My summary.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to experience this technology and have used some of it already within the work environment. Example: Alice Keller asked us to contribute to the Implementation Plan Blog commenting on progress with our SMART objectives. It was a joy to easily follow her instructions and to understand what I was doing and why. I will be keeping up with this for sure over the next few years. The whole experience linked in beautifully with the theme of this year's Staff Conference which also updated me to the needs/desires of our users - a move away from traditional study and use of books in favour of using information on Web 2.0 and databases.

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the Bodleian Libraries Staff Development team for this programme, with particular thanks to Laura, Jane and co for help at the drop-in sessions and for their infectious enthusiasm. Clearly it was this that led to such a huge number of participants completing the course. Well done everyone.

For me, having a completion date was a good incentive as it was difficult for me to find the time to work on the programme and, if not pushed, I would have taken longer over the tasks. However, this had the disadvantage of lacking the time to explore more. That will be next and in my own time. I'll be looking for the serendipity element which I think will be fun. If I could change anything I would ask for more drop-in sessions - 'at own pace study' is good but the drop-in sessions moved me on by forcing me to set aside time to attend. They also gave me the opportunity to meet others face to face as well as communicate via the blog and this is important.

Things I found most useful/enjoyable are RSS feeds which I used already and You Tube, items that were completely unexpected widened my experience and expections here. I continue to enjoy Podcasts but have reservations about use I'll make of Delicious and flickr at work. I enjoyed using Facebook so that I now feel I've joined the 'younger set' but LinkedIn appears more professional for the workplace. I had used wikipedia before but it was great to rediscover it- and some of my old interests. I think I could lose a lot of time over this - serendipity again! Wikis are great allowing both freedom of expression in the vast opportunities for posting and a clear way of ording information.

Disappointments - Twitter. The lack of character space was annoying but I'm not inclined to use this site so this is not much of a loss for me. So, many pluses and only one disappointment. All in all a good use of time. As a member I staff I finish the 'Things' clearly developed!

Put your del.icio.us bookmarks on your igoogle page

Gadgets and widgets.

Delicious is there along with a new date and clock gadget - nice. Adding and deleting is fun but on to more serious matters -Thoughts on using delicious - I'm still wedded to Favourites. Clearly I've a way to go yet.

I'm not sure how much use I will make in a library setting of flickr and delicious though I'm keen to explore the possible use of adding other libraries catalogues. currently they are in a list of favourites - oh dear! Does this mean I might be considering a divorce after all?

Use a blogger gadget

All worked beautifully except that I forgot my flickr username. (I have all the others - isn't it always the way?) So, now I have the flickr gadget on my blog but accommpanied by the message 'flickr error user not found'.

I think I need to play with this one for a bit longer...

Thinkfree Office

My first failure.

This was a negative experience. Freethink took 30 minutes to load onto the web and another 30 minutes to open due the extra step for first time opening. I typed text into the new document, went to make changes and the whole thing froze.

I think I'll go back to Google docs for the time being. However, ever onwards and upwards. Remembering all the other 'things' so far have worked beautifully...

Thing 19 Google docs

I've used Google docs in work before when creating a joint document with the other Legal Deposit Libraries and the Agency. This document was posted and added to in different coloured fonts by each of the libraries and actions addressed by the Agency.

I learnt while completing thing 19 that you can't copy and paste text into it. Try it. It closes the page down.

Ludditeonline agreed that this had happened to him too.

wikipedia

I loved this Thing. It gave me the chance to look up Mary Shelley - an interest of mine. The article was professed to be - by Wikipedia - one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. It was also a featured article on October 30th 2008.

There was an controversy going on re a 'confusing sentence' and a debate about whether whether her relationship with Shelley should be described as 'an affair' or 'falling in love' and all the connotations the different wording would imply. I'll have to see how the discussions pan out... Great stuff!

Wikis

This thing was perhaps the easiest for me as I am a regular contirutor and user of the C&RD wiki. We use this for updates and various departmental projects, items of news, a depository for our newsletters, annual reports and documents. It is also a tool for booking rooms. It has become a valuable addition to the dept. that I'm not sure we would want to live without.

