Friday, August 3, 2007

Week 9, Thing 23

#23 Summarize your thoughts about this program and learn more about where to go from here

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

To be honest, I already use many of the sites and services covered in the program. I mainly wanted to take the class to explore podcasting (which I haven't been brave enough to try on my own). However I learned about many other things like the Google online productivity site. I plan on using that service regularly.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I always try to learn about the newest trends in technology. Its hard to stay on top of everything -- there is just so much going on! This program helped me learn some new things that I had missed.

3. Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Yeah I like many of the google services. I've been using the search engine for years, yet I've never really looked around at their other services.

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

Not really sure what you could do to improve the program. I enjoyed all the different exercises.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?

Yes!

6. How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?

Learning by doing.
Not getting left behind...
Okay, I'm terrible at this kind of thing... it always comes out so cheesy!!

Week 9, Thing 22

#22 Learn about Audiobooks

I decided to use Project Gutenberg because I already use this for regular ebooks. It is an amazing service, that should receive more recognition than it does.

I decided to download Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I was a little overwhelmed by the long list of downloads so I randomly picked something from the itunes section. It download quickly and opened right into itunes.

However, I am not a big fan of audio books. I prefer to read books then listen to them...most audio books put me to sleep!

Week 9, Thing 21

#21 Discover some useful tools for locating podcasts

Amy's First Podcast
This podcast was fun to make! I used audacity to record it and exported the file as an mp3. (I did have to download a dll file first though and that was kind of a pain.)

When I tried to use Odeo, it would not allow me to upload a file. I could record one at their site or link to an existing file on the internet, but no option to upload directly form my computer! So I used podbean instead, a podcast host site that was recommended to me by Steph.

Minus the problems with Odeo, overall it was a great experience.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Week 9, Thing 20

#20 Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow you to upload video

I decided to be brave and use the first video I uploaded to youtube.



This is a video of my nephew, Westley. It was made for his father, who was stationed overseas at the time. It was my first attempt at making a video and I learned a lot from the experience! I know, I know... its high on the cheese factor, but it was a year ago!

Music: You'll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins

Week 8, Thing 19

#19 Discover any site from the Web 2.0 awards list

Since we've already covered most of the basic categories, I chose meebo.

Meebo is a great little web page that allows you to use your all instant messenger accounts on one site. I particularly like this service because you don't have to download any software! This makes meebo useful when using public computers! I like it because I hate downloading updated versions of software every other week!

Test Entry

Test Entry

I am testing this GOOGLE's Docs & Spreadsheets service out for my 23 Things! Check out my 23 Things journal at http://amysbloggertestblog.blogspot.com/

My Character in second life:



Week 8, Thing 18

#18 Take a look at some online productivity tools

I decided to try out the Google version, simply because I already have an account with them. I'm glad I did because this service is something I am planning on using often in the future! I can't believe all this is free to use!

I found the interface clean and very easy to use. Some of the features I especially liked are:

Publishing - I really like the option to publish to your blog or on the free online service provided for you. I especially liked the republish your change option which makes updates a one click operation! Here is my test entry as a blog post or as an upload.

Insert Image - There were a couple of options I liked, especially the resize field.

I haven't played around with the share options, but they look like the have a lot of potential. My co workers and I will have to play around with these!