Beyond Method 12

Please reflect on your learning journey and post a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you if you’re drawing a blank for your post …

• What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
• How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
• Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?And last but not least…
• If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

My favorite discovery from the Beyond Two-Steppin Program was learning about creating presentations online and all of those different tools that were available to use. I also liked learning about having a customized portal to the internet through igoogle or Netvibes, where the things that I am interested in are readily accessible (instead of what the search engine believes that I will find interesting). I also really enjoyed learning about digital storytelling. I am definitely going to try this with my own images, but maybe one day, these tools can be used for images that were captured during storytimes and other programs. This program has assisted in my lifelong learning goals by making me aware of tools that I had no idea were out there, so that not only I can utilize them, but I can suggest them to patrons who made need to use tools like these in the future. I know that we have some patrons who do not own flash drives, and I think that using those online documents or presentations could help them keep access to their work in the future (especially if they do not have Microsoft Office products at home, they would still be able to keep working on the project). As for the things that surprised me, I did not realize how many different and useful tools were out there and free of charge to help with creating documents, presentations, having your own "customized window" to the internet, screencasting, and more. I think that we should, as librarians, know more about these things, so that we can share them with our patrons. I know that ebooks can be really expensive, and I would love to tell a patron who has just brought in a brand new ereader, where they can find thousands of "free" books to read on it. I would definitely love to participate in any programs like this that are offered in the future. This has been a great learning experience for me. Thanks!

Beyond Method 11

Discuss your experience with online survey tools. If you’ve never used any before, do you see that changing in light of this method? How does your library typically survey its patrons? Do you see that changing in light of anything covered here? Why or why not? And regarding live audience survey tools such as PollEverywhere, do you see a use for such tools in your library?

I have never used or set up a poll using any of the online surveys mentioned in the method. I think that for some libraries, it could be worth it to set up a survey to connect to their patrons. I imagine that in some of the bigger library systems, it is hard to find out what the community is feeling about the materials, services, and programs that the library is offering. For that kind of library system, I think that using these tools would be very helpful. For our library, however, we could probably more effectively find out this information with a paper survey. I am not sure that using these tools would be effective for our library. For our storytimes, we usually offer a survey for the parents to fill out after the storytime is over, and I think that it is an effective way of getting an idea of what the parents think about what their child/children have gotten from the storytime. I am not sure that we would get the same feedback if the storytime is offered online through any of these tools. I think it is better to ask about the effectiveness of the program while it is fresh on the memories of the patrons.  



Create a free account with one of the four traditional online survey tools, create a short survey, and either link to it or embed it in your blog post for this method.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JZRV3QC

Beyond Method 10

In your blog post for this method, tell us if you have ever used any online meeting or online conferencing tools. If so, which ones? Is your library currently using any of these tools in conjunction with staff or patrons? If not, do you see a use for any of these tools in your library? Why or why not? If you cited any challenges in your response, try to brainstorm possible ways to overcome those challenges.

I have personally used Skype to keep up with my friends back in Central Texas. I really like using Skype (when you have a good internet connection, that is), because it is a free and easy way of getting to see the people who are far away from you. I think it is a great tool for family members and friends who have to be so far away that even a phone call would be too expensive. You would also get to see how everyone is doing, rather than just hearing their voices. Our library is not currently using Skype between ourselves or the patrons. We do not have webcams or microphones for the computers, and I am not sure that we would have the interest that having the things needed to use Skype would require. We also are not a big enough library to need librarians to talk to other librarians over Skype (normally we just call or walk to their offices). Maybe we could get some patron interest in using Skype if we discussed all of the benefits of using it. Maybe, as the person discussed in the article, we could set up one "Skype" computer for interested patrons.

Beyond Method 9

First, I have to say I loved the "Questions from the Heart" video and the "I'm Sorry" video. I teared up when watching both of these videos. It is amazing how powerful a video that lasts just a few minutes can be. There are times that I would love to sit down with all of my grandmother and her sisters and brothers and interview them about their lives ( I don't think they would like it, but I might make them anyway). I think it is important that people know their family's, library's, town's history. I think these video capturing programs are a great way of doing that. I think it would be great for our library to have people create little videos about why they like the library, why they love Texas City, or maybe some of their favorite memories about either. It would also be a great way of getting eye-witness testimony to all of the big events of the area. The down side to this, of course, is how to keep these videos in the long run. Even if all of the videos are kept in digital format, how long will it be until technology would become too advanced to update them?

In your blog post, discuss which method you decided to try and which tools you used. Did the story telling process go smoothly? Why or why not?

