Slideshare - I attempted to view the "Fab Freebies for Productivity" slide show created by Princeton Public Library using Slideshare but it failed to load.
Google Docs - I created a document using this tool way back on 22/09/2009 and e-mailed it to the L2TD Team. It was a recipe for my favourite chocolate cake, the Lemonade Mud Cake. Well, finding that saved document again today in Google Docs and e-mailing it to the Team again was very klunky indeed!! I am wondering if perhaphs Google is having some issues today with access to their online applications, but hey, what do I know!
Anyway, what I remember about using Google Docs back in September is that it was easy to use and share/e-mail to others. There is a variety of templates one could choose from, eg. Resume, Invoice, etc. A useful tool to have if one did not already have wordprocessing software installed in one's home computer.
Wednesday, January 13
Tuesday, January 12
Videos Online
I discovered the "Amazing red dust storm - Australia 23rd September 2009, in both YouTube and Google Video. The searching for a particular video of interest is very easy in both sites.
Explored the "Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh" video created by Andy Kelemen uploaded on vimeo. I'm sure it was obvious to all but me that the dreamy effect in the video was created by the placement of plastic wrap over the lens! That was so clever and I was terribly impressed by that little trick!
The possibilites presented by this technology in library environment are made obvious already by the other videos we were invited to explore, being "Staff Training" and the "Guide to Using Library Collection". This technology is perfect for creating the "how-to" or "DIY" arts and craft videos.
Explored the "Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh" video created by Andy Kelemen uploaded on vimeo. I'm sure it was obvious to all but me that the dreamy effect in the video was created by the placement of plastic wrap over the lens! That was so clever and I was terribly impressed by that little trick!
The possibilites presented by this technology in library environment are made obvious already by the other videos we were invited to explore, being "Staff Training" and the "Guide to Using Library Collection". This technology is perfect for creating the "how-to" or "DIY" arts and craft videos.
Google plus more continued
Google Maps - watched the youtube video about how to create one's own personalized map on Google Maps. Once again, it was hard to understand due to the voice distortion and breaks. Certainly, this technology can be put to excellent use. I attend the Community Services Interest Group meetings which are held at different locations around Brisbane. It would be very useful indeed to create a personalised Google Map for the meeting locations and send the link to attendees along with the agenda!
Wednesday, January 6
Google plus more
I'm excited again!
Google Translate - this is fantastic! I will now use it when I have trouble with my email communications with my relatives in Croatia, I sometimes need help to translate from the English to Croatian or when my relatives write back to me, from Croatian to English.
The "text and web" box is very easy to use. This is where one can type in words, phrases or blocks of text needing translation, select a language to translate from and a language to translate into, and the translation appears almost instantly!
I just searched our Multicultural Bridge web page to see if there is a link to GoogleTranslate there but I could not find it. I think it would be a most useful link to have for our library clients who speak languages other than English.
i-Google - I don't have to do any discovery, exploration or adventure with i-Google. Some time last year I personalised and added gadgets to my i-Google home page. But now I have lost interest in it and don't use it anymore. I think it was using too much of my time to use everything I had in it and Life just kept knocking on my door ....?!
Google Calendar - have not used this before but having had a quick look at it now I can immediately see how very useful it could be! I will explore it more fully at home in my own time and set up settings so the Calendar will send e-mail or pop up reminders to events I have recorded in the Calendar. Good one!!
As a tool for libraries it could be used to record "What's on" events, workshops, community meetings, etc.
Google Translate - this is fantastic! I will now use it when I have trouble with my email communications with my relatives in Croatia, I sometimes need help to translate from the English to Croatian or when my relatives write back to me, from Croatian to English.
The "text and web" box is very easy to use. This is where one can type in words, phrases or blocks of text needing translation, select a language to translate from and a language to translate into, and the translation appears almost instantly!
I just searched our Multicultural Bridge web page to see if there is a link to GoogleTranslate there but I could not find it. I think it would be a most useful link to have for our library clients who speak languages other than English.
i-Google - I don't have to do any discovery, exploration or adventure with i-Google. Some time last year I personalised and added gadgets to my i-Google home page. But now I have lost interest in it and don't use it anymore. I think it was using too much of my time to use everything I had in it and Life just kept knocking on my door ....?!
Google Calendar - have not used this before but having had a quick look at it now I can immediately see how very useful it could be! I will explore it more fully at home in my own time and set up settings so the Calendar will send e-mail or pop up reminders to events I have recorded in the Calendar. Good one!!
As a tool for libraries it could be used to record "What's on" events, workshops, community meetings, etc.
