Week 11

Welcome one and all to the final week of 23Things!

Did you all enjoy your celebratory dance? I quite enjoyed seeing the Carlton and Snoopy again.

Well onto the point of this blog, the training. I found StumbleUpon to be an interesting site. Similar to Pinterest and Scoop it, but you see a lot more of the page in one shot to make a judgement on (not good for slow computers though). Out of the three this site seems the least likely to make someone "judge a book by its cover".

Now onto the questions from last week.

• I think my favourite thing was probably Pinterest. I find it is more widely used so there is more variety with it.

• I found the information on the different copyrights and images was the most useful for what I do at the library. I don't really do anything in the line of promotion so I don't use a lot of social media in regards to work. The e-book and app week was also useful, but was a lot of repeat information from a presentation given at our branch at the beginning of the 23Things! training.

• I was surprised to discover that the OverDrive App can be downloaded onto a PC and not just App based devices.

• Learning about Wikimedia commons will be helpful when looking for pictures for display signs. I also think that Pinterest, Scoop.it and StumbleUpon could be useful tools for new ideas for displays.

• I'm glad that I finished the 23Things! training on time, and a little relieved. I found it very difficult to do this training during work hours so the majority of it was done from home.

• I've discovered that I am a better teacher than I thought when it came to helping others with the training. I also discovered that blogging is maybe a little easier for me to do than I expected, though still not my chosen method of communication.

Well I believe that is the end of this blog for now. It may be revived if similar training arises in the future but for now I'm signing out. Enjoy this song for your bonus celebratory dance! :)

Cheers!

Morgan

Week 9

Hello again everyone,

This is my last post of the night. This weeks training was all about apps. Specifically apps to do with the library such as OverDrive Media Console and BiblioNB.

This week I learned that the OverDrive app can be downloaded onto a desktop computer that does not have Windows 8. Until now I believed this app was for phones, e-readers, tablets and Windows 8 users only. I also downloaded my first e-book as well as returned it early. Luckily I picked a book I already own so I don't have to feel bad for returning it immediately.

I have had the BiblioNB app on my phone since it came out in August so I had a little bit of an advantage in that regards. I find the app could be a little more user friendly by having a log in option on the main menu as well as a search button. I can find my way around easily enough, but in my limited experience helping patrons on the computer a fair number of them are uncomfortable hitting buttons they are uncertain about. Log in and search seem to be buttons that most patrons feel safe hitting without prompting.

Well that's all I have to say for this week.
See you all next week and happy reading!

Week 8

Hello again everyone.

Share and Share alike seems to be the theme of the week. This week I created a Scoop.it account (a site I had never heard of before), started curating a topic and added a link to Twitter. It may be because this site is not as well known yet, but I found it does not bring up as many results as Pinterest does. However, this site does have the advantage of giving a short explanation of what the article/website is about before clicking on it. This site has a lot of potential and if it grows in interest I think may be even more useful as a research tool in the future.

This site, along with many others, allows for easy posting on many social media sites. This also fits in with the theme of sharing and allows this site the potential to grow in popularity rapidly.

Until next time,
Ciao

Week 7

Well it is certainly delayed but it is time to get back to the 23 Things! training.

After watching the Mr Rogers video I was inspired to share a similar video that was in the side feed. It is an auto-tune remix from Reading Rainbow, a show which I watched as a child. As a side note, when I was young I always found it interesting that the Star Trek guy was in it. I think this is when I first realized the concept that one actor can play multiple roles.

For my DIY Professional Development project I watched a video by Lisa Bu entitled "How books can open your mind". In the video Lisa Bu first discussed how reading helped/inspired her individually such as:

• Using books to learn about different topics to broaden her ideas for her future
• Being inspired to be strong and independent woman
• Being inspired to move abroad

In the TED Talks video she also discussed the concept of comparative reading. Comparative reading is a common tool when doing research, but can also be used for more day to day reading (especially if you speak more than one language). Lisa Bu started reading books in pairs and noted several things:

• "Lost in translation" is not always the case. Sometimes you gain knowledge that way

• Reading the biographies of 2 people that have a shared event in their past can give you a very different idea of what happened

• Reading similar religious or mythological stories from different cultures can give you an idea of cultural differences 

These are just a few examples of what was discussed in this very short video that I've placed a link for below.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_bu_how_books_can_open_your_mind

I hope you've had a good few weeks and I will write again soon

Week 5

Hello all,

I have just finished my training on Pinterest. I would say that the idea of Pinterest is, "a picture is worth a thousand words". It certainly seems to give a nice visual representation of something that can then be looked into in more detail by the click of a button.

I found it interesting that subjects such as library programs can be looked up on Pinterest. I had never used the site before and I had not realized how diverse the topics really are. This seems like a very user friendly way to get ideas and show off your own ideas.

Have a nice weekend everyone and Happy Valentine's Day,
Morgan

Week 4

Hello again my fellow bloggers,

I found the explanation of the copyright symbols very helpful.  I believe it will be very helpful in the future when making posters for displays and events. I was also happy to be informed of various sites that can be used to find images that can be used legally.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, a couple of images.

A book of great hilarity I'm sure.


Image by Danny Ayers from Mozzanella, Italy via Wikimedia Commons

Which category in this Wordle do you think the cat's book fits into?

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7550134/Reading
         
Pleasant reading everyone,
Morgan

Week 3

Week 3 was a little easier for me as I already had a Vision account set up. However, I did create my first list, leave my first comment on a book,  and picked my first person to follow.

I can see these features being a good tool for the library to use. If I remember correctly lists of the top ten circulated fiction and non-fiction books in different departments are created every few months. From there someone could look at these books on the Vision catalogue and see what other suggestions are made based on the comments left by readers. These suggestions may include books that the library does not currently have but may be popular.

I believe the lists, comments and follows may be of more benefit for individual people than for the library though. It is an easy way to sort through all the books available through the library and find ones that will likely interest an individual with minimal research.

I noticed that patrons can easily make suggestions on what books they would like to see at the library. I think that is a very helpful tool for both the library and its patrons.

Good job on Vision and keep up the good work!