Project Play, Semester 2, Week 10

Write about your impressions of mashups in your blog. Do you have any creative ideas for something you could create for your library?

I understand the value with maps and other content as the mashup, such as the Winnebago County Barns mashup Keetra did for OPL. I'll have to see more examples of library use with the catalog and book titles to see advantages other than not needing to learn how to do this without mashups - which I guess is the point.

We could easily consider a mashup for Rural Schools of Winn. County for OPL website.

I think a city's website or tourism website would benefit from a mashup showing the existence of sites to visit and locations. Or picture a mashup showing Oshkosh sightings of J. Depp - he ate breakfast here, signed autographs over here, ate lunch over here, etc.

I added the Moran House to Map Builder and if I deleted other Oshkosh sites it was accidental. I can find the Morgan House by doing a word search on Map Builder.

clickable link trying Edit Html tab

http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/programs2go/rss.cfm?section_id=3

with this make it a clickable link using Edit Html?

Project Play, Semester 2, Week 3 Remember the Milk and JOTT

I did this lesson when it came up as an assignment but enjoyed it so much I must have forgotten to blog about it.
I see Remember the Milk as a fun way to "remember" tasks - to keep track of them, "log" them the minute you think of them (especially with JOTT too) and share tasks. Sometimes sharing an Excel list or list in our shared dept drive gets
tedious - everyone remembering where the list is kept - W drive or T drive, etc.
RTMilk also seems simple - you don't have to agonize over setting up a spreadsheet.
I'd like to try it with our new web team to see if it's an easier way to keep track of who is doing what and when .
I added a new task tonight and gave it a due date. I also called in a new task with JOTT. JOTT worked better this time for me - I'd read the suggestions to speak loudly (not in a soft voice). I kept my task brief and enunciated carefully. I think there are more and more times when you call and get this type of recorded service so it will seem very commonplace. I just called to put my newspaper on hold while I'm away and it was all done by voice-recording. Do you say good-bye to a voice recording?


AFter doing this assignment originally, I created my own RTMilk account to use around the house and it's been working okay for me - better than notes on the refrigerator.

Project Play, Semester 2, Week 6 HELP!

I'm not sure if I should reread RSS lesson or Bloglines but I couldn't find where to Add or Add Subscription
to get to where I paste the URL http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/programs2go/rss.cfm?section_id=3

I tried Bloglines help and I got to a screen with a Widget and then a message saying this would slow down my computer.

I did look at and subscribe to Worthington Libraries . . . Adults podcast.
IT was interesting that they do multiple weeks/lessons on a topic and the topics vary quite a bit from Kindergarten to Job Interviewing.

I did sit down with Jeannie and others a few weeks ago to learn about podcasting. OPL has equipment and editing software. Jeannie will be setting up the equipment for us in the future. I'd like to interview upcoming authors who will be speaking at OPL adult programs. I'll need time to learn the editing software.

Lesson Week 9 - this is the link I'm trying to paste in

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qNYOECfzmUE

YouTube
Shelties dogs and sprinklers
For some reason our Shelties love to run in the sprinklers...dogs shelties sprinklers

Any help in getting the link to work - see my other posting on Week 9

Thanks

Project Play, Semester 2, Week 9, YouTube

HELP!
I followed instructions (code) from the help center on YouTube but I don't think it works to make the link clickable automatically. I got an error message from blogger.

YouTube Shelties at play

This is a YouTube video on Shelties playing with a sprinkler. I don't have a sprinkler system in my yard but any time I've turned on the hose or a stand-alone sprinkler my Sheltie starts barking and running around it like crazy. Just what the Sheltie Linus does on YouTube. And 3,530 views or viewers - not sure how they count - looked at Linus before me.

Endlessly fascinating -- what I like and don't like about YouTube! Just like searching the Web, Google, etc. before you know it, it's an hour later than you thought. What I do like is learning about YouTube as a research tool - I didn't know you could find famous speeches from history. The only YouTube I'd seen previous to today was excerpts on TV, which were always silly examples.

I did look at the Harper College Library tour - great fun - and I went to a meeting recently where somebody asked the audience if anyone wanted a pillow and I didn't get the joke at the time!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought the Allen Co. PL Genealogy Center tours were good too and had more viewers than individual speakers by far.

Project Play, Semester 2, Lesson 8

I know I've jumped past some lessons . . . but I'll go back.
Screencasting: I hadn't ever heard the term so I have increased my vocabulary! I haven't seen that word in my word-a-day dictionary calendar for 2008!

Screencasting would seem like a good tool to use. We just had someone ask for a brochure on how to use our card catalog. Years ago we created and printed a brochure but it was hard to keep up with changes and we didn't see too many people using it or asking for it.

A colleague printed out the Help screen but screencasting would give us another option. I'd be interested in knowing if there is a different reaction to screencasting based on age - that younger folks see this as a natural way to learn - it certainly seemed a bonus for the college sites you sent us to. I remember some QuestionPoint chat questions where college students got into the library website but couldn't figure out how to access databases, etc. I bet screencasts cuts down on those questions.

Back to my wondering about generational attitudes toward screencasting . . . perhaps "older" folks will actually like screencasting too - in a way, it allows a more human touch . . . with video and voice it's like listening to a "real person" help you!

Thanks for teaching us about another new tool. I would like to try it on our website . . . maybe even something simple like showing people how to find the library's event calendar so they know the programs we offer.