Podcasts

I am wishing we had a little more time to spend on this one.

I went to ODEO and found a really neat podcast site called Filmspotting. I subscribed to it on my blogger account.

Not having a pod on which to cast these videoblogs, I am not sure how exciting this will be. Personally, I would just as soon read a blog than watch or listen to one. I am anxious to read other blogs about this topic to get some insight.

As far as library applications go, I am not sure. Maybe we could podcast meetings, media reviews, and other library news through our website.

You Tube-

So, there is a lot of silly stuff on You Tube. I have little patience for much of what is available. I have had to do a lot of looking beyond many extraordinarily vapid videos like finally make my peace with You Tube. I was beginning to think we have the technology to make and share videos with anyone all over the world and all we can come up with is the Grape Lady!?

Fortunately, I have discovered "how to" videos on You Tube. You can learn how to do almost anything on You Tube, from applying makeup guided by experienced drag queens to how to change a tire.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a link to a video about repairing CDs and DVDs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqnhHNu_ukU

I am told that there is a series of quantum physics class lectures videos from MIT that are very good. I have verified that they exist, but I am a little afraid to check them out.

Web 2.0 Tools

I have been playing with this list all week.

Pandora is one of my favorite websites, I have had so much fun making stations and learning about music I might not have explored otherwise.

I have also been playing with Urban Spoon, Going, and Yelp, which would all be very useful at the reference desk.

Some friends of mine have been collaborating on a project in Google docs for a while. This would be useful in a library setting as 1. you can work collaboratively with colleagues who are located closely and 2. you can save your work and pick it back up at a later time (in case you don't carry a floppy disk around with you).

I am really excited about this list. I am trying to visit every listing to learn about all of them. I still have many more to visit...

Zoho document by mia

This is my Zoho practice sheet.  

 

I think that there are many applications for a tool like this.  Currently, some friends of mine and I are jointly working on a project on Google docs (which is a lot like this) and it has been a fantastic way to collaborate even when we are miles apart. 

 

I also like the idea of showing this to patrons who do not want to lose their documents when their time is up on the computer.  This would save us having to scrounge around for floppy discs to hand out. 

Zoho document by mia

This is my Zoho practice sheet.  

 

I think that there are many applications for a tool like this.  Currently, some friends of mine and I are jointly working on a project on Google docs (which is a lot like this) and it has been a fantastic way to collaborate even when we are miles apart. 

 

I also like the idea of showing this to patrons who do not want to lose their documents when their time is up on the computer.  This would save us having to scrounge around for floppy discs to hand out. 

JPL Sandbox

So, after I found out that there is an invite keyword to do this, it was fun and relatively easy.

Until that point, not so much.

I am very anxious to continue playing with wikis and finding new applications for them.

Wiki's!

So, I love Wikipedia and other wiki's. Recognizing that they do have their limitations, they also have many great applications. Even though the information is subject to being edited by who knows, when researching should we not always read with a discerning eye? What a great way to create communal knowledge.

Wikipedia was not really highlighted in this week's discovery exercise, but I would like to take a minute to talk about why I really like it. I love that the interactive bibliographies are usually quite comprehensive and serve as a great starting point for more serious research. It is also a great tool on the reference desk for when customers have questions about television shows.

I have used the ALA Conference wikis with success and I love playing around on the Open Library, which is a wiki of sorts. I think it would be fantastic if we had a library wiki maintained by the talented JPL staff. I would also like it if we had wikis specific to children's and teen services for JPL.