Reflection

At first I thought we were asked to create a real blog for the real library users. That task seemed overwhelming but at the same time exciting. The reason my blog got named Russian Story time is because I thought I would use it with the Russian families attending my programs and post information/resources useful for the group. It turned out my blog was created just for reporting my progress... Some disappointment there but also big relief.

I am happy I had the opportunity to learn about web 2.0, it does not seen to be Terra Incognita to me any longer, even though I still feel like a stranger in this domain.

If I could make any suggestions, I would recommend to have it set up more like a group exercise under the supervision of an experienced user, where participants could share ideas and help each other.

I would also like to see more individual approach. For instance, children's staff could create the blogs about their programming for the library users (kind of what I had in mind in the beginning). I'd like to explore this possibility and also take any future training available.

Thank you! It was fun and also very useful.

Gaming

Happy it is nothing more complicated. I got quite overwhelmed with 2.0 web possibilities already. games are fun, but I always feel inner resistance when my kids are playing. Real life is so much important!

Maps and Geotagging

That's an easy topic! I have used Google Earth for almost three years to see places all around the planet. It shows me my parents' house in Russia!
It was a powerful tool in the classroom when I assisted a teacher to make clay maps of the Washington state.

Search Engines

Did not realize there were so many. I prefer to go with Google just because I have used it for so many years. I begin to like their maps as well. Another feature that's attractive - they offer alternative spelling if I am not sure how to write a name.

Avatars and Second Life

Here is my avatar!

Zoho Show

I was able to create something rather abstract. The link to my creation is below. Not sure how else to publish it in my blog.
http://show.zoho.com/public/azykova/Summer%20Reading%20Fun

Pod casting

Listened to Learn Out Loud. It has many interesting subjects/titles. When I wanted to listen to one of the pod casts I got just a sample lesson. It looks like I would have to pay to listen to the entire book. I would like to understand better the difference between audio books and pod casts.
Pod casting could be used by libraries to promote programs and books. I find it easier though to receive information in textual format