Betty Blogger Summary

Wow. It's seems like we just began the course and now I'm on the last assignment. I've enjoyed being a part of this program. 

I rated myself pretty low at the beginning. I'm no expert yet but I do feel a lot more confident attacking some of the applications we have used. 

The course was successful in meeting my expectations and I gained a lot from the Dropins I attended and from the email advice I received from Library Lady and Shelley.

The challenging parts came when the directions had to change because the programs on the internet had been updated or added to. But I guess that's all part of the learning. The internet is not a static entity but constantly changing and so we have to keep up as well. This self-directed learning model was good in that it forced us to get out and try new programs.

Yes, I would certainly recommend Betty Blogger to a friend.

One suggestion that I would make is that perhaps part of the expectation would be that we would read several of the blogs and offer comments each week. There are too many students for Library Lady to respond to every week. Whenever possible I have tried to read the student blogs and quite enjoyed them. Lots of "good reads" there.

Thanks very much, ladies, for providing an interesting and informative summer course.

Library Thing

Library Thing

Over the last few years I have kept track of books read as well as a little synopsis and an evaluation on a scale of 1 to 5. The Library Thing program adds another dimension to this. You can instantly obtain reviews and see what others are recommending. I'm not sure how much I will make use of this in the future. There are so many good books out there! If only I could read a little faster! I generally rely on recommendations from personal friends who I know read and enjoy similar genres to me. We chat as we hike along the trails. But, having said that, I guess there is always a time to glean from what others who have enjoyed similar books to me. A change of pace is good too.

Google Docs... Let's Try it Again

Welcome back to our Library Lady and congratulations! I hope your wedding was truly all that you had hoped it to be!

My Recipe goes like this...It's not just about the food. It's the special memories.

Google Reader

I really like the concept of the Google Reader RSS feeds. There are certain sites that I visit often and it can be a real time waster to separate "what's new" from "what's old news". I chose to subscribe to Margaret Wente's column in the Globe and Mail, The CBC Top News Stories and the CBC site called "This I Believe". It was easy to set up these subscriptions.

I notice that this program also allows me to see what my friends are sharing and what's popular etc. My thoughts are that once you get into those aspects you're probably defeating the purpose of the program... lots of time looking at a computer screen and accomplishing little. If my friends have something of interest to share, better they just email me the article directly. 

Having said that, I am looking forward to testing the program out at the basic level over the next few days to see where it takes me.

Wiki and the Pot Luck Picnic

Our Picnic is LOOKING Good! My contribution to the Pot Luck Picnic will be a spinach, strawberry, and feta cheese salad with special Raspberry Dressing imported all the way from Muskoka.

The Wiki was very easy to use although LL had it all set up for us. I'm not sure about using it myself. It would have a usage perhaps to plan a hiking event or for hiking schedules for example, but I'm not sure if everyone has to have a Wiki Account in order to participate. If so, then it's probably just as easy to use email.

Google Docs

Taking a Tour of the Google docs was very interesting. I can't believe the thousands of templates posted there. They seem to be organized to cut down on searching time. It's probably a site I may come back to. However, these ol' security concerns keep popping up. For example, I notice there are lots of templates for planning a family budget. Sounds like a great idea. And yet, I'm wondering what happens once I download the template and begin inputting my personal finance info etc into the format. Where is that information stored and even though I have used my very private password that I'm never to share with anyone, WHO REALLY HAS ACCESS TO THIS INFO??

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1muzun2hD9AnPHZMt07TvgwOi1PztSFzv9Pmem-0Jqrw&amp;embedded=true"></iframe>

<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1muzun2hD9AnPHZMt07TvgwOi1PztSFzv9Pmem-0Jqrw&amp;embedded=true"></iframe>

As you can see, when I tried to embed my foodie story, it didn't work...Error 404 comes up. I checked it out on Google which has listed all kinds of solutions but the solutions weren't really speakin' my language. Hence I have emailed LL for help.

Picasa

Well, this week I am off to discover what Picasa has to offer. After getting logged in and establishing my Picasa account I searched under "Bruce Trail Ontario". Lots of interesting photos, some showing waterfalls and sections of the trail I could readily recognize and others that tempted me to put on my hiking boots and head off to see the sights. 

I selected a photo to send to Library Lady that I think she will enjoy (unless she's afraid of heights). The photo was taken from the Grotto section of the Bruce Trail up on the Peninsula and involved looking down onto Georgian Bay from a steep rocky ledge. The tags were: Bruce, Trail, grotto, rocks, view. 

Yes, I think I'll continue with my Picasa account. I uploaded some photos I received from a good friend of mine, the "Deer Whisperer of Hamilton". You can have a look-see if you choose. They are in Picasa under Hikin Gram.