Thoughts.....

Wow, it looks like I've finally hit the milestone. It took me a long time to finish doing all these exercises. Many were challenging! What were my favorite discoveries? I enjoyed playing around with Flickr & its tools, but everything I tried I came away with learning many new things. I was surprised that I learned so much. Had I not decided to join the 2.0 learning experience, I would have been sorely missing out on the chance to add to my lifelong learning. I will definitely still be using some of the tools I've come across. I would certainly participate in another program.

#22

Trying to find relevant books on NetLibrary and the library's Digital Books proved slightly challenging. I tried searching for topics pertaining to learning French on the Digital Books, and I finally figured out that I had to just type "French" in the "All" category. There aren't any nicely controlled subject headings or cross-references, so my search just seemed to be sort of hit-or-miss. The search also brought up titles not relevant. Nevertheless, I got several results that I was interested in.
Searching for the same topic under NetLibrary proved fruitless. Results were few and not relevant. I realized that just looking at the list of ebooks available that many books are several years old, so someone searching for the latest on a topic would be wise in choosing another resource. Even so, it is easy to click on a title and immediately retrieve the book to start reading.

#21

This is another tool in which libraries can grab onto and use. I simply typed in "library" for the search term and found many libraries have done just this. One law library offers a few self-help workshops (podshops?), others give "for teens by teens book reviews," and still others podcast upcoming programs. The Sausalito Public Library in CA is offering weekly podcasts of book reviews, in "Radio Sausalito's Check It Out". Doing so only helps to encourage more patrons to visit the website each week. It had some interesting podcasts, such as an author interview for Es Cuba, so I added these podcasts to my Bloglines.

YouTube

A huge variety of videos can be discovered in this vast resource. Users can find all sorts of instructional information, humor, and informational videos. Visual learners will especially appreciate it. As has been mentioned before, there can be many useless/tastless videos, but at the same time it means anyone can add their expertise to a topic. For the library end, perhaps libraries could use this for booktalking, program promotion, or fundraising. It's always fun to view funny videos, so I browsed about and decided to add this lighthearted little clip of how you may feel on Fridays vs. Mondays.

#19

Tons of sites to explore, what to pick? I browsed through Yahoo! Answers and found, obviously, lots of questions and answers. Users post questions in various categories, and anyone wanting to answer can sign in and offer solutions/opinions. This source could be used more for librarians wishing to flex their informational muscle. However, it could be a minefield if used as a reference tool. It might be used as a starting point for ideas on answers to a particular reference question, but I would refer to a more reputable source rather than rely on the answers given.

#18

I think the best feature of Zoho is that it is not limited to location; you can access it any place that offers Internet. This could be advantageous to students doing research papers. They can type in their information from school, home, and the library without worrying about losing or forgetting their disks or USB storage devices. Even better is the cost--free! If they need to download it to a locally installed office program, they can use another free program called OpenOffice.org, which is just as good--if not better--as Microsoft Office. It is also compatible with Microsoft Office.

#17 Sandbox

I added my 2 favorites under animals & restaurants. It was quick & simple to add entries. While interesting to look through, I'd want to bring a bit more organization to it. I thought of it as more of an exercise in editing in a wiki over something that is real useful. It would have been more meaningful if it had been more complex in its content.