Week 10: #23 the end... really?.. I'm done?... so soon?

Wow, 23 thing already.
I really learned alot, I first entered into this thinking, I'm pretty net and computer saavy already what else could be out there? But boy was I completely wrong!!! lol. I have learned so much and found so many useful tools that I can use for the future. This was truly a great idea! Good Job IHCPL and might I say Congrats to all my fellow hcpl coworkers who have finished theirs too!




Ihcpl really showed me what I was missing. You can practically do anything from anywhere as long as you know how to use your resources. I think my favorite part of IHCPL was the image generators - that really impressed me.I know HCPL has started to use a wiki and I think maybe we can apply that concept to other aspects of our library. In regards to what I wanted to learn more of: HTML publishing and such but I understand that HTML is not the easiest thing to learn or teach but that would be pretty awesome...

It was fun and so much more interesting than I originally thought!!

Week 9: #22 Downloadable Media

I have always wanted to try out and explore Overdrive but never really got around to it. I am a person who likes to read books not listen to them. I tend to get distracted when I have to listen to something being read to me. I like to go at my own pace, and sometimes like to reread things just so my mental image is perfect. This is why I usually prefer reading the book rather than seeing the movie of some titles. But I did take a look around our site and I found it to be pretty user friendly. Titles were easy to search, but unfortunately the one I actually looked for was not available in that format... shame isn't it. Oh well.
One thing I did like was the "Burn to CD allowed icon", alot of users would like to have their own copy of certain materials and that icon lets them know whether or not they have that option. I also like the navigation bar on the left of the webpage, breaking down the media into different genres really narrow down searches faster.

Week 9: #21 - did you say Podcast?

Podcasting is pretty convenient, especially for people on the go and those who cannot change their schedules to revolve around their favorite media programming. I think Podcast resides with TiVo in a way. They make the media programs more accessible. I have itunes on my computer but I also subscribe to interviews published by one of the local radio stations, they are very amusing and enjoy listening to them to have a good laugh when I'm bored. Their interviews range form political members to comedians, so its always interesting to hear who they are interviewing next. They also have top news headlines that I may have missed from the early morning talk radio shows. Over all, podcasting is yet another aspect of our technology making things so much easier and accessible.

Week 9: #20 YouTube

I have actually found youtube rather handy. I have found so many past televisioni episodes that no longer air and so many music videos from the past. In one instance that I know of, it actually helped law enforcement put some people away... (details withheld to protect those involved - NOT ME! lol) Anyhow, Youtube is a very interesting site. I especially like videos that give reviews on technology those are always helpful when I am in need to buy something like a cell phone or laptop or etc. For example, I wanted to be able to compare the functionality of cell phones so I simply typed in the model number and the word "reviews" for the phones that I wanted to compare and presto, I am given a list of different reviews from different youtube users. Click here to see video.

As in regards to finding some of my old favorites....



If unable to view, click here.

Week 8: #19 Zoho Writer ? Zowho?

Zoho is impressive. I wish I knew about this earlier on. Imagine how easier it is to get my papers proofread by my peers or classmates. I am very impressed by this, it's almost like having word but mobile... some computers do not come with a complete office software suite and you have to either download or buy the software just to have a word processing program on your computer. If you have a laptop like I do, which is 7 years old and quite slow compared to today's versions, then you know the more programs you have installed, the more memory is taken up thus making it slower. I have started to remove alot of programs from my laptop and used online tools instead just to save some memory. I really like Zoho, i especially like the option of adding images through a URL instead of having to save the picture to your computer and then pasting it into the document. I can simply locate the picture I want to use, grab the url and paste it into my document. Overall, I think it is a useful tool for anyone who may have to use a public pc that does not necessarily have a word processing program available for use.

Week 8: #18 Social Networking:

Hahaha.... now this is something I already do on a regular basis. My first social networking site was Xanga... I met a few great online friends. As a matter of fact I still talk to some of them now... been friends with them for about 5 years I suppose, maybe more... can't remember.
I mainly used xanga to vent my frustrations and to cure my boredom. As I got older and busier, my blogging declined.

Now I am on Myspace and Facebook. Myspace is more for everyday simple hellos and picture sharing.... not so much for blogging. Faceboook is networked through schools and groups mainly. One of my friends from 2nd grade found me on Facebook, how cool is that?

I do miss hardcore blogging though... those were the days. One thing I like about these type of sites is the availability of originality. Those who are HTML saavy are so very creative with the setup of their blogs on Xanga. Myspace is too uniform at times... everyones is the same but I guess that's what makes it so easy to use. I think I may start my Xanga page back up again.... who knows. But be aware - its addicting!!! lol

Week 7: #17 Look at all the pretty new Technology

Ok so everyone knows that one of the biggest things right now in technology world is the IPhone and the I touch from Apple Inc. I remember when MP3's just barely started coming out and they only held so much memory and were so very expensive. And now we have touch screens, voice commands, bluetooth enabled, and syncing abilities. How awesome is that!!! The Iphone is nice... really nice!!!

