Thing #18 Reflections on Learning 2.0 and

When I heard about this program I thought it sounded like a great idea and a fun way to learn about mysterious things like wikis, flickr and feeds. When I breezed through the process of setting up my blog and registering it I became a little smug, but then came the dark days of RSS, when I wanted to hide under the bed until it all went away. With help I finally managed to finish the program and I've now done my 18 things!

I think the course is fantastic, although I struggled at times to find time to do it. On the other hand, if there had been no schedule or deadline I would probably never have got round to exploring so many new technologies and applications. I feel I can speak a bit of digital language now and at least do the basics, and this gives me a bit more confidence on the TIC desk. I will definitely go back and have a better look at some of the things I only had time to skim through. maybe I'll even start my own real blog one day!

Thing #17 On Web 2.0 and Libraries

I've just read the articles by Kelly and Tom Storey. They discussed the same thing but I had very different reactions to the two articles. Kelly's presentation and her tutorials on how to write for the web really opened my eyes. I thought I had been writing in plain English and a fairly informal style. When I saw examples of web sites for other cultural institutions and the enewsletters SLV's Webunit has produced I cringed at how stuffy and formal my own writing seemed. I realise that if I want to communicate well with our users I need to loosen up and adopt a much simpler style. By that I don't mean tossing in the odd piece of tech-talk or using punctuation to create smiley faces, or even caring less about grammar and spelling. The point for me is that I need to be concise, friendly without being patronising and to be on my guard about using complicated words when simple ones will do the job just as well.

Tom Storey's short article scared me. It struck me that in the excitement of finding all the amazing ways we can used web-based tools to communicate we are in serious danger of forgetting that not everyone has access to these things or even wants access. I think public libraries are aware they have a role to play in providing web access to people who can't afford it at home. I do think though that as librarians become more adept at using all these things they become so excited about all these "cool tools" they run the risk of expecting the whole population to feel the same way. It is very important to remember all the people who don't like using computers, don't have access to Learning 2.0 type programs and don't have the money to pay for Broadband or even pay for a dial up service. I think it is going to be critical for us to be happy to guide those people who want or need to learn, but not marginalise or dismiss the many people who are managing their lives quite nicely without Web 2.0 or a mobile phone. In other words while we definitely need to make the best use possible of new technologies and applications, we have to make sure that access to information never becomes out of reach for people who don't have access to these things by choice or circumstances.

I was never any good at numbers

I've just gone back and re-titled my posts. I had forgotten to list the tasks I was completing. I put this down to my life-long fear and hatred of numbers. All fixed now, and it looks so much more impressive to see the list of tasks completed instead of the weeks completed!

Thing #16 Podcasts

I had a look at some of the podcast tools including Podcast Alley. Enjoyed "Common sense with Dan". Realised I had already been listening to podcasts courtesy of the Fridge.

Thing #15 You Tube

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to You Tube. It's great to know how to check out the latest scandalous or embarrassing clip that everyone is talking about. I can see myself taking a quick detour to You Tube for a bit of fun or to satisfy the curiosity that we cats are plagued with. I just wish I hadn't watched the Kevin Rudd ear wax clip.

Thing #12 Online productivity

I explored word processing using Zoho writer. I registered and created a document but will have to get a bit of help at my next tutorial about how to do editing.

Thing 14 Web 2.0 Awards

I really enjoyed Oodle, which is a retail site. It has new listings and categories covering a big range of things for sale. It includes photos. I went to the pets section and played with the listings in the "small and furry" category. I could have sugar gliders or rats ordered for an exotic dinner. You can sort the lists by best match or price, and you can also get an RSS feed. So much potential for a hungry cat except it is American. I'd have to get Mum to pay for these tasty treats to be delivered.