Task # 23 still not midnight but getting close....

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I have an incredible fondness for my blog itself - before this I barely new what a blog was, and now my blog is winning me prizes (not that THAT had anything to do with it, really truly!) It's been great fun to create groovy images to make it more interesting. Must admit that I've tried to use my blog to do a bit of internal marketing for Learning 2.0 itself - thus the "don't panic" image that I've tried to change regularly. Otherwise I use flickr (which I had never used before) to upload photos from my mobile phone and have started using it to sort out my ridiculous collection of photos.
I do really like the whole wiki concept and look forward to spending some time making my new wiki pretty.... and useful.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I've loved it. honestly. It's made me feel as though I know more about what's out there and it's given me the confidence to explore new things - such as stumbleupon. I am always keen to learn new things but sometimes life races ahead and you just get lost in the day to day blahishness of life! learning 2.0 has given me the "prod" I needed to get into this stuff. yay.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
actually, yes. some of it's been a blow to the ego - I used to think I was relatively up to date but during the first couple of exercises I realised how dramatically out of date I was! This has been a positive thing for me as I;ve taken some extra time to explore. Otherwise, I've gathered lots of new ideas (Google Docs for housebound institutions, wikis for community groups, podcasts for council tours, etc.) which I am aiming to try and "sell".


What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Great program - sorry, a little overly American in parts. Did anyone else find those podcasts a little wearing? Anyway, I'd like to thank the Learning 2.0 coordinators. I imagine that it was a labour of love, but like all labours I'd bet it was slightly painful during the birthing process! Thanks so much. And I love my digital photo frame.

And there's still so much to learn!!!

Task # 22 (not quite midnight!)

ebooks and e-audio online ... wish we had it. I was fortunate enough to be able to have a play with overdrive, which is a terrific-looking tool. how brilliant, to be able to download a film from home from your local library, legally! And for myself, as a librarian, anything that avoids the regrettable necessity of fines is a blessing. I had a look at some of the audio ebooks - would be amazing for housebound individuals, for example. Also, I found out recently that you can also get software which downloads a book in braille to your home PC - if you have a special printer you can print it out and read it - in braille! now that's incredible. A brave new world.

Task # 21 podcasts

I adore iTunes and stumbled onto podcasts that way. One of the best podcasts I've ever used was one which acted as a virtual tour guide. When uploaded onto my iPod i prowled happily through the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, accompanied by a tour guide who was a) free b) pause-able and c) thorough! it was great. Try it next time you travel! Searching podcast.net - nothing on public libraries! Very sad. Public library singular picked up a few. Podcast alley picked up lots more and some clever ideas for us. Podcasts of storytimes, how brilliant! And author events, reading etc. - something to consider in Outreach work. we could also use podcasts for user education, tours - hey, our council does wonderful free tours - wish they could be done on podcast! I must go find someone to suggest it to!

Task # 20 youtube

I've been using youtube for some time and for anyone who has been bothered to scroll right down to the bottom of this page, you can see some librarian videos! youtube is one of the greatest time eaters in history. Someone today recommended i check out the George Bush sites, here is a great one . Oh dear. Honestly you have to laugh.
on a more serious note, I can see the applications of this for any library websites that have an educative function. You might have a library orientation page and add a youtube video, or any info literacy concept. youtube can also be useful for current events/news - perhaps our mayor should consider posting a youtube video talking about council's recent decision re our mobile library!

Task # 19 Discovering web tools

Going down the list of Web 2.0 awards it was nice to find a few familiar "faces", facebook, digg, reddit, flickr and youtube (of course!) and a big fave of mine, stumbleupon, which I use quite a lot at home. It really works and the more you use it the better it gets (if anyone out there loves craft, it has some fab craft sites! try not martha for a few cute ideas .. found it on stumbleupon! anyway, the purpose of this activity is not just to extol the virtues of stumbling your way through the web. I have a care2 account, which I've used for years so was glad to see that there.
I decided to try to create a wiki, as I can envisage this would be very useful to us. Just to play, created Melbourne Munchers which I am going to encourage everyone to use as a method of compiling decent restaurant reviews and places to find good recommendations. If you're reading this, please feel free to check it out! I would love to see my Library starting up some wikis in association with craft and special interest groups. We could purchase and recommend books and they can help with the content. Something in it for everyone! Wetpaint is easy to use and the template was perfect for the purpose.