Videos Online

I had a look at both YouTube and Google Video. I liked the star ratings and the number of views statistics that YouTube has, but to start with I had an error message whenever I tried to open a video. I managed to watch a video only after I embedded onto my blog. I prefer the setup of Google Video but it doesn't have any ratings or statistics. The page downloaded faster than YouTube and I had no trouble watching any video. There is also a link so that you can watch the video on YouTube. After I used that link I could watch the videos on YouTube. Google Video also had more results on the various searches I did. Unfortunately Google Video did not seem to have the embed code available to enable it to be embedded onto a blog.

The Ipswich library is currently running a competition for our young adult members called Camera! Action! Libraries!. They are encouraged to create a short film or digital photo about or featuring the library. The competition information blog has a couple of embedded YouTube videos. One showing tips on creating a video and the other showing an entry in a similar competition run at the Christchurch Library in New Zealand. The competition also ties in to a Photostory workshop being run on the school holiday for the young adult members. The library is using these technologies to attract 13 - 18 year olds to interact with the library.

Online videos could also be useful as a training tool for the staff of the library. Trying to arrange training for a group of people who are rostered to work varying hours over a seven day working week and who also have to operate a customer service desk can be difficult. Using a video would ensure that all the staff received the same information and they could access the information at a time that was convenient to them. One drawback would be that the staff could not ask questions like they could if the training was done live.

Videos Online

Google Maps

I have created a map with a walking tour of some of the historic churches in Ipswich. I only included the ones within a comfortable walking distance of each other. I used information from Ipswich Heritage Trails, Urban Churches. This is the map

Google Calendar

If the library staff didn't already have calendars linked to the council email system and to the library webmail system, google calendar could be used in the same way. We make use of calendars in the library to organise meetings. If other staff are invited to a meeting, their calendar also shows the appointment with details of where the meeting will be held. Meeting guests can also receive an email reminder or a pop-up message. The new feature to make it easier to schedule events with guests will be useful. The new event page will include a calendar right next to the guest list, so you can see when people are free.
The customer service desks can also add calendars for the various meeting rooms and auditorium. This allows staff to see who has booked which room and when and helps staff to direct customers to the correct room.

iGoogle

This is a link to the iGoogle site I set up.It was a fairly straight forward process.

Google Books

I found Google Books very interesting. With a search of History, China full view, the results showed digitised books published in the 1700's and 1800's. This allows anyone to access old fragile books from anywhere, without having to visit the particular organisation that has the original. Most people would not know of the existence of these books, yet now by typing in the keywords of a subject that interests them, they can view these old tomes.

Google Translate

Google Translate will be useful to translate library information brochures and the library website for some of our customers. The local TAFE brings students from their English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to the public library to visit. They are given a tour and shown the library's adult learning collection and are encouraged to join the library. It will be useful to be able to give the customer a copy of the library information brochure in their native language so they have a better understanding of the borrowing guidelines. The list of languages in Google Translate covers most of the migrant groups in our area, but only includes a couple of the African languages. There are a number of Sudanese migrants joining our library and it would be useful to be able to translate into their language.

Web Browsers

As I have already gone past my monthly download, I have not downloaded another browser to my PC. I will compare the browsers for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox from the links on the Test Drive #4 Web Browsers page.

I currently use Internet Explorer so useing a browser that opens the web page faster would be great. From the videos that would appear to be Chrome. I liked the webpage for Firefox better than the one for Chrome. The Firefox site had more information on what features it had available. I particularly liked the Awesome Bar, where you type in any part of an address and the autocomplete feature brings up possible matching sites from your browsing history. It would be great for when you can't remember an exact address. Also using tags to label the sites you use, allows you to search for the sites by category. The download pause and resume feature sound useful, particularly if a download is taking longer than you expected and you need to sign off the computer before it is finished. The session restore feature which allows you to go back to the exact spot you were at if the browser or the computer unexpectedly shuts down sounds useful.
Google Chrome didn't seem to have a lot extra to offer. The ability to highlight text on a webpage and do a search with the default browser could be useful. The incognito mode where webpages opened and files downloaded are not recorded in your download and browsing histories would be of concern to parents who wish to monitor what sites their children are accessing. Reading about some of Chrome's features has made me aware that they are available in Internet Explorer. The use of tabs to open a new browser window from sites recently accessed is helpful.

Podcasts audio

It was interesting to check out some of the podcasts available. I would prefer an audio visual podcast to just a straight audio podcast. I noticed a number of radio programs available on podcast. You would no longer have to be in broadcast range to listen to these programs, you could even hear them overseas.

The Ipswich Library has made some use of audio podcasts. The library has been collecting oral histories which were stored on compact discs. Not many of our customers would have been aware of them, unless they had a specific interest. The oral history podcasts are now available on the library's Picture Ipswich database. This promotes their existence to our customers and allows easy access to them. Our customers no longer have to visit the library to listen to the oral histories.

Audio podcasts could also be used to promote our Heritage Trails. People could download the podcast onto MP3 players and listen to the history of the sites as they explore them.

Mashups

I particularly liked the Then and Now: historic New York images. Comparing the old photo to what the streetscape looks like now is interesting, and the 360 degrees panning is pretty clever.
The Ipswich library is borrowing and scanning old photos of Ipswich and adding them to Picture Ipswich on our website using ArchivalWare. It would be interesting to set up something like the Then and Now site using some of the old photos the library has collected. These could be linked with the council's heritage trails booklets, which provide a guide to the history of the city's churches, pubs, cemetries, rivers, coal mining and rural townships. Also the Local History room could set up a site showing the many historic Queenslander houses that are in the area. Many owners of these houses come to the library to research the history of their house.

It was interesting to see the many different mashups available. I was not aware of these sites until doing this course. It makes me wonder how the general public is expected to find these sites.

Mashups

merluna station

I have tried to do a Mashup similar to the Then and Now: Historic New York images. I managed to save the photos with a photo location map available. I also used MyMaps in google to attach a location marker which allowed a photo to be opened on another page. (I deleted this one). But I couldn't find instructions to have the photo showing on the map.

mashup

Google Docs

I think that Google Docs will be quite useful for a working group I am involved in at work. Currently a document with suggested amendments is sent to the group members to consider before the document is discussed at a meeting. If the document was in Google Docs the members could see the proposed amendments as well as the other group members' suggested amendments and comments. By the time the meeting was held some of the discussion would already have taken place via the Google Doc.

It is also handy when working with two seperate computer systems, the library management system and the Council management system. I can access the document on any computer via Google.

I found the formatting was not consistent, but for a working document it was okay. The final document could be copied to Word and formatted there.

I intend to use this blog as a learning tool. I am interested in discovering what web technologies are available, how they work and what benefit they can be to me personally and professionally.