Queens Library's Learning 2.0 Is Awesome

I am happy and grateful that Queens Library, as one of the biggest library systems in the US is so determined to bring Emerging Technologies close to the staff. I roughly spend about 1-2 hours per day trying to keep up with everything new in the field of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0. For me the trip is worth the try.

My favorite discovery on Queens Library Learning 2.0 was creating a customized search engine with Rollyo and cataloging books with Library Thing.

The amount of information presented was balanced, and well organized. The instructions for each technology were the right length, clear and understandable.

Are these the only 23 1/2 things that we have to learn?

No

I hope that Queens Library's Learning 2.0 is the beginning of a an interesting journey for many staff members. I also want too thank Karen Keys for her outstanding job in preparing the 2.0 study guide.

There is room for some minor improvements and I hope to be able to be part of the team who will create the next Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 discovery program in Queens Library.

I Am Signing For Mobipocket Reader ASAP

Believe it or not I am still using an old phone but I plan to change it in the first few months of 2008. The minute I do that ( BlackBerry 8700g is the free phone that I will be getting) I will sign for Mobipocket Reader to read books while commuting and synchronize calendar and email.

It is amazing how easy the OverDrive Digital Media Guided Tour is. I am curious to find out what Learning Management System is used for the creation of the guide, because I like its efficiency, layout and ease of use.

The variety of fiction and non fiction ebooks, evideos and emusic available for downloads is extraordinary.

Not All Podcasts Are Maintained Regularly

Not All Podcasts Are Maintained Regularly

For item #21 from our Queens Library Learning 2.0 I decided to explore Podcast.net and the category Computers & Internet. I browsed some of the podcasts and discovered that not all of them are maintained regularly.

The podcast that I subscribed to is called Creative Photoshop with John Reuter. If you use Bloglines, or you have My Yahoo or Google account subscription from Podcast.net is semiautomatic ( one click deal).

When I added the podcast to my Newsgator RSS reader I discovered that only 2 other Newsgator customers have subscriptions to John Reuter Internet radio broadcasts.

Kansas " Dust In The Wind"

If you haven't heard " Dust in The Wind" from Kansas, now its the time to listen to it. This is my favorite song and my favorite band.

Create Easy Online Forms With Wufoo

Anybody who tried to create web forms, knows that this is not an easy task even for experienced web developers. Well, know there is a site Wufoo, which promises to make the the development of online forms a breeze, even if you don’t know a single line of HTML code .

From the Top 10 Reasons to Use Wufoo: " Wufoo enables anyone from students to secretaries to office managers the ability to publish an online form within minutes. Your forms, on your terms. Programming experience not needed."

Wufoo also allows you to build, design, and collect data, create reports and use password protection for sensitive data. Eeasy copy and paste code options for integrating your form into a website are available. For experienced users "full CSS and XHTML markup is also included."

Google Presentations & Shared Stuff

In Google Docs I decided to try Google Presentations. In no time I was able to create a simple presentation using one of the Themes ( templates). The other feature in Google Presentations that I like is that I am able to determine who can have full access to my presentation ( collaborator) and who can only be a viewer.

However, it seems to me that it is not a complete application if it is not supporting customization of slides, basic animations, transitions and sounds. Maybe plans to add those by Google are on the way.

Another interesting application that Google started in September of this year is Shared Stuff.

This program resides on your browser and allows you to share links with friends and co-workers. To activate Shared Stuff, you need to drag the icon to your browser, have a Google account and create your own profile page to store your shared links.

Your personal profile page is open to the public and you can link your photo and home page or blog to it.



When you click the Google Email/Share icon, you can choose between posting the page to your profiled page, emailing it to your contacts or bookmarking it with del.icio.us, furl.
digg, and facebook.

Signed Up For Facebook Finally

I don't have time for social networking but if everyone is there, I better be there too. Signing up was easy and finding friends and colleagues easier. From now on I will have to learn how to poke friends, send them drinks and what not.

Here is a link to my profile:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1011978060

Maintaining the profile and contacts is time consuming for me but I will try to allocate 10 - 15 minutes a day for that.