The Conclusion of 23 Things

I was so disappointed when I first found out that I had to participate in 23 Things for LATI. 23 Things was starting during the summer and I wanted to take a break from the internet. However since I began this journey I have found the assignments informative, educational, and beneficial. My favorite discoveries or exercises were:
Thing #6 - uploading a flickr picture; Thing #8 - RSS Setting Up My Own Newsreader Account (I can get up to date information on the subjects that interest me); Thing #11 - Putting my favorite books on LibraryThing - that was cool, dude!; and Thing #17 - sandbox wiki - I got to talk about one of my favorite pasttimes - eating italian ice at Rita's on an extremely hot summer day.

This program has enhanced my lifelong learning goals - I will now explore resources on the web when I undertake a new learning experience. For the most part, once I found ample resources in hard copy format I did not further explore the web resources.

At times it was frustrating to post information on wikis - it was like being in traffic. I learned to be patient, though.

If another discovery program was offered I would gladly participate, but hopefully it would not only be offered in the summer. I would rather "play" (learning goal 7 1/2) than be inside or outside on a computer. I used some of my "play" time to accomplish the 23 Things.

My learning experience in a few words - informative, enlightening, challenging, and rewarding.

Sunset

Sunset
Originally uploaded by fmabrey

www.flickr.com provided this beautiful sunset. That's cool!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

NetLibrary/Project Gutenburg/Overdrive

Although I would rather physically hold the books I am interested in, I can see why NetLibrary and Project Gutenburg and Overdrive are essential tools for a bookworm. I just don't have the space in my home required to own a copy of every book I love or desire to read. Being able to download a book on a MP3 and listen to it at one's own leisure, cuts down on a lot of clutter and makes enjoying a book in a car really easy to do. The last book I have listened to in ebook format is The Holy Bible. I enjoy reading the Bible so the ebook format is just an extra treat. I will not substitute the ebook format for the hard copy format, but I would use it as a supplement.

There were a wide range of titles on Overdrive, NetLibrary and Project Gutenberg and I know eventually more publishers will be offering titles as ebooks also. A lot of our customers enjoy the ebook format as well as hard copy. Some are enjoying a title in both formats for visual and audio stimulations to the upmost.

News Feed

I examined www.feedster.com, www.Topix.net, and www.Syndic8.com. I liked www.feedster.com the best. Feedster is divided into five categories - entertainment, technology, sports, food, and politics and it has a very green search engine. I found it easy to use and comprehend. Having up to date information is incredible. Often times I see up to date news on the internet and the next day read in the paper. I feel like I have secret informers when this happens.

Mom of Six will continue to use news feeds.

Bloglines Newsreader Account/RSS Feeds

I have set up my bloglines newreader account - great! - I have chosen subjects that are an interest to me. That's cool. I chose the following subjects: Investor,
Bookworm, and Vegetarian. I think I will add more later, but now I concentrate reading news on the ones listed above. The Web and its many resources has made my life easier I must admit. With RSS - Really Simple Syndication - I may
stop subscribing to any hard copy magazines or newspapers.

Flickr Mashups

I examined some of Flickr mashups and was quite impress with the website www.MashupAwards.com. Individuals can submit there mashups to be entered into a contest. Some of the award winners had incredible websites. Moving Earth, a meshup, about the latest earthquakes, was very informative and impressive. I think it would take me a little more practice to create a mashup of this sort. This would be project I would try to undertake at a later date. At any rate, mashups are incredible and very useful.

Flickr

I have checked out www.flickr.com. Millions and millions of people sharing photographs from all over the world. Interesting. I can also put photographs on postcards, stamps, etc. One should be able to find photographs on any subject or theme. I will recommend this website to customers, family and friends. I can see myself using it for various projects, both personal and business, as well. I posted a picture from flickr of a sunset on this blog - check it out.

Wikis

I have come to enjoy wikipedia.com and other wikis. I must stay aware that information on these wikis should be verified, but I guess all information should be verified for credibility.

Good bye,
Mom of Six

Online Productivity

I signed up for Zoho.com to use its word processing features. Typed a simple letter. Wished that these types of tools were available online when I was in college over 20 years ago. Glad that my daughters will be able to use these and all the other tools available on the web.

Let the online productivity tools be with you!
Mother of Six

Podcast

I checked out Podcast.net. Currently am looking at podcasts under Business and Money. Did consider this also an useful tool.

You Tube -- The Flintstones

I checked out YouTube. This is one of my children's favorite websites. I looked at the videos of animation - I really enjoyed the Flintstones, so it was a real treat to
see the different segments. check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Oj1Yx80uc.

This is a very useful tool for libraries - different videos can be downloaded to a library's website and use for various purposes such as promoting books and entertainment videos.

Got to go!
Mom of Six

Del.icio.us

Oh well, I finally figured how to post my favorite websites on del.icio.us. Please check them out at http:del.icio.us/FMabrey. This is an excellent tool - a first I did not think so, but it is an easy way to share one's favorite websites with friends and family. I have only listed 6, but will add more later.

Mom of Six