The Finale - Lunge 21

What were your favourite modules?

I really enjoyed using most of the modules in this exercise because I felt it was beneficial to learn about each of these technologies. I think if I was to name a few and I have to refresh my memory here.
Module 11 – Social video and entertainment. I had not used video sites such as You Tube or Sqidoo but found them very entertaining. You can find anything and everything on You Tube it’s very entertaining new technology especially I imagine for young budding film makers and as learning tools in the case of Teacher’s Tube. Another of the modules I found interesting was RSS news feeds making the news come to me at my blog was good. I did not have to go and check a website so regularly since it was being feed to me through the service.

What technology did you find most interesting for your personal use?

I defiantly enjoyed the photo element and now regularly use Flickr to locate photos and soon hope to add some when I get a digital camera and I enjoy using Facebook to contact with family and friends.

What technology did you think would be most useful professionally for RMIT University Library?

I think a blog is a good news and information sharing tool for an organisation such as a library. I also think mapping and mash ups is a good professional tool for the University such as Create a map in Google Maps of Melbourne specifically of RMIT campuses and RMIT buildings adding value by inserting information about the buildings and services. Plus I think Linked In would be a good professional networking site when it has included some more Australian content. Also the way the University students are able to listen to their lectures on-line and RMIT could certainly incorporate Podcasts and this would help students to catch up on lectures and would help students with sight disabilities to listen to their lecture.

Were there any unexpected Web 2.0 modules that really surprised i.e. that you really didn’t know anything about or expect?

There were several of the modules that I knew nothing about prior to completing the exercises, some I knew the concept but was unfamiliar with some tools and websites associated with these technologies. For example Pipes and mash ups I had not ever used or heard of them before. I quite liked the mash up maps but the pipes as I mentioned I found confusing. I enjoyed finding out about new sites and experimenting using the lunge exercises. I guess the one thing that surprises me is the amount of sites where people are self publishing such as Blogs, Article sites like Buzzle, Facebook to a certain extent My Space and You Tube.

What could be done differently to improve this program’s format or concept?

The only thing I would change is that the homework is less time consuming and maybe cut out some lunges like article assessment and make the homework one step only to write about or do to achieve the mark.

Anything else about the program:

I enjoyed reading other peoples points of view on the Lunge exercises and I would really like the iPod please,I don’t have one!!

Lunge 20 - Web 3.0 and semantic web

Web 3.0 the next step from Web 2.0 well we have to move on after a while but in terms of what 3.0 can offer us. The plan seems to be more virtual technology and a smarter internet search and retrieval system these are all possibilities. After reading about Web 3.0 I interpret that the idea of Web 3.0 is to find ways in which the user can gather data for their needs quickly and efficiently using technologies evolved from web 2.0.

Example: Semantic web; if you wanted to go on holiday and you were not sure where you would think of some destinations and look up some information about those places on the Web. With semantic web you would add what you like doing on holiday and what you are looking for out of your holiday and semantic web would come up with some recommendations. Just like if you visited a travel agent today.


As for virtual technologies users seem to be catching onto virtual technologies and using them as a educational tool in the case of RMIT and as a recreational tool in the case of the TAB are running virtual horse races for the punter to bet on! But seriously I feel it will be up to Gen Y and the following generation to expand the use of these technologies because if the population do not like using them and see no benefits or get bored then they will not grow as they were intended.

Right now the trend of social interactive sites is spreading rapidly the user feels like not an outsider to the news and events they are part of news and events commenting and information sharing more than ever with friends and colleagues. I am interesting in the way technologies will develop and if social networking and virtually technologies will continue to grow or go by the way side, we will wait and see

Pipes: Lunge 16

I have found Yahoo Pipes quite a difficult tool to use and to navigate. The instructional video showing how to make pipes was difficult to comprehend and as an instructional tool was not basic enough in it’s instruction. I am pleased there was a change to the exercise because I was not able to produce a pipe. I have been browsing the pipes that others have made and have decided to add the Amazon best seller list pipes which is regularly updated. I like mashing different websites and feeds. The benefits are that you can then compile what you want in the list and make it relevant to you.

http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=tpfHdM8d3BG6c3O_yjUFzw

43 Things: Lunge 19

I have several goals posted on 43 things: Eat less sugar, visit the gym more regularly and do a creative writing course. I have written a little about each goal and set reminders to myself through 43 Things website.

