Week 9 Things 20, 21, 22 &23

Here I am - all finished. Older & wiser than when I started and definitely more intrigued. (I was tempted to say puzzled-but remembered New Years resolution: refrain from temptation.)

Youtube (not to be confused with Lancome Juicy Tubes): doesn't do it for me, I'm afraid. Maybe if I was a few decades younger I'd get a kick out of all this, but I'm too much of an old cynic now- however, as I was describing the wonders of Learning 2.0 to my even older husband: 'Take yourself back 30/40 years ago when you were a kid & you had something to say to the world- What options did you have to be heard or seen? How did you share your thoughts with strangers? How did you find like-minded souls in the wilderness?' That, to me, is the beauty of Youtube & podcasts etal. Having said all that deep & meaningful stuff I need to point out I had a lot of fun re-visiting The Monkees singing "Pleasant Valley Sunday" & puzzled over a Japanese weather forecast circa 1970- why oh why??? Answer: it is because it is.

Ebooks: wow! That is so worthwhile. Music on my mp3 player is fun, but a lot of times I can take it or leave it. Most times I like to listen to my mp3 when I am suffering insomnia. A bed time story is even more appealing. Briar Rose & Rumpelstiltskin were a nostalgic journey- particularly having them read aloud to me. Last time I had a story read to me I would have been knee high to a grasshopper (fullforward to yesterday when I accidentally ripped the leg off a grasshopper trying to remove it from my favourite rosebush. Ouch- that is a bad karma event I will have to repay!) The quality was excellent and I really do look forward to downloading full version books to assist me in my multi-tasking-read-a-lot-of-books-and-anything-I-can-lay-my-hands-on lifestyle. How wonderful for so many people & a myriad of different lifestyles.

One of the the hardest thing for me to understand fully & utilise best was week 4 RSS & newsfeeds. I plan to revisit this area & learn what I missed the first time round. The actual blogging is another grey area- inserting links, widgets & the elusive Zoho Writer & not to mention all those lost drafts (don't bother coming back now- I've moved on)...I must & will conquer. Audio books & Library thing I love, Del.ici.ous & Tagging seems so simple I think I missed something - like I definitely did with Rollyo- the whole searchtool thing is a little hard for me to get my head around. Wiki & Youtube are rather lost causes for me, but Flickr & Picasa are here to stay as is Blogging (I have found my true vocation- there will be more blogging!) ADVICE: stick to the one short & simple password & username through all the different sites & programs- I got very confused there for a while!


I guess that sums up for me what Learning 2.0 is all about. It's ALL there. The only questions that matter are WHERE & HOW.

I'd like to thank all concerned for the opportunity to participate in this exciting learning project- I wouldn't have missed it for anything. Not only have I learnt about the web etc etc I have also learnt about myself- I AM tenacious, I AM capable of learning new tricks, I AM still able to be surprised & thrilled to discover new things & I AM obsessive & I AM a ranter & raver & I AM borderline mad & maybe I should not be let loose in public, but I AM having a ball.

What we all need to do is to keep learning, searching & investigating. Open our minds, switch on our pcs & join the world waiting out there. Now that this chapter is over & the real journey is just beginning I aim to go back to the beginning and refine & define all I have learnt. Thanks & hope to see you all out there!

Week 8 Things 18 & 19

Have just come back from trip around the world- oops, I mean cyberspace. Tried to send you a few lines via Zoho Writer but unfortunately could not find a way to post to this blog. That's another project for the 'Later-On' basket. Although I had no immediate success (posting-wise) I can see how web based programs like this will enable all of us to be more zen and travel lightly. Why would the average pc user ever need to buy a word processing etc program?

Seeing you did not receive my postcard from Zoho let me fill you in on my latest movements... On the web's award list I have been checking out the on line classifieds (Courtesy of Craig's List http://sfbay.craigslist.org/) & unfortunately due to the fact that I am currently tied to my non-travel-friendly pc I will miss out on the free stuff located in Boronia consisting of bags of cds, candle holders & mats. There is still an opportunity to obtain a free acne book (oh to be young again), I could pay for online Russian language lessons (don't know about the likelihood of needing those in the near future). Closer to home I have a chance of joining a carpool from Melbourne to QLD & if I get in soon I'll have a say on the route. Best of all, after perusing the classifieds I stuck my nose into a forum on Haiku. My favourite was on the pondering of expanding jeans after an 'all-u-can-eat-cruise'. I could relate to that- without the cruise bit.
Trouble is without that laptop prize I don't fancy my chances of gettin out there at all! But that's the whole idea isn't it? There is NO need to get 'out there' when I can sit at my desk & travel the world in my pyjamas & get home in time for breakfast. I see I am in a win/win situation here!!!
Ciao.

