Final remarks

Thank you Amanda for saving from the dinousars. It was an excellent opportunity to learn. I was very spektical at first, but I enjoyed all the assignments. They were clear, helpful and very academic, with explanations of the concepts and bibliographies for further reading.

There is a lot out there, and sometimes I am in a limbo going in circles nowhere. Other times there was a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

I must say I liked blogging the best.  I am using delicious to access my bookmarks from another computer location. Facebook seems to be very popular, although I do not think it can substitute e-mail yet. 

I am hoping we will continue to have the opportunity to learn new tools and join the techie world. It was great to have the mentorship of our team leaders, I could not have done without them. Thank you.

In the library everyday there is a question on how to access the tools available to the students. To me this sessions of Learning 2.0 have made a big difference. Now I can navigate (as a beginner, sort of) this vast sea of tools, without panicking and call the IT guys.

Browser tools week 11

This week I installed firefox. At the reference desk the intern love to use Firefox as a browser but I never noticed its capabilities. I added add-ons but was unable to use them. The add-ons are very useful tools like dictionaries and instant translators (gtranslate) from numerous languages. I’ll have to go to the tutorial to be able to apply them.

IE7 same problem (ieSpell) could not install, or try it.

I tried bookmarklets. Added one to the wrong browser. It is sitting in my favorites, eventually I will do something about. Wade spent sometime with me but I am still not clear exactly how they interact. Limbo of the computer world. 

Gaming week 10

What better to do at work than play? I was amazed to see the quantity of games available online, the sophistication of Second life and world of warcraft, the simplicity of soduko. I can only imagine the sophistication of the programming behind the scenes.

I tried soduko online and really enjoyed. I did not have to have a sharpened pencil and eraser.  

I attended Kelly’s demonstration of various games and was impressed by her knowledge. The dance steps is something I will explore outside of work. 

I introduced my husband to second life , while I prepared dinner. He got addicted and met Danu at the doorsteps of macLibrary. He explored various cities and built his avatar, talking out loud. After several days of trial and error, he ended up in Capitol Hill … dancing, dressed in jeans and did not know how to  stop dancing neither how change clothes. So…he left his second life, did not offer to make dinner ever…and I learned by osmosis.

I debated the issue of learning and games. I am skeptical on the value of virtual learning alone. I would prefer to see it as an extracurricular activity or as a reinforcement of daily teaching, especially in Universities. For the Library we ended up in the catalogue anyways. 

Sentence of the day

E ora di pranzo. Andiamo a mangiare.

(English) It is lunch time. Let’s go to eat.

Tip: instead of pranzo= lunch you can say:

Cena = dinner ; Colazione = breakfast ; spuntino o merenda =snack

Beautiful spots

Cortona is nestled at the top of a hill in the middle of the Tuscany countryside. Is surrounded by medieval walls and you can enter by car or walk into the town. It is famous for the ceramics (in their products the sunflower is a typical design ). From the top of the town, in the summer, you can see fields of poppies and sunflowers. The city is a hub of culture: ceramic workshop, concerts, exhibitions tht are offered year long. High school students from various countries attend art classes in immersive programs. 

When staying in Cortona you can reach by train Florence, Assisi, Siena,Perugia on day trips. A convent called le Celle is nestled in the hills and can be reached from Cortona on a walking tour. It was built by San Francesco d’Assisi . You can visit the cell  where he stayed often to rest.

Online Social Networks week 9

This was an interesting week. I got a flurry of e-mail inviting me to participate in their chat rooms. Activity was great in Facebook and MySpace.

 Facebook is very popular and I found many friends and family to talk to and exchange the latest gossip. By the end of the week I had to make a decision either e-mail or facebook?! Could not find an answer, needs more exploring (pros and cons). Facebook is an excellent tool to interact with lost friends or people that have similar interests.

MySpace is very interesting, it has some benefits i.e. you can reach all the world and exchange ideas. But…I still prefer a phone call…and face to face. I do not think I will keep my registration after this learning process.  

Online Applications week 8

LibraryThing I was amazed on how excellent the tool is. It certainly makes cataloguers obsolete. Its design  is very professional and  uses Library terminology and criterias.

I tried RedKid.net it looks fun but when I tried  to upload or make my own pictures I was not successful. Maybe a will go to a tutorial. Thanks to Debbie i was able to generate a sign (disable the pop up blockers)  

Here is my avatar