Summary

Now that I've finished Betty Blogger Summer School, here are some of the important things I learned:

• I enjoyed keeping a blog and learning how to add pictures and special features to it.


• I was familiar with more of the tasks before I started the course than I thought I would be.


• I had to do some soul-searching, and decided I really don't want a FaceBook account.


• I need to make more time to use the new technologies, such as feeds and LibraryThing (or in my case, BiblioCommons).

The technologies in Betty Blogger were mostly simple to learn and use, although I faced a few small challenges. An example would be posting my Google Doc to my blog. I eventually got it right and then found out others were having the same problem. Mostly, it's a matter of taking the time to learn and use the features properly.

I think the self-directed learning model was excellent, in that it allowed a great deal of flexibility over the summer months. I tried to get a lot done before I took a trip to Alberta, and am happy to report that I had a wonderful trip, and had time to complete the course after my return. That's a favorite photo of Lake Louise from our trip at the top of this post.

The course did fulfill my expectations. It made me realize that I can find the time to devote to learning more about Web 2.0 technologies. I know a lot more than before I started the course.

I will definitely recommend this course to friends and acquaintances if it is offered again. The lessons were thorough, informative and entertaining. All the e-mails kept me on track with the work. I loved the cooking theme and the sense of humour throughout the materials. I would really like to meet Library Lady!

Cataloguing with LibraryThing

I had looked at LibraryThing in the past, but had not started to use it. I like the idea of using it, but recognize the time and commitment involved if you want to add reviews and tags, and other content. I spent quite some time looking at all the features. It really does create an online community of book lovers. I work at Oakville Public Library, which is using BiblioCommons for its online catalog. Many of the features on LibraryThing are also on BiblioCommons, such as the ability to maintain your own library, make lists, rate, review and tag books, and connect with like-minded readers. As such, BiblioCommons is my first priority (and job requirement), and preference for this type of application. I will use LibraryThing again, particularly for the book reviews and chats, and to find like-minded readers.


Here is the URL for my library:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/smc01

RSS Feeds

I found Google Reader to be very interesting, and easy and intuitive to use.

I liked the "prepackaged" bundles of feeds that are available for subscription, and I selected two of those - Library and Books. I also subscribed to The Globe and Mail and Jian Ghomeshi's CBC Radio program, so I can keep up to date when I don't have time to listen to the program. I added another site, Awful Library Books, which reports on odd books that have been weeded from various libraries.

I would like to continue to use Google Reader, and refine the feeds that I have chosen. I think I will have to make it a habit to check the feeds daily, maybe after I check e-mail. Otherwise, I think it's easy to forget to use it. I also think it's important to limit the number of feeds so that one does not become overwhelmed.

Google Docs Page - It's time for fresh tomatoes

This was my first experience with Google Docs. It seems like a wonderful tool for groups of people who are working together and need to edit documents. I had some trouble posting to my blog, as I had the user name and password wrong. The help function was useful in solving this problem. I will definitely try to use Google Docs in the future.

It's time for fresh tomatoes!

It's time for fresh tomatoes!

Here I am in the heart of fresh tomato country on the shores of Lake Erie in Southern Ontario.  I'd like to share a wonderful recipe for an uncooked tomato pasta sauce that is delicious, and best served when we are enjoying field tomatoes at their peak.

Pour 1/2 cup olive oil in a bowl.  Add two crushed garlic cloves, 8-10 chopped basil leaves (the more, the better), black pepper and salt to taste.  Mix all ingredients.  Chop about 5 large ripe tomatoes and put them in a larger bowl.  Pour olive oil mixture over the tomatoes and stir.  Let the tomatoes and oil marinate at room temperature for at least three hours.  Your house will smell divine!  Cook any type of hot pasta (penne or rigatoni work well).  Drain and spoon on the tomato sauce.  Serve immediately with grated cheese (asiago or parmesan taste great). 

This is a quick, simple, tasty summer meal.  Enjoy!

Wikis

I signed up to bring coleslaw to the family meal. It's one of my favorite summer potluck recipes.

