Problem of Purpose

Steven Bell spoke at SMRLA on Friday and asked what business are we in? This reminded me of a Jan. 2000 article in D-Lib magazine on the problem of purpose, "Digital Libraries and the Problem of Purpose." http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january00/01levy.html It seems that in recent decades we've been struggling with this question and perhaps will continuously do so given the rate at which the world and technology, specifically, is changing.

How to add a bulleted list

Exercise 1: Add a bulleted list

1. You'll work on the first tab in Word, the Home tab, since that's where the most common tasks are done.
   

   The Home tab should be highlighted . If it isn't, click it.
   

2. First you'll create a bulleted list. Select the three paragraphs near the top of the document that have bold headings: "Customers," "Instrument or type of instrument," and "Type of music segments." Using the mouse, drag over the text until all three paragraphs are selected.
   
3. In the Paragraph group (group names are at the bottom of the Ribbon), click Bullets .
   

   The paragraphs you selected are turned into a bulleted list.
   

Tip    You can see how a different style of bullet would look in the list by clicking the arrow beside Bullets while the bulleted list is still selected. As you move the mouse pointer over the bullet styles in the drop-down list, the style in the document will change. To change the list style, click one of the bullets in the list.

Test post

Evaluation of MLA Virtual Conference

 

• Did we reach our target audience?
  

Target audience is soft techies (23 Things graduates) - Evaluate by cross-checking 23 Things completers in each region/system with virtual conference registrations.

• Was the content appropriate to the target audience?
  

Include the question, "The programs offered are relevant to my work in libraries and will improve my skills on the job." Scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree.

• Were 8 programs scheduled, advertised, and conducted?
  
• The presenters' experience.
  

  Survey presenters. Potential questions using the above 1-5 scale:
  

1. The presenter orientation adequately prepared me to present a virtual conference program.
   
2. The Learning Times representatives were responsive and helpful before, during, and after the program.
   
3. I felt comfortable presenting in the virtual environment.
   

• Registrants participated in at least 75% of the conference offerings
  

  Can Learning Times report back attendance of programs?
  

• Participants found the virtual conference experience worth repeating
  

  Survey participants after the conference:
  

  Please indicate your satisfaction with the online training environment/tools
  

  I would recommend the virtual conference to a colleague.
  

• Each presentation should be evaluated individually:
  

  Please rate how well the presenter:
  

1. Demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the subject matter
   
2. Achieved the stated objectives
   
3. Provided adequate and timely answers to questions on the topic
   

The pace of this program was: too slow, just right, too fast

One exciting thing I learned today was:

Overall I'm satisfied with the quality and content of this conference session. It was worth my time.

What would have increased your satisfaction with this course?

Additional comments or suggestions

Test post

Test blog post

To to www.stmalib.org cause it's a cool site.

Week 9: Podcasts, Video, and Downloadable Audio

Week 9: Podcasts, Video & Downloadable audio20. Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.21. Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts.22. Take a look at the titles available on Overdrive or Project Gutenburg and learn about downloadable audiobooks.23. Summarize your thoughts about this program on your blog and learn about where to go from here.
When you finish, don't forget to turn in your tracking log! You can send your tracking log to your local liaison. A list of county liaisons can by found at http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/.

BTW - PLCMC has begun their next program - "Learning 2.1" - http://explorediscoverplay.blogspot.com/ so if you want to continue to learn more, there's nothing stopping you!

Best,
Jennifer

Week 8 of 23 Things

Hello out there!

Hope you had a good Labor Day weekend.

How's it going with the 23 Things? I see some folks are getting back to it and catching up. This is self-paced learning so you can do that! And a few people have reported that they have finished! Meanwhile, Nini Beegan from DLDS has a message for you about week 8 when you are ready to listen for about one minute - http://www.gabcast.com/index.php?a=episodes&query=&b=play&id=10217&cast=30261&castPage=&autoplay=trueHere's what Week 8 is all about:

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools18. Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, spreadsheet) tools.19. Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.
Tip -
If you find that you are running out of time to do these exercises, maybe you can skip the "optional" ones and keep going. You can always go back when you have more time ;)

Regards,
Jennifer

Week 7 of 23 Things - Keep going, no matter where you are!

Good morning! Welcome to week 7 of 23 Things. If you are feeling a little behind, don't stop! You really have 12 weeks to complete this 9 week program. We know that people get busy, so we've factored in a few more weeks. Although this is play, it is important stuff. It's an opportunity to help Maryland libraries move forward. If we're going to stay viable in our communities, we need to know about these technologies. So thanks for helping us!

Week 7: Wikis16. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that libraries are using them.17. Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki. Remember that when you post in your blog about your experience you should include one practical application for what you’ve learned this week.
Tip -
If you prefer, you can jump ahead and play with the "things" in Week 7 even if you have not completed some of the prior "things". Then later, you can return and complete those.
Regards,
Jennifer

Microsoft Surface Photo Organizer

Microsoft Surface Photo Organizer,
originally uploaded by kjd.