Things I like about this site: Good for motivating people toward their goals in life

Things I don't like: Sponsored advertising, the goals being on a public website

http://www.43things.com/person/darcher32

Google chat: Lunge 18

I have signed onto Google chat and I sometimes chat with my sister and my dad on-line. Instant message is a fun novelty but the inconvenience is that you have to arrange to be all on-line at the same time. I did a subject at RMIT last year within the class we had to form groups and do activities for class each week. Most of the group wanted the form of communication to be instant messaging. I found that those who chose to take part in instant messaging took a lot longer to complete tasks than other groups who chose to meet face to face and discuss activities Instant messaging is useful for brief chats with up to three people but not the most productive use of time for allocating tasks conducting discussion for a work group. It concerns me that students will lose verbal communication abilities if they rely on e-mail, texting and chatting for means of communication only.

Forums, Groups Marketing & Professional Networking: Lunge 17

I registered with LinkedIn a professional networking website and created a profile for myself with my employment details. Setting up the profile was quite simple and I could see how it would be beneficial for people wanting to connect with others in their field of employment and can connect with others by joining professional groups, even Hilary Clinton has a profile!. The site can receive mail; can research companies and which employees from a particular company have joined LinkedIn. Plus you can send professional questions that will be answered by an expert in the field. Again the site is primarily set up for an American audience and perhaps would not be as useful for Australians, but I enjoyed using it.

Flickr Image: Lunge 15

I found this beautiful photo of Cradle Mountain in Tasmania my home state through Flickr. I was very impressed with the quality of the photos. I do not have a digital camera but when I do I will try uploading some of my photos when I do eventually get one.

Mapping and Mashups: Lunge 13

Uses for mashups for RMIT: Create a map in Google Maps of Melbourne specifically of RMIT campuses and RMIT buildings adding value by inserting information about the buildings and services.

Personally I am blown away by Google Maps I have not used them very much before and did not know of th existence of viewing maps at a street level or of creating maps in Google. I love the street level view and the option of rotating the picture to see the surrounding of the street.. amazing!!


View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Article sites - Buzzle: Lunge 12

When I first open the page for Buzzle article finder I found the layout quite cluttered, on further investigation I noticed that the articles were bordered by large sponsored Google ads. The articles look to be self published like Wikipedia anyone can be an author on this site.

‘If I become a Buzzle.com author, what is expected of me?
Although we do not have any requirements of our authors per se, you will be expected to submit original, quality articles written by yourself and owned by you. We also expect you to consider your author status a privilege and therefore we expect that you will make a commitment to submit articles with some regularity’http://www.buzzle.com/authors/become-author.asp
( If you want to find out more about how to become a Buzzle author click on this link)

I don’t think I would be recommending that students use this site for researching essays or projects. The site has a focus on American topics and stories and no advanced search option I think search window is smaller than the Google ads featured! On the whole I was not very impressed with this site or any of the articles. I did however find this amusing article titled: Shutup & Be Quiet 101" and "Appropriate Talk For The Library 102" Should Be Required Classes For Librarians!written by a disgruntled library user. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/140644.html

Blog catchers: Lunge 10

My experiences of using Google Blog Search and Technorati where that the search terms I used did not bring me good results. I started by using broad library-related search terms and the results were America foccused mainly small American Libraries containing local information. After a while I narrowed my search and after scrolling through several pages of blogs found Library and Information Science News http://www.lisnews.org/ This blog is a collection of blogs giving library news stories from around the world and is quite interesting but not always well written.

Social bookmarking: Lunge 9

I have signed up for a del.icio.us account and at first found the page difficult to navigate and am still learning the different functions in my account. I have tagged some of my favourite website pages incorporating my personal and work interests plus added catagories to create a tag cloud. I can see how this site would be useful for people who want to mark large amounts of websites and categorise them. Students and academics could potentially use this site to help them mark sites to help with their work and share the sites they have found with collegues and peers.

The Information Age Mindset: Lunge 7

For step seven of the 21 Lunges exercise I have chosen the article The Information Age Mindset: changes in students and implications for Higher Education/ Jason L. Frand. This article looks at the students in higher education and the way they use technology to learn and observes changing learning styles created by new technologies.

