Podcasts are not for me. I assumed that you could play them immediately, like YouTube videos, but no, you have to download them. Some were blocked by Web Marshal and others were well over 1 mb and would take far too long to download. Some required the downloading of other (unknown) software to play them.
After a great deal of time, I found and managed to play a short podcast, "Patrick White archives bought by National library," from the ABC's AM radio program. It was slow to load, but the sound quality was good, unlike another unintelligible podcast that I tried.
I added the feed to my Bloglines account, but was not able to replay the podcast, even after downloading extra software, because streaming protocols(!) hadn't been selected. This has been an exercise in frustration.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
#20 YouTube
Most videos took a long time to load, some didn't play, and others cut out after one or two seconds. The overall video quality was not high, especially when phone cameras were used.
Some clips had soundtracks and others had captions. I didn't hear any talking videos, but no doubt there are many.
After spending a lot of time trying to find a clip that played properly, I settled on "Travelling to Ronda". This fits in with my blog theme of travel and road trips. If you want to "hit" the road, Ronda, an historic, high-altitude town in beautiful Spain, would be a great place to go.
Ernest Hemingway visited Ronda many years ago and was attracted to the town's bullfighting. The ring is shown on the video.
The clip also has spectacular photography of the town and its surroundings, and has a relaxing Spanish music soundtrack. It's like taking a virtual tour and would be a good way of attracting real tourism.
Our Library Service could produce some short videos of our collections, services and activities and post them on our web site, for promotional purposes.
My greatest concern with YouTube is the often crude and offensive feedback displayed under the videos. Apparently, people are allowed to swear as much as they like, yet hide behind usernames.
Some clips had soundtracks and others had captions. I didn't hear any talking videos, but no doubt there are many.
After spending a lot of time trying to find a clip that played properly, I settled on "Travelling to Ronda". This fits in with my blog theme of travel and road trips. If you want to "hit" the road, Ronda, an historic, high-altitude town in beautiful Spain, would be a great place to go.
Ernest Hemingway visited Ronda many years ago and was attracted to the town's bullfighting. The ring is shown on the video.
The clip also has spectacular photography of the town and its surroundings, and has a relaxing Spanish music soundtrack. It's like taking a virtual tour and would be a good way of attracting real tourism.
Our Library Service could produce some short videos of our collections, services and activities and post them on our web site, for promotional purposes.
My greatest concern with YouTube is the often crude and offensive feedback displayed under the videos. Apparently, people are allowed to swear as much as they like, yet hide behind usernames.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
#19 Web 2.0 Tools
What a great range of Web 2.0 award nominees there were. In line with my blog theme of "On the Road", I chose "Travel" from the list of winners and selected the very impressive http://realtravel.com
This site is very well presented, easy to use and very comprehensive. Some of the features are browsing destinations by map, top 10 seasonal escapes, popular destinations, hotels and restaurants, deals, flights, hire cars, things to do, attractions and photos.
One of the best features is a forum to ask questions and discuss travel issues. There is also a trip planner and a travel blog, which allows you to keep a record of your adventures, for the benefit of others. The blogs I saw looked very professional, and along with the forum, contained a wealth of useful information and interesting photos.
Our Library Service could certainly include a link to RealTravel on its travel web page.
This site is very well presented, easy to use and very comprehensive. Some of the features are browsing destinations by map, top 10 seasonal escapes, popular destinations, hotels and restaurants, deals, flights, hire cars, things to do, attractions and photos.
One of the best features is a forum to ask questions and discuss travel issues. There is also a trip planner and a travel blog, which allows you to keep a record of your adventures, for the benefit of others. The blogs I saw looked very professional, and along with the forum, contained a wealth of useful information and interesting photos.
Our Library Service could certainly include a link to RealTravel on its travel web page.
Monday, January 7, 2008
#18 Web-based Apps
I typed a story on Zoho Writer, then tried to save it, but the save link didn't work. Then I tried to publish it on my blog, but that link didn't work either, so now my story is lost in cyberspace.
Although Zoho appears to have many functions, the layout of the main screen is untidy and I don't like the way that you type in a narrow column. Also, the right click functions look cheap and don't work as positively as MS Word. In fact, Zoho looks like a cheap version of Word.
The Google applications look more professional.
Although Zoho appears to have many functions, the layout of the main screen is untidy and I don't like the way that you type in a narrow column. Also, the right click functions look cheap and don't work as positively as MS Word. In fact, Zoho looks like a cheap version of Word.
The Google applications look more professional.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
#17 PBWiki
The PBWiki video tips were useful, but very quick. I added a link to my blog on the Favourite Blogs Wiki, but the instructions for doing so were contradictory. The L 2.0 page said add your blog name and URL in square brackets, with spaces next to the brackets.
However, the PLMC Learning instructions showed round brackets with no spaces (and no name was requested), while most of the completed entries had no brackets and still worked fine! Wiki instructions for adding bullet points didn't work either.
In the Sandbox, it was easy to add my favourite movie, but the standard finished text of all the entries was a poor quality light grey. Also, because people could customise their entries, there was no standard format and the very long page looked messy and hard to read.
However, the PLMC Learning instructions showed round brackets with no spaces (and no name was requested), while most of the completed entries had no brackets and still worked fine! Wiki instructions for adding bullet points didn't work either.
In the Sandbox, it was easy to add my favourite movie, but the standard finished text of all the entries was a poor quality light grey. Also, because people could customise their entries, there was no standard format and the very long page looked messy and hard to read.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
#16 Wiki, Wiki
The SJCPL Subject Guide was very clearly set out, like a Subject Directory. It was also very comprehensive and easy to use. There were many useful links, including links to catalogue records for recommended books. Our library service and its patrons could certainly benefit from having a simiilar Wiki, which contains so much information in a small space.
The Book Lovers Wiki had many useful book reviews, posted by a select group of people, as well as staff reviews and links to professional reviews and author information. I wasn't so keen on the anonymous reviews, but I suppose the book group could either edit or delete unsuitable ones. There was also space for feedback about the reviews. This type of Wiki would be a great focus for a library-based book club or discussion group.
The Library Success Wiki is a good way to establish a global forum to share ideas. Each section can be edited and of course, new topics can be added. Many useful topics were already included, such as RFID and self-checkout. These could save library services, such as our own, considerable research time, when introducing new technology and procedures.
Other library Wikis included a handy Library Outreach one, and a very interesting blog-type one by Meredith Farkas, who established the Library Success Wiki and wrote Social Software in Libraries. The possibilities appear to be almost endless.
The Book Lovers Wiki had many useful book reviews, posted by a select group of people, as well as staff reviews and links to professional reviews and author information. I wasn't so keen on the anonymous reviews, but I suppose the book group could either edit or delete unsuitable ones. There was also space for feedback about the reviews. This type of Wiki would be a great focus for a library-based book club or discussion group.
The Library Success Wiki is a good way to establish a global forum to share ideas. Each section can be edited and of course, new topics can be added. Many useful topics were already included, such as RFID and self-checkout. These could save library services, such as our own, considerable research time, when introducing new technology and procedures.
Other library Wikis included a handy Library Outreach one, and a very interesting blog-type one by Meredith Farkas, who established the Library Success Wiki and wrote Social Software in Libraries. The possibilities appear to be almost endless.
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