Thing #23: Wrapping Up

I found this challenge to be a lot of fun. It definitely was a challenge at times. Especially finding the time to do it and a free computer! That was probably the biggest challenge. My favorite thing I learned about was probably bloglines. This has really made a difference in how I organize blogs and look for new ones. It has helped with work related blogs. Especially by cutting down the time spent looking at them. I have added a bunch of more blogs to it since I started the challenge. I also really like the Web 2.0 awards by SEOmoz. This was really great to see the best of the best for topics like social networking and visual arts. This is an award I will follow! There wasn't much I didn't like in the challenge. As I mentioned in my post about podcasts I didn't find too much use for them. I think this is an area I need to explore more. I think using wikis is a great thing the library should get involved with for staff projects like committees. Wikis are great for communication. They would also be great for non committee members to look at (not edit)to see what committees are up to and what projects they are working on. It would be interesting if this was a link on oceannet to see all the committee blogs and wikis. I immediately shared Library Thing with my Mom. She is an avid reader and is always asking me if the library got in certain books or telling me about reviews she read. She loves Library Thing now because she created a very large to read list. Overall I learned a lot and was refreshed on a lot of things, like Netlibrary and Worldcat that I have used but not in a while. I also have really enjoyed the blogging process. I think I will miss this...I guess I have 3.0 to look forward too!

Thing #22 : ListenNJ

Listen NJ was a lot of fun to use! There are so many titles! I think this will be great for children and teens to use if the books they need aren't in the libray. I downloaded and listened to some of the Magic Tree House Collection Books 1-8. I browsed the children's books andd couldn't beleive all the different titles available. I also like how you can search Listen NJ. I searched by subject and I also tried it with the search by what was available for check out. I think this is an extremely user friendly site. It tells you everything you need to know, such as how long you have item for, how many more items you can borrow, how to download the software. I don't have a compatible mp3 player (yet) to try downloading it onto it. But I think I will try it when i get one (soon). I could see downlaoding a book and listening to it when I am at the beach. Even though I like to read at the beach I think listening to a book will be just as enjoyable.

Thing #21 : Finding & Listening to Podcasts

I am very new to listening to podcasts. I am not sure how much I will listen to them. Maybe I will explore more of the music podcasts. When I am on my computer I usually listen to music. I have trouble focusing if I am listening to someone speak and working on the computer. However, I came across a bunch of NPR blogs. There are a lot of shows on NPR I like to listen too but I am not in the car that much to listen. I think podcasts of the NPR shows I enjoy, like fresh air and all things considered. I came across the NPR: Story of the Day. I found it interesting to look at all the different stories I could choose from. I listened to one on Booksellers Suggestions for Summer Afternoons. It was with the Henry James from Novelist and it was an interview about great books to read from independent book publishers.

Thing #20: YouTube & You

Today I was having a conversation about Popples which led to a conversation on Wuzzles. So I guess I have the 80's on my mind and I began fooling around on youtube looking for old 80's cartoons and commercials. I came across a very long clip of 80's Cartoon Openings. It was fun to see how many opening songs I remeber. I was shocked to see the obscure Gilligans Planet opening. There were other fun ones like Danger Mouse, Inspector Gadget, and Voltron to name a few. Watching these clips really makes me miss my Saturday mornings!

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards

I am going to use the Im Cooked website that was awarded first place under the Food category. This site is made up of video recipes. The recipes are recorded so you can watch each step, sort of like watching a cooking show but you get the convenince of watching it while you cook.. I like to watch cooking shows but when I go to make the recipe I sometimes think how did they do that...well know I can look up recipes and have a video to watch. I look up a lot of recipes online and print them out but I think I will start here first so i can benifit from having the video and recipe. The site has a mix of videos, some are serious and look like they came from tv and others are more homade videos. There are a lot of fun ones to watch. The site offers other features too like connecting with other cooks. My main use will be for the videos!

Thing #18: Web Apps

I really enjoy google docs. it has made collaborating at work easy! my coworker and i have used it for summer reading program planning. We could type our ideas, list of what we need, and what to do and contact info. Then we could update it and see all the changes. A great thing about google docs is I can use it at any computer and not have to locate my memory stick or remeber what file it is saved it. And by sharing it my coworker always has access too!
I think using google docs with our branches SAIL coordidnator could be great. the children's dept provides the SAIL volunteers with lots of jobs in the summer. Sometimes we email the jobs to the coordinator, other times we tell her in person or fill out a form. If we keep a google doc going for the summer we can type up the jobs with instructions, the coordinator could type back questions or results, plus I could see what jobs my coworker is giving. This would cut down on remeber what email the jobs are in, if i sent the coordinator a job or not, etc. There are so many ways we could use it to communicate and keep everything in one spot. Another great thing is we would have a list of all the jobs the teens helped us with!

Thing #17 : Play in the Sandbox

Playing in the sandbox was easy. I have used PBWiki before for work and it is really convenient. I think using the PB wiki for committees is a great form of communication and keeping things organized. I think using a PBWiki for my branch's youth services dept could be useful. There are 4 of us in the department and then we get some help form other staff members, but not on a regular basis. A PB wiki could organize all our homework links, community links- like the rec center and schools, and info about what we have happening in our department. What else is great about using the PB wiki is we could all add to it. So if I find a great homework site I could add it with out sending out an email to everyone or wondering where the email is that someone in my department sent me with a homework link. Having a PB wiki could be useful to the staff who help out in the department, but not on a regular basis. We could have book suggestions/reading lists on it or where we keep things so the people not in our department could find things. I think there are a lot we could do with this...as soon as I am done my challenge I am going to start one!