# 24 Just Playing

# 23 The End?

"We called him Tortoise because he taught us."



Parisian mural - 2006

Learning 2.0 has been the BEST experience and look what we have to show for it - Blogs, RSS feeds, YouTube videos, LibraryThing and heaps of other stuff. Thank you so much to those who made this possible.

I feel both sad and elated to have reached the final module - such an amazing journey. Like being on an express train, hurtling through fascinating country and occassionally stopping briefly at a station for a quick sortie into the unknown. I so want to go back and spend more time exploring the rest of that country. I can still recall that first rush of exhilaration setting up the blog and it worked (well finally.)

I loved the image generators particularly Motivator and Warholizer! and YouTube - what a blast.

One problem was Time - just not enough to do the activities at work. The best part was sharing problems and solutions with other staff - it was very beneficial to talk through problems. It was also great to be able to work on Learning 2.0 at home. It meant I could make time for it and also enabled me to make time to explore new and suggested areas of interest.

It is such a buzz to learn new skills. It makes you more confident dealing with the public and helping them make the most of these amazing developments in communication. It also makes you aware of how vast cyberspace is and how crammed it is with interesting, challenging, inspiring, funny people just waiting to share their knowledge with others.

Bring on Learning 2.1!

# 22 Audiobooks

"I've often seen a cat without a grin; but a grin without a cat...!"

Being time poor, I have long been a fan of 'Talking Books.' I really enjoy listening to a story being read while driving or even doing the ironing. (The level of enjoyment depending to a degree on the voice of the reader.)

Having now checked out the World EBook fair site (lots of classics) and Fictionwise (HEAPS of titles and genres)I think audio ebooks would be a boon for someone who has a computer but is housebound or, anyone with an MP3 player - a digitial library, what a space saver! (and definitely a way of capturing those wayward titles you seek but never see for sale.)

From a public library point of view however, what I am really looking forward to are Takeaways which will free the patron from having to have any necessary hardware.

# 21 Podcasts

"There's a large mustard-mine near here...The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours."

Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - it tends to make me a bit impatient. Using Podcast.net I found two different types of podcasts I was really interested in. The first, a movie review site I couldn't get to broadcast, and, the second, an Italian travel site I really loved listening to but was unable to add to my Bloglines account.

I had much more success using Podcastalley.com. I found 'Movies you should see' (which according to them provide the best movie reviews on the internet!) I listened to a review of Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and am now looking forward to catching others as I was able to successfully add the podcast to my Bloglines Account!

# 20 YouTube

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense."

I had heard a lot about YouTube but it is only since starting Learning 2.0 I have actually visited the site. Quite often you don't know until you watch something whether it's simply a waste of time and I did find a bit of that but I found some interesting clips and some that were purely entertaining.

One clip I enjoyed was 42nd Street Broadway Style - what a great way to demonstrate dance steps! And it's this instructional style clip that I think has potential in a library setting. Recently, colleagues were planning a workshop for teens on gift wrapping and they were sourcing demonstration clips on things like making small boxes from old greeting cards (and very nifty they were too!)

# 19 Web 2.0 tools

"Now, I give you fair warning, either you or your head must be off, and that in about half no time!"

Any excuse to pull up a photo - Monet's Garden! Yeah. I find myself getting sidetracked all the time. There is so much to see and explore! I checked out the Web 2.0 Awards list. Oh my! so I backtracked and went in to the winners only which was a bit more manageable. (I'm already a Library Thinger and had explored Technorati and a number of the other winners) so I took a look at RealTravel.

I liked the flight information. You get information on available flights for your chosen destination, stop overs, full travel time and cost together with type of aircraft and seating plan including available seats - but, you have to search multiple sites to end up with an extensive list of comparative prices (and I think it provided better for overseas than Australia.) However, I thought you could do better elsewhere for accommodation. The list they give you is quite good as a starting point but not really exhaustive. (They do have great maps though. )

I liked the idea of the free travel blog (but resisted signing up!) I have a friend, an inveterate traveller, who has no idea how to start and I hope to give her some help. I will start by directing her to this site.

From a library point of view, I think it gives a great introduction to travel information available on the web for first time users and would be a good starting place.

# 18 Web-based Apps

"What is the use of repeating all that stuff, if you don't explain it as you go on?"

I thought I had it sorted. I created an account with Zoho, created a document and then tried to upload a photo- that didn't happen. Tried again with the same result. (The adjacent photo actually - just wanted to make sure it wasn't the problem) I then tried to publish to my blog but that didn't happen either.

I like the idea of being able to create documents and not have to worry about software compatibility issues when moving from PC to PC - I just didn't find Zoho as friendly as I expected.