Learning 2.0 is a really great tool for learning how to use the internet to its full potential. After I did this programme, I realised how much I didn't know, even though I frequently blog and use YouTube and Facebook and tweak basic html for my webcomic page...
Podcasting and RSS feeds had a huge impact on me. I didn't realise how much the internet had evolved and have been using it like I have been for the past 8 years or so.
Thank you for encouraging us to participate in this programme (the mp3 player is an awesome incentive hahaha) And I will definitely share my knowledge of this learning journey to others :)
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
NetLibrary
There are so many classics in NetLibrary! It's a shame that most of the titles I like are a bit more contemporary... But I did put under my favourites "Through the Looking Glass" and "Gulliver's Travels" as I've been meaning to read them for a while...
As good as ebooks are... and with the development of nifty electronic book readers... it's not the same as holding a good old hardcover one in your hands and flipping pages while keeping your place with a finger. And your eyes will start to water after a while from concentrating from the words on the screen. So libraries won't become obsolete. 20 years down the line, we will still have books. Well, I will still have books anyway lol!
As good as ebooks are... and with the development of nifty electronic book readers... it's not the same as holding a good old hardcover one in your hands and flipping pages while keeping your place with a finger. And your eyes will start to water after a while from concentrating from the words on the screen. So libraries won't become obsolete. 20 years down the line, we will still have books. Well, I will still have books anyway lol!
Podcasts
BookLog Book Review Podcast
http://booklogpodcast.libsyn.com/rss
Radio has evolved to this... anyone can record absolutely anything and turn it to a podcast. I can see really whacky reviews just around the corner... like which plastic forks are the best, or even just stories about things that happen everyday...
The library can definitely use this. Getting patrons who do not like word processing or don't have the ability to can literally voice out their opinions on a book... and the podcast can be allocated to the book. And any famous authors who want to talk about their book... literally the whole world can tune in and listen to what they have to say.
http://booklogpodcast.libsyn.com/rss
Radio has evolved to this... anyone can record absolutely anything and turn it to a podcast. I can see really whacky reviews just around the corner... like which plastic forks are the best, or even just stories about things that happen everyday...
The library can definitely use this. Getting patrons who do not like word processing or don't have the ability to can literally voice out their opinions on a book... and the podcast can be allocated to the book. And any famous authors who want to talk about their book... literally the whole world can tune in and listen to what they have to say.
YouTube
This German kid is amazing! He was 12 years old in the video... I've been obsessed with "Queen of the Night" ever since my friend sang it for her performance and then I stumbled across this clip lol.
If YouTube is added to the library website, perhaps linking moving image with literature? Eg Chocolat the novel is introduced and rated, then a snippet of Chocolat the film juxtaposed?
It is also good for teaching people how to use databases and search engines and stuff... like the YouTube clip about Wikis that was on the learning 2.0 page...
What I don't like about YouTube is that there are waaaay too many distractions. Too many links everywhere... the hours just fly past.
Here is another clip that I found after my original one...
Web 2.0 Winners
From the huge list I selected Swivel... because it had a catchy name. Haha.
And it's actually perfect for what the website has to offer... because to swivel involves changing direction right... and the statistics-based website juxtaposes completely unrelated pieces of data together to form mini-conspiracy theories! It's great!
How the library can use this... maybe female/male/child/adult ratio in libraries at certain periods of time during the day? Then the library can cater to patrons better. And books people pick up and put back down on the shelves the most... and the books most cried over... it's almost like each book needs a microchip in it or something lol.
And it's actually perfect for what the website has to offer... because to swivel involves changing direction right... and the statistics-based website juxtaposes completely unrelated pieces of data together to form mini-conspiracy theories! It's great!
How the library can use this... maybe female/male/child/adult ratio in libraries at certain periods of time during the day? Then the library can cater to patrons better. And books people pick up and put back down on the shelves the most... and the books most cried over... it's almost like each book needs a microchip in it or something lol.
Zoho
If I had known about Zoho earlier, it would have saved me tons of stress and corrupted memory sticks lol!
Wow, this is amazing. Imagine what this could turn out to be in the next 5 years... maybe you can even do Photoshop-related things and save it online, not just limited to text... even video editing. Now that would be cool.
