When I was in 6th grade the first computers were wheeled into our classroom. They were basically old black-and-white TV’s wired up to clunky keyboards. Honestly, it just seemed like an oddity back then. I remember being paired-off in groups of 2 and when your turn came up you could “play” the floppy disc version of “The Oregon Trail.” Anyone remember that? What I remember about all of this early experience with stepping into the high-tech world was a feeling of disconnection—how does this relate to anything else I am doing? How does this relate to my growing collections of pop music (Pat Benatar, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, ABC…oh, those were the days, huh?)? How does this relate to figuring out what life is going to be like when we move to the “big school” in 8th grade? How does this relate to all the composition books filled with diagramed sentences and history notes? Well, it just didn’t—for me at least. What has clicked for me as I’ve done a little reminiscing about those early tech days is that there was so little instruction involved. The teachers were learning (or not) the technology right along with us—but often not sharing the “meaning” or further applications of it. Sitting in front of a black and white screen and being told that this is the wave of the future just didn’t mean much to me then—hand me my walkman…now that had meaning!
That was then.
And now…now I am writing my 23rd thing blog about my Learning 2.0 experience. I’m not sitting behind a 200 pound computer, but working from a laptop in my living room. I’m not dependent on a teacher or anyone really to provide me an instruction manual. Within a few keystrokes I can find out virtually (now that is a word that wasn’t being used in the same context back in 6th grade) millions of pieces of information or connect with people I know or don’t know within seconds. And again, I find myself going back to the idea that it is the ideas behind each of these learning experiences—each of these tools—that have the roots, that have the power to move things forward, to create dialogue, communities, new ways of learning and exploring our world. Ultimately, we must move away from the monitor and the keyboard and tools that engaged us…but we take with us the ideas, the connections we’ve made.
So, now let me step into my 24th thing…what will that be? Not quite sure yet. But I’m sure it’s going to involve more work on the wiki I started last night…growing my del.icio.us account, blogging about our upcoming vacation to the far reaches of autumnal Vermont…
Boy, it’s a long way from the Oregon Trail…

First, I have to say something about the word “podcast.” Helene mentioned that in 2005 is was the word of the year. I can completely understand this. Even now when I type it into a Word document it gets the red squiggle of a misspelled word. It’s simply not one of those words that says much about what it really is just by the sound of it. Frankly, for me, the word “pod” conjures up the images of mushroomy things clustered together (and also the memory of those 1970’s “innovative” schools that were mostly just big open rooms with all the classrooms jammed together without walls…and no one could focus because there were people everywhere and no visual boundaries). So interesting how this word that was almost meaningless a bit over a year ago to most people and is now becoming a part of our vernacular. Perhaps, we’ll be playing with the language even more and within a year we’ll be saying “Let’s cast some pod together down at Starbuck’s later this afternoon?”
In my search through various podcasts (and there are many) I came across Denver Public Library’s podcast of nursery rhymes. Now how is that for partnering the past and the present?! NPR is also podcasting many of its shows, including “NPR Shuffle” which is a combo of many of its most popular daily shows. And who can get too much NPR?

NetLibrary…I created my account and conducted some searches on books and authors I’ve recently read. To my surprise, I only found one title by Kaye Gibbons–Divining Women, one I haven’t read. Lots of Lee Smith listed, but alas, only one Kaye Gibbons. What would Ellen Foster say about that?

It’s really quite revolutionary, I’d never view it in East Hampton…
Ummm, YouTube…I’ve known about YouTube for a while and have spent many a time surfing through the random, memory-jogging, sometimes pointless, sometimes wonderful finds on this site. Just today at lunch co-workers and I were talking about laughable movies that we watch again and again. Soon we were talking about Grey Gardens (the 1970’s documentary about the reclusive aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis). You just can’t talk about this film without going into character! I’d heard that there was a remix of Little Edie (seen here in one of her “revolutionary outfits” doing a bit of a jig to Madonna’s song “Hung Up.” Sure enough I later found it on YouTube with a very simple search (Hung Up Grey Gardens). If you’ve ever scene Grey Gardens (especially if you can quip and quote it) you’ll want to see this little ditty. I’m working on figuring out how to get the video embedded in my post…we’ll see if Little Edie comes dancing across the screen any time soon…stay tuned.

For discovery exercise #19 I decided to explore a bit more about wikis. I’ve been digging around in Wetpaint and created an account. I’ve even started mocking up a wiki. Good video tutorials and some nice templates to choose from. Overall, a friendly site. I want to explore a few more active wetpaint wikis to see what they look like fully fleshed out. I turn in tonight knowing my wiki is underway (say that five times fast!).

