Session 15 and Project Thoughts

The end of the semester is always a bit hectic.  This is especially true sometimes for the online classes as projects come to an end and everything seems to come together at exactly the same time.  I enjoyed the two projects I had.  Facebbook was much more fun.  I never was able to figure out the point to Twitter.  So far as I can tell it's just a chance to update a status like you would on Facebook or something similar.  The point of Twitter really eludes me.

The reading this week was interesting as the chapters in the text usually are.  The Epic video was diffferent.  Was anyone else reminded of 1984?  With all of the talk about monopolies and things being controlled by the computers and robots that's why that came to mind for me.  That was one eerie book.  The video was by far less so, but it still had its moments.

I had tried last semester to come up with creative titles.  That really hasn't happened this time and I am sorry for that.  I had hoped to make people smile with them as I had (I hope) before.

Perhaps, I should have used a different post to discuss the  Web 2.0 projects, but the truth is with the semester ending it was much easier for me to combine the posts.  If this was not what I was supposed to do then I apologize.  With regard to the projects I must admit that sometimes they were a challenge.  I never did figure out the point of the social network of Twitter.  Why post an updated status?  If one has something to say would it not be better suited to use a regular blog?  I found it fairly easy to find people to "follow", but I found that for the most part I did not enjoy following them.  I am not speaking of my classmates. but rather of other people that I chose to look into.  I thought I could look at the New York Times using this resource.  There was too much information to make this possible.  I followed the New York Times, a realtor company in Dallas, classmates, and others.  If one does not have a lot to say or can condense their words there is cause for using such a tool.  I do not believe that I will be utilizing this particular technology.  I do see value in this technology. but I suspect that other technologies would be more helpful to me.

Facebook, on the other hand, has many uses.  The drawback to this social network is that because there are so many things that one can do it is easy to get distracted.  With Facebook one can easily keep up with friends and family who do not live in the same area or who are currently in another country.  I most enjoy keeping up with friends and family.  This is especially true of those who I do not get to see very often.  Through Facebook I get to see pictures of cousins and their children that I otherwise would not have the opportunity to see (for example).  There are also a variety of games that one can play and many businesses and organizations have pages as well.  This is a site that I used before the class and will continue to use it after the fact.  I found pages for other libraries, but chose not to friend or like them as doing so could flood my page with information that would overshadow other relevant information.  In addition, why should I do so when I do not necessarily use that library?  I have considered adding the page from my local library, but I have wrestled with whether doing so would be crossing a boundary or not.  As I am still undecided I have not done so yet.  The library I frequent does have a page and uses it to keep patrons up to date as to what activities are available at the library.  For example, what the next movie is and when it will be shown.  Facebook is a way for people to interact and relate on their own schedule.

 The picture is from Wikipedia's article on hot air ballooning.  Since the semester is flying away so quickly and the projects are as time consuming as some hobbies it seemed approrpriate.  You may have noticed that I've pulled my pictures from the Wikipedia site in recent weeks.  I don't have a lot of pictures on my computer and I have found doing this oddly easier than using clip art.  I did not expect that and I'm not sure why that is.

Good luck with finals and such.

Random song

I ran across Brad Paisley's "Online" video today while debating whether or not to add to my post for class.  I would recommend watching that as it seems very apt to our class discussions.  If you do watch it enjoy.  (Personal add on so no pictures).

Thoughts on Week 14

No wiki this week and that is definitely good news.  Otherwise a quiz and as usual a lot of useful interesting material to learn.  I'm still working on various projects for this and other classes.  It has been an adventurous week.  I started this blog yesterday, so don't worry about the date please.  I did get to talk to one of my cousins this week, which was fantastic.  She graduates next month and already has a job lined up.  I'm really proud of her.  This week's chapter focuses on troubleshooting.  This is something that this class is in some ways designed for.  I mean without understanding technology how can we or anyone diagnose the problem?  That sounds both ridiculous and common sense, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still true.  There is a lot of information that this class provides.  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to take it.  The truth is technology is constantly changing and sometimes the problems of yesterday can be the problems of today.



 Above you will see the video "Reach", if it doesn't work the link is also posted.  http://youtu.be/RMs83vY2d34.  The song is sung by Gloria Estefan.  She was fairly popular in the 90's and this song was used for the summer Olympics later that decade.  I hope everyone enjoys.



