Dictionary of Problem Words & Expressions
Originally uploaded by podictionary - the podcast for word lovers
OK so once I figured it out it was simple as....but there was a moment there when I thought it just wasn't going to work!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Difficulties
Dictionary of Problem Words & Expressions
Originally uploaded by podictionary - the podcast for word lovers
OK so once I figured it out it was simple as....but there was a moment there when I thought it just wasn't going to work!
Week 7 Discover
Tags, those annoying little things that your supposed to put in after you finish writing up your latest post. Well I'm sure I'm not the only one who regularly forgets to add them when I'm doing my posts! So I'm forever going back over my posts, both here and on livejournal (on my blog and on the community blogs that I'm a member of) and adding those pesky little words at the end....Having said that and looking at this weeks subject I know know just how useful those pesky little words are! I had never really put much thought into them before, sure I knew that they were there and that they made searching for that one post (ok so most blogs I look at are fanfic based so I'm really looking for something to read).
I'd heard of del.icio.us before, but had never even been tempted to look at it or even use it, before today that is. I'd stopped using favourites (mainly because my computer really really didn't like favourites and tended to freakout and freeze on me) ages ago and now use bookmarks, simply because they worked and could be transported from computer to computer (yahoo is really great that way), but I tend to revert back to typing the url in because I now have so many that it takes ages to sort through them to find the ones I want (unless I've just done a clean up of my bookmarks and put them in their own little folders), but now I think I'll be using del.icio.us more often....it looks like it could be a lot of fun. I've also thought about starting an account for our library website (much more stream lined and easier to search for the right link that the list of links that I currently use on the site)
And look at that...I remembered to put the tags in before I post this time. But that may be because I put them in in the middle of typing this post :o)
I'd heard of del.icio.us before, but had never even been tempted to look at it or even use it, before today that is. I'd stopped using favourites (mainly because my computer really really didn't like favourites and tended to freakout and freeze on me) ages ago and now use bookmarks, simply because they worked and could be transported from computer to computer (yahoo is really great that way), but I tend to revert back to typing the url in because I now have so many that it takes ages to sort through them to find the ones I want (unless I've just done a clean up of my bookmarks and put them in their own little folders), but now I think I'll be using del.icio.us more often....it looks like it could be a lot of fun. I've also thought about starting an account for our library website (much more stream lined and easier to search for the right link that the list of links that I currently use on the site)
And look at that...I remembered to put the tags in before I post this time. But that may be because I put them in in the middle of typing this post :o)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Week 6 Adventure
Ok this is for those who read my Discover post for week 6 where I mentioned the vid titled Jurassic Fart....well here it is :o)
Because I've already played with embedding a vid from YouTube I decided to try doing it from Google this time...a little more challenging because you have to search hard for the actual code to embed it....so here's hoping it worked! (It didn't so I've reverted back to the YouTube verson)
And for those of you who liked the first one, here is Jurassic Fart 2 (this one was easy to find on YouTube)
Hope you all got a laugh out of it....I know that we all did here :oD
Because I've already played with embedding a vid from YouTube I decided to try doing it from Google this time...a little more challenging because you have to search hard for the actual code to embed it....so here's hoping it worked! (It didn't so I've reverted back to the YouTube verson)
And for those of you who liked the first one, here is Jurassic Fart 2 (this one was easy to find on YouTube)
Hope you all got a laugh out of it....I know that we all did here :oD
Week 6 Explore
There are just so many uses for videos, I was pleased to see the oral history video of Olive Riley. I know that the documentry that they made about her visit to Broken Hill was shown on the ABC a few years ago, and is available on DVD (or was), but having it on the net makes it available to so many people. How much history is out there that can be published like this? Heaps and it is a fun and bite size way of getting the information out there.
Orientation via YouTube? Good idea, but one thing that never changes? The type of video that they make for the orientations......sooooo boring! Althought the library orientation one wasn't so bad :o) but some of the similar videos take you back in a time warp into the days of really really bad orientation videos.
