Beyond method #12 (Last dance: reflection and evaluation)

I conquered the last step! and was satisfied with myself for sticking to the program until the very last lesson. I did learn a lot of things out of this journey about web technologies that I had not known before.
I really like " Dust off the blog" that makes my current blog looks much more different than the old one. I also like "Prezi" , "Smilebox", "SurveyMonkey" and the recommended job searching websites.
This program not only provides me with knowledge of Web techonologies but also issues me a Certificate for my profile of my Professional Development. Technologies are changing rapidly and there is no doubt that libraries are changing dramatically, too, to catch up with it. As a result, library assistants or librarians need to "upgrade" themselves as well in order not to be left behind. And this program is the right choice for them to better themselves. Furthermore, in this economic crisis, free program like this is so "valuable" for those who work in the library.
The way this program has been designed is easy for individuals as well as for groups to pick up. So have the formats and concepts!
I would certainly choose to participate again ! And I would like to thank Naomi Di Tullio for running this program.

Beyond Method #11 ( Online Surveys)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C79XGV8

Click here to take survey

Above is the very short survey link I created with "SurveyMonkey" and really loved how it worked. I have received a lot of online surveys sent to us , and have completed a lot of them but have not created any before. Therefore I am very interested in this exercise. Our school libraries normally conduct a survey at the end of each schoolyear and give out prizes to get opinions from the library users, and the survey has been done by a professional team. And after that we have the feedback from users.

And regarding live audience survey tools such as PollEverywhere, I can't see a use for such tools in our library now, but I might change my opinion soon.

Beyond Method # 10 (Meet you online)

I have used "Skype" at home to connect with my friends but not in the library in any meeting or training. My library is currently not using any of these tools in conjunction with staff or patrons, and I do not think our library can make use of these tools for right now because we are in short of budget, but in the future, I hope our library can use these tools in meetings, trainings. However, Professors have used these tools in classrooms equipped with computers to communicate with students.

Beyond method #9 (Tell a [digital] story)

Scrapbooking design made with Smilebox

This step gave me a lot of fun. I chose online Scrapbooking- smilebox for this exercise.I spent quite a long time choosing the photos and really enjoyed watching my achievement again and again after that. I used "Smilebox" to create my work and it was not hard to figure out how it works. The process went smoothly, however, there is only one thing that I would like to make sure is that I did choose the option "free" to post to my blog, but there is another option with the price you should pay if you want to print ? I did not choose that option. (hopefully I will not be charged / of course, I did not want to print).

Digital storytelling has been used in our library and it really works!

Beyond method # 8 (Capture your computer screen)

I really like this lesson , though I haven't had a chance to practise doing this at work. I used Screenr to make a short screencast at home when I was making dinner, showing my husband how to cook quick soup.It was fun.

Screencasting tools provide a lot of uses in the library: how to seach books online, how to renew books online, how to access database at home ...and so much more..
Our library is already using screencasting tools for some programs and they work well for library users.

Beyond Method # 7 (Next Gen Presentations)

This is the URL to my presentation in Prezi. Hope it works
http://prezi.com/ynuna_enswbx/beyond-2-step/

I have used online presentation once in a while with Google Docs for my class, but not for my job. For this method, as recommended, I chose a different tool that I have never tried before : Prezi and created my Prezi by using the sample fake presentation provided. It took me a while to figure out how to make it though they have instruction. It seems not as easy as they show. I was very interested to see that I did it at last, but still I need to spend more time if I would like to create a very good online presentation as those in the popular Prezi.

There is no doubt that online presentation tools bring a lot of advantages and interest for users of all fields. Library is not the exeception. I think online presentation can be of great support in teaching library skills, in giving tutorials on how to renew books online at home, on how to access the school database at home....

If a patron came in to our library asking for recommendations on presentation tools that are freely available online, of course, we would be able to provide them with the websites, but further than that if they need help on how to use those tools our school has an open lab with lab assistants to assist them.

"Beyond Method #6" (eBooks and eReaders)

I really appreciate ebooks, however, if I have a choice, print book is always my priority. I tried Project Gutenberg and looked for the book " Little women" and this is the URL for the book:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/514/514-h/514-h.htm

The HTML version was easy for me to download and read online.Readers can search by authors or title if they know what they are looking for. With the function "search by subject", it gives you a lot of options such as Sort "by Popularity" , " by Release Date" or "Alphabetically". Moreover, readers can select the language of books they would love to read, though the language of books I would like to read is not available there.
I think some of our patrons would be interested in the public domain service like Project Gutenberg, though our library has a good collection of eBooks as well.
I think I would be able to help patrons if they wanted help putting a title from Project Gutenberg on an eReader.