It was interesting to see the format for Web 2.0 is the same. It was like meeting an old friend - threads and all.

NB. The wiki is the C&RD wiki but the label refused to accept the &!

Twitter, tweeting and networking

As my tweet demonstrated the lack of characters severely limits use for work-related posts. I think this is a much more social tool than some of the sites offered in the 23 Things programme and, although I'm pleased to have had the experience, I'm not sure I will be using it. Boring or what?

Mind you I enjoyed finding 'the Luddite' and tweeting.

LinkedIn

Signed up to LinkedIn. This certainly appears to have a more professional display and gives greater opportunities for work-based connections than does Facebook. I think I'll give it a try...

Facebook for libraries...

Really I've not much to add to my last blog when I pointed out uses for Facebook in connecting with users. Since then I've used the Bodleian Education Library site and found it more informative and appealing than the Law Library one.

Also, I've previously seen a film made by the Social Sciences Library that will appeal to users for its fun approach to using the library for the first time. Well done SSL.

YouTube

Now this was fun! It reminded me of why I will never go zip-lining again. I tried this on St. Lucia last year - big mistake. While the height troubled me not at all the speed was terrifying. I think I'll save this for a time when someone might suggest a repeat elsewhere. Do look it up...

From the video uploaded I wnet to same user and was taken to pictures of 'Christopher and Sylvia's wedding, nice but hardly interesting to one who was not there.

Then for a more useful, and work-related site, I visited YouTube EDU and the Law Library's site. The wall gave a good rolling update and I found helpful directions for getting there and other useful information. I can see how this can usefully inform new users and staff while also providing up to date information.

Berkeley University's video of Bill Clinton's speech on Global Citizenship demonstrated another use of YouTube from an educational perspective. Until now I had not realised the potential for learning of YouTube so well done 23 Things.

Podcasts.

Podcasts were not new to me - about the only thing that is not! Now I've dropped a couple into my Google Reader - that's new!

I've used them previously for BBC Radio Four programmes such as Desert Island Discs. I'd missed Sunday's episode with Emma Thompson so it was good to catch up. After a hilarious edition of Just a Minute I moved on to Gems of the Bodleian Library - interesting but not so much fun.

Delicious again...

Added publications for the Education Library to my network. This will be useful for checking we have all publications we are entitled to under LD. I'm not sure I'll use Delicious much though as I'm wedded to my favourites list.

Social networks Delicious

Task accomplished but I'm not sure how useful this will be. Perhaps when the laptop arrives and I'm en route to Edinburgh it will come into its own.

Picnik

Hi All,

Very excited! Flickr and Picnik gave me hours of fun - well I might be exaggerating! But, I was able to change pink lillies to orange and take the shots through a dawn to dusk day with shadows and contrasts. Now for the BBC and my new career...



Just for show...

Catching up

Well I'm catching up at last. I've got my RSS feeds and my Flickr account and I'm waiting to join the Flickr group.

I've seen some wonderful shots from you so I feel duty bound to go out with camera now. Watch this space...

Holidays, 23 things and work don't mix!

Hi All,

Back at last and way behind with my 23 things. A two day holiday seems to = many emails and much to catch up with so the 23 tings had to go. However, at home on a cloudy Saturday and all is coming together. So, hopefully, I'll see some of you at the drop-in session on Wednesday.

Bye for now,
Jackie.

Hi Laura,

I managed to do the required and found this. Horray!

All the best,
Jackie.

Second post...

A little about my weekend - a trip 'Up North' to see family meant a long time on the M1 to Richmond, North Yorkshire so I'm fairly tired now, not that I did the driving. However, playing with a 7 and 2 year old is exhausting if fun. I'll add a picture of the children to this blog as I get more proficient.

Last week was fun and so much easier than I thought it would be. Many thanks to Jane and Laura for their support at the drop-in session.

This is fun!

I'm hoping that by completing the 23 Things programme I will learn more about how users choose to use the libraries resources while enhancing my own knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies for home use. I'm particularly interested in using RSS feeds and contributing to a wiki.