Week 7: iGoogle

This was a lot of fun to set up...especially as I haven't gone anywhere near gadgets in Blogger. It was like the lolly shop..I wanted this, that & the other gadget on my site, and I could just have it by clicking. Sudoku, recipes etc....even got the petrol price feed that I couldn't get as an RSS feed from the RACV (but it is disappointing in that it doesn't seem to list the petrol stations I would most go to). There's no problem if you don't like what you choose...you just delete it. I haven't played around much with the "theme" (why don't they say background) or tried editing gadgets yet...had too much fun just grabbing them like a little kid. It's a good tool to gather together the things that I most want to refer to and will think about how I can get some of my "favourites" as links onto the page...I suppose one of these clever developers would have to set it up as a gadget e.g. the rainfall records from the Bureau of Meteorology for the South Gippsland region which I refer to just about daily. Maybe iGoogle could have a setting up type page where they take you through the steps to help you create your own gadget from a favourite website. (How hard could it be??) Maybe there is already a way of doing this that I haven't picked up on yet...can anybody tell me how to do this? Janice, if you know and tell me, you can have a chocolate!

Week 6: Google Maps...still playing

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I think this is the Woy Woy Public Library (at Gosford)..does any one know if it is?

Week 6: Google Book Search

This is a handy one stop site to get various bits of information about books. I searched for "We of the Never Never" and was impressed with what came up. There was about 70 pages of the 220 page book free to read, and I was able to do a term search for "horses" within those pages.
There are various ways that I could use the information in my library. It aggregates various ports of call such as Libraries Australia's catalogue entry for verification of bibliographic details, book shops for comparative prices, web and scholarly sources where the book has been referenced, other books which have included quotes from the text, reviews from readers (may help with book selection) and lists of libraries that have the book available. It seems that in the future libraries may have to pay a subscription to access some of the full text and Google is putting plenty of positive spin on this.

Week 6: Google Maps

Google Maps is interesting but confusing as well as the street view doesn't always line up with the address searched, and the zoomed in street view picture is too grainy to pick up names or numbers of buildings. I tried to identify the Woy Woy Public Library which seemed to be in a different place and I couldn't read the name on the building to confirm this....same went for the Quambatook Library (closest to Wycheproof) which looks like it's probably in the old Post Office, and it had been raining in Quambatook on the day the camera went through there and so the photos were pretty water marked. I had printed myself a first class Qantas ticket from Wycheproof to Woy Woy with an image generator so it was good to have a good look at the street views of both places before hopping on the plane. But I did have serious fun playing with Google Maps, and watching the little Youtube clips that some enthusiasts have put up on the maps....the one nearest to my home was of a street car burnout. The useful application seems to be for finding directions from one address to another, though there are some inaccuracies there too and the maps can be a bit out of date. Also being able to see the address before getting there is helpful...as long as you can clearly confirm it....use as a guide only.

Week 6: Google Docs

I created the entry below in Google Docs and posted it to the Blog. I accidentally found a great list of new features in Google Docs whereby I was able to add the drawing, but then I couldn't find that page again to use other features...very frustrating. The direct URL is www.google.com/google-d-s/whatsnew.html but how you find the link on the site is any one's guess. Still, Google Docs seems to be a useful tool especially for working simultaneously online with someone else. Could it be used for real time conversations? I'll have to think that one through. Now, on to maps, book search..... will get there.

Report on my LibraryThing project at work

Remember during Week 3 I set up a special LibraryThing site for my boss to view books that had been requested for purchase by the library by our various course coordinators. It took awhile for her to respond with her comments about this tool. Eventually she said that she really like the concept, but that she found it time consuming going into the comments page of each book to give her recommendations and comments and that she preferred to have the information in an email format that she could edit. So now what I do is put the books in the LibraryThing site and then print the details off using one of the display options, then I save that & paste into an email. She then replies and edits this document. She misses out on seeing the book covers and bibliographic details of each book, but at least she is more likely to just quickly do the job of approving the various books for purchase.

Comments on Week 5: My Space and Facebook.

Like a few of you I found the YPRL "yoof" MySpace site difficult to get around..the computer had a bit of a hissyfit. Then I tried the Forum tabs - Comedy and was confronted by a rather crude string of comments concerning possible activities involving a young lass's intimate apparel, and I got quite scared...hadn't really started the homework yet! Where would this social networking take me?! I sympathise with those of you with kids who are now up to this, and they haven't yet tweaked about the consequences if you are one of their "friends"! (...it's all part of their learning, tell them). I tried to get serious about the potential of MySpace for libraries...yes, good as a notice board for events & new acquisitions etc....good for small libraries who otherwise don't have a website for informing their patrons. I haven't had a chance to look for more "unyouthful" conventional library use of MySpace....does anyone know of a health library using it for specific purposes?
I opened up a FaceBook a/c with my new Google account which has practically nothing in the address book, so didn't get many people coming up that wanted me as their friend. The only ones that came up were the contacts of the only 2 people I have in my address book. Looking for friends, I searched for the names of some that hadn't so far come up and found some. Not sure that I want to build up a network though, as I'm a pretty bad correspondent at the best of times, and would probably lose interest...I contact friends etc in other ways. There would be certain times this a/c could come in handy I guess, but not sure that it's any better than blogging.
For interest groups I searched for "Blue Hills" appreciation type groups and would you believe, I got zilch?? You'd think there'd be a surging undercurrent in society wanting to thrash out the intriquing relationships and issues that emerged in the radio serial. Everybody else must be over it.
I did find a small group of ex pupils of my country primary school (Bona Vista Primary School which holds its centenary later this year). I was able to copy this info to my FaceBook wall.