Saturday, May 9, 2009
Roll your own search engine
Honestly, I couldn't get into this at all. I don't mean to get all Jeremy Bentham here, but if we are going to judge something's worth on its overall perceivable utility, I don't see much value in this beyond the initial "neat-o" factor. Just give me a Google search.
Library Thing
You know, once upon a time I started a LibraryThing account, and then stopped using it sometime in the fall of 2008. It was a handy tool for keeping track of the things I've read, but I didn't have the interest in writing reviews, rating, or tagging the books, and I kept it private, since I had absolutely no iterest in the social networking aspect of it either. Eventually I just stopped using it all together, as I couldn't sustain interest in maintaining it. And I wonder if that happens a lot in this 2.0 world--the effort that has to go into sustaining some sort of digital identity proves too time consuming. But here's my old LibraryThing--if anything, it shows I read a lot of graphic novels.
Image Generators
So, the image generators are a lot of fun, particularly the Motivator. Hours of endless entertainment could be had:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
RSS Feeds
I appreciate RSS Feeds, and I read my feed on a near daily basis. I didn't opt for Bloglines account, as my Google account offers a reader that I already set up. I think it's easy to get buried in RSS, so I use it in moderation. I subscribe to the standard local news providers, but I've also discovered some local blogs like the Spokane Food Blog, Spokanarama, and the Spovangelist. They aren't heavy posters, but I admire that they inject some much needed culture and commentary into the local scene. It heartens me and gives me hope.
In Libraryland, I subscribe to feeds like the Library Journal Latest News and the Annoyed Librarian, to name a few. The Annoyed Librarian is an interesting case because it's actually hosted by the Library Journal, which took a lot of flak for hosting an anonymous, rather caustic blog on a traditionally vanilla site. I think RSS feeds are useful for information professionals to keep up on what's occuring in the profession.
In Libraryland, I subscribe to feeds like the Library Journal Latest News and the Annoyed Librarian, to name a few. The Annoyed Librarian is an interesting case because it's actually hosted by the Library Journal, which took a lot of flak for hosting an anonymous, rather caustic blog on a traditionally vanilla site. I think RSS feeds are useful for information professionals to keep up on what's occuring in the profession.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Blog about Technology
Hmm....this might be a few (or 6) weeks late, and since I can't think of a clever excuse as to why, I'll just admit that while I consider myself to be adept in the knowledge category of Learning 2.0, it's more accurately Procrastination 2.0 in the action category. But onward...
Technology. It's great, generally speaking (microwaves! combustion engines! polar fleece! other petroleum based and/or dependent products!), and makes life easier. I use it everyday. However, I tend to be a bit skeptical about the "next big thing," especially when it comes to Web 2.0. I'm pretty pragmatic in my evaluations of technology (sidebar: I tend to fall into the Late Majority category of the Everett Rogers Diffusion of innovations theory, but that's primarily because I'm not much of a joiner). It might be cool, but you gotta ask, "What does this really do for me?" I love all wikis, be it Wikipedia, Wookiepedia, or Lostpedia, but I find them to be useful sources of information, and I'm savvy enough to recognize when an entry might have veracity issues, so I'm not too concerned about it being a community edited effort. There are some Web 2.0 technologies that I don't think have any utilitarian value, but we'll save that for a later post.
Technology. It's great, generally speaking (microwaves! combustion engines! polar fleece! other petroleum based and/or dependent products!), and makes life easier. I use it everyday. However, I tend to be a bit skeptical about the "next big thing," especially when it comes to Web 2.0. I'm pretty pragmatic in my evaluations of technology (sidebar: I tend to fall into the Late Majority category of the Everett Rogers Diffusion of innovations theory, but that's primarily because I'm not much of a joiner). It might be cool, but you gotta ask, "What does this really do for me?" I love all wikis, be it Wikipedia, Wookiepedia, or Lostpedia, but I find them to be useful sources of information, and I'm savvy enough to recognize when an entry might have veracity issues, so I'm not too concerned about it being a community edited effort. There are some Web 2.0 technologies that I don't think have any utilitarian value, but we'll save that for a later post.
Flickr
What can one say about Flickr? First thing that comes to mind is that the letter 'e' is conspicuously absent. That's an internet marketing trend that I have never really understood. If I wanted to be subjected to poor grammar, bad spelling, and an absence of proper punctuation, I'd just sign up for more QuestionPoint time and endure more digital harassment from bored adolescents residing in the greater Puget Sound metro area.
But seriously folks, I think Flick(e)r is a neato idea, and I have friends and family who use it quite regularly and it's fun to follow along with what's going on in their lives via the images they post. I don't have a strong desire to have my own account, but that is primarily due to the fact that there doesn't seem to be the potential for winning additional prizes for doing so.
As for the mashups, the one that intrigued me the most was the trading card maker. They are pretty powerful.
But seriously folks, I think Flick(e)r is a neato idea, and I have friends and family who use it quite regularly and it's fun to follow along with what's going on in their lives via the images they post. I don't have a strong desire to have my own account, but that is primarily due to the fact that there doesn't seem to be the potential for winning additional prizes for doing so.
As for the mashups, the one that intrigued me the most was the trading card maker. They are pretty powerful.
Friday, January 23, 2009
7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
I think the easiest habit for me would be Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I've always been big on personal accountability, and I endorse the idea that you get out of something what you put into it. (I considered joking that the exception to this is how I didn't put much into school, but got a couple of degrees out of it anyway, but I opted not to, as sarcasm is so hard to translate into type). Anyhoo, what I'm getting at is the value of an experience is equal to the effort you put into that experience, and that responsibility is easy for me to accept.
As for the hardest habit, I'll pick Habit 3: View problems as challenges. This is mostly an issue of semantics. Challenges are merely overcome, but problems can be eliminated. And there is something delightfully definitive about eliminating a problem. I appreciate the intent of this habit, but I've got to make it work for me.
Addendum: I also don't like Habit 7 ½. Not because I don't like having fun--it actually has nothing to do with the habit itself, but rather its numeral: 7 ½. I'm much more comfortable working with positive integers.
Habit 1: Begin with the end in mind
Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning
Habit 3: View problems as challenges
Habit 4: Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner
Habit 5: Create your own learning toolbox
Habit 6: Use technology to your advantage
Habit 7: Teach/mentor others
Habit 7 ½: Play
I think the easiest habit for me would be Habit 2: Accept responsibility for your own learning. I've always been big on personal accountability, and I endorse the idea that you get out of something what you put into it. (I considered joking that the exception to this is how I didn't put much into school, but got a couple of degrees out of it anyway, but I opted not to, as sarcasm is so hard to translate into type). Anyhoo, what I'm getting at is the value of an experience is equal to the effort you put into that experience, and that responsibility is easy for me to accept.
As for the hardest habit, I'll pick Habit 3: View problems as challenges. This is mostly an issue of semantics. Challenges are merely overcome, but problems can be eliminated. And there is something delightfully definitive about eliminating a problem. I appreciate the intent of this habit, but I've got to make it work for me.
Addendum: I also don't like Habit 7 ½. Not because I don't like having fun--it actually has nothing to do with the habit itself, but rather its numeral: 7 ½. I'm much more comfortable working with positive integers.
First post
So, I was hoping that the song"The Final Countdown" by penultimate Swedish rock band Europe would automatically play as I type this, but to no avail. Sad... Nonetheless, I will soldier on. Considering that this Learning 2.0 milieu is quite substantive in scope, and acknowledging that there is much to learn and explore, I want to get to the crux of the matter: what exactly are the "fabulous prizes" for which those who earn their Certificate of Completion™ are entered to win?
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