5 posts from April 2008

Tonight I bid a fond farewell to Learning 2.0 and big HEYA to Princeton!  I'm heading there tomorrow with Heather and Reuben for the Capstone Retreat.  This weekend event happens before the Forums on Youth Ministry to allow those who have completed three (or are attending their third) forums to receive their Certificate of Youth & Theology.  I'm not gonna lie here, I'm not bragging or boasting...I'm just really proud of myself.  Who would have thought that little ol' me would receive anything from Princeton's Theological Seminary?  Certainty not I.  I thought Waterloo was grand, but now that I'm ivy league who knows what I'll do next ;)

See you in a week!!  I'll have some pictures to add from my new camera ( I saved like a good girl and did get the camera I mentioned a couple months ago). If I get a handle on how to use it that is.  I never knew how interesting manuels were until this very moment.  

This week we were instructed to explore the world of online gaming; whether it be virtual worlds like Second Life (my first life is confusing enough, so I skipped the chance to create another one) or checking out some of the various sites online.  At every branch I've worked, there are always hoards of children coming in after school to play games for as long as they can.  Sometimes I would see it as a waste of time, but as soon as I got onto www.popcap.com I was hooked and felt like a child myself, full of wonder and awe. Over my break I played games like Zuma, Bookworm (which is fitting if you ask me) and Bejeweled.  They suck you in and you just can't stop yourself from going level to level.  It was as if time stood still and nothing existed beyond the games.  The fifteen minutes just wasn't enough and I wanted to sit there and play for hours.  I haven't played any games since I experimented with them last Thursday, but I can now see how the kids are fighting for computer time.  If I end up missing at some point I'm most likely holed up in my apartment trying to beat my last score...this could be dangerous, fun but dangerous nonetheless.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhnc9x7s_0n4pmn7fb is the link to the simple Google Doc that I wrote for my library training.  I thought I'd spice it up with an image and highlighted the different areas that I felt could use an open document format like this one.  Enjoy!

I was rather psyched to see the podcast week in our training since I have been meaning to get on that band wagon for a while now.  I have a soft spot for CBC Radio and not enough time or forethought to hear my favourite shows, but ah ha!  They have selective podcasts now...and now that I'm well versed in the art of podcast retrieval I will finally get myself in gear!

I explored YouTube like many a time before, but did the suggested Hamilon Ontario search...some people have some extra time to burn let me tell you.  I saw videos of Hulk 2 filming, friends shopping together at Fortinos, people driving around Hamilton and let us not forget the random concert footage from the Hammer.

I used the google podcast directory and found this: http://www.geeknewscentral.com/podcasts/ a podcast that would be helpful as I continue my techy learnings beyond Library 2.0.  I think Stuart MacLean is one of the all-time best storytellers.  His vinyl cafe stories are the only audiobooks I can handle listening to...refer to my last post about my dislike for audiobooks.  The link to that podcast is http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts#vinylcafe.

I enjoy being consumed by the written word and letting it take me to place and situations unfamiliar to my own.  To have my mind enlightened and spirit lifted and I just don't find that in e-audiobooks.  I'll give the two I downloaded a try by playing them on my drive to work and we'll see if my opinion changes.

From OverDrive I downloaded "Miracles" by C.S. Lewis who I fell in love with while at university.  I found this program easy to navigate and liked that it is directly linked to my library account.  On NetLibrary I downloaded "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent" by Anthony Rapp.  Rent is my favourite musical and with  Mark being my favourite character I thought it would be another good choice.  I wasn't too pleased that I had to create another online account, but that's what happens when you are an internet junkie...or web 2.0 savvy that is...

In other words I found OverDrive user friendly and NetLibrary more difficult in terms of both ease of use and searching.