For someone who is depressingly organised when it comes to
books LibraryThing is a kind of paradise. I hadn't used LibraryThing before and I found it really simple, it required very little information to set up an account and adding books, collections and tags was really straightforward. I use Goodreads alot which is similar but less about cataloguing and organising collections and more about sharing what you've read with others, though you can also do this on LibraryThing if you choose. At home I use a program called Delicious Library to keep track of books I own, the big selling point for me was the fact I could use my computer's camera to scan barcodes and instantly download related information (although it's nowhere near as detailed as the info LibraryThing provides), plus it puts pretty pictures of your books on a pretty little bookshelf and I like pretty things. LibraryThing even gives you the call numbers for your books where possible so, if you desired, you could, theoretically, arrange your home library using the LC classification system. Not that I'm thinking of doing that or anything. My collection is arranged by subject, author and date of publication so I'm not that bad...right?
Task 8: Dashboards with Netvibes
I've never used Netvibes before so I found the experience interesting. The layout provided a good breakdown of where information on a specifc topic could be found and the ability to save topics as 'dashboards' to be accessed later could definitely be useful if you were seeking up to date information on that subject on a regular basis. Adding widgets and feeds personalises the experience further but I couldn't see that this was any more or less useful than just subscribing to feeds via a newsreader, just a different way of displaying and gathering updated information.
Pinterest, which was also suggested as something we look at, is a website I'm all too familiar with, the all consuming, time sucking vortex that it is, like the opposite of Narnia, a place where 10 minutes on Pinterest is actually more like 4 hours in the real world. It's kind of a virtual pinboard where members can stick up things they come across in their web travels, arrange them into themed boards and share these boards with others. I love Pinterest, it's fun, visual and people can share all kinds of weird and exciting things they've found on the internet, but it is a little addictive and should probably come with some sort of warning.
Pinterest, which was also suggested as something we look at, is a website I'm all too familiar with, the all consuming, time sucking vortex that it is, like the opposite of Narnia, a place where 10 minutes on Pinterest is actually more like 4 hours in the real world. It's kind of a virtual pinboard where members can stick up things they come across in their web travels, arrange them into themed boards and share these boards with others. I love Pinterest, it's fun, visual and people can share all kinds of weird and exciting things they've found on the internet, but it is a little addictive and should probably come with some sort of warning.
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| WARNING: Entry into this site may result in an hour long clicking frenzy. |
Task 7: RSS and Newsreaders
I had an addiction, it was called 'bookmarking'. I would stumble across (I say stumble because I wouldn't have a clue how I got there) a really interesting, intelligent, funny, website all about the stuff I liked and I'd bookmark it. Then I would NEVER EVER visit that website again. I would forget about it, maybe stumble across it again one day, repeat the process and find out I had been there before, about six months ago. I used to do this, until I started using RSS (now I have an addiction to RSS feeds but that's a different story). Using RSS I could subscribe to the website, not just one website but all those poor bookmarked websites I'd forgotten about, and have new content sent directly to me. This turned out to be way more efficient than happening to stumble across the site again.
Originally I used the Mail app on my mac as my RSS reader but this disappeared after an upgrade so I started using Shrook instead. I find it easy to use and the layout is clear and simple but nothing spectacular. It's very similar to using Google Reader. At the moment, however, my favourite thing is Flipboard which imports all your RSS feeds, Youtube, blog, Twitter and Facebook followings and displays them in a magazine style format where you can turn pages and there are lots of pretty pictures!
Many libraries are using Newsreaders and RSS to keep patrons updated about what's going on in the library and the community at large. RSS is also a great way for libraries to inform clients about new acquisitions. La Trobe Univesity, for example, allows users to subscribe to 'new titles' feeds based on subject area, as does the State Library of New South Wales.
On a side note re: finding interesting things on the web and never visiting them again author Robin Sloan has written a really great interactive essay on a similar topic. It's called Fish and it's all about how we bookmark, share, link and like things on the internet, tell others how much we love this website or that video but rarely come back to them again and again as we would a favourite book or movie. It's really interesting and, yes I know I'm sharing this link and saying how much I love it, but I promise I have revisited this essay quite a few times.
Originally I used the Mail app on my mac as my RSS reader but this disappeared after an upgrade so I started using Shrook instead. I find it easy to use and the layout is clear and simple but nothing spectacular. It's very similar to using Google Reader. At the moment, however, my favourite thing is Flipboard which imports all your RSS feeds, Youtube, blog, Twitter and Facebook followings and displays them in a magazine style format where you can turn pages and there are lots of pretty pictures!
Many libraries are using Newsreaders and RSS to keep patrons updated about what's going on in the library and the community at large. RSS is also a great way for libraries to inform clients about new acquisitions. La Trobe Univesity, for example, allows users to subscribe to 'new titles' feeds based on subject area, as does the State Library of New South Wales.