One thing I do like about YouTube and Google Videos is that they give you other suggestions that you can check out at your lesiure if you are still looking for more! Ah the information age...so much information, so little time :oD
I'd love to see more oral history videos posted, reading or listening to them is interesting, but actually being able to see the person who is telling their story and following them through the steps of their story just brings it to life that much more!
Orientation via YouTube? Good idea, but one thing that never changes? The type of video that they make for the orientations......sooooo boring! Althought the library orientation one wasn't so bad :o) but some of the similar videos take you back in a time warp into the days of really really bad orientation videos.
One thing I do like about YouTube and Google Videos is that they give you other suggestions that you can check out at your lesiure if you are still looking for more! Ah the information age...so much information, so little time :oD
I'd love to see more oral history videos posted, reading or listening to them is interesting, but actually being able to see the person who is telling their story and following them through the steps of their story just brings it to life that much more!
Week 6 Discover
While I was starting this weeks exercise one of my co-workers asked "What does that have to do with work?" I simply turned and smiled and said "What doesn't it?"
Ok so granted I had just started to check out the "lego" search and gratned we don't get a whole lot of people walking into the library asking for information or anything about lego, but it was such a fun way of getting into youtube! I spent a good 10 minutes or so just laughing at what some people had done with a camera and some lego....and some people say I have to much time on my hands!
While I'm no stranger to playing with youtube, I had never actually gone past that before. Now I have a new playground on the net and it's Google Videos! There is just so much more that you can do with them! I used to have fun with YouTube, but with Google Videos there are so many more, and more options for them...I loved the fact that with GoogleVideo's you can actually download them (if you have an iPod or PSP to play with) and share them with friends that way......I've had fun showing friends one I stumbled across called Jurasic Fart, I now know what happened to the dinosaurs!
But if your looking for a laugh and you don't get offended easily do a search for an American comdedian called Sara Silverman, very funny :o)
Or you can just check out this clip!
Ok so granted I had just started to check out the "lego" search and gratned we don't get a whole lot of people walking into the library asking for information or anything about lego, but it was such a fun way of getting into youtube! I spent a good 10 minutes or so just laughing at what some people had done with a camera and some lego....and some people say I have to much time on my hands!
While I'm no stranger to playing with youtube, I had never actually gone past that before. Now I have a new playground on the net and it's Google Videos! There is just so much more that you can do with them! I used to have fun with YouTube, but with Google Videos there are so many more, and more options for them...I loved the fact that with GoogleVideo's you can actually download them (if you have an iPod or PSP to play with) and share them with friends that way......I've had fun showing friends one I stumbled across called Jurasic Fart, I now know what happened to the dinosaurs!
But if your looking for a laugh and you don't get offended easily do a search for an American comdedian called Sara Silverman, very funny :o)
Or you can just check out this clip!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Week 5 Wiki's Explore
Wow, well that was fun!
I've just spent some time looking at Learning 2.0's wiki and adding my own thoughts and I've had a ball!
When I was first offered a job at the library my manager said that working in a library is NOTHING like what you expect....and she was SO right! But I've loved every minutes of it and wouldn't change my job for anything! (OK so I've had a goodish day :oD ). But this wiki should become required reading for all those who are starting out in a library or who are even thinking of it because it is so on the money!
Ok so I'm off to play around with the wiki's about Broken Hill and see what I can see :oD
I've just spent some time looking at Learning 2.0's wiki and adding my own thoughts and I've had a ball!
When I was first offered a job at the library my manager said that working in a library is NOTHING like what you expect....and she was SO right! But I've loved every minutes of it and wouldn't change my job for anything! (OK so I've had a goodish day :oD ). But this wiki should become required reading for all those who are starting out in a library or who are even thinking of it because it is so on the money!
Ok so I'm off to play around with the wiki's about Broken Hill and see what I can see :oD
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Week 5 Discover
When you hear people talking about Wikipedia you get one of two responses...they either LOVE it or HATE it, there doesn't seem to be an inbetween. I have to say that before I did this weeks exercise I was firmly in the hate category. It just seems to open and unreliable to be used as an information source. Even after doing this weeks work, I have to say I'm still not going to be rushing to use Wikipedia as an information source, however I will not rule it out completely. As with everything you need to gather your info from a varitey of sources (yes it's been firmy drummed into me over the years!).
