Good job!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to put together these presentations for us. You all did a great job and I can tell that you all put a lot of time into this!

The End of Web 2.0

Well, after all of the Web 2.0 training, I feel a little older and 'out of the loop' than I did when I started! The training made me realize just how much I don't care about a lot of the newer technologies that are out there. It's not that I don't find that many of them could be useful and much quicker than other methods, but maybe I don't feel the need to be more useful or quicker?? What I am saying is that the world is so obsessed with being faster and faster and more productive with less manual labor being involved that it sometimes seems scary and unnatural. Now, many businesses (including libraries) can benefit from Web 2.0 to run their businesses more efficiently and better serve their clients, but outside of the business realm I don't see much need for these tools (though I do enjoy Facebook, but even then I'm only ever on occasionally). I am not saying that there is anything wrong with the personal use of these tools and I do get curious about them, I just think that sometimes we are too "connected." And I hope that people remember to slow down and realize the important things in life (yes, cliche and sappy, but I mean it). Even I need to remember this sometimes. There is a lot of artificiality out there, along with people seeing too much of what can be gained and not enough of what they already have. Being faster and better is so imbued within the American mindset that we sometimes forget that there was a time that we did okay without these things that make our lives a bit more convenient.

Web 2.0 - Week 12 - YourChoice/Fun Photos

Almost finished with the Web 2.0 training. This week's topic looks like fun. I tried to register for an account at ToonDoo. First, I got frustrated that I even needed an account. Why do you have to have an account for EVERYTHING that you do online? Goodness... Okay, so then I stopped whining and signed up, but it was taking so long to register that I felt guilty sitting there getting paid to watch the screen load my info, so I just 'x-ed' out of it. I may try again later. But I do have to say that making my own comic strip would be fun, as would adding captions to some of my own photos. I can't honestly say if I will ever use these sites or not. I may forget or just get lazy, but maybe I will remember or even be motivated enough to try to register again and see what I can do!

Week 11 - Web 2.0 - Online Productivity

I am not at all familiar with Google Docs or anything similar and do not yet see any personal or business uses for it in my life. I am not the type of person who keeps records or appointments on the computer and I don't currently see a need for it in my present job position. However, I can see how helpful these tools would be for many individuals and businesses in their daily workplaces, including libraries. And I am sure that these tools are extremely beneficial to large, fast-paced companies that need to cut corners on time, such as in emailing or presenting things orally.

Web 2.0 - Week 10 - Tagging/Social Bookmarking

Tags and social bookmarks are something that I have noticed when on a webpage and have occasionally used. The most common tags that I have used are ones that are found on book websites like Borders.com or Barnesand Noble.com. When I look up an item it is sometimes interesting to see what other books come up under the listed tags. For example, I looked up The Poionwood Bible (a novel I highly recommend!) on amazon.com. Some of the tags that were listed under this item included South Africa and Mission League, two large topics within the novel. There were other smaller topics as well, such as mangwansi beans and green mamba. These terms play a small part in the novel, yet are part of South African culture within the area in which this novel takes place. The tags can help you find similar items you may enjoy and can also give you ideas about reading topics that you hadn't thought of yourself. This can be helpful to reference and children/YA librarians because the tags can assist them in finding things for patrons that enjoyed a specific item. Tags like this can also be found in the beginning of books on the copyright pages to help with catagorizing.

Web 2.0 - Week 9 - Social Networking

Social networking is something that I have experience with, unlike a lot of the other Web 2.0 tools. I have accounts on both MySpace and Facebook, though primarily use Facebook. I must say though, it took me awhile to jump onto the facebook wagon. I do not feel the need to be in touch with others 24/7. I do not even have a cell phone!! Probably one of the only people out there that don't. My husband and I do have trac phones that we keep in the car for emergencies and quick calls if we have a question for somebody. They do come in handy .... Anyway, I digress.

Once I joined Facebook, I was amazed at how much fun it was connecting with people that I haven't seen or heard from in years. It is interesting (and kinda nosey as well) to see what is going on with people you knew in high school and/or college. It's also a quick way to drop multiple people a line without having to go into your email account and email them all separately. Within the library system, this could come in handy to join in various discussions with other librarians from anywhere in the world. You can find people on there that you didn't even know existed . . .

Web 2.0 - Week 8 - Your Choice/Gaming

This week's topic was a funny one. I was confused. They want us to play games and get paid for it?? I felt a little guilty. I didn't actually play any because I have played tons of online games before. I love addictinggames.com. They have any type of game you can imagine. And some you can't too! :) Sometimes when I'm bored it's nice to do something that doesn't take a lot of brain power. . .

Speaking of brain power, the articles posted on the training site about gaming and learning were interesting. Of course something can be learned from any game you play. They even have websites that incorporate learning and education for children, such as pbs.org. Those games are wonderful because they make learning basic things, such as reading and math, fun. If played in a controlled environment with limits on time play, I think the games make wonderful accesories to education. As a child gets older, the games become more complex and more adult-themed. As long as teenagers don't spend too much time playing games, it is a nice outlet from traditional learning and it also forces teens into a different way of thinking or seeing things to figure something out.

As far as socialization within internet gaming, I don't buy into that too much. It's a type of socialization, I suppose, but I guess I am a traditionalist and always assumed that socialization involved face-to-face contact. The type of socialization one gets through gaming does allow interaction and a sort of identity within a group of players, but it is much easier to type something to someone than to say it in person. Board games allow one to think outside of the box and also interact in person. Online gaming is not like the real world, it's a fantasy world.