On a side note re: finding interesting things on the web and never visiting them again author Robin Sloan has written a really great interactive essay on a similar topic. It's called Fish and it's all about how we bookmark, share, link and like things on the internet, tell others how much we love this website or that video but rarely come back to them again and again as we would a favourite book or movie. It's really interesting and, yes I know I'm sharing this link and saying how much I love it, but I promise I have revisited this essay quite a few times.
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| Read (and re-read) Robin Sloan's 'tap essay' Fish and you'll understand. |
Task 6: Pixlr!
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| "You're not the first..." |
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| "How do I get back?" |
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| "Just tap your heels together three times and say 'there's no place like home page'." |
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| "There's no place like home page. There's no place like home page. There's no place like home page..." |
I really enjoyed using Pixlr, in case you hadn't guessed. Usually I'd use Instagram, Photobooth or Hipstamatic all of which have similar features and are equally simple and fun to use.
Task 5: Flickr or Picasa?
Increasingly the internet is becoming the medium through which we share things with friends, family and the world. Photos play a huge role in this sharing. Applications like Flickr and Picasa provide places to organise and display our images.
Flickr and Picasa were similar but on the whole I found using Flickr to be a more pleasant experience. Both applications allow you to add images by simply dragging and dropping. I felt it was easier to add tags, add people, add the image to a set or group and check that visibility settings were correct in Flickr, with all these options appearing in column on the left hand side immeadiately after choosing the image to be uploaded. Picasa seemed much less intuitive, with the option to edit or add a caption appearing only if the image is hovered over. You can add in tags etc. later but it is more convenient to see it all laid out in front of you before the image is even uploaded.
One thing I found particularly frustrating about Picasa was the fact that it automatically added albums of photos from my Google account, including things like screen shots or clip art posted on a blog. I can understand how this might be useful, to have all images in the one spot. but I found it messy, and if you delete the image from Picasa you also delete it from your blog! Altogether Picasa seemed less neat and tidy than Flickr.
Flickr also allows you to explore a variety of public images (though Picasa does this to) and join groups, where members add photos to group collections. The Commons, a section in which institutions including the National Library of Australia, the State Library of Queensland and the Library of Congress have digitised and displayed a variety of images from their archives and made them open to public discussion, is particularly interesting. In some cases enabling people from around the world to comment has led to the discovery of more information surrounding the images. This is pretty exciting for images which may previously have gone unviewed for years on end.
Flickr and Picasa were similar but on the whole I found using Flickr to be a more pleasant experience. Both applications allow you to add images by simply dragging and dropping. I felt it was easier to add tags, add people, add the image to a set or group and check that visibility settings were correct in Flickr, with all these options appearing in column on the left hand side immeadiately after choosing the image to be uploaded. Picasa seemed much less intuitive, with the option to edit or add a caption appearing only if the image is hovered over. You can add in tags etc. later but it is more convenient to see it all laid out in front of you before the image is even uploaded.
One thing I found particularly frustrating about Picasa was the fact that it automatically added albums of photos from my Google account, including things like screen shots or clip art posted on a blog. I can understand how this might be useful, to have all images in the one spot. but I found it messy, and if you delete the image from Picasa you also delete it from your blog! Altogether Picasa seemed less neat and tidy than Flickr.
Flickr also allows you to explore a variety of public images (though Picasa does this to) and join groups, where members add photos to group collections. The Commons, a section in which institutions including the National Library of Australia, the State Library of Queensland and the Library of Congress have digitised and displayed a variety of images from their archives and made them open to public discussion, is particularly interesting. In some cases enabling people from around the world to comment has led to the discovery of more information surrounding the images. This is pretty exciting for images which may previously have gone unviewed for years on end.
Task 4: Google Maps and Docs
I am really bad with directions so I have used Google maps quite a bit in the past. I like the fact that I can type a couple of addresses in and get a detailed description of how to get there. I also find street view useful when I want to check out what parking might be like around an area I'm visiting.
I haven't really explored the cycling or walking options before but I could see how they would be very helpful, especially if you had Google maps installed on your smart phone. The option to print, link or collaborate on maps is handy, particularly when planning with others.
Byron Bay is just a short 11 hour bike ride away...or around 2 hours by car, your choice.
Google Docs also offers alot in terms of collaboration. I've never used Google Docs before, I've previously used Etherpad to work collectively with others which I've since found out, like so many things, has been acquired by Google.
Google Docs seems pretty straight forward. I liked the many options available for sharing; Twitter, Facebook and email, as well as the fact that other Google Doc users, with appropriate permissions can edit, comment and view documents. Files can be downloaded in a variety of formats which also makes sharing and working together easier.