Above you will find a picture from Wikipedia it's on their page explaining what mountains are.  Since this class has ben at times a challenge, this picture seemed appropriate.  Those of us who are still climbing can feel a great sense of accomplishment coming so far.  Good luck finishing projects and such.

Week 13

This week has been fairly easy so far as this class goes, which means I should have finished this earlier, but I didn't and it's dated the day I started this blog.  Something seems very off about that.  I mean there's usually so much to get done and there is.  Anyway, I am confused by the session 11-14 projects.  I mean are we supposed to do one of the projects all the projects or none of the projects?  I am sorry for throwing this out so late, but better late than never right?  The two projects are going ok and I have gotten in touch with my group.  This week we ke  ep missing each other, but that's scheduling more than anything.  I admit I am just as guilty, so far as that goes.  To the members of my group, I do apologize for that and hopefully we'll be better able to communicate this week.  I was glad to see that there wasn't a quiz this week.  I must admit the hardest of those quizzes was the connector quiz.  I am still amazed I passed that one.  All in all, it's been a good week.  I think I'm on track.  I hope so.  I decided an appropriate picture would be the Staples Easy button, but it may not cooperate with me.  It didn't unfortunately because that would have been very appropriate.  I found this beautiful lake picture and decided that the peace it brought was a good fit.  The picture is from Wikipedia's article about lake Baikal, which I admit I haven't read yet.  All right, so this post is a bit of a ramble.  Good luck to everyone in the final weeks of the semester.

Week 12

This week has been more relaxed than some.  That's been a relief. I've been able to go back into my post and edit it.  It's dated the 5th because that's the day I started it.  I was happy to realize that this week's reading was something I was somewhat familiar with.  I was also able to wish a cousin of mine happy birthday which was great.

Websites are very useful to libraries, but they can be a challenge as well.  How does one know what to put on the site?  After all, it's impossible to please everyone, but it's important to do so for the majority. Of course that's assuming it's possible.  It seems as though the more technology is available and the easier it's supposed to make life the harder it seems to come.

file://localhost/Users/davidferrell/Desktop/Paddle%20Boat%20on%20Lake.jpg (This may not work) it's a picture of a paddleboat on a lake.  It's one of the pictures  you're supposed to download in the CINS 100 class Intro to Computers.  I chose the picture because this week was relaxing and fit the beautiful weather we've been having.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter or enjoys the holiday weekend.

Web 2.0 Chapter 13

My apologies for this I realized I had put my post in draft instead of posting it.  It had been a long week.

The chapter for this week was very interesting I found.  I am very familiar with many of the technologies discussed.  Skype for instance I am familiar with and have enjoyed when I get the chance to use it.  I had a cousin who went to Spain last semester and that was the only way I had to communicate with her.   Unfortunately, in that case the time difference more than technology made it difficult to take advantage of that opportunity.  However, I do know that her mother really appreciated the opportunity of communicating with her this easily as she had never been this far from home before and the two are close.  I am thankful that the opportunity was available to her that would not have been even a few years ago.

I did not enjoy looking at Second Life.  While the concept is sound and intriguing in practice I found it to be cumbersome and confusing.  I had trouble moving around and performing basic tasks.  Now, I admit I am not perhaps as technologically savy as I perhaps ought to be, but I'm not exactly a slouch either.  So far as the digital divide is concerned, I am somewhere in the middle.  I know a lot, but I also have a lot to learn.  This is even more the case with the Web 2.0 technology.  So much new technology or updates to current technology has come out that it at times is difficult for me to keep up.  I feel like a blank page lost and when I find that picture I will be adding it or something like it.

Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixels. Other resolutions: 320 × 213 pixels | 640 × 427 pixels | 1,024 × 683 pixels | 1,280 × 854 pixels.

I found a picture of an airplane on wikipedia's page about airplanes.  One can travel and learn at the same time, especially  now with the seeming ease of the Internet.  I was trying to capture the concept for distance learning.  I added this picture after the original post, but I hope everyone likes it anyway.

