web 2.0 : my thoughts..

well.. i have really enjoyed this learning process and i have learned a lot ! i now appear very knowledgable when my partner asks me to help him set up bloglines, etc.. much of what i have learned i will continue to use.. i would feel confident explaining to customers how to use the things covered in this progamme.. has been great fun!

yay mp3 player here I come !!! :-)

netlibrary.. almost there!!

well i now have a netlibrary account and can access many e-books through this.. i have added several to my list of favourites in my netlibrary account! this "library" is full of study help and critical notes, and things such as the absolute beginners guide series on computer software.. there didn't seem to be much fiction - i could only see children's fiction among the first 5 pages.. to be honest i didn't realy find anything i wanted to read, but i will definitely be reccommending this site to students..

my podcast

looking for podcasts on podcast.net is really easy! it is a really good way to get info on just about any topic when you want it.. you can subscribe to particular podcasts too.i have added one to my bloglines account, called "Beneath The Beat: Hip Hop Rap and Lyrics", a podcast that "seeks to provide in-depth discussion exploring the authentic essence of hip hop culture".

I think I would use podcasts to have access to music i like, at my convenience.. is seems to me that podcasts are often just like a radio show that is not actually on the radio.. great stuff..

week 9 youtube, podcasts and more...

well, youtube is pretty great! you can find all sorts of video footage there, from your fave official music videos to clips of people doing silly/interesting things.. whatever you want to see, it will be here on youtube.

the video i have chosen is called "robot dance".. (link below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSoVKUVOnfQ
it is very funny, just kids doing a hip-hop robot dance.. they are fantastic! in my opinion, this sort of stuff is what youtube is great for - things you would not normally be likely to see on tv etc..

as for how useful this could all be for library websites, i would imagine it would be useful to be able to link a little footage to an item's catalogue record, for example for books about world war two we could have links to sinppets of footage of famous incidents from this time?

it is week 8 - my pick of the web 2.0 awards is...

google maps! i have been using this for quite a while to find my way around, it proved very useful when I was in Australia trying to find my way from one side of surfers paradise to another.. and also trying to find the way to byron bay from the gold coast.. one feature i particularly like : you can get a map "from here to here", with the fastest driving route.

google maps will find your desired location and you can zoom right in to it or zoom back and see where it is in relation to other places. you also have the option to save your map which is great if you might need to go there again.it is top stuff.. !

zoho writer (not sure what week it is?)

After a brief trip to the gold coast I must catch up on my blog,i want that mp3 player !!

Zoho-writer is great! as with all web-based applications, the most fantastic thing is that you can access it anywhere - no need for expensive software when all can share on the internet. Basically it is a zippier version of word, with more options for colour, smileys etc. And as the site says, "tags are the new folders" - if in doubt of where to store something, you can tag the document with several tags and it will make it easy for others to find!

so.. it seems to do everything and more that microsoft word does. I just love all the free applications, some of them can make our (computing) lives much simpler, and they don't cost a thing!! :-)

ACL Learning 2.0 PBWiki week 7

I have added my blog to the PBwiki Learning 2.0 ! I have added some of my fave music to the favourite music part ! And also some of my fave movies, added to the appropriate place. This is a great way to see what sorts of things my fellow bloggers are in to. It was extremely easy to use - long gone are the days when the word (?) html would make me run a mile.. I have learned so much doing this ACL Leraning 2.0 stuff, good fun too !

ACL Learning 2.0 wikis (week 7)

I can see how wikis can be very useful, but the fact that the advantage (anyone being able to add/edit content) is also a disadvantage surely makes the accuracy of the information a bit of a problem area..

I often use wikipedia to find out about things, but would never trust its information as being valid - I always confirm with another source. So if I am researching something important I would bypass wikipedia and go straight to a reputable source. But as an interactive message board I think wikis are great. I think wikis would be useful in our library when we are trying new technologies (eg the fast lane checkouts,new databases,pharos) where we can identify problems and record solutions and updates when they happen.

Library 2.0 week 6

I completely agree with Michael Stephens in that it is increasingly important for library users to be able to access their library easily from wherever they are (eg from home,work). With our library,our website can be accessed from a computer anywhere and even from a mobile phone. I am very much anti-technology "for the sake of new technology" and I like Stephens emphasis on being sure new technology is most useful for library users and that it creates a "useful service" (rather than being just fancy new technology).