Google documents would certainly be useful if working on a document with colleagues who may be on other campuses, it's a faster easier option than constantly emailing files back and forwards.
I haven't really explored the cycling or walking options before but I could see how they would be very helpful, especially if you had Google maps installed on your smart phone. The option to print, link or collaborate on maps is handy, particularly when planning with others.
Byron Bay is just a short 11 hour bike ride away...or around 2 hours by car, your choice.
Google Docs also offers alot in terms of collaboration. I've never used Google Docs before, I've previously used Etherpad to work collectively with others which I've since found out, like so many things, has been acquired by Google.
Google Docs seems pretty straight forward. I liked the many options available for sharing; Twitter, Facebook and email, as well as the fact that other Google Doc users, with appropriate permissions can edit, comment and view documents. Files can be downloaded in a variety of formats which also makes sharing and working together easier.
Google documents would certainly be useful if working on a document with colleagues who may be on other campuses, it's a faster easier option than constantly emailing files back and forwards.
Task 3: Google
After reading about Google I have to admit that while I was familiar with the variety of services it offers I knew relatively little about the company itself. I found this a little disturbing, I use Google every day, it's my home page, sometimes I find myself typing the address into my browser without thinking, I use Google maps to find my way around, Youtube for videos and Blogger to blog, when someone asks me a question I don't know the answer to I offer to "Google it". If I'm using something that much shouldn't I know all about it? But there's so much to know!
I found it interesting to read about the criticism surrounding Google and though I was aware of some of the privacy and copyright issues it was worrying to read about the possible manipulation of search results as well as the 2012 announcement that Google would no longer be strictly distinguishing its search results from paid advertising.
I found it interesting to read about the criticism surrounding Google and though I was aware of some of the privacy and copyright issues it was worrying to read about the possible manipulation of search results as well as the 2012 announcement that Google would no longer be strictly distinguishing its search results from paid advertising.
Task 2: Lifelong Learning
After conducting a search for information on lifelong learning one of the best definitions I found came from The Lifelong Learning Council of Queensland which defined lifelong learning as "learning that is flexible, diverse and available at different times and in different places".
This definition recognises that lifelong learning is something that is not exclusive to formal places of education.
Learning throughout life is something that has always been done, I don't think anyone can possibly say they have nothing more to learn. The difference in our present era is that there seems to be so much more to learn (and fast!!), however there are also many more avenues through which learning can occur.
Want to learn how to play the ukele? There's a Youtube video for that. Interested in learning the basics of HTML? Here's an online course. Attempting to bake the perfect cookie? Try this blog.
New techonolgies, when we know how to make the most of them, provide us with the ability to learn more "at different times and in different places".
I'm doing this program to learn about where and how I can make the most of new technologies and continue to broaden my avenues for lifelong learning. Having looked at the technology blogs Readwrite and Mashable I can see there is a great deal to explore and I'm excited to learn all about it.
This definition recognises that lifelong learning is something that is not exclusive to formal places of education.
Learning throughout life is something that has always been done, I don't think anyone can possibly say they have nothing more to learn. The difference in our present era is that there seems to be so much more to learn (and fast!!), however there are also many more avenues through which learning can occur.
Want to learn how to play the ukele? There's a Youtube video for that. Interested in learning the basics of HTML? Here's an online course. Attempting to bake the perfect cookie? Try this blog.
New techonolgies, when we know how to make the most of them, provide us with the ability to learn more "at different times and in different places".
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| Flexible learning means I could be here, learning to play the ukele via the Youtube app on my phone...but I'm not. |
I'm doing this program to learn about where and how I can make the most of new technologies and continue to broaden my avenues for lifelong learning. Having looked at the technology blogs Readwrite and Mashable I can see there is a great deal to explore and I'm excited to learn all about it.
Task 1 - Choices, choices... Blogger or Wordpress?
I've used both Blogger and Wordpress in the past and I don't really think that I could definitively say that one is better than the other. Both are fairly straightforward to use and both have a multitude of easy to follow tutorials and how-to sites (Blogger - Getting Started Guide and Learn Wordpress).
As a beginner blogger I found Blogger easier to customise, I could pretty it up a bit more easily and fiddle around with the layout. Wordpress seemed a little more complicated in this regard. The other reason why I chose Blogger was the fact that I already had a Google account and therefore didn't have to create an additional account and add another password to the list of passwords that my brain struggles to remember :-)
As a beginner blogger I found Blogger easier to customise, I could pretty it up a bit more easily and fiddle around with the layout. Wordpress seemed a little more complicated in this regard. The other reason why I chose Blogger was the fact that I already had a Google account and therefore didn't have to create an additional account and add another password to the list of passwords that my brain struggles to remember :-)
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