Beyond Method #12

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

I think that I enjoyed the travel sites and information the most. Some of the other exercises were fairly familiar to me or just beyond my comprehension at the time but the travel info always interests me. Okay, I'm a map freak and always happy to learn new skills with Google maps.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

Wow, I'm not sure that I have any specific lifelong learning goals. I didn't see that anywhere. I suppose that my goal is to try to stay as up to date as possible without becoming bogged down in minutiae. I make an effort to familiarize myself with new technology but tend to use the technology that is actually useful for my lifestyle.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I can't think of any surprises right off the top of my head.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I think the format is excellent. I just think it's a little daunting to feel like you have to complete the entire course. Perhaps it would feel easier if you got to pick the modules you complete and get credit based on completed modules. Of course that would be way more work for you guys. No easy answers.

And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
I would definitely participate again. Always trying to keep up!

Beyond Method #11

Early this year our library staff did a lot research into using online surveys with the result that we chose Zoomerang and purchased the mid-level product for one year. We did a fairly extensive online survey early in 2011 in preparation for updating our long range plan. We will probably try some additional online surveys and attempt to have at least one per year. Some library staff have added short questions to their blog posts.

Beyond Method #10

I have participated in numerous webinars online including several from the State Libary. I have used WebEx and Gotomeeting and I think Adobe Connect. I have used Skype but only once though I have used Facetime on the iphone quite a lot.

I find online meetings very easy though I'm not quite ready to show my face!

I also use Logmein remotely to take over my computer at work and also my mom's computer to help her with problems. This always feels kind of similar to the Webinar type classes that I've taken in the past.

I just recevied this morning a tiny camera for my office computer. I assume that this will be used for skype. Here we go...

Beyond Method #7 thru #9

Unfortunately while I did read through, watch the videos, and explore the various tools mentioned I was unable to find the time to actually create slideshows or teaching modules. I hope to be able to do these things in the future and appreciate the introduction to the various presentation, screen capture and digital presentation tools.

Beyond Method #6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1400/1400-h/1400-h.htm

I looked at Great Expectations by Charles Dickens too look up at Project Gutenberg. I did not find the text particularly easy to read but if I actually wanted to spend the time reading it I would just increase the size of the text and then it would have been okay. The choices were actually pretty amazing and it was easy to distinguish what would work on a Kindle because it said "Kindle without images." Should I have occasion to use an ereader I would certainly try Project Gutenberg for titles. I actually would like to read Great Expectations again since it's been 42 years since I studied it in sophomore English. I do believe that patrons would be interested in Project Gutenberg and will steer them in that direction should the need arise.

My ebook story!
Last March my husband and I went on a trip to Rome and Sweden. My daughter had gotten a Nook during the Christmas steal-a-gift so she passed it along to me to use on the trip. I blithely downloaded two very large Fantasy titles from Barnes and Noble. I keep thinking, "This is great, I can take two 1000 page tomes with me on an airplane and it barely takes up any space at all." The trip over went great. Reading in the hotel room went great. Thursday morning we left our hotel for the Rome airport to fly to Stockholm. All checked in and with a long wait I'm ready to read. The Nook was showing a half charge when I turned it off the night before so I knew everything was okay. I was silently congratulating myself again on having an ereader and then...I tried to turn it on. Nothing. No lights, no indication at all that it was on or off... So, of course, I had to have a book and promptly went to the airport bookstore and bought the most expensive paperback suspense novel I've ever purchased. When we arrived at the hotel room in Gotenberg that evening I plugged in the Nook and it did need charging and worked after that. I will never travel without a backup book again! And quite honestly I haven't used the Nook since. I just can't make myself pay for books when I'm surrounded by them all day.

Beyond Method #5

Within the last month or so one of the library book club members implemented a group on Goodreads for the club and invited members to join. I signed up then for Good reads and have been trying to keep track of what I have read and am reading. I've been interested in having a list of books I've read for a while now so Goodreads seemed to be a viable option. I had already looked at LibraryThing and Shelfari and while I find them interesting for me they aren't particularly useful. At this time our library is using NextReads for collection development and I find this tool to be particularly helpful. Most staff use it very successfully to find titles that patrons can just remember a few details about. It's also great for finding missing titles in series. While I am interested in becoming knowledgeable about the tools available for social tagging, I find that I am not that interested in being "social" about the things that I read. An interesting conundrum. That being said I was interested in BookLight and will explore that resource further when my registration is confirmed.

Beyond Method #4

Interesting segment on job searching which is something I have not had occasion to deal with much as I do not work reference very often. I hope that my reference staff are familiar with these resources and I know they have attended training on this subject. As a part of the strategic plan that we are developing we do have sections on job skills and are considering utilizing some of the suggestions in the video. Perhaps I will sign up for Linkedin. Who knows? Perhaps I will be looking for another job some day...