I have now read and read about Mashups, but I just am fresh out of ideas for creating one. I did have lots of fun with Gruvr which locates pop concerts using Goggle Maps. Retrievr was fun, too. That's the one that uses Flikr and song lyrics. Very entertaining idea, but to what end? Wikirage wasn't near as intersting as I thought it would be when reading the description. I have come to love Wikipedia, but seeing the latest in edits just didn't do it for me.
It's the end of the road, and that's a good thing. I'm running out of gas, and at today's prices ...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Considering The End
Now that the Learning 2.0 adventure is drawing to a close, it's time for rant and reflection. It's good to have traveled down this road; to have learned of all these things. What I can't say is that I have come away with unbridled enthusiasm for Web 2.0. What I do have is the firm feeling that libraries and information specialists are just as relevant, just as important, just as necessary as at any time. Viva La Information Literacy!
Is 2.0 the natural outgrowth of the public education system? In our zeal to make sure tht every child has loads of self esteem have we over achieved? Do we now believe that each of us is an author, artist, journalist, publisher, movie maker, commentator?
I'm quite sure there are very talented people "out there." What I don't want to do is deal all those who think they have something of relevance to give the world in order to get to those who do. I have a revitalized appreciation for editors, critics, producers, and so called taste makers. What I was able to do quite well with my 2.0 lessons was waste great hunks of time. Sometimes it was fun; sometimes it was frustrating. There's simply too much unfiltered junk out there. And, here I am adding to it.
The social networking thing gives me pause, too. It is worrisome that there are too many people leading virtual lives with virtual friends. Do we still know how to deal with real people? Can we still show consideration, love, anger, compassion while face to face with a warm body? Is it friendship if there are never any demands? We never have to deal with life's messay things if we live in networks. I'm afraid that our lack of manners (such a hot topic today) is the natural outcome of our absorption in online lives. Are we failing to appreciate the real characters in front of us?
Do I believe 2.0 is the beginning of the end of civilization? No. Real life overtakes us all. I'm from the Woodstock Generation. What do yu think was said about the future of humankind when our parents looked at us? But, amazing social changes were precipitated by our messy rebellion. Society took what was good, assimilated it, and discarded the rest. The same will happen with Web 2.0. It's been a bumpy, fun ride.
Is 2.0 the natural outgrowth of the public education system? In our zeal to make sure tht every child has loads of self esteem have we over achieved? Do we now believe that each of us is an author, artist, journalist, publisher, movie maker, commentator?
I'm quite sure there are very talented people "out there." What I don't want to do is deal all those who think they have something of relevance to give the world in order to get to those who do. I have a revitalized appreciation for editors, critics, producers, and so called taste makers. What I was able to do quite well with my 2.0 lessons was waste great hunks of time. Sometimes it was fun; sometimes it was frustrating. There's simply too much unfiltered junk out there. And, here I am adding to it.
The social networking thing gives me pause, too. It is worrisome that there are too many people leading virtual lives with virtual friends. Do we still know how to deal with real people? Can we still show consideration, love, anger, compassion while face to face with a warm body? Is it friendship if there are never any demands? We never have to deal with life's messay things if we live in networks. I'm afraid that our lack of manners (such a hot topic today) is the natural outcome of our absorption in online lives. Are we failing to appreciate the real characters in front of us?
Do I believe 2.0 is the beginning of the end of civilization? No. Real life overtakes us all. I'm from the Woodstock Generation. What do yu think was said about the future of humankind when our parents looked at us? But, amazing social changes were precipitated by our messy rebellion. Society took what was good, assimilated it, and discarded the rest. The same will happen with Web 2.0. It's been a bumpy, fun ride.
Friday, September 14, 2007
#20 - Mashups
The Flickr Mashups are fun. I had a great time with the Colr Pickr and Retrievr. Maybe these could be useful for graphic design, but I'm not at all comfortable with anyone thinking they are "making art" here. The article that Ning referred us to had some very interesting things to say along those line.
In the Mashup Directory I found BBC News Map and the AP National News & Google Map. These things combined Google Maps along with the news services and Yahoo Geocoding. They were good for a quick look at local happenings in the areas of your choice.
In the Mashup Directory I found BBC News Map and the AP National News & Google Map. These things combined Google Maps along with the news services and Yahoo Geocoding. They were good for a quick look at local happenings in the areas of your choice.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
#19 - Podcasts
Looks like Arizona State is doing lots of podcasting. In Kentucky, I found only WKU. They have a big library tour on podcast that I just couldn't make it all the way through. I would love to see usage stats for these things. Mostly, I found them to be just awful. I did find some interesting podcasts of some radio shows. If anyone is interested in Bluegrass Music, Woodsongs Radio, or the Mountaintop Removal CD, take a listen at http://podcasts.yahoo.com/player?s=e4361319bf4d4c2ead518428d6d0077e&e=72. I'm quite sure, given the time, a person could find just about anything they want to listen to in a podcast. It's finding one that doesn't cause you to fall over and snore that is the challenge. Can you tell I'm just not a huge fan of talk radio?
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
#18 Video - Discover YouTube
Guess you could find just about anything you want (and some you don't) on YouTube. It's easy to fritter away great hunks of time here. One thing that is a bit disappointing is the quality of most of the videos that I looked at. Could be the subjects I picked.
Lesson 17: Processing Words on the Web
I am posting this to my blog from Google Docs. Looks to me like the word processing software and the spreadsheets are easy to use and probably as much as lots of people need.
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