Wow, this is amazing. Imagine what this could turn out to be in the next 5 years... maybe you can even do Photoshop-related things and save it online, not just limited to text... even video editing. Now that would be cool.
Favourite Blogs
To wiki is so simple it's scary...
Wow, there are so many blogs on that list! :O
Clicked into a few, and it's really cool how different they all are haha :D
Wow, there are so many blogs on that list! :O
Clicked into a few, and it's really cool how different they all are haha :D
Wikis
SJCPL Subject Guides is a really nice way to find books related to subjects, but is limited if you use the search bar. I typed in "Cats" and ended up in the pets category... so if you are doing a general search it's okay, but if you are looking for something really specific, you might have a hard time.
I found Book Lovers Wiki pretty cool because the books that are recommended should be an enjoyable read... but it doesn't take into account the people who don't like the book. People who don't like it generally won't be bothered to change the rating...
Library Success: A best practices wiki was a bit difficult to use... as the pages are quite specific and I only managed to find a wiki page by clicking on "Random Page". A page called "Libraries Services in Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries" popped up... o__O
So I think it's going to take a wee while before we can get the wiki system working well for libraries. It will take a lot of constant updating and very committed people haha. But no system is perfect, and I think this is a really good start.
I found Book Lovers Wiki pretty cool because the books that are recommended should be an enjoyable read... but it doesn't take into account the people who don't like the book. People who don't like it generally won't be bothered to change the rating...
Library Success: A best practices wiki was a bit difficult to use... as the pages are quite specific and I only managed to find a wiki page by clicking on "Random Page". A page called "Libraries Services in Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries" popped up... o__O
So I think it's going to take a wee while before we can get the wiki system working well for libraries. It will take a lot of constant updating and very committed people haha. But no system is perfect, and I think this is a really good start.
Perspectives on Library 2.0 & Web 2.0
After reading a few perspectives, these were the things that really got my brain working:
Monopoly power in information marketplace
I remember having to go to libraries during my school years to find information for projects as the stuff online during that time wasn't enough for projects... the evolution of the online world has definitely impacted society in a huge way, especially with the transfer of information.
The transparent library
Libraries are beginning to become more flexible to follow the trends of society and as a result they are becoming increasingly interactive with patrons as our expectations of service seem to be shooting through the stratosphere. Libraries have become conversations, communities, creators of new artifacts of memory.
In contrast, libraries of the past was a symbol of a society that cared about its attainments and treasured ideas.
Monopoly power in information marketplace
I remember having to go to libraries during my school years to find information for projects as the stuff online during that time wasn't enough for projects... the evolution of the online world has definitely impacted society in a huge way, especially with the transfer of information.
The transparent library
Libraries are beginning to become more flexible to follow the trends of society and as a result they are becoming increasingly interactive with patrons as our expectations of service seem to be shooting through the stratosphere. Libraries have become conversations, communities, creators of new artifacts of memory.
In contrast, libraries of the past was a symbol of a society that cared about its attainments and treasured ideas.
Technorati
It's taken me a little while, but I've finally claimed my blog.
http://www.technorati.com/blogs/loclaudi.blogspot.com
Also added a little green button! XD
I've found tags a bit frustrating myself... as they can be just a single word in a blog entry with completely different content in some cases... But in general, tags are quite a useful way to navigate around related content.
http://www.technorati.com/blogs/loclaudi.blogspot.com
Also added a little green button! XD
I've found tags a bit frustrating myself... as they can be just a single word in a blog entry with completely different content in some cases... But in general, tags are quite a useful way to navigate around related content.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
del.icio.us
This is one step further than just bookmarking a webpage, as you can also gauge how useful the page is by the number of saves people have done.
It's quite cool I think, the internet is rapidly evolving into a community of people that help each other out... and the quality of pages are assessed almost subconsciously... kind of like you would be drawn to a cafe with a lot of people in it rather than an empty one across the street. There would be a reason why some pages were saved more than others...
