Digital Learning Initiative

Desk Schedule for AF Week of March 3 2008

2008-03-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

Here is the current desk schedule for AF.

March 3

ReferenceUSa

2008-02-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

test schedule for March Vendor visit.

Ask A Librarian Schedule

2008-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

March schedule

March 4 schedule test

2008-02-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

March 4 schedule

March 4 schedule published

Facebook Thing 23: TLC Week 9

2008-01-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

I registered for Facebook.

Completing the privacy profiles could have been an easier experience.

Networks:
Hmm. 71 thousand in the Fort Lauderdale network. That's too many.
I couldn't join the Nova Southeastern Network since I don't have a Nova e-mail.
I'll have to fix the next version of TLC to have a Browardl Library network.

Search your local regional network or the Nova Southeastern network and send a friend request to co-worker or classmate and try posting a message to their wall. I joined Digital Reference to see what it's like. It has only 688 people so it is much more manageable. I also joined the library 2.0 group. There are only 4526 members to review!

I couldn't find any coworkers from this TLC project. Next time we'll have to seed a few people to make it easier for people.

I found searching for people useless as Facebook doesn't have a very good filter system. The groups are too large to be useful. The Advanced Search doesn't work for filtering a group, only your networks and individual friends.

Overall, I would redesign this exercise to make it a better experience for the next group.
At this point I don't see Facebook as a library application. We'll see what ideas other people have about Facebook.

Thing 21 Podcasts; Week 8 TLC

2008-01-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you.

I started with Podcast Alley. I didn't care for the interface. My concerns are the same as YouTube. They could do a better job of classifying using more categories and tags. I selected Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing since I can always use help with Grammar. Though I think grammer would be better as a video podcast.
I liked the Digg Podcast directory better because it had a less cluttered interface and it directly linked to the actual podcast in addition to hosting it on their site.

I decide to use Podcast Alley to look for a library related podcast. I chose the Library Channel to add to my Bloglines account.

However, I ran into technical challenges as the url had changed. When I went to the Arizona University site I had to hunt around for the subscription url. I ended up using the google link and just copied the link into my bloglines account. I really like how bloglines makes it easier to look at the podcasts. It also means one less account and password to remember.

Create a blog post about your discovery process.
Podcasts can be very useful for providing additional learning experiences for people. However, finding good material is the difficult part.

I tried the extra credit to create a podcast using gcast.
It turns out it is harder to make a podcast since they don't tell you how to create mp3 audio files and they don't use wav files which is a Windows sound recorder format. Of course you create a telephone podcast but that doesn't give you the ability to save your files on your computer to use on other podcast sites.

I decided to use the telephone option to record a podcast. The recording posted to my site, but when I tried to play it I got the message "error on page" I''ll have to come back to this later.

The library application for podcasts is excellent for provding training material and announcements.

Thing 20 YouTube, Week 8 TLC

2008-01-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

I explored YouTube and decided to find some videos with Myleene Klass, a new age classical pianist. I had been listening to her song "For the love of a princess" on Pandora (another web 2.0 tool) and wanted to see the artist.

I chose her video "Toccata and Fugue". It was a pop version very much in the vein of another female classical group Bond. It was not your typical classical music video and it was very enjoyable.

What I like about YouTube (copyright considerations aside) is that you can explore your interests from politics to music to viral videos. YouTube is a powerful tool for creating a community that doesn't exist on cable tv.

What I disliked about YouTube was the searching format. Unless you know what you are looking for exploring is not easy given the numerous videos.
It would help if they had more channels with subcategories and tag clouds.
In addition, the video image on YouTube is only fair. As people begin to use the Internet as a major video tool they will demand that the video image quality be improved.

I can see YouTube as a promotional tool for library events. Perhaps we could video the presentation for the Web 2.0 Grand Prize?

Thing 19 Discover Web 2.0 Tools; Week 7

2008-01-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed browsing through the web 2.0 Awards.

I decided to take a look at Peer Trainer.

It seems strange that each group is limited to 4 people. It seems to small given the number of people who want to join.

If you scroll down you'll see you can join Peer Teams that consist of unlimited number of people.

It's a free service. However, everyone (at least in your group) can see your daily activities.
The page is a little busy and hard to read. You really have to spend time exploring the site if you want to be sure if you want to join. It does seem like a pretty good site.

The best thing about this website is the social network of peer accountability to the group. I guess you could call it a virtual weight watchers group for cyber people.

This particular website does not have any application for libraries. However, the concept of group accountability and daily logs on a website could be useful for future classes. Maybe we could divide people into teams so they could push each other to complete the TLC Things?

I decided to join this website.

There's so many teams and groups to join. I'll have to come back and take and choose a group later. It's taken awhile to explore.
I'll have to post again after I've had some experience actually using the web site.

TCL 2 document from Zoho Writer

2007-12-30T12:38:00.001-08:00

This is my second test document.