The article begins looking at the rapid change in how students view technology; students are growing up in a globally connected information rich and digitally enhanced culture. The introduction of new technologies such as the Internet, mobile phones, palm pilots and so on means that students are accessing and using information differently to how they used information several decades ago. Information is quicker to retrieve and the student must be have the ability to navigate the information they retrieve and draw their own conclusions from the data.

The article says of this generation that‘Living in a connected world means individuals can interact in real time dialogues from anywhere anytime’. This means students have come to expect quick results and Universities are adding more services on-line and labs and libraries are staying open later as students experience working at more flexible hours. This is in part due to on-line services being available 24 hours a day in other areas of the community. The article finishes saying that Universities have to keep up with their customers wants and needs and must incorporate the changing world of the information age.

Social News: Lunge 8

I have become familiar with social news polling through being a regular reader of The Age on-line. I regularly go to the most read stories of each of the major news papers to see if there is anything interesting that is newsworthy interstate. I find the majority of articles most viewed by readers are ones with unusual or sensational headlines that catch the readers’ attention and prompt them to find out about the story. On-line news is great viewing for breaking stories throughout the day.
After exploring Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and NetVibes, I prefer Digg and Stumble Upon. Stumble Upon is very interesting and enjoyable to use and I did stumble upon many interesting things and my favourites is now getting quite full plus I have a toolbar for it. The idea of Stumble Upon is that you set categories of interest to you and then Stumble Upon will search this range of topics for you giving you interesting results. Digg was interesting also the list of stories which are often on the usual side or amusing videos or American political stories. I enjoyed this exercise and will continue to Stumble Upon for a few weeks yet.

Podcasts : Lunge 4

I have subscribed to the Triple J new music podcast and am enjoying listening to new music.

Perhaps Podcasts can be used on the RMIT library's website to promote new and interesting facts about the library or to help students with learning or sight disabilties by reading the information for them to listen to rather than in written form.

You Tube Library clips: Lunge 11

Check out this You Tube clip called 'The Library' and another short film called 'The Librarian' hilarious. We have to laugh at ourselves and this certainly takes library rules to the extreme!

Adding a photo

I thought I should add some pictorial content to this blog and have included a nice picture of my dad's dog Baxter. He is a 2 years old Beagle very mischievious in nature and a wonderful escape artist and has even been known to climb trees.

Collegues blogs

My Collegues Patricia Darwish and Tanya Bramley have volunteered their blog addresses for the purpose of this exercise.

Thank-you Patricia and Tanya!

http://patricia-petiteschoses.blogspot.com/

http://lungelaments.blogspot.com/

Social Networking: Lunge 6

I am a regular Facebook user the benefits for me are viewing the photos that people upload and viewing friends statuses. Just one sentence lets me know how friends are feeling and what they are doing; for example if they are sick if they are on holiday and so on. All the other applications on Facebook were fun at first but then the conditions of doing a quiz or other application were to send the application to 10 other friends which is very annoying and not user friendly.

As part of the social networking exercise I have joined a group called Love Libraries and have become a fan of Yarra Plenty Regional Library:

Website:
http://www.lovelibraries.co.uk/http://www.myspace.com/lovelibrarieshttp://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/discover/findLibrary.do
Mission: Love Libraries is a campaign to make England's public libraries even better.
Products:Love Libraries carrier bags, mugs, wristbands and the famous Love Libraries badges.

Website:
http://www.yprl.vic.gov.au/
General Information:
Yarra Plenty Regional Library provides library services to 3 municipalities in the northeast of Melbourne. The 8 branches and 2 state of the art mobile libraries cover an area of 983 km² including metropolitan, urban fringe and rural populations. Over half of the 306,000 people living in the region are members and it is the highest circulating library in Victoria with 3.6 million loans a year. It is one of the leading providers of online services in public libraries and the number of public access computers is much higher than average. It has one of the best wide area network infrastructures for libraries in Australia. Yarra Plenty Regional Library provides library services to 3 municipalities in the northeast of Melbourne. The 8 branches and 2 state of the art mobile libraries cover an area of 983 km² including metropolitan, urban fringe and rural populations. Over half of the 306,000 people living in the region are members and it is the highest circulating library in Victoria with 3.6 million loans a year.

Welcome to Danielle's 21 Lunges blog.

Thanks to RMIT to introducing this information self paced program. So far I have set up some RSS feeds, created a blog and listened to some pod casts and You Tube clips.

This part of learning has been more of a fun exercise than anything.