Teachertube

I found this amazing video on Teachertube. It is all about the shift in information technology, pointing out the power of digital information technology and social networking sites, by making statistical comparisons. Whilst the information is based on American data, it is still worth watching to get a sense of the power and scope of digital information dissemination. I can't help thinking though, that whilst the new digital age makes the world accessible to everyone everywhere, it also opens up huge opportunities for misuse.
                      
I believe that youtube and teachertube is a very powerful tool to use in teaching and also in libraries so long as it is done purposefully and the information used is authoritative. A library for instance could make and embed a video in their website, that explains to customers how to use the library, where to find things, how to get a library card, how to use the databases etc. It might be much easier for patrons to understand the information if it is in a visual format.

Youtube experience

Making and uploading a video on youtube was actually quite good fun, despite my initial apprehension of being filmed. I certainly learned something about making a video after I discovered that my team partner was sideways in the whole movie!!! So it is important to know that you can't take the video vertically, you actually have to film the movie horizontally in landscape format!
I was also pleased with our result, as I thought that the videos would turn out unclear or be really wobbly, but they were fine and the making of it was a lot easier than I expected. I  like using youtube videos in presentations as there are so many very instructive and effective ones out there, that give excellent visual explanations of information and knowledge. Of course there are also many fun ones available and I have put a couple of Mr Bean videos in the movie bar of my blog. Below I have enclosed a link to a cute video promoting reading, as well as the links to the two videos my team mate and I made. 
Thanks Anna, it was great working with you!!

Cute reading promotion video

How to use a photocopier

How to check out a laptop

Podcasts

Here is the link for the National Library of Australia podcast:
http://www.nla.gov.au/podcasts/

This podcast lets you catch up on recent conferences, talks and interviews held at the National Library. There is a lot there; well worth checking out!

My Wiki experience

I enjoyed exploring the book lovers wiki; it is easy to navigate, colourful and clearly set out. I also had a look at the "library success: A Best Practices Wiki", which looks like a wikipedia page and seems to provide a lot of  subheadings and links, but is not very appealing. When I went to edit and add a page on the Extendinformation literacy skills wiki I found it very easy and straight forward. The wiki provides great benefits as an organisational tool, as it makes it very  easy to share and exchange information and resources. I especially enjoyed the video and can see that if your are organising something within a workplace or even amongst a group of friends (whether it is an event, morning tea or an information session), the wiki would be an ideal tool to use. Within the polytech library, a wiki could contain book, video and website reviews for different genres, a learning center (where people can ask questions, look up information or make suggestions for training or learning sessions), a suggestion box and of course a social tab. I am sure there are a lot more things that could be added, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Delicious

For me, Delicious didn't initially seem as easy and userfriendly as some of the other applications we have used. I did upload a couple of my fellow students blogs as well as some websites that I like. It took me a little while to figure out how to add the Delicious icon on to my browser bar; however, once it was there I could see the benefits of it. Having your favourite links grouped and ready at the click of a button is a fast way to find information again.

Flickr experience

I enjoyed my flickr experience and will use it in the future, as it is really easy to upload, group,tag and share photos. I am also adding the following link from my blog as I loved the Celebarte Banned Books photos!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hatchergraduatelibrary/sets/72157602113979751/

I also found the comparisons on photosharing sites in the Read/Write Web very informative and certainly worth checking out.

RSS feeds

What I like about RSS feeds & newsreaders and how I think I might be able to use this in my personal life:

The great benefit of RSS feeds is that you can always be up to date with any recent news and developments in your field of interest. Once you have subscribed to the RSS feeds of your choice, your homepage's reader will automatically receive any updates of your favorite blogs or websites. Personally I am interested in using this technology by subscribing to RSS feeds of educational websites in order to stay up to date with recent developments in teaching and learning. As a mother of two teenagers I would also like to subscribe to a book review site to receive updates on recent book releases in youth fiction in particular, to be able to encourage reading at this age group.

How can libraries use RSS feeds or take advantage of this technology?

Libraries can take advantage of this technology by subscribing to sites that are important to their industry and clientelle. For instance, a law library might establish RSS feeds to government legislation sites or a specialised library can subscribe to websites in their field of interest; i.e. research websites or university websites etc.; therefore allowing them and their clientelle to stay abreast with the latest developments in their field. For public libraries feeds to book, music and movie review sites might be useful. I believe RSS feeds are a very crucial tool for the information industry to help stay up to date in an everchanging, fast paced world.