Hello Everyone,
I just finished creating a slide show using SlideRocket. I have used and taught Prezi and Google Docs, so I wanted to try something new.
I used the fake presentation and once it was imported (very easy) I added text, YouTube video and made a few changes. It was very easy with no learning curve. The icons are intuitive and there is a help screen if you need more info. Here is the URL if you want to look: http://app.sliderocket.com/app/sliderocket.aspx#o
I think online presentations tools are wonderful. There are so many great things you can do and import. No more "Death by PowerPoint". All we need to do it teach the students that they need to supply the URL for the site they found the information.
As for suggesting presentation tools I think any of these are great for the students needing them for class presentations. Some of them do need a little more time to learn such as Prezi, but depending on the time the student has and if they need a tool just to show their data or a full bells and whistles there are great choices on this list.
More later,
Victoria
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Beyond Method #6 - eBooks & eReaders & libraries
Hello Everyone,
I agreed with a number of things in Meredith Farkas's post. Especially the item that "patron driven acquisitions is not a magic bullet". I have heard a number of people say they have PDA available in their library, but they do not seem to be as happy now it's there. It's a good idea, but it needs to have more structure as to how it will work and what can be ordered.
The Essential eBooks and eReaders reading list is wonderful. I certainly found some books I would like to read on the list. The concerns about privacy issues on the Kindle are something all libraries should be aware by now if they have Kindles and Nooks. At our library, we have policies in place and are adding to them as new problems surface. With each new technology there are problems to address, especially if the students are tech savvy and able to circumvent programs.
I have used Project Gutenberg before to download books. this site is one of the easiest to download books to your Kindle. I downloaded "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens. It's one of my favorites. The book is about 300 pages and lugging it around is heavy. Now I have it on my Kindle and it's so much easier to mark sections I want to go back to and remember where I stopped.
I think patrons would like the public domain service like Project Gutenberg. People use to technology should not have a problem, but those that are not comfortable with technology would have difficulties. I and the other librarians here would be able to help them load items. Since we use LibGuides for teaching, I would create a LibGuide on how to download books in a step by step process to make it easy for people to read a number of times if they needed help and didn't want to call the library.
I agreed with a number of things in Meredith Farkas's post. Especially the item that "patron driven acquisitions is not a magic bullet". I have heard a number of people say they have PDA available in their library, but they do not seem to be as happy now it's there. It's a good idea, but it needs to have more structure as to how it will work and what can be ordered.
The Essential eBooks and eReaders reading list is wonderful. I certainly found some books I would like to read on the list. The concerns about privacy issues on the Kindle are something all libraries should be aware by now if they have Kindles and Nooks. At our library, we have policies in place and are adding to them as new problems surface. With each new technology there are problems to address, especially if the students are tech savvy and able to circumvent programs.
I have used Project Gutenberg before to download books. this site is one of the easiest to download books to your Kindle. I downloaded "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens. It's one of my favorites. The book is about 300 pages and lugging it around is heavy. Now I have it on my Kindle and it's so much easier to mark sections I want to go back to and remember where I stopped.
I think patrons would like the public domain service like Project Gutenberg. People use to technology should not have a problem, but those that are not comfortable with technology would have difficulties. I and the other librarians here would be able to help them load items. Since we use LibGuides for teaching, I would create a LibGuide on how to download books in a step by step process to make it easy for people to read a number of times if they needed help and didn't want to call the library.
Beyond Method #5 - Social Cataloging & Libraries
Hello everyone,
I checked out the Goodreads, Library Thing, and Shelfari to see if they would be good for our library. It would be good for a public library, but not so much for an academic library. In searching each of them they all had their strengths and weaknesses, but for my personal choice I go with Goodreads.
The books are easy to find and easy to import some of my books to the site. I like the link to Amazon too. It is so simple to use Goodreads. Just put in some titles you have or have read and then see what other books fit within those tags. I found a couple of authors I didn't know about on the first try.
That's all for now.