Week 9

This week we looked at Skype and other Web 2.0 projects.  It was the start of other projects as well.  This week was a challenge.  It was easier in some ways than others.  There was a lot of terminology to remember and the truth is I'll be taking the quiz after I work on this blog and my responses to the discussion board.  I apologize to everyone for such a late response.  The week got away from me.  I like skype.  I enjoyed using it.  It's difficult sometimes to stay connected with people.  The Internet makes the process easier, but who knows what to disclose and what not to.file://localhost/Users/davidferrell/Documents/Susie/School/General/Computer%20Classes/101/Word/Horse%20and%20Rider.jpg Ok I just tried to paste a horse and rider picture that's used for CINS 101, but this galloping western seems appropriate as the semester gallops to completion.  I'll have to play with the graphics a bit, but the picture will come.

Good luck to all for the rest of the semester.

Delightful Delicious

Not really, but I liked the alliteration.  The truth is, while I can see value in a site like this I so seldom use bookmarks that for me as a user this site was less helpful than it perhaps could have been.  For those who have a lot of bookmarks this site would be invaluable.  I feel like a broken record repeating that so much.  I did not find what bookmarking  I did to be useful.  Personally, I will not be using the site or something like it.  Professionally, if a library I worked for utilized a site like this I would use it.  It could be a good way to reference.  I am happy to reevaluate my stance, as I am not sure  I gave this as a fair a shot as I perhaps ought to have done.  I did enjoy reading the various articles I found on the sites that I monitored, but for me I wished there was a better way.  Quite probably I did not search in as effectivge manner as I probably should have.  As a resource, this site could be invaluable, but it also seems like maintaining one's page (whether personal or for a library would require a lot of work).  Perhaps, this isn't the intent and most likely I am missing the mark.  If this is the case please enlighten me.  I don't mean to sound pessimistic.  I admit confusion and that's probably part of the problem.  Any ideas?  Okay, maybe I should have brought this up a long time ago, but better late than never.  Seriously though, for those who use bookmarks I think this site would be useful.    It just demonstrates how vast the Internet is and how different people's search techniques are.  There are sites for different people and it is all right for some to like one site and others to like a different one.

I'm copying and pasting my profile picture for this post because it seems appropriate.  Hopefully everyone will be able to see  it.








hopefully

Web 2.0

This week I feel like I've been playing catch up.  A lot of that has to do with not feeling well last week and midterms in my other classes.  Hectic, doesn't begin to cover it (expected though it was).  All possible of course, but it does make for a stressful week.  The Web 2.0 material was fairly familiar to me since I've used most of it before.  I've used Skype and Twitter sporadically and have been on and off Facebook since I joined.  One thing I have noticed with all of these different programs is that it is very easy to get sucked into it and not get what or as much as you would like done.  So far as libraries are concerned it is important for them to have some type of presence on Web 2.0 sites and the Internet in general.  This is especially true as people who have lived all their lives with this tool age and are born.  They will expect information at a faster rate than people of previous generations (even sometimes those born in the 80's or just before).  I finished the sklls test and I think I misunderstood it last week or was thinking of a different test.  The questions were interesting and it demonstrates the absolute necessity of being specific when searching the Internet.

I'll be using Facebook and Twitter for my two projects.  I'll message the class again if needed about my account as I know one class member had difficulties.  I am on Facebook fairly frequently and am intrigued by Twitter, though I admit that I use it very infrequently.

I admit to not being impressed with delicious.  Now, I may have come in with a bias that stunted the entire process.  The sites I chose do not appear to have had many updates.  I depended on delicious to show me the updates.  I'm not sure if I didn't look at the right places on the site or if they just didn't post very much.

Right now, I feel blank and am sorely tempted not to leave a picture because of that, but that isn't practical.  Here's an attempt at a picture (assuming that it works) 




Here's what information I know about this picture and I admit it isn't much.
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=web+2.0+pictures&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 I don't know an author and that would be very helpful.

Searching Sensation

Having read through the information provided I can safely say that as a patron I am capable of doing the search, if not always capable of vocalizing it.  Primarily, this is because I do not give up when looking for something.  I may take a hiatus for a few hours to get a clearer head, but I am stubborn when I have to be.  Working in the staff section of computer programs is not an option for me at the moment, since I do not work in a library yet.  That knowledge will come later.  I do volunteer, but none of my work is computer related.