I put a picture of the dolphin mascot in it!

Thing 18 Online Productivity: Week 7

2007-12-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

I created an account on Zoho Writer.

The Zoho Writer seems to have all the basic functions needed to write a brief document. You can insert pictures and tables.

I was able to use the Post to your Blog feature.

I thought this was a neat wait to write a document and distribute it. This could be useful for training classes.

Thing 17 PBWiki Sandbox: Week 6

2007-12-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

I played in the NSU sandbox today.

1. I logged in. Don't use capitals for the login password.

2. I added my blog to the NSU Wiki. Look for TLCDave's Blog
http://nsulibs.pbwiki.com/Favorite-Blogs
3. I signed into the BLCTLC Wiki.
Look for Dave Jess was here
http://bcltlc.pbwiki.com/bcltlcpage\

I didn't add my favorite book or eating place as there was no page.
The most frustrating thing about the PBWiki is that the home page takes you to the generic set up page, not the home page you created It is always a pain in the neck to find your home page. For this reason alone, I would not use PBWiki. User's become confused and think what happend to my page? The answer is that user's have to go to the bottom of the page to click on "Show all pages" and then figure out which page is the real home page.

I use the wetpaint Wiki instead.

-Dave

Thing 16, Week 6 Wiki

2007-12-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

I explored Wikis tonight.

1. St. Joseph County Public Library.
This was an excellent example of using a Wiki as a library too.
2. BookLover's Wikis - This would be an interesting way of posting
the Reader's Advisory annotation homework assignment.

3. Library Success - an interesting way to put out useful information
for library staff.

4. ALA Wiki - We could use this idea and create a Wiki for the Broward Library Anime Convention in January 2008.

5. Bull Run Library - I didn't like this site. I thought it looked
cluttered.

Thing 15 Rollyo, Week 5 BCL TLC

2007-12-26T13:56:00.001-08:00

The Rollyo concept was interesting that you could limit a search to a specific set of websites.

Here is the link to my Search box.

This exercise took longer than it should have.

I was not able to create a searchbox on my blog for extra credit.

OverDrive: Week 9, Thing 22

2007-12-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

I visited OverDrive today.
Since I've been using the website since February 2007 I didn't spend too much time exploring. It did give me a chance to look for some new audio books.

I wish we had more than 638 audio books.

The hold process is fairly easy.

I designed the extra credit exercises based upon the work I had done with OverDrive last summer.

Today I put a hold on The 10-Minute Stress Manager.

For practice I downloaded the book Exceeding Customer Expectations.
I played the book for a few minutes and skipped around to get used to the controls again.
The bookmark features works great. The only problem with audiobooks is that my MP3 Player doesn't make bookmarks. I usually listen to a book when I go to the gym since I can listen to most of the chapter (70 minutes roughly)during my workout.

I decided not to burn another cd, but I did burn a cd last summer.

Library Thing: Week 5, Thing 14

2007-12-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

I explored Library Thing and found it very intesting.
It seems like the librarian's version of Amazon.

The reviews are useful and the tag cloud make it easy to browse.

All in all this is a web site to include in the Reader's Advisory class.

You can see my books at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/TLCdave2007

TLCdave2007

test video embed

2007-12-04T11:09:00.001-08:00

Thing 13 Online Generators BCL TLC 2.0

2007-12-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

These are my thoughts about Thing 13 Online Generators.

Overall, they were fun, but not too practical.

The generator blog for creating fractured image was artistic.

The card catalog generator is too old fashioned.

I liked the dummies book cover. I've seen other people make book covers and wondered how they did it. Now I know how.

This was the best exercise about this thing!

You can make your own book cover at http://www.signgenerator.org/books/dummies/

I explored these Flickr toys when we did Flickr in week 3.

Thing 12 BCL TLC Thinking about 2.0

2007-12-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

I read the articles for the BCL TLC 2.0 Thing 12 Thinking about 2.0.

I decided to comment on "Away from the Iceberg" since it identified 3 icebergs on the way to web 2.0.

#1 Just in case collection.
Basically they propose we go digital and not collect these expensive unused physical print collections. On the other hand, are libraries nimble enough to keep up with fast moving web trends? Maybe our strength is still in the physical?

#2. Reliance on user education.
The author argues we need to redesign our services rather than redesigning our customers. The BCL TLC 2.0 program is an example of our trying to train staff at their own pace instead of having a class room where everyone moves in lockstep. We've all seen the websites that are easy to use and we click away from the websites that are hard to use.

#3. The “come to us” model of library service
We no longer have the monopoly on information. When people want book reviews they go to Amazon for individual reviews instead of book reviews from our periodical databases. Heck, they might not even know about book reviews in our databases.

Thing 11 BCL TLC Table Tennis

2007-12-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today I worked on Thing 11 which is tag your own blog.
My hobby is playing table tennis. Some of you might call it ping pong.
Table Tennis is an Olympic Sport and the national organization is the USATT.

