And the finish line is here!

The biggest question - would I participate again in something like this. A most definite yea, but I think we could improve upon things by having more discussions on the item. Having just taken an online class, I think the most I got out of the class were bi-weekly, one hour chat sessions where people in the class could share what they learned that week, what was a stopper for them, and tips and tricks that the rest of us might not have discovered.

I think in the future something like that would keep everyone motivated to move along. I'm excited that everyone at PA tried the program out. Don't know if everyone will finish it, but at least everyone gave it a shot and that's all I can ask. (Without being a learning SS soldier!)

Learning 2.0 was definitely worth my while and I really think we should continue on a path like this again on a smaller scale with online chats as an added feature.

My thoughts

I really enjoyed hearing the buzz about the Learning 2.0 experience when it first began. It has been really great to have people working together in our labs to help each other through the experience. I would like to have seen Google Docs rather than Rollyo say because I think staff would get more use from something like that. Fortunately, we went ahead and had a staff member here do a training on it.

I think this experience has given a great opportunity to those who may have less experience in the library field, but more experience in the area of using these tools. It was great to see the young clerks helping those people out who normally help get them through their day.

I enjoyed looking at some of the blogs. Those who put more pictures in were more attractive, but it's nice to see that people blog in short about their experiences and what they liked and disliked. I really enjoyed the whole experience of having all of us learning together.

Rollyo Woooooo Oooooo

Had to chant the guards music from Wizard of Oz there! Rollyo - don't get it. Spent more time on this one that any other item so far because I wasn't familiar with it, but I still can't find a good use for it for me. I did find someone's roll which was all sheet music sites. Thought that would be helpful, but, well, no not really. I was finding it just as easy to just seach Google for the piece of music I was playing for and adding "sheet music" in the search. In fact, some came up easier that way since they weren't found in any of the sites for the guy's search roll.

Listening around the library I could hear how some didn't find it useful, but after playing with it for a long while found ways they could use it. Recipes seem to be the favorite. I could see that if you have 5 or 6 sites that you search regularly for recipes and you're looking for the best pot roast and know you can trust Paul Deen, Rachel Ray, or Ina Garten to provide you with the best options. Rollyo is my least favorite so far, but I'm still glad I took a look at it.

Here's my roll: http://rollyo.com/avenleigh/womens_music1/

Library Thing Vs. Shelfari

I.k. I've used Library Thing, but I much prefer Shelfari. AS we were discussing a minute ago Library thing is for those hard core, cataloger types who really want to have a catalog of their books. For me, I prefer the simple layout of Shelfari for sharing books with friends and family. It's especially great for those friends I have who don't have reading high on their priority list.

Here's my shelfari and library thing:
http://www.shelfari.com/Avenleigh/shelf#firstBook=0&list=0&sort= here's my Shelfari Shelf

Library Thing: Don't keep up with this one as much, but here it is: http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php

Generators

Love this one: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/cube.php - It creates a dice from 6 photos easily uploaded from Flickr. Big labs has so many to choose from for use with Flickr photos. The Warholizer is fun as well - takes your photos and makes them into Andy Warhol like photos. Not quite as clear as Warhol, but still fun!

Podcasting and Libraries

http://www.hclib.org/teens/Podcasts.cfm - Hennepin County's use of podcasts of course shows us that Patrick Jones is alive and well. These are great ways to get teens involved in sharing their thoughts on books in a way that their friends might actually listen to them. It brings cool to geek in an exciting way for libraries and couls attract a whole new audience to our virtual and actual spaces.

Another favorite is http://www.libraryloft.org/podcasts.asp - The Library Loft at Charlotte Mecklenberg. They use podcasting in a different way - sharing podcasts from young adult authors to hook teens with books that way. Both give a new slant to our ability to reach audiences we typically have issues touching.

FInding podcasts

I'm a big iTunes user for finding and automatically downloading podcasts of favorite NPR radio programs. It's like tivo for radio to me. It's nice to know that if you miss the program when it first airs that the next time I hook my iPod up to the computer, the show gets downloaded automatically. Of course for those who don't have any use for downloading iTunes, the other engines work great as well.