I'm still working on the tech tools project.  I don't trust what I've done.  I'm not comfortable with powerpoint, which is actually why I chose the project.  I was hoping to become more familiar with the technology.  In some ways that was a mistake as it has become more of a headache than a help.  It didn't help that I was out for the count in the earlier part of the week with a flulike bug.  Fortunately healed from that, but it has definitely set me back as far as getting things done this week.  Live learn and plan better I suppose.  Zap
Clipart - bolt1 - OpenClipArt
I'm reusing an image and it still didn't work grr, but the reason I'm using the bolt again is because I'd like to be able to zap all the searches and homework and such and give everyone a stressfree week.  Cheesy maybe, but still true.
I must admit that I have been lousy about adding things to my delicious account.  I didn't bookmark before and still don't.  As I've said, for those who use bookmarks that's a great system.  For me, I haven't found it helpful.  That's redundant maybe, but it's still true.

My two sites have both had articles (to be posted tomorrow).  With so much information posted it's hard to choose what to focus on.  I've been reading blogs when I get a chance throughout the week and I applaud my classmates in their efforts.  Good luck to all.

Clipart - bolt1 - OpenClipArt

Clipart - bolt1 - OpenClipArt

Stormy week (named later)

This week's learning focused on networks and such.  Studying for the quiz did not bode well.  I looked at the pictures and then when I tried to match things up it really did not work very well.  I acknowledge having some spatial difficulties, which adds to the stress of taking a quiz like this one.  Pictures with that many small things is very much not helpful for me.  I appologize for the vagueness and for those who need it I will explain what I can (but please not over the blog).

It didn't look like much had changed with regard to my two websites.

My project is coming along swimmingly and not so swimmingly.  I have plenty of ideas and have some ways to get them onto paper (or powerpoint as the case may be), but because I know so little about powerpoint presentations getting it done is going slower than expected.  I come from an era of notebook and paper for notes.  I'm still surprised when professors use powerpoints  for their lectures.

Clipart
(It's supposed to be a bolt here is the other information

Uploader:

cfry

Drawn by:

Chris Fry / cfry

Created:

2008-01-07 22:51:24

Description:

Lightning bolt - I use it to represent a VPN in network diagrams

Tags:

, media , clip art , public domain , image , png , svg , lightning bolt , lightning , bolt , vpn , virtual private network , lightning bolt , lightning , bolt , vpn , virtual private network

Viewed by:

2150 People

Favorited by:

0 People

SVG filesize:

20231 bytes)

Creative Commons Communal

This week's assignment was challenging, but enjoyable.  I've found myself working on it throughout the week and it's been sitting in drafts for a few days as I've polished it (so don't worry about it saying 10 February and no one saw it).  I must admit that I am much less comfortable posting videos unlike other classmates.  I've been impressed by those who have been able to put videos in the blog.  I had initially decided to use a water picture again.  Maybe it's redundant and people will roll their eyes and that's all right.  I was looking for some peace and oceans are so relaxing.  During this installment I'm listening to songs from musicals.  It's so interesting to hear different renditions of the same song.  As I was looking at the pictures, however I changed my mind.  Hopefully you will enjoy.  I decided on a person more as a representation of change to culture and while I could have picked any number of people in this, the person below is perhaps more recognizable to people now.  I've seen him in a variety of things including what he is perhaps    most famous for and I must say I have enjoyed him as an actor.

Anyone trying to look at my rss page please realize that it is still a work in progress as is all of this class.  I figured out how to get it into the public sphere, but not completely how to get things from the private sphere to the public sphere.

This has been a real work in progress and  I must admit I am not entirely sure how successful this will be.    I posted the video separately since I wasn't sure how to add it to the picture.  Also this is from You tube.  It was posted by licasamadau77 .  I went with youtube since I wasn't finding anything I liked that were just sounds.  Some of them were simply just too obvious and others just didn't fit.

To quote this captain, "Make it so."

RSS and other matters

The picture above shows what I would much rather be doing right now.  My RSS feed is http://dashboard.bloglines.com/Karlanalyn.  At the moment it isn't a public site since I can't find the button that says make this public. The frequently asked questions claims it's in an obvious place but I'm missing it.  That said, I have had the opportunity to go exploring on the site and have found it intriguing.  I don't know if I'll use it after this class is over, to be perfectly frank, but I can see the value of it.  There are so many options out there that it seems it would be better to pick one and move on.

Technology is forever changing, hence the point of this class. Seriously though I found this week's reading to be enlightening.  It helps to know the basics.  If one does not have a foundation there is no way to improve.

In regard to my two sites.  One of the articles on library thing I found was a challenge to read 75 books in 2012.  Tempting as this is with homework and such I am not sure it's very practical right now.  At webjunction the top story was about cloud computing.