Victoria
I checked out the Goodreads, Library Thing, and Shelfari to see if they would be good for our library. It would be good for a public library, but not so much for an academic library. In searching each of them they all had their strengths and weaknesses, but for my personal choice I go with Goodreads.
The books are easy to find and easy to import some of my books to the site. I like the link to Amazon too. It is so simple to use Goodreads. Just put in some titles you have or have read and then see what other books fit within those tags. I found a couple of authors I didn't know about on the first try.
That's all for now.
Victoria
Beyond Method #4 Employment 2.0
Hello Everyone,
I checked out the Resume building tools and really like the VisualCV. I really like the mashups that you can create. For example if someone wants to see how you teach you can add a YouTube video. The Emurse.com is closing in July so I didn't go to that site.
For the job Searching, I liked the Indeed.com and Careerbuilder as places to search. The Bixee is for job searching in India. I Use Twitter and am on LinkedIn already and know about those sites. I do like them both as a form of networking and job searching.
For the exercise:
1. I searched USAjobs.gov, Monster, and Job Applications on the Texas Workskills Development in Libraries website. I think you would need to have some computer skills before searching. Each site was a little different and users would have a slight learning curve before being able to use the sites.
2. The Goodwill Community Foundation's Computer Basics page. I have heard about the Goodwill site, but never looked at it before. It's a great site with different levels so it can be used by people with a variety of computer skills and would be very useful for people updating or learning new skills.
Monday, June 18, 2012
#3 Where in the World?
Okay, it's the third step of Beyond Two Steppin' and now we work with Google Maps. I did a map of my library on campus and a tour of the things to do downtown.
Here it is at : https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en
It went pretty well except I had trouble with the lines from downtown to the campus. I think it was too long of a distance and I had to keep moving the map. The downtown area came out okay.
Now on to #4.
More later.
Victoria
Here it is at : https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en
It went pretty well except I had trouble with the lines from downtown to the campus. I think it was too long of a distance and I had to keep moving the map. The downtown area came out okay.
Now on to #4.
More later.
Victoria
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Beyond Method #2
I have an iGoogle customizable webpage and like the way I can put everything on one page and not have to go to different sites to get information.
Since I had the iGoogle account, I decided to look at the others. Pageflakes and decided to create another page on NetVibes.
NetVibes does have more flexibility than iGoogle and allows for greater diversity of information. The way the basic version displays it would be good for a public library that provides news readers, weather, etc.
At our institution it would be good to provide links to other departments on campus, student affairs, sport events, computer lab hours in one spot. I could not see where NetVibes allows for this capability. I did contact them and was told at the higher price of NetVibes something like that would be an option.
The only complaint I had about NetVibes is when I tried to add widgets it said they were unavailable and to try later. Two days later they are still not available. This happened with 4 different widgets. Did anyone else have this problem?
Since I had the iGoogle account, I decided to look at the others. Pageflakes and decided to create another page on NetVibes.
NetVibes does have more flexibility than iGoogle and allows for greater diversity of information. The way the basic version displays it would be good for a public library that provides news readers, weather, etc.
At our institution it would be good to provide links to other departments on campus, student affairs, sport events, computer lab hours in one spot. I could not see where NetVibes allows for this capability. I did contact them and was told at the higher price of NetVibes something like that would be an option.
The only complaint I had about NetVibes is when I tried to add widgets it said they were unavailable and to try later. Two days later they are still not available. This happened with 4 different widgets. Did anyone else have this problem?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Hello again. I've just completed Step #1 Dust off that blog for the Beyond Two Steppin'. Next I'll try to register my blog and see what's in store for Step #2. See you later.
Oh, Charilie is doing fine and on turtle watch. One of the turtles Tortuga (naturally) is digging holes so in a month or two I'll have the little patter of tiny feet in the yard.
More later.
Oh, Charilie is doing fine and on turtle watch. One of the turtles Tortuga (naturally) is digging holes so in a month or two I'll have the little patter of tiny feet in the yard.
More later.
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