Thursday, March 13, 2008

Thing # 3

Keeping Up is the title of Thing # 3....and I'm not sure we're doing it!! Learning about RSS (Really Simple Syndication) wasn't all that simple for us. We followed the directions and managed to add some news feeds to our account as well as a few blogs of fellow "learners". Will we find time to check for updates?? That remains to be seen.

The instructions for Thing # 3 contain a lot of information that is foreign to those of us who don't spend much time at a computer. Could there be a "beginner level" with simple definitions given? Maybe the entire program could be reworked as "23 Things on a Stick....For Dummies". (Just a thought!).

As an aside....does anyone out there know where we could order some good children's softwear? (Now we will learn if anyone reads these posts!!).

Friday, February 29, 2008

Thing #2--Go, Web2.0!

The good news is that I remembered how to get back to this site to add to our blog. The bad news is that I'm so overwhelmed by all of the terms and technology we just experienced, that I'm not quite sure what to say. Yet, my partner has entrusted me with sharing our thoughts on this part of the project, so I will try to do my best.

We were excited, although apprehensive, about all of opportunities available out there in cyber-land. Our library and our community seem open to change, yet the thought of actually implementing some of the concepts of Web 2.0 in a tangible way seems monumental. Beyond the obvious budgetary concerns, there is the problem of creating a societal atmosphere that not only recognizes and embraces change, but also supports it with money, time and input.

In out-state Minnesota, our lifestyles and expectations are quite a bit different than downtown Minneapolis, let alone Manhattan or Las Vegas. Are all of the 2nd World options appropriate for our town, our patrons, our selves...are any of them? Is the L2 movement really asking us to provide the hardware, software and training that the public needs to keep up? Is that even what the majority of our clients truly want? Who are we to dictate to them?

Overall, we felt that the blogger made the options seem rather black and white--either jump on the bandwagon or get left behind. We'd rather see our library set its aim somewhere in the gray zone. Does that make us "green file folders in some back storage room?" I sure hope not.

Considering that Mr. Abrams video was already 2 years old, we are not sure if L2 has even begun to hit its stride yet. We do know that we hope to be around to see it.

Snakonastick

Friday, February 15, 2008

Thing number 1(cont.)

OK--naptime is over...and so is all of our work to complete Thing #1. Yeah!!!

Here are some of our thoughts...

*The instructions couldn't have been much clearer. We didn't have any trouble understanding what we were supposed to do, but it was really helpful that we worked on the project as a team. If one of us got frustrated or stumped, the other one could step in to try something else.

*Creating the Avatar was a little confusing. It took us a while to figure out how to make the changes to our image...and, of course, there were far too many choices!! To us it seemed like creating the Avatar would have been more appropriate as it's own separate "Thing."

*Altogether we spent about three hours on this first project. We were surprised we got through it that quickly. Hopefully, we have as much success at Thing #2.

SNAK

Thing number 1

Wow! We're almost done...with thing number1. We need a nap!

SNAK