For my "anything technology related" post I thought I would talk about Microsoft Surface. Just released by Microsoft and only available to select businesses such as casinos, Surface is a touch screen computer that sort of looks like a glass coffee table. The picture here shows photo organizer on Microsoft Surface. You can physically manipulate digital photos on Surface by dragging, dropping, and resizing with your fingertips. Pretty cool!
This sort of technology could revolutionize both back-office productivity and front-line customer service in libraries -- particularly self-service for patrons. Too bad it is not on the consumer market yet.

Yin/Yang rock mosaic in O'Sensei's Garden

DSCF0646,
originally uploaded by cbb4104.

I didn't make it the International Annual Cuong Nhu training camp this year, partly because of the price of flights and because I didn't want to miss one of Capstone classes for Synchronous Learning Expert certification. So, I appreciate that someone made it to the garden dedicated to O'Sensei's memory in Gainesvilles botanical gardens.

Week 6 of 23 Things

Greetings and welcome to week 6 of 23 Things. You are 2/3 of the way finished!

Week 6: Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati13. Learn about tagging and discover a Del.icio.us (a social bookmaking site)14. Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts.15. Read a few perspectives on Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and the future of libraries and blog your thoughts.
Tips -
Things 13 and 14 mention some PLCMC tags. Remember that this program has been "stolen" from an original program developed by the folks at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Since we are just beginning to create blogs and tag them, we thought it might be a good idea to include some PLCMC tags to look at so you have something to see! If you also tag your stuff with "mdlearn2" we should eventually get to see it, but sometimes it takes free sites like Flickr, Del.icio.us, and Technorati some time to find your tags.

Also, in Thing 15 there are some links to sites that discuss the future of libraries and Web 2.0. You may also have some information that you want to share in addition to these sites. If so, please add them to your blogs and if it is something really great that we should consider adding to our statewide 23 Things blog, please add it as a comment in the Tips link.

Lastly, if you have gotten a little behind or are just now joining us, no worries. You can see previous emails on my blog at http://jennifers23things.blogspot.com/. That way you can refer back and catch up. Once you’ve gotten past week 2 you can skip around a little – just be sure to label your posts appropriately and keep track of them on your tracking log.

Regards,
Jennifer

Week 5 of 23 Things

Welcome to Week 5 of 23 Things.

Wow, you're halfway home. Are you beginning to feel really hip to the Web 2.0 technologies? I hope so.

How did you do with the blog roll? Basically, the idea there is that you can subscribe to blog feeds via your feed reader (for example, Bloglines) and then share what you like on your blog via a blog roll. You can do this by making whatever blogs you want to share "public" in your Bloglines account. You then copy/paste the link or code into your blog so that your blog lists all of the blogs to which you subscribe that you want to share. Anyways, this was optional, and certainly not necessary for you to complete week 4.

Now on to week 5 - It's Play week!! You are going to have so much fun -

Week 5: Play Week
10. Play around with an online image generator.
11. Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books.
12. Roll your own search tool with Rollyo.

Please answer in your blog posts this week: What is one practical application for what you’ve learned this week?” Also, continue to share with each other on the participant blogs, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

If you have fallen behind a little, then don’t worry. You can either do week 5 on week 5 and go back and catch up or you can just continue to work at your own pace. Just make sure that you are keeping track of your progress with your tracking log. If you are just now registering your blog, keep in mind that it will not appear on the participant list automatically. I’ll update that when I get back in the office.

Regards,
Jennifer

Welcome to Week 4 of 23 Things!

Hopefully you have completed the Things for Week 3 which means that you have explored Flickr, mashups, and posted something about "anything technology" to your blogs. Did you visit the participant blogs yet? (http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/) They are looking really great! I see lots of good learning going on out there. Also, take a look at what participants are doing across the State. For example, check out Eastern Shore Regional, Western Maryland Regional, Carroll County, Howard County, Cecil County, and more!

This week’s topic is RSS & Newsreaders - you have the following activities to complete:

Week 4: RSS & Newsreaders8. Learn about RSS feeds and setup your own Bloglines newsreader account.9. Locate a few useful library related-blogs and/or news feeds.

Tips:
You may find the very end of the Thing 8 is a little difficult in terms of "finding your public bloglines" URL. Consider that part optional, but take it on as a challenge. Blogrolls are lists of other people's blogs that you put onto your blog. Often you will see a blog that lists other blogs. This is a blogroll. There’s an example on MERLIN (see “Library News Blogs” on right of home page). MERLIN is discussed in Thing 9. Also, on the right hand side of the SMRLA 23 Things page, you will see “Participants’ Blogs.” This is a blogroll. You will notice at the very bottom of the list is says, “Powered by Bloglines.”
In Thing 9, we mention MERLIN. If you don't know about MERLIN, please check it out. Currently, the MERLIN Advisory is starting a new site supporter team to work on the MERLIN website. If you have any suggestions, please post these to your blog for Thing 9. We hope that after you finish the 23 Things, that you will continue to play with new technologies and use MERLIN as a resource. We plan to continue to add cool new stuff and ways that we can share as a community there.
Please remember to comment in your blog posts about how you might use what you’ve learned this week in your library. Answer: “What is one practical application for what you’ve learned this week?”