There are some great wiki's out there that are great fun to look at and play with and such a wide variety of information available...and the different uses for wiki's? Well I must admit that I hadn't really taken the time to play around with them to see what they could do before. Most of the stuff I've looked at before have been basic almost encyclopedia entries. But looking at the different uses for both information and gaming (yes I've even looked up some of the wiki's for my favourite games!) I've been really impressed.
I've come to the conclusion that for some things wiki's are fantastic! ie. games like WoW and RPG's where multiple people need to have input and have the ability to add to what's already there...for some things this is just invaluable because the workload of keeping a website up to date and current is heavy and in some cases fatal! Many a good website has fallen by the wayside because of the time and skills needed to keep the site current, if these sites had had access to wiki's then they could probably have still been around now.
As for using Wiki's in our library? Well I don't see it happening any time soon. But possibly one day in the far distant future we could use it for organising meetings for our writer's groups or different activities that are happening around the library. Or maybe even for our policies and procedures that are passed on either verbally or via little notes that are passed around (how many times have you typed up a procedure, especially for something new, and printed it out and stuck it in strategic places around the library?)
But for me the big thing is security and being able to trust what you find. Remember not everyone is internet savy enough to be continually double checking whatever they find or to look for the little tells on a website that show that they might not be so trust worthy. How often when you are looking for information do you read all the "small" print on a site? Yes Wiki's have a disclaimer (sometimes at the top of the page) saying to verify all information, but realistically how many people actually take the time to look for more information when they think they have found what they are looking for on their first stop at a wiki?
There are some great wiki's out there that are great fun to look at and play with and such a wide variety of information available...and the different uses for wiki's? Well I must admit that I hadn't really taken the time to play around with them to see what they could do before. Most of the stuff I've looked at before have been basic almost encyclopedia entries. But looking at the different uses for both information and gaming (yes I've even looked up some of the wiki's for my favourite games!) I've been really impressed.
I've come to the conclusion that for some things wiki's are fantastic! ie. games like WoW and RPG's where multiple people need to have input and have the ability to add to what's already there...for some things this is just invaluable because the workload of keeping a website up to date and current is heavy and in some cases fatal! Many a good website has fallen by the wayside because of the time and skills needed to keep the site current, if these sites had had access to wiki's then they could probably have still been around now.
As for using Wiki's in our library? Well I don't see it happening any time soon. But possibly one day in the far distant future we could use it for organising meetings for our writer's groups or different activities that are happening around the library. Or maybe even for our policies and procedures that are passed on either verbally or via little notes that are passed around (how many times have you typed up a procedure, especially for something new, and printed it out and stuck it in strategic places around the library?)
But for me the big thing is security and being able to trust what you find. Remember not everyone is internet savy enough to be continually double checking whatever they find or to look for the little tells on a website that show that they might not be so trust worthy. How often when you are looking for information do you read all the "small" print on a site? Yes Wiki's have a disclaimer (sometimes at the top of the page) saying to verify all information, but realistically how many people actually take the time to look for more information when they think they have found what they are looking for on their first stop at a wiki?
Friday, March 7, 2008
Week 4 Adventure
Ok cool :o)
Once you know what your doing it's not to bad adding RSS to your blog. The hardest part? Well that would be finding where the url for it is, once you've found it your good to go!
This is also a really cool way of letting people know what your interested in!
Once you know what your doing it's not to bad adding RSS to your blog. The hardest part? Well that would be finding where the url for it is, once you've found it your good to go!
This is also a really cool way of letting people know what your interested in!
RSS
Real Simple Syndication it may be called but is it really simple? Not really, yes I now understand it better (and have used it in the passed with iTunes and on Live Journal) but again had't made the best use of it. I hadn't realsied just how many different things now use RSS, but again as with so many things on the internet it takes luck and a fair bit of talent to find what you are looking for. Using Bloglines took a little getting used to, and I actually found that using the reader that goes with google and gmail to be much easier to navigate. But I stuck with Bloglines and eventually found what I was looking for.
