Week 8 Mashups and API

Exercise #1: http://programmableweb.com/mashup/virtual-nyc-tour is the mashup I chose to practice with. I was able to take walking tours through various streets and parks in NYC. I controlled my direction by clicking arrows in the direction that I was walking. Really kind of fun.

Exercise #2: the concept behind Rollyo is an interesting one. I am not sure I am grasping it yet. I did do the exercise and searched for 'privacy' in the librarianblogs. I believe the concept behind the privacy discussions in some of the blogs was implying that privacy is almost impossible in this technological world and proceed with caution!

Podcastng and Online Hosted Videos Week #7

I probably would not use YouTube very much in my personal life unless I was just passing time. There is a lot of "stuff" posted in there and it takes time to figure out how properly use all of the options available. I will admit it can be very comical to view.

Podcasting is a very interesting concept. I would probably use podcasting for virtual tours, and quick reference tutorials. Once again there is a time and staff commitment to get it started and keep it updated.

Interesting options.

Week 6: Online Photo Sharing

This is my dog and companion Riley, he is 3 years old and faithfully sits with me on the chair while I do my homework. He is usually sleeping in no time, he gets bored very easily.
This course has been very informative for me. At this point I believe our library council will be using a wiki to develop a Virtual Tour of our library web page. That will be fun. The other tools will be very useful in my personal use, especially the free office tools. The has been a great learning experience. Thank you.

Week 5: Office Tools

This software is really great for the person who does not have access to the Microsoft Office products. It seems very easy to use and the HELP menu is also satisfactory. I have taken many MS Office classes, but have never really created anything with them. This was fun to sit and take the time to explore the spreadsheet and presentation componets. I feel that this is a great product for small business, libraries, and others who cannot afford MS Office Suite.

Macaroni, Broccoli and Cheese

2 cups uncooked pasta

6 oz. cram cheese, softened

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

8 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely shredded (2 cups)

Pepper

8 saltine crackers

Preheat oven to 400. Cook pasta for 7 minutes. Transfer 1 cup of pasta cooking water to a bowl, add cream cheese and wisk until smooth.

Add broccoli to pasta in pot. Continue cooking until pasta is al dente, about 4 more minutes.

Drain pasta and broccoli and return them to pot.

Add cream cheese and 1 ¼ cups Cheddar; stir until cheese is melted. Season with pepper. Transfer to a 9 in. square baking dish. Toss in remaining Cheddar and sprinkle on top of pasta. Bake until top is golden and sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes.

Macaroni, Broccoli and Cheese

2 cups uncooked pasta

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

8 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely shredded (2 cups)

Pepper

8 saltine crackers

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook pasta for 7 minutes. Transfer 1 cup of pasta cooking water to a bowl, add cream cheese and wisk until smooth.

2. Add broccoli to pasta in pot. Continue cooking until pasta is al dente, about 4 more minutes.

3. Drain pasta and broccoli and return them to pot.

4. Add cream cheese and 1 ¼ cups Cheddar; stir until cheese is melted. Season with pepper. Transfer to a 9 in. square baking dish. Toss in remaining Cheddar and sprinkle on top of pasta. Bake until top is golden and sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes.

MLA Class Social Bookmarking Week #4

What fun this was to learn. I have to admit without taking this class I never would have taken the time to review any of these network tools. I have attend several trainings on them, but just never brought them back to the workplace. Social bookmarking will definitely be used since I work at three different sites and a different computer everytime. It may take me a little bit of time to remember to add them to del.icio.us. but eventually it will fall into place. Neat tool!

Social Networking Tools Week#3

I was glad to have the chance to take time and jump into these 3 networking sites. My preference is Facebook. It has so many little bells and whistles to make a very active page if time allowed. There is a issue of privacy concerns that are a little bothersome. You really have to be careful what you post on your page. MySpace felt like a "young person" site and Linkedin was not impressive to me at all. May be I didn't give it enough time, but it didn't seem to be anything I could use.
At this time I am not sure I would invest my time in any of these tools for the library but at least I am now aware of their purpose and how to use them.