I decided to make a little scrapbook video using Smilebox.

This scrapbook created with Smilebox

My family had an impromptu family reunion this summer around the 4th of July weekend. This had not happened in my lifetime, so I made sure we had photographic evidence. Using smilebox was very easy, once I got the hang of it. Putting the photos into the scrapbook was very easy. The only problem I had was figuring out how to change the layout of the page to make the pictures flow. I really enjoyed using smilebox, and I cannot wait to show my family the little scrapbook I have made. I am sure they will enjoy it too. Happy viewing!

Beyond Method 8

Regardless of whether you created an account and shared your actual screencast in your blog post, please describe which tool you decided to try and what you decided to “show” in your screencast. Comment on the whole recording process and your thoughts about screencasting tools. If your library is not already using screencasting tools, do you see a use for screencasts in your library? Why or why not? 

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXjvfy3K3

As you can see, I decided to use Screencast-o-matic, and it was extremely easy to use. All I had to do was resize the screen, go to the website, and create my video. The video I decided to create was showing patrons how to log on to their account in our OPAC and place an item on hold. I really like the idea of using screencasting tools to show patrons how to use things, like the OPAC, to make their use of our items easier. I believe it is much easier to show someone how to do something rather than just explain it to them. A brochure is great, but it is not the same as a screencast. The patron can see exactly what buttons to push and exactly where they are on the web page. I believe there are a few things, such as placing an item on hold using our OPAC system, that could be shown to the patrons with screencasts. It might be something to consider using in the future. 

Beyond Method 7

In your blog post for this method, tell us which tool you chose to explore and what your impressions are of that tool. In addition, tell us whether you have experience with any of the other tools mentioned here and which tools you usually use when creating and/or sharing presentations. Finally, comment on how you feel about online presentation tools in general and whether you see a use for them in your library. If a patron came in to your library asking for recommendations on presentation tools that are freely available online, do you think you would you be able to help them?

For Beyond Method 7, I chose to work with the GoogleDocs presentatiob tool. I liked the ease of use of this tool, but it was really hard to pick out a background. I ended up just using a picture from my computer, and that it really annoying. I tried to import the "fakepresentation," but I had a hard time figuring that out, too. What I do like about this too is that it is free. I was going to try Zoho, because I liked the look of that tool the best, but you have to pay to use it. I was not going to give them a credit card number to get a "free" trial. Usually, I forget to cancel after the "free" trial is over, and the company ends up charging my credit card, until I remember to cancel it. I like the idea of using these online presentation tools. Microsoft Office is very expensive software to pay for, and I like the idea of not having to worry about remembering to carry a USB around with me. At the same time, you have to worry if this will be the day that the internet is out in the building where you are giving your presentation. At least with Power Point, it is on the computer, and you don't have to worry about the loss of internet. We have Power Point on our computers in the library, but I still think that these tools would be useful in the library. Power Point has a large amount of buttons, and for a patron who is not familiar with Power Point, I could see showing them 2008 slides or the Presentation tool for Google Docs, because they are much more simple to use (in some way). The individual would also not have to worry about saving them to an email or USB, because they could be saved on the internet and pulled up anywhere. I think some of our patrons (especially students) would really enjoy that feature. I also think that I would be able to help them use these tools online. We don't have time to sit down for twenty minutes and show them how the whole things works, but we can take a few minutes and show them the basics.



Practice Presentation on GoogleDocs

Beyond Method 6

 Was Project Gutenberg easy to use? Do your think your patrons would be interested in a public domain service like Project Gutenberg? If a patron wanted help putting a title from Project Gutenberg on an eReader, do you think you would be able to help them?


http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1342/1342-h/1342-h.htm


I believe that Project Gutenberg was fairly easy for me to use. I am sure that some of the patrons would enjoy Project Gutenberg, but there are many patrons who prefer to check out and read items that would not be in the public doman (and so not on Project Gutenberg). When it comes to adding a book to an ereader, I am not sure that I could help someone with that. I have a Nook Color, and it was very hard trying to figure out how to add the ebooks that I had purchased from Borders to it. It would probably take some time, and some headaches, to figure it out. I would also have to change tactics for every ereader that was brought. They do not seem to use the same methods for add things (even from the Nook to the Nook Color). I really like my ereader, but when it comes to figuring things out, like downloading an ebook from Project Gutenberg on to my computer and then transfering it into my Nook, sometimes I get extremely frustrated. I can see someone who just received one for Christmas or their birthday being even more so.