The End: Summary

What to say . . . what to say . . .
I learned that I have a lot to learn. Even if I don't use some of the "THINGS" that were presented to me through this learning experience, at least I now know that these "THINGS" exist. That in itself is helpful in this day and age of technologicalness. I do hope to investigate some of these "THINGS" more thoroughly.

I did find some of the tutorials a little hard to follow and not really worth the amount of time involved to completely follow through with them. Others were enjoyable. I did find the program useful and would definately participate in another program like it in the future.

On a personal level . . .
Blogging would be a "no."
RSS feeds would be a "probably."
Cloud computing would be a "maybe."
Facebook would be a "definately."
Wikis - no, no, and no.
Flickr/Photo Sharing could be useful, so "yes."
Podcasting - don't know yet.
Instant Messaging would be a "yes."
Lifelong Learning is always a "yes."

As far as the Library goes . . .
All of these are important tools because technology is the future, and the Library must grow with the times in order to be relevant. We live in a world of instant communication. Patrons are becoming very accustomed to instant questions and answers.

Thing #10: Roselle's Virtual Library

Answers:
#1 One Abe Lincoln was 51 years old and one Abe Lincoln was 22 years old.
#2 "Who's Who"
#3 I checked out Automotive Repair Reference Center. Good database to know about. I will
definately remember this one.
#4 I would need more time to go through all the databases to decide which of the Library's databases are the most/least popular with our patrons.
#5 I learned how to check my office email from outside the Library. I learned there are an awful lot of resources available to our patrons. I learned that you can put virtual puzzles together. Way fun.
#6 I am sure there are plenty of things that could be added to the Library's website. The web seems infinite.

Thing #9: Lifelong Learning

Who knew all this was out there just for the taking. The calendar is amazing. I plan to "favorite" it. There was a lot of information to absorb in this Thing. I learned some news about the Schaumburg Library today that was interesting. I just don't know how people find the time to spend on these type of sites. I find it so time consuming and overwhelming that I put it off. If you can use these sites on a daily basis at work, the information is invaluable.

Thing #8: Online Apps

It is hard to remember all the terminology. "Cloud Computing" almost sounds comical to me. That said . . . I can really see the benefit of using online apps. Especially as it pertains to different software versions used by several people. If your software isn't compatible with whomever you are sending an attachment to, ( and visa versa) it can be very frustrating. The whole idea of someone messing with my document would make me a little nervous, though. I think there is definately a place for this. It would make working with a group of people online a lot simpler.

Thing #7: Wikis

I had no idea! Just trying to read Wikis in general would take way too much time, but reading specific ones could be very informative. They seem like mini websites that you can have input in. Having only one hour today, I could only browse through the ones that were mentioned on the Playtime 2.0 instructions. I like our way of learning 2.0 better than Schaumburg's. Blogging experience seems more useful on an everyday basis. Wikis seem a little more complicated, and people really need to know where to find them. I am definately going to go to the sandbox!

Thing #6: Instant Messaging

I have learned to IM on facebook, and do it regularly. It is fun to chat online in real time. The conversations are usually quick and informative. I set up a meebo account, which was really easy, but couldn't find anyone online to chat with. I tried to IM the reference department, but they were offline. Obviously, this way of chatting has it's limitations. Maybe I was doing it wrong. If IM ing the reference department is a service that a library is going to offer, then the library has to be online at all times during open hours. This could be a valuable tool for quick answers to questions from patrons.

For me, I will have to build up a collection of screen names from people that I might want to IM.

Thing #5 Podcasting & Video Sharing

I am lost on this one. I'll have to try later.

Thing #4 Flickr

That was fun. It took a lot of time, but I think I did it. It was good to learn about photosharing. I know a lot of people who use these sites, but I thought it would be too complicated for me. I am going to try to use it more.

I think sharing library photos publicly wouldn't be of much use for patrons. It seems like it would be hard to locate just the Roselle Public Library. Maybe photos on our website would be more accessible. Just my opinion.

Thing 3 Social Networking

What to say about "FACEBOOK." I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I do. I only signed up because my daughter suggested that I sign up when she signed up. All I can say is that Facebook is WAY FUN! I have communicated with friends and family members that I rarely see or talk to. I have been able to share pictures and events and have been able to view pictures and hear about other's events. A big plus: lots of fun applications and games.

I was concerned about privacy at first, but now that I have been using Facebook for over a year now, my concerns have been alleviated. As long as I set my account to Private, and accept only friends that I trust, there should be no problems with any public interference.

Don't be afraid. Give it an honest try.

Thing 2 RSS

OMG! This was hard. I can understand how this would be a very valuable tool. I just need to understand it a little better. As far as the Library is concerned, being able to get updates from frequently used sites has to be a time saver. I am going to try to find time to practice so that I can become more familiar with it.

Thing 1 Blogs

I don't know what to do now that I am here. Am I supposed to talk about the Library? If so, I shouldn't have named by blog "mypet." Although I did bring my puppy to the Library just after we got her. She was so tiny and we just couldn't leave her at home yet. Amanda was doing her "Rose Queen" thing at the Library Holiday Sing-a-Long. I told my son to bring her, because I thought the Santa greeting with the children was going to be outside. When Santa went into the Library to have the children sit on his lap, we just brought little Topanga in with us. She was all wrapped in her little pink blankie (she was only about five pounds). She was a hit with all the kids, especially the Girl Scouts who were helping out. She is even in one of the group pictures with the Rose Queen, Santa and the Girl Scouts.