Final 2.0 Post!!!

I've learned so much during our Staff 2.0 Challenge - I've especially learned that I have so much to learn!!  It was very interesting to learn how to blog. I'm still deciding if I'd like to start a Family Blog... at least now I'll know how to do just that! It was especially helpful to watch the videos "in Plain English" describe how Blogs, Wikis, social media, etc. work! Really simplified the ideas and made them easily understood! I also enjoyed learning about how to use RSS feeds and Podcasts. I don't know how often I'll use the RSS feeds, but know I know what the symbol means and how to use it! It was fun learning more about sharing photos and videos. I love sharing pictures and videos, especially with my family that doesn't live closeby. Social networking is also a great way to stay in touch and get instant information. I don't think I'll be using Twitter anytime soon, but at least I know how to use it and what it does! It was great fun learning more about the Google Tools available. I am utililizing these tools more and more.And learning about what is available on our library website was exciting.

I really enjoyed participating in this Challenge and appreciate being able to learn about all the information available at my fingertips. I learned that I have MUCH to learn! It's fun and important to know what's new!  I hope we can continue these challenges. It would be great to be able to share some of the info we learn with others, as I think we continue to learn from others each day. This project has truly provided many "Life's Lessons" for me.  Thanks for the opportunity!

VAPLD on the Web

It has been very interesting learning about all the tools on the web that our library has available to use. There's no end to the resources available, I've found!! During this 2.0 challenge I've learned more about downloading digital books, the wonderful subject guides available on the library website, the events calendar, and all the Research Databases. I was especially excited to try the ancestory database..it was great fun finding out about some relatives that lived in the 1800's...all by looking into this database!  I've also enjoyed looking into the Book News/Reviews area on our website, the Kids page, and teen scene pages..there is truly a "wealth of information" for everyone here at the library and using the computer is a easy way to see what is available.

My Media Mall Experiences

I enjoyed learning about My Media Mall...we have an outstanding collection of downloadable books available here at the library and I've been wanted to learn how to use this collection.  I was able to download the Overdrive Media Console onto my computer and download an audio book onto my computer without too many problems. It did take me a while to find out how to download the book... I guess I needed step-by-step instructions. Now that I've done it once, I do think I could help a patron, but I would like to try to download a book to a MP3 player sometime to see how easily that can be done. Practice makes perfect!!!

Learning About Google Tools

Well, again, lots of new things to learn about this week!! There continues to be so much to learn about and keep up with on the internet. I did look at the Google Tools and was surprised of the number of new products available. I have been using some of the products at home - the IGoogle page, google maps, and the phone service available through google. They have worked out well and the igoogle page is fun to use, although I don't always have time to check everything out that I've put there! I did enjoy learning more about Google Docs. I think  it might be useful to use the Google Documents product at work - when I submit monthly YS meeting notes and need them proofread, etc. I will forward to trying out this product. The Google spreadsheet is pretty easy to use - I set up a simple spreadsheet, and think that it might be useful for addresses, keeping track of some stats, etc. Excel is very powerful, however, and this is the product that I will probably use more readily because I am more familiar with it. I have not used the slideshow feature or powerpoint before, so can not compare, but I will be looking into these  features as well.

I did enjoy finding the Google Books product and think that I might use it from time to time. It was a convenient way to read a review about a book, find purchase information, or even see what library has it available! There were a lot of other Google products that I hope to check into when I have more time.

Google Labs were interesting too. Amazing to see what products people are working on!

The Google products are readily available and easy to use! I will continue to use the igoogle page and the map available are very helpful.