Week 7 Thing 16 & 17

I am not sure how I feel about wikis...is it my personal misconception that 'someone else' should have ownership and or authority or is it the reality of vandalism and malicious misuse? Is it commonsense or is it paranoia? How long is a piece of string?

I do like the idea of an online local paper or in-house newsletter a la wiki. Perhaps that would be a more 'sensible' usage - ie a smaller audience & minimal mischief. Then again, why not think BIG and hang the consequences. Let's just go for it, and see what happens, BUT if the answer really matters, keep that Funk and Wagnall's handy.

Personally, I'm just glad (relieved?) to have added my favourite blog to the Learning 2.0 Sandbox wiki at last.

Week 6 Things 13, 14 & 15

Tagging & Del.icio.us I love - no more do I need to clutter up my 'Favourites' icon in the toolbar (how prehistoric was I?) So easy to use, too- or did I miss something?

Technorati was just as enlightening- So THIS is how my blog will find fame! Not quite up to the challenge (this week) of tagging my blog...definitely later- right now I just want to move on & learn more.

Web 2.0 My thoughts and observations addressed! Confirming my earlier thinking that it is a privelige to be at the beginning of all this...what an opportunity (why isn't Learning 2.0 compulsory??) Just having a weird thought- A physical library can burn down & all information is lost- could the 'web' self destruct/implode/disappear?? Do we know? What exactly (in a physical sense) IS the 'web'? Anyway, I think at this stage one of our biggest hurdles will be the ability to let go of outdated, routine thinking of what a library is...to lose that 'museum' mentality. Very, very interersting.

Week 5 Thing 12

Select Search Engine...hippyheartLearning 2.0Shopping SitesSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

Week 5 Thing 12

http://rollyo.com I can see that this would be an extremely useful tool for heavy users. I like the way I can send my own searchbar to friends- currently working this part out & will need some time to understand how to do it (if I haven't already without knowing I have!)

Week 5 thing 11

Librarything is a site that is right up my alley. For years I have kept a personal diary database just like this one provided on Librarything (however much cruder!). What a boon this will be. I wonder if I will ever get around to transferring my diary (hundreds of entries) www.librarything.comto the website- how will I resist?http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=hippyheart

Week 5 Thing 10

My creation, originally uploaded by hippyhheart.

My son will love this magazine poster of his pride and joy! It may even get him trying out some new creative stuff, too! Must STOP playing...

Week 5 Thing 10

My creation, originally uploaded by hippyhheart.

Having even MORE fun!

Hotair balloon

Hotair balloon, originally uploaded by hippyhheart.

Just having a play with Flickr & trying to become more familiar with how this all works. Fun!

Week 5 Thing #9

Now this is an interesting discovery! Being a bit of a news junkie I can see unlimited potential for using RSS/ Newsreaders. One of the most intriguing things is it comes without all those annoying ads/popups etc. Why is it possible for feeds and not other things?

All I need is time to read it all...that's easy- I'll just make time!!

I am quite excited about all the new things I am finding out & keen to get to the next week's task. I do need time to absorb all this and have a little play around in my own way...right now my head is spinning, but I have found that as I have gone back to things later it all becomes clearer- so glad I'm doing this.

WEEK 3 THING #7















I'm not so sure all this new technology is my kind of thing, however I recognise that I need to know to stay in the race so to speak. It would be too easy to just put all this into the too-hard-basket...and anyway, there is that special sort of buzz when something is learnt and conquered! I actually posted my own photo onto my own blog using technology I didn't know existed a year ago...I can hardly wait to see what is around the corner!

I wonder how this would be relevant to my work as it is now (can't imagine using flickr on the circulation desk) but I can certainly see the potential for advertising and ofcourse personal use! In any case I don't think it is so much about where we are at right now, but where all this will lead to in the future...and isn't that like the path of life?? In any case FLICKR has so much potential & I can think of many people who would be interested for a variety of reasons. Perhaps even converting the computer challenged in the way we are able to combine photography (ie creative art) with computer technology! Even just to have a stickybeak at how clever others are with their camers!

How exciting to think that we are all the new-age pioneers of some incredible future that most of us cannot even imagine- you know the saying: 'One small step for mankind...' AND I was there (watching on TV) for that moment, too!!! What a fabulous time we are in; what a sin to waste that time and stick our heads in the sand saying'It's too hard/ too late for me". If nothing else, if for whatever reason I choose not to use this new technology, at least I wont be in TOTAL ignorance of what is going on around me.