Relax and Reflect

I think the Web 2.0 training is a great idea. The "independent study" format is well-suited to the subject material, as well. (i.e. the web is a great tool for distance education and training, and using such a format to discover the web just seems appropriate.)

As I've gotten to reflect a bit on the experience, I think the thing that strikes me most about the whole web 2.0 trend is how predictable it seems. Remember when you had to learn BASIC to make a PC do anything? Before Mac and windows, only a few people could use computers. But then the platform became more user-friendly, and pretty soon everyone could use word-processing and spreadsheet applications. Then the web came along, and at first, the means for publishing in this platform were too complex for most users to take the time to learn. However, the longer the technology was around, the more simple applications became. Pretty soon, anybody with a computer and a little bit of curiosity and some trial and error could make a web page, post a blog, or post their photos online. Lickety split.

So, seems to me that things just keep getting easier. I can't wait to see what's next.

Gaming

So... I played "Burger Island." I think the fast food companies are funding the dissemination of this one. Yup. I found myself totally addicted to putting pickles on cheeseburgers. There were these little boxes that popped up in the corner of the screen, illustrating instructions for each of the four orders I was expected to work on at any given time. The instructions were all in pictures. When I finished a level, I could buy a new recipe i.e. for spiced fries, or veggie burgers. Reminded me a little bit of the more complicated games -- the ones based on role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, where you earn points by performing tasks, and then you're allowed to buy more stuff (abilities, weapons, etc.) with the points you earn.

I've done a little gaming with my many geeky friends, and the thing that struck me most about the recent trends in gaming is the freedom with which you get to try and try again if you fail. I grew up playing games on my family's little atari console (space invaders and pac man!) and you got three lives and that was it. And, of course, the complexity of the games has increased dramatically. And the incremental rewards... much different from the way things used to be when you put your quarter in the slot at the arcade.

Maps and Geotagging

Google Earth is amazing. There is so much information here. Beyond the outrageous coolness of being able to zoom in on a sattelite photo from out in space to your backyard, you can also discover any number of useful things. For example, you can turn on the traffic layer to see red, green, or yellow dots to indicate the flow of traffic on a given road. Click on one of the dots and you get the actual speed of the traffic at that location! Or turn on the "Places of Interest" layer and get tons of icons placed all over the map indicating such things as bed and breakfasts, schools, stores, and national forests. Or -- my personal favorite -- explore "Trimble Outdoor Trips" under "Gallery," and find hikes and other outdoor adventures. What's great about all this is that you can hover the cursor over an icon, see what it is, and if you want to know more, click away!

And, like google maps, you can use it to get directions to your girl scout meeting in darrington. Wooo hooo!

Online Apps

This is my google document! I created this post in google docs, and then posted it to my blog.

I have been using Zoho for several months now... in fact, when I interviewed for my PSA II position at Stanwood, I used Zoho Show to create my presentation. It was great -- I was getting some guidance from a fellow techie who lived in another state, and I was able to share the presentation with her and she was able to make edits (though she only corrected one thing -- a typo!) Once the presentation was done, I didn't have to worry about having it on a disc, or bringing in my own laptop, since it was saved online. I just used the Sno-Isle laptop, logged in to my Zoho account. Pretty slick!

Avatars and Second Life

Alrighty. Here's the digital me. Not too bad a likeness, though I'm a lot taller and my hair never looks this good..

Regarding my presence in second life: I currently live but one life, my first. I appreciate the fun that there is to be had in escaping from the real world into an idealized digital world where things can be as we want them to be... but alas... I don't have the time. I'd rather be outdoors, riding my bike, or sniffing real roses.

Search Engines

Well, I have to say, I'm a google girl. I searched for something I've been wondering about: a map of the trails at Fort Ebey State Park near Coupeville. I searched on Google for "Fort Ebey State Park trail map" (not in quotes in the search box) and got a map as my first hit. On Mamma, the same hit came up as #5, and 1-4 didn't even include any evidence of a map, nor even reference to a map. On Dogpile, my hit was #11, though I could see evidence of map references in my other hits (1-10). Rollyo was fair: it didn't give me a direct link to a map, but did give me the wikipedia article with links to a trail map.

So, then I tried to find a schedule for the Guemes Island Ferry. A search on Google for 'guemes island ferry schedule' took me right where I needed to go on the first hit in the list -- the ferry schedule. Dogpile gave me a list of commercial, irrelevant hits at the top of the list, but also took me where I needed to go via the fourth hit on the list. Dogpile was even worse -- a whole long list of irrelevant commercial links, and the link I needed was #5 in the non-commercial list! Rollyo was as good as google in this case.

I also love google for the ability to cache websites -- you can have your search terms highlighted on the web pages in the list of hits. Helps a lot when you're scanning content for something in particular.

Podcasting

Well, it's just another way to get media into your life... conveniently... and without having to read.

So, I checked out a few podcasts from various library sources, and I like "This Week @ Your Library," which is a podcast feed that covers current news and events at the Mississippi State University Libraries. I also discovered some feeds for podcasts of actual library programs. These both seem like things that could be useful at Sno-Isle -- podcasts that explain various library services, for example, might be kind of cool to put on the website. Users could subscribe to an RSS feed and be kept abreast of new goings-on.... or maybe just library news... like a newsletter, except in podcast form. And podcasting video or audio from library programs might be kind of neat, too. We could certainly increase our audience by making those events available outside the constraints of time and space (i.e. you don't have to come to the library at a specific time to see the speaker you want to see.) Just some thoughts...

So, anyway, I subscribed to a few personally interesting podcasts as well in my google reader -- some stuff from the center for fairness and accuracy in reporting (FAIR) and daily podcasts of "Democracy Now!" -- one of the news shows I like to catch. I'm sure they'll just pile up in my reader, but it's worth making an effort.