With the advancement in technology nowadays... its hard to keep up...
well not all technology is free... you have to buy the equipment. I love bluetooth, at first I really did not like it at all, but now how i wish i didnt accidently put my bluetooth headset in the washer... i miss it. *sniff sniff*

Right - where was I?

Bluetooth can be found everywhere now - phones, cars, computers, printers, cameras....

It's so nice to be able to connect to different machines all wirelessly.

But then it kind of makes me worry - will our society become even more lazy since every thing is so easy to do now??? hmmmm....

Week 7: #16 wiki wiki wiki

At first when I saw wiki, I had a general idea of what is was already. We use a wiki to keep track of print requests that we send into our main offices. I find it really helpful because it displays the status of certain requests. It is kind of like the UPS tracking system but easier... I think I'm making sense. But yes, I do like wikis. As a student, I have to work in groups to complete certain projects for class and I know that with each person's busy schedule it is hard to get together and update one another on the progress of our project but if we used a wiki we could all access the same wiki and put all of our updates in one place rather than trying to contact each other individuallly. I use webct for school and although the discussion boards are helpful they can also be confusing since so many people do repeat posts and end up getting lost. So wiki's are definitely a very useful tool in this day and age.... I will definitely be using one the next time I have a project to work on.

Week 6: #15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0

Let's see... after being in the library system for three short years I have seen many changes in the dyanamics of the libraries... well.... actually in reference to how the library used to be when I was in middle school until now. Technology and the resources that are made available through our libraries have changnend immensely. I remember having to sit at a microfiche machine for hours on end, scanning through blurry article after article trying to find sources that I can use for my history report or project, but with the databases we have now its as easy as typing in a few words and using the tags to navigate through pages of all relevant information rather than sifting through ads and miscellaneous articles. I think the libraries of today and tomorrow are a much better assett to the public than it was years ago. Library 2.0 helps us become more available to our customers, and I know that the public are less hesitant to come in and ask for help to find information and do research. Look at HCPL for example, we have downlaodable audio available for patrons. Our patrons can now download books onto their mp3's or ipods and listen to them on the go... and I think our computer saavy customers really appreciate that. The concept of Library 2.0 is a good thing... we're headed for a brighter and more advanced future.

Week 6: # 14 Technorati

Well, Technorati has so much to look at. All those story lines and articles and what not. I found a pretty interesting article on a new type of IPOD cover.... apparently its the most sexy cover ever. somehow they put the silicone implant and an ipod cover into one thing... weird. Wait to tell all my ipod crazy friends....

But I can see myself surfing this for hours reading all sorts of stuff...

I thought the WTF (where's the fire) tab was amusing.... at first I thought wow they actually put that one the frontpage of ths site... but then realize its not the bad version that orignally thought it was....

WTF in today's language or text language if you will is actually

W - What
T - The
F - *expletive*

I guess its a way of cursing without really cursing because you are only typing letters. but i digress....

Technorati - pretty cool.

Week 6: #13 Del.icio.us

ok so I have to admit Del.icio.us is pretty cool. On my laptop that I have at home, I use the favorites option alot, but it doesn't help me too much when I'm not at home now does it? Now I can transfer all of my fave URLS to this page and access them from anywhere. The setup of the account was easy enough, and it took some exploring for me to get use to how the page works.

In regards to Tagging, I like when websites have that function enabled... I am able to link to other websites that can give me more info on what I'm looking for.

Week 5: #12 The "Library" Elf will remind you!

I love Library Elf!

Well not so much the graphic but I do love the concept of it! I am a person who relies on my phone to live my life, to go about with my daily activities. I have my important dates and messages, alarms and reminders on there. To have reminders sent to my phone automatically in a text message is awesome.

It gives me a quick reminder while I am on the go and I don't have to sit down at a computer, sign in to my email and see what emails I need to delete or read. I tend to

Even though I work at the library I get so busy I have forgotten to renew my items a time or two... but not by too much. Then I end up with a pesky buildup of fines that I pay off with spare pocket change when I have it with me. But now I'll just remember to renew my items when I get the text message. Score!

Week 5: #11 A Thing about Library Thing

I created my Library Thing Account, I always wanted a place to put down all the books I have read or wanted to read... better online than in a notebook that I could lose at anytime.

I like the Library thing concept. I tried to add one of my favorite children's books but the link wasn't working correctly. It was Frederick by Leo Leoni. I checked a few of my other boooks to see if they worked and they did so I guess that one link that came up wasnt functioning today. Oh well, I can add it another day.

Majority of them are Young adult books that I read over the past few years.

