Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Last Post *happy dance*

Greetings,

Wow, it is finally over.. and boy, am I glad :0). The most enjoyable aspect of this exercise was the beginning: setting up a blogger account... you know, the pretty stuff - choosing an inappropriate blogger address, selecting the right template to match your personality, that kind of thing. However, after the first assignment my enthusiasm wained. Then I pretty much hit a brick wall with RSS feeds.

However, after a couple (or more) months I persevered and (eventually) got the damn thing finished. The most infuriating part of the exercise? Getting stumped over the things that seemed hard but turned out to be really simple - especially posting YouTube thingies to your blog.

Have patrons come into the library wanting to know about RSS feeds and setting up blogs? No and to be honest I kinda hope it remains that way...

*final wave*.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Zoho Test - By GUM this WORKED!!!!!

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools

Wow. My final assignment. Mind you, it's taken long enough lol. Using Zoho does have it's advantages - as Kelly mentioned, documents/files can be open regardless of what version of windows is installed on your computer. At the moment, the only application I have really paid any attention to is the Zoho Online Word Processor as Microsoft word, the equivalent to this, is what I use mostly at MM.

As for navigation, Zoho doesn't seem tooooo bad. It's layout reminds me of a mixture of outlook and word all rolled into one and best of you you can have smilies!!! laughing. I guess I'm just pre-programmed for Microsoft word. And to be honest, I'm a creature of habit undecided. BUT it is great to know that Zoho exists. Now to try and post this to my blog.... Hmmmm....

Until next time *waves*.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Week 9: Podcasts, Video & ebooks - Thanks Tosca!!!

Hello,

Wow, the ALMOST last post of my blog has been posted!! I must admit, I found this particular week challenging as I didn't have a clue how to post a YouTube video on my blog. However, I must admit I am now feeling VERY smug (with a lot of help from Tosca - come back, we miss you!!!).

I have been accessing YouTube for a while now for the sole purpose of viewing episodes of yonder years - mostly The Muppets and Black Books. Here's one of the Swedish Chef vs the Chicken - enjoy! *waves*

Week 8: Online Applications and Tools

Wow. My almost-final assignment. Mind you, it's taken long enough lol. Using Zoho does have it's advantages - as Kelly mentioned, documents/files can be open regardless of what version of windows is installed on your computer. At the moment, the only application I have really paid any attention to is the Zoho Online Word Processor as Microsoft word, the equivalent to this, is what I use mostly at MM.

As for navigation, Zoho doesn't seem tooooo bad. It's layout reminds me of a mixture of outlook and word all rolled into one and best of you you can have smilies!!! laughing . But Alas, I guess I'm just pre-programmed for Microsoft word. And to be honest, I'm a creature of habit undecided . BUT it is great to know that Zoho exists. Now to try and post this to my blog.... Hmmmm....

Until next time *waves*.

A note from a genius: Well, I had problems trying to post this to my blog... so in the end I used the Html code thingy but the emotion icons didn't show. *Sighs* oh well. It was nice fiddling anyhow *finger wave*

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Week 7: Social Networking - Facebook: Granny made me do it

Hello,

Hmm, social networking. In my day MSN was THE programme of choice. For me, it still is. I guess it has something to do with the fact that you can talk to people in 'real time' and that any changes that you make on your account means that other people won't get bombarded with what you have done.

I've tinkered with MySpace and Bebo before. Admittedly, I didn't really like it. I just just don't see the point in it (my gosh I sound like an old fogey). But, I decided to bite the bullet and join Facebook and MY what FUN I had!

Did you know that http://www.facebbok.com/ is a porn site? Well, now you do! Aren't typos fun :0). So anyhow, after adding my three friends and seeing how they were putting all their woes online "I am depressed, work treats me like dirt" - well take a number, buddy and get in the queue, I got bored. And when I get bored it isn't a good thing....

After doing a multitude of online quizzes - apparently the dog resemble most is a Chihuahua (i don't think so) I decided to see what clubs I could join. And I found the perfect one for me! "Facebook has made my stalking 97% more effective". Live in fear peeps, live in fear....

Until next time *waves*

Week 6: Tagging, folksonomies & social bookmarking in Del.icio.us

Hello again,

I've just been fumbling my way around Del.icio.us and here are my thoughts: In theory, this thing is great. In practice, I do not think that I would have the patience or the will-power to maintain and update a Del.icio.us account. Don't get me wrong, the idea of being able to book mark everything and having one place to go to find it, as well as peering through others' favourite is fantastic (I especially liked the MySpace guide for parents). The amount of book marked items that you can have on your account s mind-boggling. It's just I am: a. blonde, b. a girl, c. would rather spend my time reading then facing copious amounts of time on the internet *shakes head sadly*.

Until next time *waves*.

Disclaimer: Well, not really a disclaimer as such.... But I have indeed managed to create a Del.icio.us account and I have managed to find some really useful Youth Fiction Sites *puts foot in mouth*

Week Five: Wikis

Well, I must admit that I got my hopes up... I was all set to give you a glorious spiel about how the use of Wikipedia promotes pornography but, alas, another time perhaps...

I must admit that I quickly flicked through the Wikis but the most notable one for me was the SJCPL subject guides (http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page). They has a whole section of genealogy with tips as to what websites to visit and how to get started. Considering the number of enquiries our branch has for genealogy research, this is a very valuable tool to pass on!

As for the types of applications that the library has that would be fantastic in a Wiki... The main thing that springs to mind is the research that is undertaken at the Central Reference Library - especially local history and family history research... Maybe a how-to guide for how the research was undertaken, what tools were useful... that sort of thing - something localised would be fantastic.

A book review Wiki where staff can post reviews would also be quite useful :0).

In my opinion, a Wiki is a site that you can go to in order to obtain information - any types of information (obviously the most obvious example of this would be Wikipedia). That being said, I would only use Wikis to quench my general questions and interests - I would never use one for academic purposes unless it was posted by a reputable source.

That's the end of my rant *waves*