MLA Reception Cake at the Livingston Public Library

Thank you for the picture Lauren. I hope everyone who came to the reception at the Livingston Public Library enjoyed their tour and ate some of the delicious cake served. I for one will never drink coffee in the evening again, as the caffeine gave me jittery sleep.

Conclusion

I tremendously enjoyed all of the exercises on this learning journey. Some of my favorite lessons were; Tagging and Social Bookmarking, RSS Feeds, Flickr, and Podcasts. I plan on using and teaching others what I have discovered and learned from the 2.0 Challenge. I would welcome and participate if offered, more future discovery opportunities such as the Montana Library 2.0 Challenge. This has been an enjoyable experience and I look forward to more lifelong learning journeys.

Wikis

There are many pros and cons to Wikis. St. Joseph County Public Library had a remarkable Wiki site. They have everything from books to local family history. What an easy way to look up and find quick information about the town, library and more right there on this page. The con side to this is that anyone can change the information to what they consider (or may not) is correct. I realize Wikis require anyone who wants to share information to log in, which in turn may tone down any malicious intent added to a page; but I still look at it as a buyer beware site. A friend of mine recently told me her professors will not accept Wikis as a source on research papers. As a whole I do like the purpose of Wikis as an easy way of sharing knowledge.

Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Del.icio.us is an incredibly powerful site. I set up my own account and bookmarked mtlib20. Now instead of having to be on my own computer to view favorites sites I can log onto my account anywhere. Del.icio.us is as amazing as is endless. I could spend hours on this site. I found tutorials on software, music, recipes... the list goes on. This site can also be useful for research assistance. When I type in a subject I get not only the bookmarks but also tags. The subject area then has a continual link to other sources and quickly gets you to the place your looking for.

YouTube

Out of all the lessons so far this has not been my favorite. Anyone can have their 15 minutes of fame/shame. Originally I found library videos where staff give viewers a virtual youtube tour. Denver public library had quite a bit out there on youtube. Begrudgingly, I have to admit that youtube can be useful. Youtube can be a tool for informational purposes as well. As you can see I added a fluff video from youtube on my blog. I decided to stray from library related links and added a song from a group I enjoy listening to.

Podcasts

Learning about podcasts is fun. I put into my blogline account Wait Wait Don't Tell Me... from National Public Radio. Naturally I was challenged, but I watched A Beginner's Guide to Podcasting by Greg Schwartz and that helped out tremendously. I also found library related podcasts that are now in my bloglines. Another subscription I subscribed to is LibVibe. This podcast subscription is all news related to libraries around the country and Canada. I think that podcasts can be useful to the library for many reasons. Staff can use it to listen to a seminar on library related topics such as the use of new technology (exactly what I have used it for). Patrons can use podcast for their own learning or leisure activities.

Generators and More

Sign Generator is a fun site I visited for lesson 5. I played around with it using one of my cat photos. I put my cat on a scrapbook page and made a magazine cover with the tools I found. There are so many ways to play its amazing. I had a lot of fun with Library Thing. I put in a few favorites of mine and realized a person can build an extensive library. I'm so glad to have joined the 2.0 Challenge this summer. This class has shown me more and more resources I never knew was out there.

Flickr

This latest photo (below this post) can be viewed on flickr. I uploaded it into flickr and then linked it to my blog. The picture was taken in the Beartooth Mountains last summer.

aerolake

arrowlake
Originally uploaded by msalanam

a cat-and-dog life

a cat-and-dog life
Originally uploaded by _groszek_

I found this picture too cute to pass up. I love animals although I only have a cat. At some point I will put a picture of my cat on my blog. It is only right she have a place on it.

Flickr

Alright! I fianlly figured out how to send a picture from flickr to my blog. The picture I choose was of a most beautiful sunset. I deleted the picture as it was not mine and I couldn't find the source of the photo. Hopefully I will be able to borrow a digital camera and upload photos to post of my own. I at first had difficulties with this lesson, but I overcame. I really had to think of this as a challenge and not an obstacle. I mused over the Seven 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Learners in my head to help me along with this lesson.

RSS FEEDS

I have been enjoying learning about blogs and rss feeds. I know with more practice rss feeds will become second nature. After looking at other blog comments I am relieved to know that I am not the only one who has to think really hard about what seems so easy. Practice, practice and more practice is my goal!

Playing with the blog

Blogging is completely new for me and have been playing around and trying to figure out how this all works. I was ecstatic to figure out how to post pictures and will probably add more in the near future.

71/2 Habits of Highly Successful Leaners

What is the easiest of the 7 1/2 Habits for me?
I believe the easiest habit for me is to teach and mentor others because I enjoy showing others how to do something new.

What is the hardest habit for me?
The hardest habit for me is to view problems as challenges. So often I forget that a problem is an opportunity to learn.

2.0 Challenge

I'm ready for this summertime adventure of learning!