I'm Finished I'm Finished

#22 Audiobooks

Technical Audiobooks downloaded to your computer would be useful if you were using that book for reference purposes while working or studying. Especailly if you can keyword search through the book (ITAA).

But I still prefer to hold a book then listen to a book and there is no better time then to sit with your child and watch them read a book (even if the book is upside down) and interact their ideas about what they think is happening in the story.

#21 Podcasts

As recommended I searched through Podcast.net and found The Library Channel which looks at the latest trends for Research libraries. I was also able to RSS feed this site to my bloglines.
If technology allowed, Podcasting could help with client training and promoting events and new services withing the library especially for distant students. This is already being demonstrated by John Hopkins University Library.

#20 You too can YouTube

After attaching the video below to my blog, I went back to the front page of YouTube and on the left handside of the page was a video promoting a toddler been given drugs. The video was to show the effects that the drugs would have on the toddler for entertainment purposes. Is YouTube being monitored? How did this video make the front page of YouTube?
Would I go back to YouTube? No.

#19 Web 2.0 Tools

I searched through a few of the Web 2.0 winners - even though this is only a shortlist it seemed to be endless.

* I found Lulu to be a very interesting site. Lulu gives you the power to publish and sell books for free.
Lulu prints and ships each book as it's bought. You retain all rights to your work. You decide on design and layout. You set the price and creator revenue. Lulu lets you sell your work through Amazon and other book stores.What a great site for people to get their unpublished work out there at no expense.

* Another site I found of interest is the portable digital hard drive Omnidrive which is an online storage and file sharing application that can be accessed from any web connected device, allowing you to easily store, access and stream your files. Omnidrive is a folder of all your files that remain on the web, which means you can access them from anywhere. This is good when working in different sites but if you have a slow connection or the Internet goes down then this is not so useful.

* And for the mummy in all of us I found the site minti very useful. Their mission is to create the world's largest parent to parent advice-opedia.

#18 Online Productivity Tools

What an excellent online tool. Zoho Writer allows you to edit, store and share your documents from anywhere. Zoho Writer saves multiple versions of your document, and generates PDF, HTML and DOC files from it. Tag Zoho documents and share with a link .
Unfortuantely though as I have a dial up Internet connection (slow) I found that when you click on an icon on the toolbar of a Zoho sheet, the other other icons disappear and you have to wait for them to refresh to proceed - this can take some time.

Published from Zoho Writer:
Home Sweet Home

#17 Playing with PBWiki

I took the Wiki Tour, accessed the PLCMC Learning 2.0 Wiki and created an account and added my blog to the favourite blogs page.

#16 Wikis

I really enjoy using Wikipedia for my own interest with pictures and links its a fun tool to use. But as Wikipedia is edited by volunteers around the world, can the information be trusted? I would not use it as a work tool as it is not an authority resource.

#15 Libraries 2.0

Library 2.0 means to me social computing and networking. In the future clients will will no longer be on their own when selecting books from their Library catalogue. We have already seen this change being demonstrated through LibraryThing, where individuals are been given the opportunity to share ideas through reviews, tags and ratings.

It's just not individuals social computing but a number of Library institutions are getting involved through "Open WorldCat". Where Libraries are contributing data and moving to a more integrated network platform. This will transform the way people see and use their library. As anyone with a Web browser will be able to search the WorldCat to find links to content in library collections books, videos, serials, digital images and many other formats.


WorldCat search evaluates information about the title, including format, publisher and the user can identify their location by entering a postal code or another geographic identifier.

#14 Tagging Technorati

As recommended I undertook a keyword search using Library 2.0 on Technorati by the Blog Directory and Blog Post. I found of course the Blog Directory to filter through more meaniful results as it locates blogs by catagory not keywords.

What I find Technorati provides with its Top searches, Top Tags & Most Popular Blogs is a snapshop of what certain people are interested in our world at any given moment. How useful is this information as a Marketing tool?

Technorati Tagging
Technorati Blogging

#13 Tagging - Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is a good tool to use to describe and organise your bookmarks using one word Tags. The Tags are keys words that you have created not categories given to you by the designer of the site which makes Del.icio.us a little more flexible.


I created an account on Del.icio.us and set up a Del.icio.us button on my toolbar.

I set up a bookmark for News Australia and added my tags. Del.icio.us told me that 61 other people had tagged this specific site plus what other sites that they had book marked and tagged at random. How useful would this be as a research assistant tool? I don't think I would scroll through 61 accounts for random bookmarks or tags.

P.S. In the last 3 weeks I have Tagged everything - Pictures, Blogs, Books, News feeds. I'm Tagged Overloaded!!!

#12 Rollyo

Select...FlickrLearning 2.0newsParenting SitesSearchSearch The Web

#11 LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a great way to catalog all the books you own and use tags to organise your collection. Add book titles by entering a title and viewing search results from the Library of Congress or Amazon.
You can rate books on a star system, review books, join groups, research by tags, research by author clouds, and see the people that you share books with. Is there no end to the fun???
How useful would LibraryThing be to a organisation with a collection of books in which they are provided with simple cataloguing software and also a collection that can be assessed through mobile technology. For a larger collection a barcode scanner can be used to scan books into LibraryThing.

I have installed below a LT Search Box that allows you to search my library or a group library without having to go to LibraryThing.

#10 Online Image Generator

#9 Finding Feeds

As suggested this week I searched through the recommended RSS Feeds; Feedster, Topic.net, Syndic8.com & Technorati. I must start of first by saying that I was overwhelmed by the amount of blogs and the diverse range of blogs that exist on the web. There is certainly something out there for every interest on the RSS Feeds.

In my experience though I found Technorati to be the easiest to use and the reason for this is that Technorati provides an Advanced Search option. With so many blogs on RSS Feeds, the advance search option is a very useful tool to limit the boundaries of your searches.
Technorati also provides a folder to save your favourite blogs. This allows you to keep track and organise your favourite Blogs.

#8 RSS & Bloglines

Setting up and selecting my own Bloglines was an easy way to tailor news pages to my own interest. Bloglines allows you to add as many feeds as you like inside a neat set of organisable content folders, and it also allows you to subscribe to specific search queries you create.
The most difficult part I found is setting boundaries and defining what newsfeeds have real vaule to me in the limited time that I have to sort through and read the Bloglines.

#7 Mobile Technology

I can across an interesting site, ShoZu which is a way to upload photos from your phone to your Flickr photostream. With just one click your photo is loaded onto the web. You can add a title, tags and a description either before or after upload. You can even change these later, from your phone.
When friends comment on your photo in your Flickr photostream, ShoZu forwards those comments to your phone. You can reply to the messages through your mobile.

#6 Spell with Flickr

One of the fun mashup sites on Fickr is "Spell with Flickr" which I created in the name of my blog site - Home Sweet Home.

#6 Flickr - Happy Feet

A picture taken of Penguins from my digital camera uploaded to Flickr. A map has been attatched to the picture to show where the Penguins live.

Penguins

uploaded by michellehold

#5 Flickr - Country Cottage

Searching through Flickr I came across these Country Cottage home in beautiful surroundings.

I'm Blogging I'm Blogging

I'm finally here my first ever Blog. I have just finished reading LifeLong Learning the habit that I found to be the easiest for me is habit 7 1/2, PLAY. Who doesn't like to play? I consider play as spending time with my children, being outside and reading a good book.
The habit that is the hardest for me currently is habit 6 Using Technology, after spending the last 3 years having 3 children my technology knowledge has fallen a little behind. But I could tell you all the words to "Bob the Builder" or "Fifi and the Flowertots".