I checked out RSSCalendar.com http://www.rsscalendar.com/rss/
It had been saved by 1281 people and it looked really practical as well. Most people just left comments describing the function of the page, but some actually mentioned that it was a shame they hadn't found it earlier.
I think it's great as well that you can open your list of saved pages anywhere you like, as I use two different browsers on my computer and sometimes I find it pretty frustrating when it comes to locating my bookmarked pages.
It's quite cool I think, the internet is rapidly evolving into a community of people that help each other out... and the quality of pages are assessed almost subconsciously... kind of like you would be drawn to a cafe with a lot of people in it rather than an empty one across the street. There would be a reason why some pages were saved more than others...
I checked out RSSCalendar.com http://www.rsscalendar.com/rss/
It had been saved by 1281 people and it looked really practical as well. Most people just left comments describing the function of the page, but some actually mentioned that it was a shame they hadn't found it earlier.
I think it's great as well that you can open your list of saved pages anywhere you like, as I use two different browsers on my computer and sometimes I find it pretty frustrating when it comes to locating my bookmarked pages.
Rollyo
Wow! Your own search engine... I never would have imagined. This would be great for parents wanting to limit sites for their kids to visit online :D
And also awesome for practical jokes as well haha... making up nonsense websites and listing them in Rollyo for a friend to visit... or maybe a special birthday present for someone?
And also awesome for practical jokes as well haha... making up nonsense websites and listing them in Rollyo for a friend to visit... or maybe a special birthday present for someone?
LibraryThing
This is a pretty neat little application :D like the library databases there are various ways to search for a book. I found myself thinking back to my favourite books of all time when I was compiling my list and it's great that it's linked to Amazon so if you did want to buy a book you would be comforted to know that it's still in print (or not haha) :D
Sabriel was the first book I searched for. I read it in high school and repeatedly borrowed it from the school library hahaha. I finally bought a copy at the beginning of the year haha and I've read it twice since.
The only book that has ever made me cry is The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. So it deserves to go on my list :D
Sabriel was the first book I searched for. I read it in high school and repeatedly borrowed it from the school library hahaha. I finally bought a copy at the beginning of the year haha and I've read it twice since.
The only book that has ever made me cry is The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. So it deserves to go on my list :D
The ninja text generator!
Super cute ninja :D I just want to give it a cuddle!
http://www.fodey.com/generators/animated/ninjatext.asp
Locating newsfeeds
I tried each search tool on the list and found that I liked Blogline and Topix.net the most. If I had to choose between the two, I would go for Topix.net because it was just so user-friendly :D There were links jumping out at you all over the place and it was really easy for me to find something I liked without even using their search bar. For Blogline you have to use the search bar and be as specific as you would while googling. ..
Syndic8.com was probably the least appealing to me because of all the pie graphs and just the roughness of the interface.
Managed to find a feed with science and technology news with Topix.net which had really interesting articles... like how our solar system is "dented" and that the universal law of competition is governed by rock-paper-scissors :O
Syndic8.com was probably the least appealing to me because of all the pie graphs and just the roughness of the interface.
Managed to find a feed with science and technology news with Topix.net which had really interesting articles... like how our solar system is "dented" and that the universal law of competition is governed by rock-paper-scissors :O
RSS feeds and newsreaders
RSS feeds and newsreaders... to be honest, I've seen the little orange icons but never really investigated the reason why they were there. So now I know... haha. I want to make my webcomic an RSS feed. Will do that soon I hope :D
Visit it if you have time! http://min16.comicgenesis.com/
I'm surprised at how much time they actually save... will definitely be using bloglines heaps, and will be waiting for more websites to catch on to RSS. It's so convenient!
http://www.bloglines.com/public/loclaudi
Technology
Technology is something that frowned upon by some, and celebrated by others. Like most of us, I have mixed feelings about it. The girls I tutor each week are living in Taiwan. We have our lessons via Skype. Technology has become so invisible we totally take it for granted. It's only at times when we have power cuts or other disruptions that we sink back down to reality.
Sometimes I feel frustrated and somewhat scared about how much control it has over us. It defines a society. It determines how we do things in everyday life. The words that I'm typing now has already been filtered by various kinds of technology. Language. Text. Keyboard. Screen. Internet. Read by you.
