about technology

Thing 8
Well, today, of course, my "about technology" post must address the much hyped and anticipated announcement of apple's newest device, the iPad. Watch and marvel. Schwing!! How long until this is mainstream?

Here's Beatrice

Thing 7 continued....
The description on Beatrice's trading card is hard to read, because the picture is small. Here's what it says...

A formidable combination of Ethel Merman, Bette Midler and Carol Pope, with just a sprinkling of JA for sweetness, Beatrice is an unstoppable freight train of fur in a boa.

Do you see what I see?

#7 More Flickr Fun

Wow! It blows me away --all that is available out there. How to choose, how to choose? I tried Dumpr, but kept getting an error message. Any suggestions? If so, please share.

I do like this spelling one. It would be good for making ransom notes, no? or less exciting applications: posts, signs, bookmarks, etc...

Uploading to flickr

Celebration square
Originally uploaded by it ain't the jeans...

Thing 6, exercise 2
Yes, I'm up for an easy challenge. Might as well go all out, (though I chose an existing picture, rather than taking a new one).

Blogging from flickr

Outside the Canadian Embassy
Originally uploaded by Inside Disaster

Thing 6, exercise 1
flickr and other social networking tools have been crucial to share information following the earthquake. I selected this photo, courtesy of insidedisaster.com because it reflects the world's perception of Canada as a receptive country.

Exploring flickr, it occurred to me that we can use it as a gauge for what's topical. Who would have thunk it-- canadiansagainstproroguingparliament as a hot tag? I see post ideas for the WPL site coming from the hot topics. I was please to see the range of options in the advanced search. The maps and places will be useful for country assignments. And of course... posters, and brochures, and signs, oh my!

What I've learned so far...

Thing 5. Well how to set up a blog, for one thing. Exploring the recommended articles provided an opportunity to think about learning in general, our changing information environment and my own inclinations. I enjoyed Kathryn Greenhill's matter of fact, let's get on with it approach; those Aussies know how to tell it like it is. In the spirit of this 2.0 exercise, I read the Wikipedia entry as a touchstone, to make sure my understanding of Library 2.0 was on the right track. But of course I didn't stop at just two! (see previous post)

Learning about learning

Reflecting on the 7 1/2 habits. Thing 4.
"Accept responsibility for your own learning" is already gospel for me. I've taken inspiration from a 2003 LJ article by Roy Tennant. In particular: "Learn as you breathe...We are born to learn, but somewhere along the way many of us pick up the idea that we must be taught in order to learn. We think that if someone doesn't stand up in front of us and talk to us with either a chalkboard or PowerPoint slides, we cannot learn. We must regain our sense of wonder and our desire to learn." Which brings me to the hardest habit: # 7 1/2 Play. Now I have noooo problem whatsoever playing. My problem is that I am a tangential thinker, and can easily be distracted. I even interrupt myself! So while I play, I have to follow the advice of habit 1, and keep the end in mind. Otherwise, I will have a beach full of partially built sandcastles.

Life is a highway...

Whew, made it! I got lost a couple of times during the set up. When driving, I tend balance "Let's just keep going, and we'll get there" with, "OK, I need to stop and get my bearings". Now that I've moved out of the collectors onto the express, let's go.