Beyond Method # 5 (Tag & Social Cataloging)

Books and Library are companions(though nowadays, patrons might not see physical books in some electronic libraries).It is obvious that Libraries can make a good use from the social cataloging tools such as LibraryThing or Goodreads. Librarians can get more feedback from readers about the books they have ordered, or about the books they are going to add to their collections. Librarians can recommend these websites to readers , so they can manage their own readings. With the Rating and Sharing features in these services, readers can have a better judge on the books they want to spend time to read or money to buy. Social cataloging would be a useful tool for librarians and book lovers.

"Beyond method #4" (Employment)

"Finding Jobs Page" from the Texas Workskills Development in Library Websites is really helpful for job seekers,in this current difficult economy state, to look for a temporary or full time job. To me, in order to make use of these sites, patrons should have some knowledge of basic computer skills in order to search through the online job resources and apply the jobs they want online.
Though each site has a different appearance, I couldn't see any confusions on the employment site.
Goodwill Community Foundation's Computer Basics Page is useful for patrons, to some extent, in learning how to use the computer and would be a great support for them to do their job search online.It gives patrons general ideas about the computer or laptop; however, if the tutorial had more practical steps on how to use the mouse, what is a cursor, link, browser...,where to click to see the ad.., it would be more helpful for them. The two online computer tutorials:"Computer Basics Page" and "Internet Basics Page" provided in this step, patrons who really would like to learn and would spend a lot of time on computers by themselves will get some benefits from this tool. Otherwise,I don't think librarians in our library are able to face-to-face assist one patron to go through the whole computer tutorial. Furthermore,our school has an open lab with lab assistants for those who need help at computers.
After looking at the employment resources mentioned in the step,I can see that the website Indeed.com is set up like a Google search, whoever is familiar with Google can find it easy to search.careerbuilder.com seem good and easy, too,for job seekers to search and the jobs on both websites are updated.
Not many of our patrons have asked for job search help in our library since the school has a department to take care of that; however, we could help jobseekers,by providing them more job searching websites.

"Beyond Method #3" (Where in the World?)

View South Austin Campus Library in a larger map

This is the link of a library that I created on my Google map. I really want to put the link on a line with some words like " my map to .." or "see maps" as in the examples , unfortunately I do not know how to do that. I have tried a lot of times to create my map following the instructions in the step, but still couldn't figure where I could copy the link to on my map. I saw the chain "link" function and got stuck at that point.I opened the link, copied it and did not know where to paste it to.
A photo or a map speaks more than a thousand words especially in giving directions. Maps mashups have made it convenient for public or private users in creating their own personal maps.

"Beyond Method #2" (Customize Your Window to the Internet)

Netvibes or iGoogle?
After reading the articles in Step 2 and looking at how some libraries utilize Netvibes and iGoogle, I have created a customizable homepage from these two services and had a lot of fun. To me, a customizable homepage from Netvibes is the best option for librarians because it lets them make their Netvibes page public, it is easy to create dashboards and widgets and it is pretty to look at. Librarians can make varieties of dashboards for their different categories: catalogues and instructions on how to do research, library news and activities, world news…
It is easier for me to add my own widgets to a page from Netvibes than to add my own gadgets to a page from iGoogle. I have tried several times to use the function “Add feed or gadget” from iGoogle to add my own URL, however a note “Not found” popped up all the time and I couldn’t make it.

Method 12

I did it, eventually! Thanks to all of you who have launched and extended this program , so I can have a chance to go through the whole process of learning and benefit from this excellent program. I was interested in most of the exercises in the training. These exercises are related to each other to some extend. The way the 'creator' explains and guides me from setting up my own Blogs, adding my first Post to exploring Cloud Computing, RSS & Newsreaders, Photos & Images, Videos, Tagging & Social Bookmarking, Social Networking, Chat & IM, Wikis and Podcasts is really amazing, professional and informative. This shorter version of the popular 23 things program gives me a comfortable feeling that I can reach the goal in a shorter way, and how great and smarter I feel upon finishing this course! This program has assisted me in my Professional Development at work and in my daily use. The Certification after the online training is another stimulation to mark our achievement. I would definitely participate in the next program you offered in the future. I would like to say thanks again to all of you who brings Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 to us , who work in the library.