Decidedly Delicious

After a week of searching I had to give up and recreate my delicious account.  Why the site doesn't allow you to search by e-mail I have no idea.  Silly site.  Anyway, I started looking at webjunction and the ALA websites.  I was surprised at how much was available on the site.  I had known that it was popular, but it was hard for me to understand why.  I looked up other things and it is amazing how much is available.  It will be an interesting site to explore.  While I have decided on sites to look at I have not started the actual project.  That's a task for next week.  Honestly, I wanted to get familiar with the site again before attempting anything further.

This is the picture that delicious chose for me.   I like cats it fits.  Sorry about the black and white, but I'm still trying to get the hang of this picture thing.  I'm just thankful the picture copied all right.

I must admit though that I've never really understood the purpose for bookmarking a website.  If it's a site one frequents wouldn't the person in question have the site memorized anyway?

I'm still trying to figure out how the delicious site works.  I was confused the first time around and I'm about as much in the dark this time too.  It should get easier but it is a lot of material.  I expected as much, but yikes comes to mind how to get everything done.  I'll be looking at webjunction and the american library association websites.

Who decided to call this site delicious anyway?  It sounds like a cooking website not a reference site.  Any tips from the peanut gallery would be really helpful.  Good luck all.

Take 2

So my earlier post can be disregarded to a point.  I was doing it wrong.  I'm still confused.  I still don't quite understand what we're supposed to do (hence the sanity of the same picture), but I've been able to find the articles and go from there.  Please excuse any late entries, which hopefully won't happen.  This assignment is driving me a little bit bonkers.

Wicked Wiki

I've used Wikis before in class, but in those cases all we had to do was add vocabulary words.  I've used wikipedia as well, but I can't say I have always cared for it.  It's nice for quick information, but there is no certainty that the information provided in the free site is accurate.  I've supplemented the information I've gathered, but I refuse to use it for school or legitimate research.

The wiki assignment was horribly confusing.  I had planned on writing on Friday, but hadn't figured out this assignment yet.  It's taken two more days.  I'm still confused because all I've managed to do is look up texts that are apparently not in any library in the Ivy Tech database.  There's no way that's accurate.  Obviously, I'm doing something wrong, but I haven't any idea what.  On the plus side of this crazy week I learned how to add pictures to my blog so now they won't be so barren.  I'll keep at the whole thing, but I have a bad feeling I'll be running behind for awhile.  Anybody have any ideas I am all for it.

So the picture I chose seems completely random.  It's not and here's why.  Water helps me relax and after fighting with this thing for the last few hours I needed something to help me stay sane.  Hopefully others find it cheerful as well.

Competency

Basic Computer Knowledge and Skills 100% 100% 100%

Word Processing 100% 100% 100%

Spreadsheet 100% 100% 100% - but I’m not sure how accurate this is

Database 100% 100% 100% - but I’m not sure how accurate this is

Presentation 83% 95% 91%

Internet 99% 95% 97%

Web Development 85% 75% 80%

While familiar with spreadsheets and databases there are a lot of things that I do not know or do not know well.  I’ve done very little with Powerpoint other than reading presentations and almost nothing with web development.  While I know about the presentation handouts etc and can I look forward to the challenge of learning about these things.

I have no idea how accurate this information is as I am familiar with the terminology not the application of a lot of this material.  I am willing and ready to learn though.

Greetings all

Hello, my name is Susie and I live in Muncie with my two cats Topaz and Geebes.  I am an avid bookworm and am looking forward to this class even though I've taken it before.  I say that up front because I want to be fair to everyone.  I remember bits and pieces, but to be frank I didn't do very well so who knows if foreknowledge will actually help me.

I grew up in Wisconsin and moved here in 2007.  I went back to school for a library science degree, but had to transfer since Ball State stopped the library science program.  This is my second degree.  I graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  I am utilizing one of my majors (English with an emphasis in Creative Writing) with this degree.  I am hoping that I will be able to find a job in a library.  Having just the English degree was not entirely helpful.  I got to read a lot of wonderful books, but it didn't give me any practical skills. I just finished Black Beauty, have started to read Jane Eyre, and enjoy a variety of genres.  I always look forward to reading new books and authors.

I have a younger brother who lives in California with his wife.  He got married this summer.  I've never seen my brother happier.

Good luck everyone.

Good luck to all