometimes be one extra push over the edge for troubled teens.
So what's to be done? We all know that new forms of technology like MySpace will only continue to expand the means of communication for teens. And we all know that teens need freedom and space for their voices to be heard, so censorship and excessive intervention are not the way. SO how do we get involved without getting too involved? According to the article, it's up to parents, educators, and technology experts to help raise awareness about the seriousness of cyberbullying, and to help kids cope depending on the situation, whether it's learning to ignore it, learning how to use functions to block this type of unwarranted behavior, or in some cases, taking it to the authorities.
Technology is power, and with power comes responsibility, so we are all responsible in making sure that the justice, freedom, and respect that we work towards in the real world extend to us in the virtual world as well.
Thing #6
Here is my flickr "mashup"! It is my "Librarian Trading Card", kind of like a Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh card that you can customize to have whatever you want on it. These types of things are always fun, such as avatars, memes, quizzes, etc. and these are the little things that really define Web 2.0, since they really involve the user in creating something that is truly customized to their experience. These kinds of things are always really popular on personal blogs and social networking profiles because they allow a person to easily show their humor and/or creativity.
Thing #5
I created a flickr account, and being the proud dog parent that I am, I had to share pictures of my baby.
This is my puppy, Basil! I got her last October when she was 9 weeks old. She looks like a chocolate lab, but she's not at all...she's a purebred mutt. I was told that she's got some Jack Russell, Cocker Spaniel, Pitbull, and Mastiff in her. Basil's an awesome dog. She was housebroken within a week, well-trained within a month, and she is sweet and cuddly. I love having her around!! She's about 7 months old now, and suprisingly, she has stayed really small, just around 25 pounds, despite having the pitbull and mastiff blood in her. I guess she'll always be my little puppy!
This is my puppy, Basil! I got her last October when she was 9 weeks old. She looks like a chocolate lab, but she's not at all...she's a purebred mutt. I was told that she's got some Jack Russell, Cocker Spaniel, Pitbull, and Mastiff in her. Basil's an awesome dog. She was housebroken within a week, well-trained within a month, and she is sweet and cuddly. I love having her around!! She's about 7 months old now, and suprisingly, she has stayed really small, just around 25 pounds, despite having the pitbull and mastiff blood in her. I guess she'll always be my little puppy!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Thing #3 and Thing #4
Thing #3: Setting up this here blog. Done and done.
Thing #4: Registering this here blog. Right on top of that.
Over and out!
Thing #4: Registering this here blog. Right on top of that.
Over and out!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Thing #2
Lifelong Learning: The 7 1/2 Habits
I liked this presentation. Since finishing school last year, I have been thinking a lot lately about the idea of lifelong learning and how I will continue to challenge myself and learn new things without the formal confines of the classroom. The presentation defined learning as "acquiring a new skill or knowledge", and I liked how they used examples such as cooking and yoga, as well as learning computers or reading a book. Anything that we do that enriches our lives, broadens our horizons, and teaches us something new is a valid form of learning, and I feel like I will always be on the hunt to learn.
The 7 1/2 Habits are:
I think the habits that come easiest to me are #2 and #6. I accept responsibility that it's up to me to learn, and I have fun doing it! I enjoy seeking out new ways to learn, whether it's thumbing through all the books around me at the library, surfing the web, taking a class for fun, asking people questions, etc. I also think I use technology to my advantage, almost to the point where it's hard to imagine what I'd do without it! I definately use the internet for all sorts of things. Whether it's getting directions to a concert, looking up a good recipe for banana bread, checking out product reviews for a new digital camera, showing vacation pictures to my friends, using IMDB to find out what other movie that guy was in, etc... I'm also surrounded by various other forms of technology. I live with my long-time boyfriend, who happens to be a software engineer who loves playing with gadgets, which means we have laptops, digital cameras, PDAs, video game consoles, HDTV, mp3 players, you name it. (I also have the added perk of 24/7 tech support when I need it :) )
I guess the hardest habit for me is #3. When faced with obstacles, it's hard for me to not stress out and to learn to just go with it. I often feel stressed out and lost during the challenge, but it's not until afterwards that I've realized I've learned a great deal. That probably sums up my whole grad school experience. Each semester usually felt like a big burst of stress until I submitted that last paper and reflected on how much I accomplished. I guess I need to learn to de-stress and appreciate what I'm learning during the challenge, but that can definately be tricky sometimes.