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Regards,
Jennifer

Welcome to Week 3 of 23 Things!

Hopefully you have completed the Things for Week 2 which means that you have set up your blog, registered it, and are now beginning to track your progress with the tracking log. Soon you will see everybody's blog listed on the SMRLA participants' page: http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/

This week’s topic is Photos & Images - you have the following activities to complete:
Week 3: Photos & Images5. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.6. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites.7. Create a blog post about anything technology related that interests you this week. Preferably reflect on what you’ve learned about Flickr and Flickr mashups. How might you apply this learning in your library?
Tips:
*You may find it helpful to listen to the podcast developed by Helene Blowers for PLCMC. We have not included it on our site because she references PLCMC directly at times, but if you can ignore that part and focus on all of the good information she has to share you will find it helpful. Click on this link to access the podcast: Flickr Fun podcast - http://odeo.com/audio/1460333/view

Regards,
Jennifer

How to add a widget to your blog

I've added the latest IT news from the Washington Post to my blog via a widget. It was easy to do. Get your own Latest From Post I.T. Widget! The site includes both the code and instructions for adding it to Blogger.

Or you can click on my widget and it will take you to the same place.

Week 2 of 23 Things

Welcome to Week 2 of 23 Things! By now you should all have registered for the program and gotten a good overview of 23 Things by completing the activities from Week 1.

This week’s topic is blogging - you have the following activities to complete:

Week 2: Blogging3. Set up your own blog & add your first post.4. Register your blog and Track your progress to journey into Learning 2.0 together.

Important Notes:
Please refer to our participant page - http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/ - for more information about how we are running our program for Thing 4.

Regarding blog registration – Blog registration is not automatic on my end. After everybody registers, I still need to manually add blogs to the Particpant page. I plan to do this by the end of this week and will regularly check to see if I catch any new ones as we move forward in this program. Therefore, there is no need for you to email me unless you see that your blog doesn’t get posted within two weeks.
Please include in your first (or one of your first) blog posts some reflections on how you might use a blog in your library. In general, please title your posts so that your liaisons can tell which “Thing” you are on.
Please also make sure that your blog has some content to it before registering it to be included in the blogroll on the SMRLA participants page http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Best,
Jennifer

Week 2, Thing 3 - Set up a blog with Blogger

Some tips for this one:

• If you have a Gmail account, then you pretty much already have a Blogger account. Google owns Blogger. You can use your Gmail username and password to sign in and set up your blog.
• You can also set up blogger so that you email your posts in.
• It is probably best to set up comments on your blog so that they are moderated. If not, you may get splogged.

Please do at least one sample post before registering your blog. You can reflect on the 71/2 habits, the process of creating your blog, etc. The blogroll is more interesting if you have created at least one post before registering your blog to be added to the list.

Week 2, Thing 4 - Register your blog

Please be sure to type in the full url for your blog when you register it. If you’re not sure what that is, refer back to Thing 3 to learn how to retrieve your url.

Once your blog is registered it will not automatically appear on the blogroll on the SMLRA Participants page. It is a manual process on my part. I will update them every couple of days, so don't panic if you don't see yours right away.

Jennifer

Welcome to 23 Things,Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of 23 Things! Week 1 is about getting all of your questions answered about our journey. Please know that I am here to help you with any questions that you have about the logistics of this program. However, what’s cool about this program is that it is a chance to learn from each other. And we have over 1200 people registered so far from across the State (over 100 locally) and more systems will begin programs later this summer and fall. So I encourage you to check out the other blog sites listed on the Participant blogs and watch what happens in the coming weeks as everyone builds their blogs and they get posted. There are already some participant blogs from Southern MD listed!

This week’s topic is an Introduction. You have the following activities to complete:

Week 1: Introduction1. Read this blog & find out about the program.2. Discover a few pointers from lifelong learners and learn how to nurture your own learning process.

Tip:
Some of the "things" have podcasts where you can click the play button and listen for more information about the exercise. Many of the podcasts were developed by Helene Blowers at PLCMC to help her staff. When you click the button, you may need to wait a few seconds for the podcast to begin to play. If for any reason a podcast does not play, don't fret. The written "thing" has all of the critical information to help you learn.

Regards,
Jennifer

Week 1, Thing 1 - Read about the program

By now everyone should have heard about the program from their local liaisons. If you have any questions, you can contact me or your local liaison (listed on the main page http://smrlaparticipants.blogspot.com/.

Regarding blog registration (Week 2, Thing 4 – Blog registration is not automatic on my end. After everybody registers, I still need to manually add blogs to the Particpant page. I plan to do this by the end of Week 2 and will regularly check to see if I catch any new ones as we move forward in this program. Therefore, don't worry if you have already registered your blog but it hasn't appeared in the list, yet.

Week 1, Thing 2

As you view this tutorial and create your learning plan, I hope that you will include your local liaisons and your friends at SMRLA as resources for help.