Yo ho ho
I discovered Zoho
I created a doc
web-based (no shock).
With just a little moxy
I tried out 30 boxes
Input a few dates
and I’m feeling just great
But it’s getting kind of late
And this rhyme’s begun to deflate………….

Sandbox
Originally uploaded by katmere.

I’ve just been doing some nighttime play in the PLCMC Sandbox. Added my blog and a recent favorite book ( A lovely first novel by Darnell Arnoult. You can check out her the author and her work here .
OK, it’s time to get out of the sandbox and into the pj’s (pajamas, not wikis, that is).

CIMG3890 (Medium)
Originally uploaded by utaballer18.

When simple and superb come together–you have something good. That’s how I’m feeling about wikis. Think about it–if we attended every meeting we could attend, responded to every email that appeared on our monitor (and this is excluding the million spam per week I get), acted on every request, answered every call, and filed every document–well, we’d be crazy. Which we are. At least if you’re doing your job you are. And in the meantime think of all the communciations or postings or other pieces of information that are falling through the cracks while we try to grab a decent burrito for lunch. OK, I’m making myself crazier just by writing about it. My point: wikis make sense. They are simple and effective. Who could ask for anything more (besides more salsa for the burrito). A place to consolidate reports, updates, proposals, current issues, or just chatty bytes that only certain circles will appreciate.
I’ve been pondering how my own library department could manage information and internal communications better. For weeks I’ve been thinking “we need to create a department blog.” After looking into the info on L2 about wikis–I think this is where its at! A little more research and I think a new wiki just may be on its way. Now where’s that burrito of mine?…..

mehr licht !
Originally uploaded by benwahh cote.

I began composing this post with the idea of “Library 2.0…Roll with it, Row with it, Roar with it”…all about moving with the changes in technology and being ready to just “roll with it”…see how it works, move forward and see how the public responds….commenting on how so very often the biggest hurdle is not changing or informing the minds of our users but our staff. Then I read the final suggested post on the OCLC site by Wendy Schultz and I came across this passage in her article:
What are libraries? Libraries are not just collections of documents and books, they are conversations, they are convocations of people, ideas, and artifacts in dynamic exchange. Libraries are not merely in communities, they are communities: they preserve and promote community memories; they provide mentors not only for the exploration of stored memory, but also for the creation of new artifacts of memory.
…and when I read this my mind expanded (or contracted?)…let’s just say I was moved. This is what Libraries are. What I have felt they are, known they are since I was 16 years old and had my first job in my small town library…it was the communtiy center (though no one really spoke of it in those terms)….it was the place that opened minds (like my teenage mind so eager and ready to grow), it was where people came to find out….where really everyone was equal in that they all had that small blue card with a metal strip on it that said “I own a part of this community wealth.” And this little library changed as the community did. As my small town broadened its mind so did the walls of the library (lead by an “out-of-town” librarian named named Beverly Means who changed both the carpet and the funciton of this small and wonderful place).
Library 2.0….it’s a natural progression…it’s a necessary progression…using the tools at hand and with heart and mind on each side–it offers, it welcomes the world.

Saturday night I multi-tasked. This is to say I watched a movie and explored Technorati on my laptop at the same time. The movie? you ask. It was How To Marry A Millionaire starring Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and tough-as-nails Lauren Bacall. The premise: three women decide they can put their scheming minds and limited resources (or is that limited minds and scheming resources?) together to snag millionaire husbands. It’s a comedy in that zany way movies from the 50’s are “comedic.” All the while I am watching such movies and laughing, I am wondering: am I laughing at this because it is funny-funny or because it is fifties-funny (you know, dated and that sweet kind of naive humor that makes you want to say “ahhh, people used to think that was funny, or zany, or out-of-the-ordinary at least). The costumes, err, dresses, alone are worth the 93 minutes it takes to watch this movie. There are moments of when you’ll laugh for whatever reason…watching Marilyn Monroe, whose character Pola can’t see a lick without her glasses but refuses to wear them (because you know what they say about girls who wear glasses) or the way that anything really great is referred to as just “creamy” (this makes me wonder if someday we’re going to look back and feel the same way about the word “amazing” used as a constant adjective….yes, I sometimes falter and use it myself though I am thoroughly over its use in daily vernacular–constantly! “Her work is just amazing!” “That show was totally amazing, you know?!” Maybe this deserves its own post someday? That would be, well, amazing, right?).
OK, so about Technorati. It was right on. Got it right away. Did the searches. Thought that it was great to find PLCMC bloggers’ posting appearing when I did the tag searches. I think this could be a terrific resource for serious bloggers (and there are so many of them)!
Oh, and the movie was in Technicolor! Tech….how the prefix has changed since 1953, huh? It’s totally creamy and amazing!