I started off simple, signed up and took their 2 second tour to try and learn as much as I could and then thought let the fun begin! But the fun took a little while to find me, so I decided to go through some of their suggestions, top 1000 (not bad, some fun stuff like Comedy Central Videos and a few cartoon type things), National Geographic (which is always fun to look at and read), The Shifed Librarian (which just caught my eye at the time, not bad play with either) and a few others. Then I thought it was time to get back on track and check out some of the RSS that Learning 2.0 recommended.
Frustration, you have a new home! Ok so it took me a few minutes to work out how to actually search for RSS's (if you aren't at the top of the page that little search box hides really well), and then it took me a while longer to sort through all the stuff that it chucked at me (didn't realise you had to tell it to search for RSS or blogs etc) and then finding where to click to actually add something to your feed (each one seemed to be just that bit different! Some were so easy and others you had to hunt for). But on top of that was all those fun side tracks that you get detoured onto while searching (lots of fun).
So I added the Powerhouse photo of the day RSS, and isn't that just such a cool site! Loved looking at some of those pictures.....Then moved onto the SMH, took me a few minutes to figure out how to add that one (maybe I'm just a little slow today) but I like catching up on the headlines (usually just catch them as I start my browser up) so I stuck with it and eventually got there (big sigh). And for last I left my favourite site the ABS, I'm not a fan of the ABS site and even checking out the ABS for libraries blog/feed I had to say I'm still not impressed, but that's just me....The mention of doing an ABS search still sends dread through me.....
As for the use of RSS for libraries, well I can see a use for library personel, keeping up to date with news and other libraries and making people aware for of them. I had fun seeing what others were up to, the news, the tech etc and learned a few things along the way that I'll definately be passing on to others both at work and at home.
So that's all for the Explore part of week 4, and now onto the Adventure part!
I started off simple, signed up and took their 2 second tour to try and learn as much as I could and then thought let the fun begin! But the fun took a little while to find me, so I decided to go through some of their suggestions, top 1000 (not bad, some fun stuff like Comedy Central Videos and a few cartoon type things), National Geographic (which is always fun to look at and read), The Shifed Librarian (which just caught my eye at the time, not bad play with either) and a few others. Then I thought it was time to get back on track and check out some of the RSS that Learning 2.0 recommended.
Frustration, you have a new home! Ok so it took me a few minutes to work out how to actually search for RSS's (if you aren't at the top of the page that little search box hides really well), and then it took me a while longer to sort through all the stuff that it chucked at me (didn't realise you had to tell it to search for RSS or blogs etc) and then finding where to click to actually add something to your feed (each one seemed to be just that bit different! Some were so easy and others you had to hunt for). But on top of that was all those fun side tracks that you get detoured onto while searching (lots of fun).
So I added the Powerhouse photo of the day RSS, and isn't that just such a cool site! Loved looking at some of those pictures.....Then moved onto the SMH, took me a few minutes to figure out how to add that one (maybe I'm just a little slow today) but I like catching up on the headlines (usually just catch them as I start my browser up) so I stuck with it and eventually got there (big sigh). And for last I left my favourite site the ABS, I'm not a fan of the ABS site and even checking out the ABS for libraries blog/feed I had to say I'm still not impressed, but that's just me....The mention of doing an ABS search still sends dread through me.....
As for the use of RSS for libraries, well I can see a use for library personel, keeping up to date with news and other libraries and making people aware for of them. I had fun seeing what others were up to, the news, the tech etc and learned a few things along the way that I'll definately be passing on to others both at work and at home.
So that's all for the Explore part of week 4, and now onto the Adventure part!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Broken Hill
This is a photo of where I live, isn't it lovely and brown? So this photo is taken from the air and is impressive because you don't realise just how big this town really is. But I also like how this photo shows just how dry it is out here.
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