If you take one of those away, it doesn't work. That's how scary it is.
Everything is linked together whether we like it or not. Technology linked with technology linked with technology. Without it, communication is impossible. The tangles are becoming worse. More and more people turn to meditation to clear their minds... but it's scary that it's technology that tells us to do so.
Sometimes I feel frustrated and somewhat scared about how much control it has over us. It defines a society. It determines how we do things in everyday life. The words that I'm typing now has already been filtered by various kinds of technology. Language. Text. Keyboard. Screen. Internet. Read by you.
If you take one of those away, it doesn't work. That's how scary it is.
Everything is linked together whether we like it or not. Technology linked with technology linked with technology. Without it, communication is impossible. The tangles are becoming worse. More and more people turn to meditation to clear their minds... but it's scary that it's technology that tells us to do so.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Trading Card Limited Edition
The image is from my second year studio work at Elam :) Yes, that's me sitting on the flower with wings sprouting from my back.
I've been trapped in 3 garden books so far and it was a mission each time to escape lol!
flickr.com
I had a little trouble at the beginning trying to find photos that other people had uploaded because I didn't have any of my own to upload... but I finally found the "explore" button and was fine from there :)
After a few clicks through "Last 7 Days Interesting", I found this :D
The handkerchief is absolutely gorgeous. I was hit by nostalgia as I haven't used a hanky for the past 15 or so years... back in kindy I had tiny hankies with pictures of Snoopy and Hello Kitty on them so we can wipe our hands after meals...
It's kind of strange that I would associate this image of a hanky with my childhood because in Chinese culture we generally don't use hankies for blowing our noses, preferring tissues instead.
Maybe it also reminded me of my mum's tablecloths because of the embroidery... I used to hide under our dinner table and imagine that it was my little house complete with a kitchen and everything haha.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Week 2/Thing 4: Social Networking
Social networking has become increasingly abstract with sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. The little black book has evolved into something completely different... and even individuals who don't have the time to socialise into the wee hours of the morning can transform into a digital social butterfly with ease.
Some may argue that it would be much nicer to meet people face to face instead of staring at a screen all the time. I do catch up with friends over a coffee, but I've come to realise that it's actually much easier to keep in touch online, especially with friends who live overseas. And you learn really interesting tidbits about friends that you might not have known... it's surprising how much detail people put into their profiles!
I never really got into MySpace because the format was too similar to other networking sites such as Friendster and Hi5... but Bebo allowed you to choose your own skins to personalise your page or even to create your own which I really loved.
However I soon realised how flat Bebo was in comparison to Facebook. Your highlight of the day on Bebo would be to receive love from people in the form of a red heart... but on Facebook you could poke people, hug people, shout them a drink, give them a potplant, even a cookie, or maybe even a tattoo if you felt like it :D It was quite a shock to discover how many people I know on Facebook... quite a trip down memory lane as some were long lost primary school buddies!
Some may argue that it would be much nicer to meet people face to face instead of staring at a screen all the time. I do catch up with friends over a coffee, but I've come to realise that it's actually much easier to keep in touch online, especially with friends who live overseas. And you learn really interesting tidbits about friends that you might not have known... it's surprising how much detail people put into their profiles!
I never really got into MySpace because the format was too similar to other networking sites such as Friendster and Hi5... but Bebo allowed you to choose your own skins to personalise your page or even to create your own which I really loved.
However I soon realised how flat Bebo was in comparison to Facebook. Your highlight of the day on Bebo would be to receive love from people in the form of a red heart... but on Facebook you could poke people, hug people, shout them a drink, give them a potplant, even a cookie, or maybe even a tattoo if you felt like it :D It was quite a shock to discover how many people I know on Facebook... quite a trip down memory lane as some were long lost primary school buddies!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Blogging
Blogging has become such a common thing nowadays that people don't really think twice about the messages they post online, treating them like diaries. A space to vent out frustrations, and to express feelings too intimate to share with close friends and family sometimes. It's quite funny because it is possible for the whole world to see your private thoughts, yet people still do it. Maybe its the anonymity... but the people who read it are usually people you know heh.
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