Week 9, Thing 23

#23 Is this really the end? Or just the beginning ...

Wow! Congratulations!! You’ve reached the 23rd thing. Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back for completing the program. At the start we asked you to choose a prize – if you haven’t told the OwhataGeek team already, be sure you do now – you’ll get it in December.

But before you do you need to do one more blog entry.

For your last and final exercise for this program please reflect on your learning journey and post a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you if you're drawing a blank:

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
• How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
• Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
• What other Web 2.0 tools do you know about that we didn’t cover that you want other staff to know about?

In closing, on behalf of the O!What a Geek team and the Think Tank, I want to thank each and every one of you for joining us on this journey. We hope that you have not only learned some new things that you can use in your job but also had some fun along the way. We have been impressed by your willingness to undertake all the tasks and how many of the OPL Geeks love their jobs. If you have time, take a look at some other blogs in the Geek Blogs and read some entries. You might be surprised at what you learn.

Now to end on a fun note, take a look at some bad web 2.0 names (this came from ALA Direct for October 29, 2008).

Congratulations again,

Deirdre Routt aka Rapunzel 2.0

Week 9, Thing 22

#22 Media and Book Downloads (or "You are almost done!")

We have some fun and easy ways to provide our customers with materials in a variety of downloadable formats. These are materials they can access from home and use in different ways.

Overdrive provides us with both downloadable eBooks and audio books. The eBooks can be viewed on a computer or transferred to a handheld reader such as a PDA (personal Digital Assistant). They are viewed using Adobe or MobiPocket software, which can also be downloaded from the Overdrive site. The audio books are downloaded using the Overdrive console and can be played on the computer or transferred to a MP3 player. Some can be burned to a CD for permanent use. Most of these titles are listed in our catalog but the Overdrive site is separate from the catalog.

We also have downloadable movies and TV series from MyLibraryDV. These you view on your computer and need to download the MyLibraryDV player which is where the movies and TV series are accessed. The titles are listed in our catalog – the link in the catalog takes you the main MyLibraryDV screen.

Downloadable eBooks and audiobooks just for kids are available from TumbleBooks. These fun books can be accessed through the Omaha Public Library’s Kid’s page – they don’t need any additional download.

Discovery Resources:
OverDrive (these are from SamePage. If you can't get these to work they can be found on SamePage, Staff Learning, eBook & Audiobook (OverDrive) Training)

• OverDrive overview and instructions
• Downloading Digital Audio from OverDrive – instructions from 2007
• Downloading Digital Picture books from OverDrive – instructions from 2007
  

MyLibraryDV

• MyLibraryDV FAQ

TumbleBooks

• TumbleBooks Help

Discovery Exercise:
1. Choose one of the downloadable materials above, OverDrive, MyLibraryDV or TumbleBooks and try using it. It would be best to choose one you have not used. Try downloading and using the materials.

2. Blog about what you chose and why. Other questions do consider: did it work? Was it easy or was it frustrating to use? Are these good materials to offer at a library? Why or why not? Do you feel comfortable assisting patrons in using this format?

You are almost done, continue on to Week 9, Thing 23

Week 9, Thing 21

#21 Podcasts, Smodcasts!
The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that podcasts can be delivered automatically through RSS (remember week 4?)

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries (like the ones used in the original Learning 2.0 program) to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t need an iPod or a MP3 player to use it. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

There are podcasts of radio shows, sports casts, lectures, television or Internet shows and on and on. iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

For this discovery exercise you are asked to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that is of interest to you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your Bloglines account as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.

Discovery Resources:

• To find out more about podcasts start with Wikipedia article on Podcasts
• iTunes Podcast information – from what is a podcast to how to find and use them on iTunes
• There are many, many podcast directories and finding tools out there. Here are just three of the more popular ones that, unlike iTunes, don't require a software download:
  o PodcastDirectory.com
  o Podcastalley.com
  o MyYahoo audio

What? You want to learn how to be a podcaster too? (Optional Resources for those who want to learn create podcasts)

• Odeo’s Studio – online recording studio.
• Beginner's guide to Podcasts & Creating Podcasts
• How to podcast tutorial
  

Discovery Exercise:
1. Take a look at one or two of the podcast directories listed and see if you can find a podcast that interests you. See if you can find some interesting library related podcasts here like book review podcasts or library news.

2. Add the RSS feed for a podcast to your Bloglines account.

3. Create a blog post about your discovery process. Did you find anything useful here? How could podcasts be used in the library?

Continue on to Week 9 , Thing 22

Week 9, Thing 20

#20 You too can YouTube

Note: You'll need headphones for this exercise

Online video hosting sites have continued to expand allowing users easily to upload and share videos on the web. Among all the web 2.0 players in this area, YouTube has been one of the main players since its launch in November 2005. YouTube not only allows users to upload their own video content easily, but also embed clips into their own sites easily.

Do some searching around YouTube and see what the site has to offer. You'll find everything from Kool-Aid commercials and the Theme Song to the Monkees to library dominoes, how to use a Self-Check machine and an ad from Kiplinger’s about Research Librarians. Of course, like any free site you’ll also find a lot not worth watching too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore and see for yourself what the site has to offer. :)

Discovery Exercise:
1. Explore YouTube & find a video worth adding as an entry in your blog.
2. Create a blog post about your experience. What did you like or dislike about the site and why did you choose the video that you did? Can you see any features or components of the site that might be interesting if they were applied to library websites?

Other popular video hosting sites:

• Yahoo Videos
• Google videos (which searches YouTube too).
• Others - top video site list

NOTE: Videos, like music downloads, are bandwidth hogs. It is recommended that you complete this exercise during light internet usage times.

Continue on to Week 9, thing 21