I think John J. Riemer's ideas of incorporating popular aspects of google and amazon into library services are excellent. This phenomenon of casual "tagging" (which I am getting my head around) is just going to get bigger and more relevant to the way we search for things online.

I think the potential for growth and change in libraries is very exciting.

Technorati week 6

I found this one a bit confusing.. I am currently trying to claim my blog and have been waiting for about 8mins while the technorati monster looks for it !

From what I gather,if you search blog posts this will just look for keywords within the blogs. If you search tags this will bring up blogs on a similar subject (ie.they have been "tagged" the same). If you search the blog directory you will find blogs with your search terms in the title of the blogs..

Still waiting on the technorati monster..

I like that you can easily see the most popular blogs and searches!

del.icio.us ACL Week 6

well this is quite fun.. Essentially,delicious enables you to make and store a list of bookmarks that you can access through the http://del.icio.us/ site.. The sites are all "tagged" under different categories,so it is easy to go from one site/subject to a similar site/subject. I like that the tags are very casual - not under strict subjects like the aucklandcitylibraries catalogue subject search.

Personally I am not at the stage where my bookmarks are getting hard to find - but I will most definitely tell my partner about delicious, he has bookmarks coming out of his ears and I think he will find this very useful.

From a research perspective, I think this method of tagging would be very helpful. Because delicious is completely open to the public it is easy to link to sites others have found useful on a particular subject.

:-)

Rollyo - ACL week 5

Well,I have my own little celebrity gossip search engine,searching from my favourite sites.. It can be seen right down the bottom of my blog page! With my rollyo,you can search from 3 engines(?is that what they are called?): Rose's roll (my own personal search engine), Celebrity gossip and Top news.

Rollyo is a fantastic way to research.So much of what you stumble across online is not always accurate - this way you can get your information from only tried and trusted places! As my rollyo is all about gossip,it wouldn't really matter if I got the wrong information,but for serious research this would be great.

LibraryThing catalogue ACL Learning week5

I have my very own LibraryThing catalogue! now lets see if I can link it here..
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/r_allan05 (is the URL at least,it doesn't seem to have made a link,maybe after I publish this post??)


I like how LibraryThink can connect you to other people who like the same books - a fantastic way for me to discover new books I might like!

online generators ACL week 5

Online generators are great fun! I could spend hours fiddling around with these.. Above is my personalised chocolate bar,yum.. and above that is my smiley creature..

Now just to let you know, both times I have tried to put up my photos from my weekend away there has been some kind of error with blogger.I put them up on facebook instead!

aaAAhhh...

well.. I have just returned to tamaki makau rau after a mini-break weekend - 2 nights in the cutest batch right on Lake Tarawera, ahhhh indeed.. ! soo nice to get away,I honestly can't remember the last time I got out of aK for some nights (actually I can - when I went with Helena on sales trip to Welly late'06),ages ago anyways.. so me and muzzy were in need of a holiday..

Big shout to uncle Waz for looking after our princess!we missed her..
And to peppy the pulsar,who despite some wOF issues (all sorted,thanks to the bestest mechanic/panelbeaters/whatever on Dom Road) ran like a sweet little dream..

Got some good pix which I will post up here somewhere when I get them onto the computer! of some little ducklings and swans,stinky thermal bubbly mud.... well,you shall see!

And I would also like to say hi to my darling mum,and too all the other roses out there who like to ramble,especially my namesake the phoenixRose!

i like.... digital cameras!

here is my belated technology related blog about the joys of digital cameras.I have only recently come to grips with digital cameras,and after teaching the digital photography class with Glenn I now know lots!
I think it is fantastic how the need for actual hard copy prints becomes less and less - you can just see them all on your computer.Or,from a photosharing website such as flickr or digimax.I think it is much easier to share your photos with friends these days.You can just attach them to an email,or direct your friends to your flickr page.
I also like how easy it is to upload photos to facebook and myspace - there are so many places on the web where you can store your photos! Personally I always like to keep them saved to disc because you never know what might crash or go under on the internet.
I also really like that I can take photos on my cell phone too! You don't always have a camera with you,but you always have your phone - no photo opportunity wasted

my mash up! ACL Learning

My creation
Originally uploaded by r_allan05

here we go.... ?!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

oops!