I already had an account with PB Wiki. I use it at work to help manage information for a committee that does visual merchandising at several library branches.

PB Wiki is fairly easy to use, although I wouldn't say that everything is intuitive. Setting up a wiki is more difficult than using an existing one.

I can think of several applications for a wiki, and think they can save a lot of time. The difficult part is getting all of the participants to use it, learn it and feel comfortable with it. In the case of organizing a picnic, the wiki is much more efficient than sending out umpteen e-mails.


Here's a link to an excellent YouTube video that explains "Wikis in Plain English."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

Photo Sharing

Here's a photo of my cat from my personal Picasa account. I use Picasa to manage my own photos, and love the many ways photos can be organized, and edited. I use the straighten feature alot, as well as sharpen, red-eye reduction, and cropping. I also organize web albums (usually private) and send invitations out for others to view them.

The picture I sent to Library Lady was of Lake Louise. It did not have any tags assigned to it. I spent some time looking for a photo with tags, but couldn't find one.

I will continue to use Picasa. I just wish I had more time to edit and print my photos... I always feel like I am behind in that regard!

Social Networks - Will she or won't she?

I have never wanted a Facebook account, and there are many reasons for that. My major concern is my own privacy. I want my close friends and family to know what is going on in my life, but not acquaintances, work colleagues, customers or strangers. I have a busy life, and I don't know where I would find the time to update my profile, and tell my friends about the insignificant things that are going on in my life, let alone the significant things. I have seen several Facebook profiles, and always feel that I am invading the privacy of the person whose profile I am reading.

I really believe that interest in Facebook is a generational thing. Having gone through university before the PC was in common use (!), I didn't grow up with the idea of social networking on a computer. I can see how Facebook would allow friendships to be nurtured, developed, and maintained among university classmates. I'm even envious of how easy it must be for young students to maintain friendships instead of letting them drift apart. But then again, don't we maintain contact with the "friends" who really matter in our lives? It will be interesting to see the long-term effect of Facebook, to find out if it really does allow people to keep friends longer.

The fact that Facebook "owns" the information that I post is also intimidating. After it's posted, it could hang around for years even if I choose to delete it. While government is trying to get Facebook to make some changes regarding privacy issues, I have not yet heard enough to convince me to sign up for an account.

Tagging and Del.icio.us

I bookmarked two websites using my new Del.icio.us account. They are:


How To Cook Like Your Grandmother
Good old-fashioned, common sense cooking.
TAGS
recipes
cooking

Awful Library Books
TAGS
weeding
library
collections
books
collection
developments
libraries

I'm not sure if I will continue to use Del.icio.us or not. Google's page rank seems to do a fine job of relevant retrieval, in most cases. I'm not sure if there are enough people using Del.icio.us yet for it to be very comprehensive. The list of popular tags contained mostly technology terms, so maybe so far, only techno-geeks are using it. I also use SiteJot which allows me to access my favorite websites from any computer. It is more straight-forward, and therefore more appealing to me. I guess I would rather search the internet using a large search engine like Google than rely on a small group of individuals to lead me to the best sites. I like to use my own judgement about what the best sites are.

YouTube

Here's a link to a useful video on YouTube that explains blogs.
It was produced by Lee Lefever for the CommonCraft Show. He makes short professional trainingvideos on technology topics, such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, and twitter. The videos are explained in plain English, for beginners. They are good for personal use, but could also be used in technology training sessions in a workplace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

I use YouTube on a regular basis. It is entertaining in that you can watch old clips from TV shows, and it is informative as you can watch news reel from current events. It is open to anyone to publish anything (within reason), and is a great equalizer. I'll continue to use YouTube in the future.

Why we need a Betty Blogger School

Betty Blogger summer school is a program run by Burlington Public Library to familiarize library staff and customers with the new technologies known as web 2.0. I signed up for the course because, as a reference librarian, I need to know what these technologies are in order to help library customers when they have questions. The online nature of the course as well as its self-pacing are what appealed to me. I always mean to sit down at the computer and discover some of these technologies, but it is always easy to get caught up in everyday life. This way, I have an incentive to do it, and will be recognized at work for having completed the course.