Web browsers
Hey, I am a mere NOVICE here!!! There is only so much my novice skills will enable me to explore and play with!! And installing browsers is just not something I am willing to experiment with. If I need it in my own home lap top I will pay an expert to do it and in the work situation there are dedicated IT staff who know what they are doing!
Tour of Firefox 3.5 Watch the video was not very useful, due to the voice distortion/breaks I could barely understand 3 out of 10 words.
GoogleChrome - if for some unexpected reason I ever had to intall another browser to my own home lap top, the GoogleChrome is the one I would choose. The how-to instuctions were not offered via an annoying and hard to understand video recording, eg Firefox.
GoogleChrome downloading instructions seem very clean cut, links everywhere, lots of clear space in between written instructions. It gives the impression of being user friendly, particularly for mere NOVICES such as myself.
Do I ever see myself downloading any other web browsers to add to my existing one? Not if I can help it! Seems like a risky thing to do for a mere NOVICE like me. I would probably get it all wrong and still have to pay an expert to fix all the problems I had created!
Tour of Firefox 3.5 Watch the video was not very useful, due to the voice distortion/breaks I could barely understand 3 out of 10 words.
GoogleChrome - if for some unexpected reason I ever had to intall another browser to my own home lap top, the GoogleChrome is the one I would choose. The how-to instuctions were not offered via an annoying and hard to understand video recording, eg Firefox.
GoogleChrome downloading instructions seem very clean cut, links everywhere, lots of clear space in between written instructions. It gives the impression of being user friendly, particularly for mere NOVICES such as myself.
Do I ever see myself downloading any other web browsers to add to my existing one? Not if I can help it! Seems like a risky thing to do for a mere NOVICE like me. I would probably get it all wrong and still have to pay an expert to fix all the problems I had created!
Podcasts and audio
Podcasts? I get it, they are a bit like RSS feeds for non-music audio or video recordings posted on the Internet. To get the podcast alerts in the area of intrest one had to complete an online subscription form. Perhaps if I had a need or a great amount of time on my hands I could find it useful? However from a library perspective the use of Podcasts could be useful in the same way like the RSS feeds are.
I discovered the TripleJ Radio podcast site, did not get very far with it as it required one to subscribe to it.
Had a look at State Library of Victoria list of Podcasts. The listed titles looked useful.
Explored one podcast search engine, the Podcast Alley. At this stage, I think it is for the committed ...I'm not likely to use podcasts personally.
I discovered the TripleJ Radio podcast site, did not get very far with it as it required one to subscribe to it.
Had a look at State Library of Victoria list of Podcasts. The listed titles looked useful.
Explored one podcast search engine, the Podcast Alley. At this stage, I think it is for the committed ...I'm not likely to use podcasts personally.
Mashups
Having explored through some of the suggested sites for this program I realised I have in the past used other sites which incorporated the mashup technology....but I did not know that was what had been used. Like any other Internet user, I just accessed various sites and it did not occur to me to ask myself how certain effects were created ...just take it all for granted!
Now that I am all enlightened I can agree wholeheartedly that Mashups are a great leap forward in technology!!! I wish I had known about the SuburbView - Australian Real Estate Search Engine, when I was buying my townhouse. This search engine allows a user to search for a particular suburb and if any real estate listings for purchase or renting are found a link will appear to view on the map and also in GoogleEarth.
Explored Portwiture which uses photography from Flickr to match the content of one's most recent Twitter updates. It sounded like a fun activity to do so I tried to access my Twitter account (created some time last year and not used) but alas could not find it! I could have created another Twitter account but had to decide how much time I can spend on this activity so gave up on it.
The Multicolr Search Lab Flicker Set was another activity which sounded like fun. It allows the user to find images in the same colour shade. I can imagine the talented amongst us putting the site to some very creative uses. I would probably only use it to compile lots and lots of images of flowers and plants, boring to most people!!
Now that I am all enlightened I can agree wholeheartedly that Mashups are a great leap forward in technology!!! I wish I had known about the SuburbView - Australian Real Estate Search Engine, when I was buying my townhouse. This search engine allows a user to search for a particular suburb and if any real estate listings for purchase or renting are found a link will appear to view on the map and also in GoogleEarth.
Explored Portwiture which uses photography from Flickr to match the content of one's most recent Twitter updates. It sounded like a fun activity to do so I tried to access my Twitter account (created some time last year and not used) but alas could not find it! I could have created another Twitter account but had to decide how much time I can spend on this activity so gave up on it.
The Multicolr Search Lab Flicker Set was another activity which sounded like fun. It allows the user to find images in the same colour shade. I can imagine the talented amongst us putting the site to some very creative uses. I would probably only use it to compile lots and lots of images of flowers and plants, boring to most people!!
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