Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Overview

Well it's the last day of work before the end of the year and it is also the last day that I will be doing 23 things which I have now completed.

I'm really glad that I chose to participate, I have learnt many new applications and a real appreciation of web applications. A special thank you to other staff for all the help they have given me and also setting up the 23 Things for staff to participate it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!


Monday, December 22, 2008

Podcasts, Video and Downloadable Audio

Well this is the end of the 23 Things adventure and I have enjoyed the ride. This week I looked at podcasts, video and downloads.

First on the list is YouTube one of the greatest things on the net. See below for my earlier post on this topic.

Podcasts I think are a great application to use on the web. They can be for educational purposes for explanations and they can also be used for recreation. I sign up for podcasts and treat them just like a radio, the podcast is downloaded automatically each week onto my computer and then I can listen to the weekly podcast when I have time. Its just like a radio but on when you want it. Speaking of radio, many media outlets have also adapted to podcasts exactly for this reason, to allow listeners to listen in no matter where or when they are.

Another aspect of podcasts is the free software that is available to access them and store and organse as well as other media on your computer. I use iTunes a free down loadable program by Apple which is great to organise your audio files as well as video and other types of media.

Netlibrary is an interesting subject, I like the idea of online books, especially for those extra special set text books being available to the many people that want them all at once. I tried to make an account but got stuck at the PLCMC sign on page where before I could get I password I would have to apply for a card and then got error pages. So meting that in the future I would like to see developed.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Online Applications & Tools

Just a quite bite on online applications. They are great ideas allowing document sharing and free access, however untill computers can be connected to the web without interuption for a significant majority of the time people will always won't desktop applications. For example at work the internet is up for the majority of time but when it goes down that would mean the end of work untill the work applications could be accessed again. Also for may with dial up and broadband it costs for the access therefore apllications that are not in the confines of the web are preferable. Online applications in the furture however with continue to grow with sites such as Zoho Writer to grow in populatiry.

Wikis

Wikis are a great way to exchange information. On of my faviorite sites is the wikipedia site, it is useful to a quick reference such a when reading and someone refers to the "rape of the Sabines" a quick look at wikipedia will tell you enough to get the general idea. Wikis are good for keeping up with information and although it would be inadvisable to ever use one as a reference many wikis refer back to where they got their sourses from and in essanse can lead to some great sourse for reasearch.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

YouTube

YouTube is a window to the world. Not only is it educational in having study related videos such as anatomy and physiology it also provides entertainment and another web based artistic platform. Long live YouTube for ye shall provide us with visual medium.

All I can say is Taking the Hobbits to Isengard!!! Needs sound:

Library 2.0

Learning 2.0, and extension of Web 2.0, is about applying web application in the environment of the library. The readings for this week raise some interesting issues for the future of libraries and the application of technology.

As Rick Anderson states that the Web 2.0 in "reality continues to emerge and develop, our patrons will expect access to everything- digital collections of journals, books, blogs, pod casts, etc." This can be seen in two lights, firstly a nightmare for people to protect their copyright and secondly explaining the delivery sources already available. Many copyright and intellectual writers explain the nightmarish situation where all books, journals and other material are all freely accessible through the library. The world would become a large library where information is freely traded when in the past lack of technology and distance has to some extent protected copyright. People continue to buy books, subscribe to journals and pay for peoples work because they can be difficult to access otherwise. Applications which make these resources more readily available online to any user may defeat this copyright defence, a situation which sends shiver down the collective spine of copyrighters.

This however, is only one view of the increasing avaliability of information. As Michael Stephens explains Library 2.0 is more about libraries embracing tools such as instant messaging, weblogs and wikies, the information is the same, its just how we present it. As John J. Riemer explains it is simply an expansion of delivery not a time bomb on copyright. This is what libraries are really about in essence, allowing information and education not to be guarded by those who can afford it. Therefore allowing people to access information which is already there, but in different and more accessible ways.

Tagging, Technorati

I'm enjoying working through 23 Things at the moment, there are so may applications that are useful. I definitely plan to use them in the future both in work and for when I'm travelling in the future. My favourite things so far are Flicker, Blogger and now this week I can add Delicious to my list.

Delicious is a great web tool to synchronize your bookmarks. This has great application for me as I have several computers from which I work as well as personal and student computers. Delicious allows me to add all my favorites no matter where I am logged in which is great, there has been many a time when I have been unable to find that link because I don't have access to bookmarks.

I also looked at using Technorati which is another site that is useful. Technorati can be used to search for blogs, an application that confusingly Blogger does not have. This can be used for those times when you only want to read and search only blogs, especially useful for reference questions such as "what does a library worker do?". Simply refer them to a blog where they can read peoples personal experiences. Also useful for those time burning moments when you can come across bazaar blogs such as Haughty Elf.

I'm also learning new skills on blogger such as adding links into my postings as above. Also experimenting with new blog layouts and design.