Week 9: Last Post

It has been interesting completing the Web 2.0 exercises. There were some things I already know about such as Facebook, Youtube, Downloadable Media, NetLibrary, Tumblebooks, TumbleReadables and RSS feeds. However there were many terms and websites I had heard about so often but never bothered to find out what it was. I had seen many teenagers use Bebo on the computers but never knew that it was a social networking site just like Facebook. I did not know what "Podcast" was before I started this exercise. One of my favourite websites was "Flickr". I always had difficulty using Photo Wizard but Flickr made it so easy for me to touch up photos. I will definitely recommend this website to customers who need help with digital photography.

I learned many new things in the last couple of weeks. Thank you and I look forward to doing more exercises about Web 2.0!

Week 9: eBooks and eAudiobooks

I already know about netlibrary, tumble readables and tumblebooks. Customers have come up to me asking where to find an ebook and I have shown them how to use netlibrary. Netlibrary is extremely useful if you don't want to buy the book but want to read the contents for free. I would recommends TumbleReadables for early readers because it has a read along audio component along with the ebook. Also, there is a quiz after you finish the book to make sure the child understands the content of the book. Downloadable media is something I am not too keen on. As I said earlier in my blog, I don't like listening to audiobooks. I have recommended this software to several customers but it is extremely hard to give them exact instructions on how to use it because we cannot install it onto our library computers. All I can do is to show them the button where they can take a guided tour online and find out how to use it.

Week 9: Podcasts

Podcast.... I never knew what it was until I did this exercise. I signed up for a Bloglines account. Then I went to Podcastalley.com to search for graphic novel reviews. I thought it might be of use to our teen book group to listen to some good book reviews. There were many podcast about manga reviews so I downloaded one on "Death Note" (This is a really popular manga in Asia). Unfortunately, the sound quality was not that good and the first 2 minutes, I heard a song by an unknown artist. I must admit I don't like listening to audiobooks or PODCASTS. I still prefer reading a book or reading a review on the internet. I can't think of a use for Podcast except that we can do book reviews for people with difficulty reading small print.

Week 9: Youtube

I am quite familiar with Youtube because I often watch music videos and anime on this website. I embedded the video about Mr Bean at the library. Mr Bean was the first comedy I watched when I first came to New Zealand. The good thing about Mr Bean is that he hardly says a word of English but you understand the funny stuff he does. The reason I included this video was because it was situated in the library. You can't help but compare the working environment we are in nowadays. Back in those days, all the libraries were quiet and librarians would stare at you, raising their fingers and go "shhh". Not any more. The library I work in is so noisy that sometimes I can't hear what the other customers are saying. There was nothing I don't like about youtube except that they have included ads onto some popular videos so you have to wait about 10 seconds before watching the video. Also, some videos get deleted because of copyright infringement.
It took me a while to figure out how to embed the video into my blog. But I finally worked it. Just copy the embed link on the right hand side of youtube. Go to Edit Html on your blog and paste it there. I think ACL can use youtube to make videos to educate the public about searching the catalogue, searching the digital library, subscribing to newsletters, using the scanners, attaching documents to email etc.

Week 8: Discovering web 2.0 tools

I went to the list of all the winners of the Web 2.0 applications. I chose "Farecast" because I was planning to travel overseas next month and wanted to find cheap tickets. I have been on the Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand website in hopes of finding cheap airfare but no luck. I was quite surprised when I went onto "Farecast". Everything was quite simple. Selecting your destination and dates, non-stop, how many people etc etc. The search came up with a quite reasonable price range about $1468-$1495. The travel agent had quoted a similar price. When I clicked on the price, it was immediately linked to Cathay Pacific so I could order it online. At the same time that you do this search, it also compares their results with other results from different travel websites like Expedia, Hotwire, Booking Buddy, Priceline and Travelocity. Another thing I like is "Price predictor" which can predict whether the airfare price will go up so you should buy now or whether it will go down so you should wait.

I am quite satisfied with this website. I have been on other sites such as "webjet" but I think this is the best one if you are looking for good deals. In the past, I had quite a number of customers asking me about finding cheap tickets online. Now I can recommend this site to them.

Week 8: Online productivity tools

I signed in Google docs because I already have a gmail account. Google docs is great. You can upload your documents and access them online. I have no usb memory stick at home so what I usually do is attach documents to my gmail and save it as a draft. Now that I know about Google docs, I can just upload them or create them on Google docs. The only disadvantage is that they can't upload documents bigger than 500mbs. I have included a link to my strawberry jelly cheesecake recipe.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AV6hpEp4a-wpZDd2bmh3al8wY3ZrbnRkZm0&hl=en

Week 7: PBwiki

This exercise was so simple that it took 2 minutes to finish it. I logged on using the acl elgar gmail address and the password given. I went to favourite blogs. Clicked on edit and then "insert/edit link". I copied and pasted my blog url address. It was interesting reading about what people's favourite destination and restaurants are. But I think I find this exercise too easy and boring.