I belong to the Broward Table Tennis Club.

Table Tennis is great exercise.

I posted a comment on MY BCL TLC Blog Thing 9 and suggested some tags for her blog.

BCL TLC Thing 10 Del.icio.us

2007-11-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

I explored the Del.icio.us. It is a step up from bookmark folders, but I thought it could do more. The NSU site needs more bookmarks. The BCL site is labeled as BLCTLC which is why I couldn't find it the first time. I found that the site is so bare that it doesn't explain how to search mutliple tags. It's all in the help menus. That's so web 1.0.

While the site is useful, I thought the training tips on the video was pretty cool. Social Bookmarking in Plain English (5 min video)

Trouble in paradise.
It turns out we can't install Del.icio.us toolbar on our staff computer. I did install the bookmark helper. I created an account, but I couldn't activate it since the IT blocked access to my gmail e-mail account. I'll have to do this part of the project at home.

Comment on another blog: BCL TLC Thing 9

2007-11-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

I made a comment on another person's blog today.
I visited Chess Life and talked about my chess sets: a chess table and Boris the computer.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4450388604261012651&postID=8092965405777265544

T-Mobile Wing: BCL TLC Thing 9

2007-11-05T15:04:00.001-08:00

I am thinking about getting a smart phone, but not an I-phone.

The T-Mobile Wing is a a cool device that is well-reviewed. The two major cons to it are it has a slow procesor and it is on a slow 2.5 G network. I've tried out the Wing in the store and it doesn't seem to be very slow. Also, I would only be using the data for e-mail and save the Wi-fi for the web surfing so the lack of 3G is not a deal breaker.

ATT has the "Tilt" which is a better version of the Wing as it has a faster processor and is on a 3G network.

Since I've still got around 7 months left on my contract I'll have to see how much it would cost to break my current contract.

There are many things about technology that have nothing to do with technology, but depend on economics and contracts.

Trading Cards: BCL TLC Thing 8

2007-11-05T15:02:00.001-08:00

BCL TLC Team v.2
Originally uploaded by tlcdave2007

Making Trading Cards out of your Flickr photos is one of the more useful Flickr tools. I thought there could be more icons to choose from on the right side.

Magazine Cover BCL TLC Thing 8

2007-11-05T14:51:00.001-08:00

Magazine Cover
Originally uploaded by tlcdave2007

I created a magazine cover using this Flickr third-party tool.

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php.

This photo was the from the Nova 2.0 kickoff in August 2007.

BCL TLC 2.0 Thing 8 Flickr Mashups & third Party tools

2007-11-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

There were so many tools to explore it was overwhelming. I'd rather be given a list of 5 items to explore than pick my own out of 100.

I tried the Flickr logo maker. It looks cool, but you can't do much with it.
http://flickr.nosv.org/out.php?s=Digital+Learning+Intiative

Thing 6: Finding RSS Feeds

2007-10-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting experience on finding RSS feeds.

1. I found that Bloglines was the most convenient way to look for RSS sites and to easily add them to my RSS feeds.

2. Feedster. I didn't care for it. It seems to be trying to be a Google search engine and is rather plain web site.

3. Topix. I liked Topix because it was designed to be a place to browse, stay, and return.
I like the Fort Lauderdale news angle.

4. Syndic8 was pretty ugly looking and didn't seen very useful.

5. Technorati is pretty good. It's colorful. The constant updating of the latest blogs is a like watching stock ticker symbols go by. Also, it was the only one to find my blog!

RSS with Dave

2007-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

I created a RSS account using Bloglines. It's very convenient and because it is Internet based I can read it any where.

If you wish to see what I have subscribed to check my link
http://www.bloglines.com/public/TLCdave

Hurricane Wilma 077 BCL TLC Thing 7

2007-09-21T14:42:00.001-07:00

Hurricane Wilma 077
Originally uploaded by tlcdave2007

It looks like the way to add a photo is to use the blog option.

I was able to add my bcltlc2.0 tag. I was the only one who had done so.

BCL TLC Thing 7 Holiday Decoration

2007-09-21T14:34:00.001-07:00

I was able to use the Flickr blog tool to put this picture on my

blog.

Holiday Decoration
Originally uploaded by tlcdave2007

Dave's Flickr picture

2007-09-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

I started a Flickr account.
Here is a picture of window damage to the building. Oops. The picture wouldn't load.

Flickr BCL Thing 7

2007-09-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

I toured Flickr today. It is an amazing site.
I wonder what building he was in when he took the photo of the
Templeton building?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandrino/57046263/

7 1/2 Life Long Learning Habits

2007-09-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

The learning habit play is really the most important. If it's fun you will do more!

TLC Program

2007-09-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Interesting Enough Blogger works with Gmail accounts making the registration process easy.