Thing #23: Sum It Up

Learn & Play has been a really excellent opportunity to learn about many new aspects of technology, Web 2.0, library staff, as well as developing skills to become a more efficient lifelong learner.
I have been exposed to a lot of new resources that I was never even aware of until I worked through the activities of Learn & Play which I find very useful and many of which I will continue to explore and use often. I was surprised to find out how many resources our library system offers which I wasn't fully aware of and also all of the tools out there I have been familiarized with through the program which I can pass along to patrons.
It is pretty amazing to see how many staff members were excited about participating in this community lifelong learning extravaganza and how we can share all this knowledge with the patrons we serve each day.

Thing #22: Digital Media!

I am a fan of the option of digital media - I think many people are already taking advantage of this format and since there is a big push for going "green" this is one more step in the right direction. On the other hand, nothing beats the physicality of holding a quality book in your hands, but I think this service will suit many people's needs. Perhaps accessing other media such as music and the like is easier to consider in the digital format with the popularity of mp3 players. It also rids the issue of dealing with damaged physical items which need constant replacing - which is always a huge plus.
I find the Foreign Language Learning options to be of interest as it offers additional resources in combination with CML's "Mango Languages" program. The titles offered are something I am excited to download and try out shortly.

Thing #21: Podcasts

Podcasts are something I am familiar with, but haven't spent a whole lot of time seeking out. I have friends that listen to podcasts regularly and have passed some along. One of my favorite podcasts is Chicago Public Radio's "The American Life" which I have listened to for a few years now which can be found here: This American Life Podcasts are a relevant and useful way to share information and I feel it is something that library patrons would be interested in subscribing to if CML decided to embrace this technology in the future.

Thing #20: You too can YouTube!

YouTube has a plethora of entertaining videos to select from and I have been imbibing in this resource for some time. If you are looking for a particular song, or perhaps an episode of a show, a political speech, an episode from SNL - YouTube is the first place I turn to, because most of the time they have it available.

And since we are rounding out the Learn & Play activities, I decided on a music video called "Librarian" by Haunted Love because it sort of ties in with my initial post on my blog about the image of libraries, as well as the choice of my blog title. Enjoy:

Thing #19: Explore CML’s own Tool Box of great Web 2.0 tools

Well, honestly I've never explored CML's tool box before, so this was kind of fun and informative! I think there are a few handy tools I'll be referencing in the future and definitely be passing along to our patrons.
StumbleUpon & BoingBoing both seem like promising sites & I found some creative links to Halloween costumes on the StumbleUpon site.

Thing #18: Discovering Web 2.0 tools

I was surprised while perusing the list of Web 2.0 tools that I am actually familiar with quite a few on the list!

I have been telling myself for quite sometime that I'd like to learn Spanish and I have accessed and completed a few lessons on Mango Languages in the past and it seemed like a great resource to learn the basics of a language. It also happens to be CML's new language resource and received 2nd place in the category of Education for the Web Tool Awards. Not too shabby...

Thing #17: Web-based apps: break free from your desktop!

Oh yeah, this is definitely useful for libraries and myself. What a great alternative for people to work on documents anywhere they go and not be worried about working away on something, saving to a floppy (for example) and then BAM! disappearo. Nope, not in this case...great solution for our patrons. I decided to play around with a running tally I've been keeping of films I've seen in Google docs. Currently it is just a HUGE massive ongoing list. Maybe slightly nerdy, but oh well...I like the idea of being able to send it to a friend or co-worker and then they can edit/add what they would like. Very wiki-ish!