The results of a Flickr Mash Up (Thing #6)

For Flickr Mash Ups (Thanks Warren!)

Originally uploaded by mstephens7

Thanks for using my image Michael!

 

Shadows at Thuringowa Library

Shadows at Thuringowa Library

Originally uploaded by Stained glass waterfall

From my Flickr account, one of my favourite photos. This image was created by shadows on the floor in the foyer of my library.

 

Thing #5: Flickr

Thing #5: Flickr

I love Flickr! I haven’t made a lot of my photos available to all (most can only be viewed by family and friends) but what I love most is browsing the wonderful work of other Flickr members.

Try searching for intengible ‘things’ like blue or happy.

I also love the range of online tools (like big huge labs) that allows you to manipulate and mix up images from Flickr.

 

Thing #4: Wikis

Wikis - yep they’re good. I’ve created one for work purposes and contribute to another – both are password protected for the participants, so I won’t show them here. Ummm… nothing too much to say about wikis really, because they sort of have become second nature now. Although I do think that wikis, above any other web 2.0 tool, demonstrate the power of web 2.0, and that is that anyone can ‘create’ or edit a webpage with no HTML or computer programming experience. What a liberating thing that has been!

 

Thing #3: Podcasts

Reference tools:
Podcastalley.com
NPR Podcasts
Podcast.com

Podcasts to explore – I’m aiming at Technology and Science topics:
The World: Technology podcast
BBC: Digital Planet
NPR: Technology podcast
ABC: The Science Show
Dr Karl on Triple J

 

Keeping up with RSS feeds is like reading the newspaper

There has been a couple of posts and comments (here and here) about keeping up with all of the great information coming into your reader via RSS.

The best way I can think of managing this information is to look at it like your favourite daily newspaper. I get my local newspaper delivered – on busy days, I try to scan the first few pages for significant stories, a quick scan of the letters to the editor, then I jump to the cartoons and the back page sports stories. If I have more time, I tend to read most of the news stories, some of the letters, maybe the editorial and some more sports stories. When I have all the time in the world, I scan the classifieds, public notices, and a few other minor sections.

My RSS feeds are the same. On a busy day, I find time to check my favourite 3 to 5 feeds. On average days I’ll scan about 15 to 20 others, and on lazy Friday afternoons, or when I have 10 minutes to fill before a meeting etc, I’ll scan the rest of my feeds (currently 159).

 

Thing #2: RSS feeds

Thing #2: RSS Feeds – http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/290000629/post/1000030500.html
I discovered the magic of RSS feeds a while ago, started with Bloglines (excellent for beginners) but have now moved on the using Google Reader, which has a lot more functionality. I’m not totally in love with all the features, I find it a bit cumbersome to move around, but I do like the “Discover” feature, where Google will look at the content of the RSS feeds you subscribe to, then make suggestions of other blogs and RSS feeds you may be interested in.

Because I’m aiming to learn new things during this program, I’ve signed up for a NetVibes page to have a play with – http://www.netvibes.com/stainedglasswaterfall

NetVibes looks really interesting, I can’t wait to have a bit more time to play with it.

 

I forgot to mention….

….that this blog is part of the School Library Journal’s “All together now: A 2.0 learning experience” project: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/290000629.html

 

This is exciting!

I’ve been reading about Learning 2.0 programs for a while, so when the chance to join a program came along I grabbed it! I am very excited to be part of what looks to be a global program.

About me: My name is Warren Cheetham and I work in a public library (Thuringowa Branch of CitiLibraries Townsville) in North Queensland, Australia. I look after all of the technology ’stuff’ for our library. I have worked mainly in public libraries, and I am very interested to see how the development of web 2.0 tools has enabled people to use and re-use information in completely new ways. I am fascinated and excited about the implications this has for libraries.

I’ve blogged before and played with some other online tools like Flickr, but I am very aware of all the things I don’t know about, which is why I’ve joined this program. For instance, I’ve never used WordPress before, and here I am using it and learning about all the features it has.

I hope to learn heaps, to have fun trying, to ‘meet’ some new colleagues, and to share what I learn with the people I work with here.