Challenge 23

Challenge:
1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? And last but not least…

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

Whew! There were times when I thought I wouldn't make it through.


1. My favorites were exploring YouTube and playing with pictures to add to my blog.

2. This program has definitely gotten my feet wet in seeing just the sheer volume of tools and fun things that are available online. I had no idea. I never took the time to listen to a podcast before. They're fun...but yes I like video accompanying it. Hey, I grew up on tv.

3. The takeaway...I'd love to spend more time on YouTube...though I'm not sure how useful and constructive that would be. I view it more as entertainment. Looking at the EBooks has got me wanting to peruse the library for a book to check out and take home. Need to finish taxes first, though.

4. Thanks to the Virtual Services Team for working on all the exercises, activities, and resources and updating their use for the SJ Libraries. It was all great...even with some of the exercises being a hair-pulling challenge.

5. I would love to participate in other discovery programs. I have to say, offering incentives for completion are very good to encourage participation....otherwise one tends to only work on other projects with due dates.

"That's all, folks!"

Challenge 22

Challenge:
1. Visit sjlibrary's ebooks (FYI: It's a quick link on the home page)

2. Explore World EBook Fair' site for FREE downloads from the Gutenberg Project. Also just explore the site - there's much to check out.

3. Create a blog post about your findings.

I was excited to visit sjlibrary's ebooks as I've never, ever looked at an ebook before. However I was dismayed to find that my computer had difficulty installing the plug-in. Hmmm, guess I'll have to call IT about that. Bummer.

I had tried to view "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell that came up in a search under "children fiction" as keywords.

"Dogeared Pages Make Me Crazy" allowed me to view the SJLibrary EBooks on her computer, since she already had the plug-in installed. I was able to view many, many chapters of "Wives and Daughters", but I tend to agree with "Dogeared Pages Make Me Crazy". I'd rather curl up somewhere warm and comfy to read a book, especially a long book like "Wives and Daughters".

For World EBook Fair' site, I accidently chose a Buddhist story about an otter...but then was asked for username and password..ooops. Ok, found the free ones and picked "Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases" out of the Top 100 Downloads.

Some cool ones:
"The moonlight, like a fairy mist, upon the mesa spreads"

"Style comes, if at all, like the bloom upon fruit, or the glow of health upon the cheek"

I even found a library one:

"Buried in his library like a mouse in a cheese"

Challenge 21

Challenge:
1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.
2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account
3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here?

I tried Podcast.net and typed in "library" as a keyword. I found a couple of entries that I found interesting.

I was drawn to the Sunnyvale Public Library podcasts because it appeared that they were archiving their events as podcasts. The first podcast I listened to was "Sunnyvale Voices - How Apricots Were Grown and Dried"



I then clicked in to the UC Santa Cruz Synergy Lecture Series for Lecture 6, Dr. Mary Silver, "Red Tides, Shellfish, and Cultural Dietary Traditions".



I did find this podcast lecture interesting, yet I found myself wishing there was video accompanying the lecture....like the Google/UC Berkeley set-up. I didn't listen to the full lecture....but I find it very cool to be able to hear lectures without worrying about being graded or tested on the information later.

UC Berkeley on Google Video

I then tried Podcastalley.com and chose the "Environment" genre. There was a Monterey Bay Aquarium podcast called Monterey Bay Aquariums "Aquarium of the Air". They had a podcast called Wild About Otters New Exhibit Opening. This was so fantastic! It featured Michelle Jeffries, the associate curator of mammals, talking about their new exhibit.

Wild About Otters at Monterey Bay Aquarium

This podcast meant a lot to me....as our zoo babysat the Small Clawed Asian Otters for the Monterey Bay Aquarium for about six months...until the Aquarium was ready to accept them. It was so exciting taking care of these precious little rascals. They were hungry all the time, no matter how much or how often they were fed, and they let you know by making loud crying/chirping/whining noises.



Here is a youtube video of the otters at Zoo Atlanta and you will understand what I'm talking about.




So yeah....podcasts are really great and quite useful....even if I run with the topic so I can find online videos of what I'm looking for.

Here's the Bloglines Adds:

http://www.bloglines.com/public/Matchadragon

Challenge 20

Challenge:
Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.

Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or componets of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?

I love YouTube....though sometimes in the past I have had trouble viewing entries. I think it may have to do with upgrades and such. Never wanted to bother IT to fix it for me...though everything seems to be working today.

I was first introduced to YouTube when my boyfriend sent me this clip of him playing a Celtic frame drum. Even though the sound is a little off from the image, it's really him playing. Of course, it's my favorite YouTube clip.

He also sent me this clip of how to open a young coconut in a much safer manner then I had been using....probably has saved me a few fingers.



As for library applications, the time for entries seems to be very short...so to me it makes more sense for literature entries for Children....such as Alligators All Around. Maybe we could stick this on our library catalog!

Challenge 19

Challenge:
1. Take a look around LibraryThing and create an account.

2. Add a least 5 books to your library.

3. Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog. How popular were your books? Did you find any discussions about your favorites?


Here's my library from LibraryThing:
LibraryThing for MatchaDragon

The most popular book that I had was the "Island of the Blue Dolphins" which I haven't read in many, many years....but it left a strong impression as being one of my absolute favorite books. It had some discussions associated with it on LibraryThing.

Most of my other favorite books aren't popular at all, but I still love them.

Challenge 18

http://www.patrickchingart.com




Challenge:
1. Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer
2. Explore the site and create a test document or two.
3. Try out Zoho Writer’s features and create a blog post about your discoveries.

So the publishing in ZohoWriter worked by hitting the Publish, post to blog option...and the entry is the post before this one.

The hard part was coming up with something to write....I tried to write a poem and found that it wasn't going well with creating something so early in the morning.

I thought of adding my favorite recipe for pumpkin soup. I tried to copy and paste the recipe from Microsoft Word and Zoho Writer had a hissy fit with all kinds of error messages. When I'd close one error message, another one would pop up in its place...so I eventually had to go to Task Manager to shut down the entire thing.

I'm thinking Zoho Writer truly wanted me to write something rather than paste something in.

I ended up going with a favorite poem since the sandbox exercise was so fun in sharing favorites.

Perhaps I will try using Zoho Writer to to the Pre-Performance Review Worksheet that we're all so fond of.

Publish Post to Blog from Zoho Writer

EQUINE EQUINOX

Standing brightly in fields of water-washed green,

herds of ponies trot together, the northern lights in their manes.

Steam boils forth from nostrils

like hot tea spitting onto hearth stones.

Hoof upon hoof pressed into earth's lightness

and, while speaking in tongues, haunches turn wildly,

bowstrings and light rays in tendons ache to cover some ground.

An out and out gallop across shaded sand would be a fair thing today,

but as meadowlarks put feathers down, pronouncements of place, another voyage awaits.

Beyond folded fence posts in arroyos that remember nothing but sand dollar bones,

a stirring in the wind reminds the spirit-beasts of their truest nature.

They fly, felt but unseen.

Frank MacEowen (c)2001

Moss Roof, Stone Pillow: Poems of the Celtic Dreamtime