Now we come to the end of the Web 2.0 course. It's been a lot of fun and I've learned a lot. In terms of the lifelong learning habits, I don't think anything has really changed. I still need to set goals and learn to play, but I have been "playing" with Web 2.0 and I've especially enjoyed Facebook out of all the assignments. That has been great fun for me and I will definitely keep that up since I have discovered so many "friends." The Delicious I haven't really kept up on, and I haven't checked out the RSS feeds for so long I'm almost afraid to see what's been building up, like an overstuffed closet. Maybe I'll be brave and take a peek today. I've enjoyed reading my colleagues blogs (some of them are so funny!), and others are very impressive.

I've checked out Flickr and I am going to link to some photos. Some are real coooool! I might begin taking my own digital photos now. I miss my old SLR. But we must move with the times or be left behind. I will soldier on!
http://flickr.com/photos/alfiere/3256975741/
http://flickr.com/photos/capannelle1/3274062690/

I joined Facebook yesterday as part of Week 6 of the Web 2.0 course. It's addictive. I find myself checking it too often to see what my "friends" are doing. Is this normal? I connected with a high school friend which was nice. I also had contact with relatives that I don't see too often which was also satisfying. It's kinda neat! But I'll have to discipline myself not to go on Facebook every half hour. I guess the novelty will wear off. As for the library using Facebook, I think it's a great idea! I checked out the Edmonton Public Library page and the Brooklyn Museum page and it's a great way to get information on special events out there to people on Facebook. As an aside, I liked the idea of a day when the public library forgives fines and welcomes back patrons who may have stopped using the library because they were embarassed over whatever library-related crimes they had committed. I'm looking forward to learning about Flickr next week. I want to add photos to my Facebook page now.

I just signed up with Delicious.com and bookmarked and tagged a few websites. Very interesting. This could be very useful. There is so much out there that I had no idea even existed. It blows my mind. Where have I been? All this new stuff is coming out all the time and I have no idea it even exists! I'm glad I'm learning about it now but, boy do I feel out of touch.

Week 4 of Web 2.0 and I've signed up with Google Reader and subscribed to 10 feeds. How do I feel about RSS--Really Simple Syndication? Well, it was simple to do, and time will tell if it's simple to use. My initial thoughts are that I will feel overwhelmed with all this information coming at me even though I've only signed up for 10 feeds and I hear there are people out there with hundreds. I suppose it is a time-saver to have some information coming to me instead of me going to it, as long as it really is information I would seek out. If I keep RSS in mind as I visit sites, then I can make it work for me. As for the library using RSS, it seems great that people can subscribe to get feeds about books on order, or programs at the library. Getting reviews and news related to books would be very useful for librarians. Well, that's it for now.

Day 3 of my blog. I've listened to the presentation on lifelong learning and the 7.5 habits of successful lifelong learners, and I guess the hardest habit for me is setting goals (habit #1). I usually don't have a clear goal which I can see could lead to being an obstacle. How do you know when you've achieved your goal if you haven't set out a clear one? The other habit that perhaps is second hardest, is the last one which is 'play'. I always feel that there is work to be done, so I'll have to set aside time for me to just 'play'. The other habits are relatively easy for me, especially teaching and mentoring others. I particularly enjoy doing that. I am a mom and it seems to me that being a mom is being a teacher and a mentor. I'm enjoying my lifelong learning experience so far.

This is day 2 of my blog. Julia sent me a note, how exciting! Julia, in case you visit again, I'm blogging because I am taking a Web 2.0 course through my work at the Ottawa Public Library and the assignment for week 1 was to create a g-mail account and set up our own blog. We have to blog in order to be eligible for the prize at the end. I'm a sucker for prizes!

Today I called Canterbury High School about Peter's audition (he's applying for the drama program) and they can't change the date of his auditions so I've asked for Saturday afternoon off (that's Jan. 24) and I'll see if I can switch shifts for Wednesday, Feb. 4. So don't worry, Ken, I'll make sure I can get him there on my own even if the buses aren't running (which they probably won't be anyway). It's a good thing we live within walking distance of Canterbury.