Flikr Lurkr

In light of our Flikr exploration, I came across this amusing blog. The blogger posts other people's pictures that he finds on Flikr that he finds amusing (let that be a warning to ya!). They are pretty funny! Flikr Lurkr Have fun!

#5 Explore Flikr

I usually use Shutterfly for my online photo "stuff" and found Flikr a little bit harder to navigate. Although, it does look like I will be able to do more with Flickr than Shutterfly once I get the hang of it. I did use the red-eye feature on the dog and guinea pig pictures, and it was easy!

The introduction slideshow/tutorial to Flikr was very helpful, but it made using Flikr look a lot easier than it really is. I think it's like anything else, you have to learn a new "lingo" and how to get around and then you'll be fine.

The sheer volume of options is a little overwhelming, but also inspiring. The creative applications really make me want to do something artistic with some of my pictures (not any of the ones I have shown here!) The slideshow above is just a few goofy moments from the past couple of months around the ZamFam house. Pets and kids. What could be better?

And Luna is a "Caymanian Water Hound" which is to say a mutt I got at the Human Society in the Cayman Islands when I lived there. She was one hour away from being euthanized, weighed only four pounds and was covered in raw, open wounds and cigarette burns. Sometimes in January, I feel bad about bringing her to the Great White North (no more beach runs!), but I figure the alternative was much, much worse!

Addendum:

The feature to embed the html code did not work to get my slideshow on my blog, so I looked at Beth's blog, entered pictobrowser.com via her blog and embedded with no problem. This was very frustrating though! I'm not sure if the problem was on the Flikr end of things or Blogger's.

#4 Register Your Blog

For the sake of continuity, I am including a #4 even though it is not really possible to register this blog with PLCMC. I'm kind of OCD that way. I did add my link to the class discussion board so that all of my UWM LIS 635 classmates may share in the joy of Library 2.0 discovery.

Acronym Power!

And just for Beth: "FRBR"

PS: Spellcheck hates acronyms!

# 3 Set Up Your Own Blog

#2 Being a Lifelong Learner

I think anyone who is in library school must be some sort of lifelong learner, which is part of the attraction of LIS in the first place. If you're not interested in learning and expanding your knowledge base, this is probably the wrong field. So yes, "lifelong learner" is a descriptor that fits me well. When faced with the inevitable information overload that accompanies this and many other fields, my biggest stressor is the feeling of trying to catch a sip from a fire hose, because I am so "thirsty" for more knowledge. I want to know more. I don't know what I don't know. The more I learn, the more I learn that I don't know much! And the quest goes on.

According to our tutorial, there are 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learners. Here's my paraphrase:

1) Have specific goals

2) Take responsibility for your own learning

3) See the equation PROBLEMS = CHALLENGES

4) Have confidence in yourself as a learner

5) Have a learning toolbox

6) Use technology to your advantage

7) Teach or mentor others

1/2) PLAY! HAVE FUN!

Well, I've got the 1/2 down. That's not to say that I don't take learning seriously. I do. I used to be a high school teacher and it is in those proving grounds that I came to firmly believe that not only CAN learning be fun, but it SHOULD be fun. That's why when I taught history, we ate, told stories around a fake fireplace, listened to music, danced, made crafts and mummified things (no younger siblings!). I collected indulgences one morning as students came to class to illustrate medieval church corruption and set the classroom up as a manor with a lord and serfs whose currency was M&Ms to demonstrate how much was held in the hands of a few. We sure had fun . . . and did a whole lot of learning in the process. Humans are playful creatures and we need to be mindful of that fact -- particularly as we try to break those old librarian stereotypes.

Since I do consider myself to be a lifelong learner, I feel that I bear many of the above hallmarks. If I struggle with any, it would be having a learning toolbox, mostly because this is an area that is constantly in flux. Not only is your tool need different for each task, but the state of "tools" is rapidly moving and expanding. A favorite tool may become obsolete or incompatible; new tools might be better but have a steep learning curve; you might be unaware of the perfect tool and end up making do with an inferior tool. Of course, the very definition of "tool" is growing and morphing. It may mean a print resource, a place, a person, an online/digital resource, a subscription item, a free application, the list is really endless. Therein lies the challenge -- being in the stream of information without being washed away, keeping up-to-date without being overwhelmed.

Oh, and PS: I am a VISUAL learner! :)

#1 of Twenty Three Things

As previously mentioned, this blog is started as a class assignment with the goal being learning more about Library 2.0 -- the movement within library and information studies to keep up with emerging technologies. More than just moving to more online applications, Library 2.0 is about reaching patrons where they are through virtual reference, meeting needs with electronic resources and marketing services and programs in a technologically relevant way. There are 23 steps we need to take and they will be documented here on my Reference This! blog.

I'll try to have fun along the way. Frankly, life is too short (and too busy) to not try to make the journey amusing.

But I Mean It With the Utmost Respect. . .

Welcome to Reference This! Whhheeeee! Don't you wish you could be a student who actually gets CREDIT to blog? If you're reading this, you probably already are, since this is a class assignment. So I am expecting that most traffic (and I am sure there will be absolute JAMS of traffic!!) will be of the classmate variety!

I enjoy writing and find it the best way to order my thoughts and synthesize what I learn, so I am looking forward to this foray into library blogging. Welcome aboard.

I thought about introducing myself in this first post, but frankly, I think the only people really interested in all of my particulars are me and . . . mostly just me. So why bore you? When I have something scintillating to share from the library universe, I'll post it here. That would be much more satisfactory, I think. Only item that might be pertinent, but probably not, is that I am an Anglophile and Francophobe. I can't help it. I was born that way -- kind of like being a Cubs fan. Seriously, do you think anyone would choose that kind of heartache (being a Cubs fan, I mean. The Francophobe is much more logical . . .)? Spoken with tongue firmly in cheek. . .

Peace to all until next time. . .