Last post for Learning 2.0! Whoo-hoo!
After all this time, I have to say I'm still bitter about this program being made mandatory, although I've since discovered that this edict was just for Freedom Regional, not all of PLCMC. (Although I think a lot of other branch managers made the same call.) Grumblings about mandatory-ness aside though, I have to say I have enjoyed myself. A lot of the things on the list were things I'd already messed around with on my own, which made me feel very tech-savvy. (The things I hadn't played around with already were generally things I wasn't terribly interested in...but considering how much I play around on-line, that's not all that surprising.) I suppose my main gripe is that, with the pressure on to finish the list, I didn't feel like I got to play as much as I wanted to - with a few of my entries, I just sort of copped out and knocked out a post based on what I'd managed to discover in 15 minutes or less. In some cases, like with Netlibrary, Librarything and Bloglines, I just went with what I already knew from past experience and didn't bother to try to dig deeper to discover anything new. Ah, the mandatory rule is still my main complaint, I guess. If another program like this were to come along, though, I'd do it, mandatory or no.

So, that's that for Learning 2.0 - wonder what the MP3 player will look like? (Here's hoping PLCMC spends more than $10 apeice on them...I already have a crappy MP3 player that doesn't even hold a full CD's worth of music, thanks!)

Can you tell I'm rushing to rock out the rest of this list in one sitting? (Gotta get it done by the 6th! And I'm going to be busy tomorrow!)
So, you'd think someone who doesn't like podcasts would also not be terribly fond of audiobooks...but of course, my brain doesn't work like that. Granted, I only listen to audiobooks when I 'm in the car, or when I'm working on something at the computer, but I do enjoy them. (Not as much as regular books...but there are few joys in my life equal to reading a good book!) Anyway, in the interest of saving time, I'm going to slightly cop out on this one and say that I've already listened to Anne McCaffrey's Changelings. (Do any other fans out there think Anne's writing style is getting odder as she grows older?) The audiobooks from this site play nicely on Media Player Classic, (most things do if you have the right codecs), and even though the story was a bit odd, (the selkie kids and their ocean pals were a bit hokey, even for a sci-fi/fantasy girl like me!), it was fun to listen to it while I did other things.
Interesting note - my old NetLibrary account disappeared! I tried to log in again, just for the sake of this exercise, and it no longer recognized my username, password, or e-mail account. (And I used my library e-mail, so I know it's still active...) How odd...maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've had to replace my library card since then? Definitely worth looking into...although it's not like it was hard to create a new account...

Confession time - I'm not a huge fan of podcasts, and I've been skipping the ones posted in the Learning 2.0 blog. Unlike all the other stuff from this list that's turned me off, I don't really have a reason why podcasts bug me...normally this sort of thing would be right up my alley. Still, I'm too close to getting that MP3 player to give up now, so let's do this.
I found a few library-related podcasts to listen to by browsing around the directories. My top three are, in no particular order: Open Stacks, LibVibe, and Library Lady Audiobooks. (The last one is just a lady named Annie reading chapters of different books - sort of like an audiobook podcast...it's still kind of library-ish.) Confession #2 here - I didn't feel like downloading anything special to play these, nor did I feel like messing around with new codecs for my MP Classic to get it to play them, so I just added them all to my bloglines account and listened to snippets of them from there. But hey! That takes care of the adding an RSS feed to my bloglines account bit, so ta-da! (Will I ever listen to them again? Maybe if I'm really bored...actually, no, probably not.) As for finding anything useful...well...that's a tough one for me. (Have I mentioned I don't like podcasts? Makes it tough to come up with good ideas on how to use them...) I guess they can be used for those who learn beter if they can listen to instructions rather than read them...people seem to like them on the Learning 2.0 blog...meh, they're neat if you like them, they're annoying if you don't, and I don't. On to the next exercise.

It's Fall Fest y'all!

How could I pass up a chance to show off a time-honored tradition from Salem College? Every year for a campus celebration called Fall Fest, the juniors and seniors grab their favorite noisemakers and go through the dorms waking everyone up. In this clip, a bunch of brand-new freshmen are waiting around to see what's going to happen...and then end up scattering when the wake-up team hits the scene. (The first Fall Fest wake-up can be a little scary, actually)
Anyway, I've been in love with YouTube for a long time - it's one of those sites that just has something for everyone. Of course, as with pictures, you do have to be careful about what you post - putting up a video of someone without their consent is a huge no-no on the internet. I could definitely see this being put to use in the library - how neat would it be to have a live, walking tour of some of our branches up here? (As an aside...doing a search for PLCMC brings up some odd things...anyone ever heard of the PLCMC band?)