#23 At Last!

Well, the end is in sight, finally. It is a cliche to say that it has been a wonderful journey, with ups and downs. But would I do it all over again? Perhaps, on some good days, I will give a resounding "yes" to that question, but on other bleak days, "maybe not, "maybe not so sure", "definitely not". But for today, I'll say "yes". A structured program can be beneficial; it compels a person to do what is seemingly not possible in terms of time, capacity and effort.

What have I gleaned from this experience? First of all, I'm still in awe at what's out there in cyberspace. I'm in awe (and I guess I'll never get over it) at the brains, creativity, tenacity, fortitude, and .... that have gone into harnessing this so-called technological invention. But again, with everything else in life, moderation and caution should rule.

Another smilar program? Do count me in.

#21 Podcasts

Again, there is such an "explosion" of podcasts out there. Personally, I don't think I'll feel comfortable sending my 11-year old child out there to explore this jungle all by himself -- podcasts, YouTube, etc. Many of these podcast materials need to be checked for audience appropriateness. Some of the language learning ones may come in useful, but again, I would need more time to identify those. I'll definitely want to see if there're book or other library material related ones, but for now, it's back to normal business for the day, or on to the last assignment ...

#19 Web 2.0 Tools

Wow, this is so overwhelming indeed! I may just do this all day long at the expense of what I am paid to do! Anyway, restraint is the order of the day. I explored "Ma.gnolia" in Bookmarking, and I think I find it useful personally. These tools will definitely have potential in libraries, but again, care and caution must be practised.

#20 YouTube

Breezing along really smoothly, and getting closer to the end ... This time with Lorraine's expert help, I managed to link the following: (Thanks, Lorraine)

phua chu kang incredulous tales

Phua Chu Kang, or PCK for short, is a popular local sitcom in Singapore, incorporating local humor, eccentricities, and a language with a mix of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil vocabularies.

Choosing a video to include on my blog wasn't easy, given the choices I was confronted with. But PCK is homegrown, hence the choice. The potential of YouTube for library websites is phenonemal, but we must proceed with caution.

#17 Success!

Thanks to Diana, I managed to add my blog to the Favorite Blogs of the OU Libraries Learn Wiki. Now, the end is almost in sight -- 4 more assignments to go.

#18 Web-based Applications

I depend so much on word-processing and spreadsheets tools, and was deligted to know that these applications are now available online! I tried Zoho, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and will certainly use them.

Week 7: Wikis

I'm amazed at myself, at the progress I've made with the exercises thus far, and in a day at that!

I can see that wikis will be relevant in the library, in my department, as a working document, and hopefully also as a "standards manual".