I see I have neglected to look at any any flickr mash ups! I shall do this, and a blog about something technology related (what a broad topic)! I saw Annie's mash up ( on her themadnessofhamsters blog) and it looks great.. I thought I was all up to date but I do seem to have skipped a bit, sorry about that..

While it is quiet on the desk I shall investigate this mash up business.

I love bloglines!! ACL Learning 2.0 week 4

Well I've changed my tune! Have got a handle on bloglines and its great.. I have subscribed to 9 feeds so far,including the ACL Learning feed and some of my colleagues' blogs.
But while I am very impressed with all this RSS business, part of what I like about the internet is trawling through the junk.. ! Bloglines makes for less surfing of the internet, but then I suppose you can surf your way around bloglines.

For busy people (who isn't these days?), bloglines makes it so easy to keep up to date with your favourite blogs/feeds,all on the one screen at the same time.

My public Bloglines URL is: http://www.bloglines.com/public/r_allan05@hotmail.com

I am going to have lots of fun with this!

Bloglines.. ?! ACL learning 2.0

Okaay.. well i have set up a bloglines account.I am struggling to understand how it all works! i need to check out the discovery resources,I think..

But so far... I must say I don't really find it a problem,sifting through the junk on websites to find the info I am looking for.Maybe I will eat my words when I suss out exactly what are RSS news feeds and how this bloglines thing actually works.Keep you all posted!

:-)

hi mum!

a special big hello to my lovely mum who might be reading !!

my little darling!

This is my darling little cat,her name is Nike (among other things - Poppy,Sweetpea,Todge...)

ACL learning 2.0 week 3

This was pretty much my first time using flickr. My friend/colleague uses flickr to share/store her photos so I had seen it before, but hadn't had a very good look.It seems to be an excellent way to store your photos,and it makes it so easy for your friends and family to see them too - rather than sending an email with photographs attached you can just get eveyone to look at them on flickr.

There is so much you can do on flickr!Because flickr has an open API you can design the page lay out exactly how you want.At this stage,writing html codes is a little beyond me but I would be interested to learn more about this.At least now I kind of understand how what we see on our computer screens gets there.

Now I am going to try to attach a very sweet picture that I found on flickr by typing cute kittens into the search box.And there they are above left!

its friday!!

well it is sunday, but sunday is my friday and i am soo looking forward to some days off..
hi mum in case you're reading !!

ACLearn 2.0 week two!

I have been a myspace and facebook user for quite some time, and I do believe facebook is the new myspace!

What I like most about facebook is the clean,top-to-bottom page. Myspace and bebo are much more cluttered and distracting - all sorts of things flashing and blinking at you. Also, I like that no one can see your page on facebook unless they are your friend. On myspace anyone can see your page unless you make it private whereas facebook does this by default. Facebook is very useful for locating people you haven't heard from/seen in a while - you can just type in someone's name and see if they are a facebook member. On the other sites you get all sorts of random people wanting to be your friend, which can be a bit tedious.

With bebo, I see all sorts of teenagers working on their pages at the library. In my mind bebo is a "myspace for kids"! Facebook is definitely my favourite social networking site.

another good website!

www.people.com

perez hilton

check out this website!

www.perezhilton.com

blogging school

Today (a beautiful sunny Saturday) me and Anitha are taking a blogging class at the library! Some students are experienced bloggers, some are blogging for the first time.

Elisabeth's birthday!

Today is my matey's birthday and she is coming in to meet me for lunch, hopefully muzza will come too and we can go eat something yummy in Myers park..
Nike was being quite naughty this morning, trying to rip uo the carpet.
I must sign up my blog for the learning thingy!
Am on desk at the mo so best get back to it..

Friday 31 August spring is in the air

Well it is a lovely day in the city of sails today, I can feel summer approaching! Nike (the cat) likes summer, she can catch lots of cicadas and play in the grass. Poor people trapped inside today, it really has been glorious!

www.nzherald.co.nz