No. 23 - The End

I think my favorite discovery was Del.icio.us. I was somewhat cynical about this, but then Ellen Ward pointed out that you can open it at any public computer and have your favorites with you. I can't say that I've tried this, but I really like the idea of it. Probably the most fun thing for me was creating my avatar. In the past, I have made myself into an M&M, but it had less options for customization.

While I had heard about a lot of these things, it was nice to use them and have a hands-on training. I read about these programs a lot so it's nice to have a more concrete idea of their capabilities.

I was surprised by the willingness of staff to help one another get through the program. Once or twice I got stuck and people were very eager to work with me and encourage me to keep going. I think the Randallstown staff was very good at recognizing people who completed the program and applauding their hard work, especially the ones who were not so techno-saavy in the beginning. I think staff are more confident in their abilities and deserve a big round of applause.

In the future I would like the program to begin at different times for different staff members. It was hard having so many people working on it at once. There were scheduling conflicts and then limited computer availability. It was also better when MySpace was blocked on the public computers. Several of the applications were a lot faster afterwards. I would also like to see a more basic curriculum. While it was nice to have people blog, I think more people could benefit from the information just by visiting the sites and becoming familar with the offerings.

I am not sure if I would participate again. I just found it difficult to make time to blog. I would recommend offering the program at a different time. Perhaps after the summer, the purges, and the replacement lists. There was a lot going on that seemed more important.

I am glad to have completed the program. I learned new things and had a good time doing it.

No. 22 - Overdrive

I was lucky enough to have Tina Pickens show me how to use Overdrive when I visited Information Services. It helped clear up some questions I had regarding its use. I would love to use this service but unfortunately I have an iPod so it can't be downloaded. I am thinking about another brand of MP3 player and who knows I might be lucky enough to win one.
I did find Fahrenheit 451. I think I will recommend this to people as an alternative to the book since it is THE BIG READ for October. We have a display up with talking books, books, movies, and the reader's guide. I will find a way to incorporate the Overdrive option too.

No. 21 - Podcasting

I really liked the Yahoo Podcasts. I found it much easier to search and had better luck looking for things I like. It was very clean and simple. I also like how it shows you what else is popular.
I am a big NPR junkie and like listening to Diane Rehm and Nancy Pearl for book suggestions. I was able to find their podcasts.
I tried using Apple before to search for podcasts but didn't have success. A lot of the podcasts were too short or the results were way off base. When I tried this, it was a while back. I was looking for podcasts to put on a website I had to make for young adults about relationships and sexuality.