Sunday, May 20, 2007

Testimonials, Anyone?

I wanted to share these testimonials from JAMBOREE 2007:

“Blogging is so fun!! Now on to wikis!” (Val Haverhals)

“A shout out to NWILS staff for a great JAMBOREE…Janie, loved your hat!” (Faye Seidl)

“I’m very excited about the new programming ideas presented today…” (anonymous)

“Can’t wait to check out all the websites, especially the blogs and Flickr (anonymous)

“NWILS new consulting approach is good stuff, sounds great…” (anonymous)

“Bonnie, I had to share this with you. I like to watch Jeopardy like you like to watch ‘24’ J One of the categories this evening was Online Words. I don’t remember the exact questions, but 4 answers out of five in the category were: What is a blog? What is a wiki? What is an avatar? (which no one got except me!!) and What is RSS? You will be pleased to know I answered all four correctly and told my husband ‘I learned all this yesterday at JAMBOREE.’ Thanks for the education!” (Sandi Neary)

Lend your comments...what was your favorite part of JAMBOREE this year?

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

JAMBOREE Was A Hit!


Judging by audience evaluations and comments, C.E. JAMBOREE was a bonafide hit! Two days of programming, and one evening session, piqued interest in all things social on the “social web.” From Flickr to Delicious, from blogs to wikis to podcasts and more, we learned from each other about Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 concepts. All of which led me to a new phrase: Learning 2.0!

Turns out I didn't coin the phrase, so says eagle-eye researcher Kay Larson. But I like it and I think it really fits what happened last week. Because what happened was collaborative learning: sharing our “discoveries” on the web, explaining how to blend traditional services with technologies, and going home to put learning into practice.



For instance, in the days following JAMBOREE, Valerie Haverhals from Hawarden PL started a book discussion blog: http://hawardenbookdiscussion.blogspot.com/ Val tells me she also started a personal blog for an upcoming family reunion—and already a brother is asking her to teach him all about blogging!

Turns out there’s a new article freshly posted on WebJunction about blogging, check that out here http://www.webjunction.org/

Nathan Clark from Ruthven/Emmetsburg PL has started a wiki for the 1-2 person libraries, using WetPaint for the wiki design:
http://1-2personlibrary.wetpaint.com/home His Jamboree handouts are there, too.

And you can check out lots of great “Learning 2.0” photos on our Flickr page. That's Janie being a good sport in a "mysterious skit." At www.flickr.com, search Flickr Groups for “NWILS Library Fun Fotos." You can also join the Flickr group for Northwest and include your own photos of events @ your library. If you were at Jamboree, you should be getting an invitation to join the group--give it a whirl :-)

Through discovery and conversation, people shared so many cool websites, far beyond what was pre-printed on the handouts. I'll include follow-ups in future issues of EYE-OPENER and here, too. Remember to blog what you're learning and putting into practice!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Kids First Conference

I heard through the grapevine that the Kids First Conference was super this year (as every year) Any and all Northwest library staff who attended are encouraged to blog their Kids First Conference experience here...Thanks!