Reflecting

I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to participate in Web 2.0

Some of the applications I learned were new to me, some I had previous experience with. I understand that our world is everchanging and to be able to keep up with it all is impossible. These weekly lessons have given me some ideas for things I would like to learn more about. I have found that I am using the internet more for photo storage and I have started a new blog for my personal endeavors.

My husband was somewhat jealous that I was able to be part of Web 2.0. Hopefully I can share what I've learned.

I would definitely like to participate in similar courses if they become available.

Gaming

I have always enjoyed games. Before computer games I spent my free time playing pinball at the Arcade. I know, I'm old. But I haven't lost my passion for games. I especially like the quick free games since my free time is rare. I have several free game sites bookmarked on my computer at home.

Because I have raised three boys I have become familiar with Warcraft, cheats, and hours and hours spent in front of the computer screen. They chat with each other and blow each other up. Sometimes I come home from work to see three boys on three different computers all battling. What a sight. My point is that I am aware of the impact of gaming in our society today. I am especially pleased that the library is embracing that and inviting the community to do the same.

Mapping

I have been familiar with Google Earth for a while now. Not only is it fun to play with it has helped me plan vacations. When we decide where we want to go we plug in the city and search for lodging. That way we can see if we are going to be in an ideal location or not.

I visited Weimar, the town I stayed in while I was in Germany, and was able to see pictures of different locations throughout the town. It was very nostalgic and somewhat educational.

When I look at my address I can almost tell the exact time the image was posted. I think we had just opened up our outdoor umbrella!

Avatars

It took several tries but I was finally able to save my Avatar!

The avatars are fun. You can create different images depending on your mood.

I watched the Second Life videos and went to a couple of locations and I have to say that I think it's a little creepy. I don't already live there and I don't think I want to. It reminds me of adults sitting around the computer like teenagers, glued to an interactive game. Again.... where do people find the time?

Online Applications

I created documents in google and zulu and thought it was pretty easy to use. These applications could really come in handy when people don't have anywhere to save anything. They can create their documents and return to them next time they are at the library.

Search Engines

I tried all the mentioned search engines with the exact same search.
The results were as follows:

Yahoo 351
Google 312
Rollyo 151
Ask.com 89
Dogpile 57
Mamma 11

Dogpile was very slow and it did not tally the hits, I had to count them myself. However, it did produce some obscure sites that are probably hidden near the end of the long lists that I never seem to reach.

It was interesting to see how the results were grouped in each search engine.

Podcasting

I subscribed to TechTracks Podcasts which is a class like web2.0 out of SC State Library. The part I listened to had to do with MySpace and social networks. I also subscribed to Booktalks Quick and Simple which are booktalks by expert Nancy Keane. Both of these subjects would be interesting to patrons. Those who are looking for more technical instruction than they can get from us could listen to these techie podcasts while they are hanging out at the computer. Patrons looking for reading ideas seem to want input from all different sources. This is definitely a way to get that kind of information. If we have a way to point people in this direction I think patrons would be thrilled with the amount of information available to them.

For fun I subscribed to German in 5 minutes a day. We'll see if that's helpful at all.

My first experience with Podcasting was a while back when I was researching graduate school options. I was able to sit in on a Podcast about the different programs I was interested in. I thought that was so convenient because the alternative was to physically visit the college and sit in on a group meeting.

Finally, my biggest hesitation is that this is another time consuming project. If only I had extra hours in each day to explore and learn but alas...