I liked this presentation. Since finishing school last year, I have been thinking a lot lately about the idea of lifelong learning and how I will continue to challenge myself and learn new things without the formal confines of the classroom. The presentation defined learning as "acquiring a new skill or knowledge", and I liked how they used examples such as cooking and yoga, as well as learning computers or reading a book. Anything that we do that enriches our lives, broadens our horizons, and teaches us something new is a valid form of learning, and I feel like I will always be on the hunt to learn.
The 7 1/2 Habits are:
- Begin with the end in mind (set goals)
- Accept responsibility for your own learning
- View problems as challenges
- Have confidence in your learning abilities
- Create your own learning toolbox
- Use technology to your own advantage
- Teach/Mentor Others
I think the habits that come easiest to me are #2 and #6. I accept responsibility that it's up to me to learn, and I have fun doing it! I enjoy seeking out new ways to learn, whether it's thumbing through all the books around me at the library, surfing the web, taking a class for fun, asking people questions, etc. I also think I use technology to my advantage, almost to the point where it's hard to imagine what I'd do without it! I definately use the internet for all sorts of things. Whether it's getting directions to a concert, looking up a good recipe for banana bread, checking out product reviews for a new digital camera, showing vacation pictures to my friends, using IMDB to find out what other movie that guy was in, etc... I'm also surrounded by various other forms of technology. I live with my long-time boyfriend, who happens to be a software engineer who loves playing with gadgets, which means we have laptops, digital cameras, PDAs, video game consoles, HDTV, mp3 players, you name it. (I also have the added perk of 24/7 tech support when I need it :) )
I guess the hardest habit for me is #3. When faced with obstacles, it's hard for me to not stress out and to learn to just go with it. I often feel stressed out and lost during the challenge, but it's not until afterwards that I've realized I've learned a great deal. That probably sums up my whole grad school experience. Each semester usually felt like a big burst of stress until I submitted that last paper and reflected on how much I accomplished. I guess I need to learn to de-stress and appreciate what I'm learning during the challenge, but that can definately be tricky sometimes.
My First Post!
It's me! Here I am!
D'oh, sorry it's a little late. It's not exactly "Week 1" of the program anymore, but hey, I'm here now. That's what's important, right? I was away on vacation for a little while, plus I've been procrastinating. You see, I already kind of feel like I know some of this stuff. I've taken computer and internet courses, I've kept a personal blog for several years, and I consider myself to be a pretty web-savvy, hip, young librarian of the future.
But if there's one thing I know about "new technology", it's that there are always new things to be learned! I think that it's really great that I'm being encouraged on the job to explore "Web 2.0" and all of the things out there in internet-land that are becoming such a huge part of daily life, especially for the new generations of users out there. Seeing as how it is my job to connect young people with information, in all of its many tangible and digital forms, I am eager to learn as much as I can.
So let's learn us some Learning 2.0!
D'oh, sorry it's a little late. It's not exactly "Week 1" of the program anymore, but hey, I'm here now. That's what's important, right? I was away on vacation for a little while, plus I've been procrastinating. You see, I already kind of feel like I know some of this stuff. I've taken computer and internet courses, I've kept a personal blog for several years, and I consider myself to be a pretty web-savvy, hip, young librarian of the future.
But if there's one thing I know about "new technology", it's that there are always new things to be learned! I think that it's really great that I'm being encouraged on the job to explore "Web 2.0" and all of the things out there in internet-land that are becoming such a huge part of daily life, especially for the new generations of users out there. Seeing as how it is my job to connect young people with information, in all of its many tangible and digital forms, I am eager to learn as much as I can.
So let's learn us some Learning 2.0!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