Week 5: #10 Play around with Image Generators

This is my Yahoo Messenger Avatar. I already use it on a somewhat regular basis. I don't log onto Messenger as often anymore but when I do, it's entertaining to see what new outfits they have available. The last time I logged on there, I was surprised to see Vietnamese fashions. That was a shocker, but it made me smile.


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I tried to use Meez... it was a bit frustrating after a while. when I finally got one done, I accidentally closed out the window and of course lost what I did. Guess I should remember to save more often. grrrr.

Week 4: #9 Finding Feeds

I did the same search on each of the search tools but I found the one provided by Bloglines was the most useful to my type of searches. I found more relevant feeds and was able to find one that caught my interest. I suppose if I were to read more on the web, I would use bloglines to find relevant feeds.

When I was an avid Xanga blogger (back when I was part time employee and full time student), I used a subsciption service very similar to RSS feeds but it was only readily available with that one website. With RSS feeds I find that I can find what I want all in the same place, I dont have to jump back and forth from one webpage and navigate through links galore...

I am going to be using RSS for mainly news, I don't ge to watch the news often, so I either listen to the radio or read it online from different sources.

as of right now, my feeds are:

BBC News News Front Page World Edition
Bloglines News
iTunes Top 25 Songs
Librarians' Internet Index: New This Week
Stars and Stripes <-- military newspaper, it lets me know whats going on that may affect the soldiers.

I just subscribed to the generator blog
I love it!!!! I just found so many cool image generators.... Can't wait until I have more time to explore them all!!!

Week 4: #8 RSS

RSS seems to be for people who read their news and get their information from the net regularly. I have a few blogs that I visit but I am not a reader who visits everyday, however my accounts have subscription options and that usually puts all of my reading interests in one place. I can see how helpful the RSS feature can be... I usually use it just to simplify the format of certain web pages so as to find info faster but I rarely would use it.

I spend majority of my time on a computer already so I try to get what I need done and leave the computer....

Week 3: #7 Photo Editing Tools

This is a picture I took on a trip to Europe. This is one of the cafe's lining the streets of Maastricht.


Original



Edited version using Pixer.us service.
I used the oil painting option...
... it really does look like a painting. :)

Week 3: #6 More Flickr Fun

Learning Style

I'm pretty sure I was supposed to blog about my learning styles. I'm an interactive learner if you will. If the lecturer is interacting with me then I am more engaged in the subject matter and thus more likely to retain any information presented to me. I am one of those people who can read and remember certain things, only if its interesting. But if it is a boring subject, then I have to write notes down and then review them. If it doesn't seem to be soaking in like it should then I usually read the textbook and rewrite key terms and concepts and reorganize everything so it is grouped by subject matter. Being in college, I use this method pretty often. So I suppose you can say I am an interactive learner.

Discover Flickr (Week 3 #5 )

I must admit I was apprehensive of trying flickr but I am never one shy away from something new. Change is inevitable - you have to adapt, you can't always resist it. I'm going to have to find some pictures to upload. Sandra showed us a flickr mashup that I really want to try out.

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I tried it out, it was pretty interesting.... i liked how each one kind of bubbled up with different types of images.

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So I uploaded some pictures and.....

Amber Scism, the ILL chick at Aldine once told me that my dog, Snowball looks like the luck dragon from the NeverEnding Story. What do you think?

Internet Safety (Week 2: #4)

There are times when I come across a blog of someone I know personally and surprised to find how much personal infomation they put on there. It's ok to share some information but not all. Some people put their entire schedule up for people to see, that's a good way for someone to know exactly when and where you'll be so they can rob you or worse. When I blog, I put my opinions and my frustrations and my privacy settings are specifically restricted to my friends. If I don't know them personally then they won't be able to gain access to my blog. This is different however... this is a public one which I will censor for the desired public. In regards to children and parents and internet safety. It's important that parents supervise their young children even when they are on gaming websites. Gaming websites have a chat capability allowing members to converse with each other during game play. Those who play XBOX360 can chat using a microphone during play as well. Much like the real world, the internet has its own dangers and should be used with the safety know how. Phishing websites, online predators, and even the annoying spam are a nuisance. If you are careful with your personal information, then your safety isn't at risk and you can enjoy the blogging community just like everyone else does.

blog numero uno

There isn't too much to say about me. I work in the library system, have been for 3 almost 4 years now. I like it, it's given me plenty of opportunities to meet people of all types and of different cultures. I am a trilingual member of the staff and I find that I have used my language skills here more so than anywhere else. I like what I do, it has it's ups and downs but that's normal. I work in one of the smaller branches and consider myself to be internet saavy already, but I find there is always something new to learn. I have a strange way of thinking, my mind jumps from subject to subject but it all makes sense in the end. --- Hi.