Wrapping up my Trip Around the World (wide web)

Overall, I really enjoyed the Discover 2.0 program. While I thought I had a pretty good idea of how to do certain things on the Internet (Blogging, Facebook/MySpace), I learned through this program that there was a lot I didn't know and had never heard of (ie: Twitter, Mash-ups, Google Docs).

Some of my favorite discoveries were the Mash-ups and Google Documents. I also thought that the Common Craft videos were very creative, fun, and easy to understand. I became a huge fan of the Common Craft videos and was excited when I was doing a unit that featured them. I really enjoyed keeping a blog too. I have always liked writing and expressing my thoughts, I just hadn't done it for a long time. Setting up this blog encouraged me to get back to writing and expressing myself.

The program also challenged me and my 7 1/2 life long learning habits. The one I said I struggled with the most was "Habit #3: View problems as challenges". I easily get frustrated with technology when something doesn't work but through this program I just kept trying to do the newly acquired skill until it worked. Some things were very difficult for me such as adding the Meebo box to my blog while others I caught onto really quickly (posting a picture or video). While some of the things took me a couple of tries, I always felt a sense of learning and accomplishment when I was able to get it to work. The Discover 2.0 program forced me to think outside my technology box and develop new skills I didn't know existed.

One thing I'd like to express as feedback would be (and I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this)is that since this was an "extra curricular" learning thing and not mandatory I feel we should have been able to work on it on our own time. I personally wouldn't have had a problem with that and wouldn't have minded... the reward at the end was motivation enough for me to want to finish the program!

Thank you and Bon Voyage!

Postcards from around the World (wide web)

Wow, so this was an interesting unit. I understand the concept but don't think this would be something I would use in my daily life. One of the articles compared Twitter to the "Status Updates" on Facebook. As a Facebook user myself, checking the status of everyone is one of the first and favorite things I do and I am always amazed at how a few words can fill you in on what's going on in a person's life. Speaking of the status, I would call somebody and then start telling them something and they would say something to the effect "yeah I saw that on your Facebook" or someone would call me and start the conversation with "So I saw on your status today that...". Amazing how a few words can make you feel so connected!

As far as Twitter and Tumblr, I really just don't think I would care enough to constantly get status updates of people while I'm on the go. I don't even like having a cell phone, let alone constantly be getting messages on it telling me what my friend had for lunch or that so-and-so is in their car driving. I've got to many other things to worry about during my day and cluttering it with minute details is something I just don't need. I think it would stress me out rather than inform me! Logging into my Facebook account once a day and getting status updates is enough for me.

My Vacation Video Library

Although this isn't the best quality video, it was the only one I could find that actually had live footage and not a photo montage. I first heard of Owen and Mzee from a children's book and was very intrigued by the special bond and unique relationship these two animals share. Despite the wide spread devestation the 2004 tsaumani in Asia caused around the world, this is one touching and heartwarming story that came out of it. (I am also very proud of myself for learning how to embed this video into my blog. It took a few minutes to figure out, and I had to consult the Help section but I was able to do it and it worked on my first try! Whoohoo! Once again, I can say I am definetely expanding my skills since taking Discover 2.0!).

I've always enjoyed surfing around "user friendly" YouTube and have found many interesting and educational things on it. I liked learning and seaching around the other video sites (blip.tv, Revver, and MetaCafe were my favorites from this unit) and found all of them really easy to use. I had only ever heard of YouTube before this unit, so enjoyed exploring the other video sites and seeing what they had to offer.

I think using videos would be a great thing to incorporate into libraries. We could embed some "How To" videos on the library's homepage about the Dewey Decimal System and how to search for books using the DDS. I also think it would be a good idea to have people leave short videos about books they've read and enjoyed (like FVRL's Sam Wallin's One Minute Critic project). Using short video clips would definetely enhance people's experience in the library!

Touching down in the Land of Podcasts

I personally have never used podcasts before but think it could be something interesting to listen to while exercising, doing chores, or traveling somewhere. After reading about them in this unit think it will be something I'm willing to try.

I looked at all three directories for finding podcasts and liked Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com the best. They were easy to navigate around and provided brief descriptions of what the podcasts would be about. I liked how easy it was to subscribe to some podcasts by just copying and pasting the podcast's URL into my Bloglines account. I was not impressed with Yahoo's Podcasts at all as they didn't have descriptions and were very vague in what they were about.

I had a hard time finding some library related podcasts that interested me but did end up on settling with two which could be very interesting. One was called "LibVibe" and it gives you short podcasts (between 7 - 9 minutes) of headline news from the world of libraries. I scanned some of the headlines and some of them proved to be varied and interesting. I also subscribed to one called "Library Across Cultures". It only has one podcast so far but the podcaster went to Japan and interviewed a librarian there about the 20,000 books written in different languages other than Japanese and how it serves the foreign public.

I did stumble across a few other podcasts that I saved to my Bloglines account for my own personal use too. One I'm especially looking forward to talks about living in Las Vegas and gives a first person account of what it's like to live there. I've been to Las Vegas twice and love the "escape from reality" it provides and how it's larger than life. I've seen it from the tourist's point of view, but I think it would be interesting to see it from a local's perspective. I also subscribed to "Amateur Traveler Podcast - travel for the love it" as it had some interesting podcasts on destinations I'm interested in (Egypt) and some on New York City which I'm planning on traveling to in about a month.

Overall, I think podcasts are becoming more mainstream and I think if I put the effort into actually listening to some I will really enjoy them. As I haven't tried listening to any yet my opinion is fairly vague. I did find that while searching for podcasts to subscribe to, there are a wide variety of topics for every interest and age and I think that there is something appealing out there for everyone.

Music and Language... the pulse of the world (wide web)

I really like the idea of the social music sites especially last.fm. It would be really fun to have a "radio station" tailored specifically to you and your tastes. I find I am most productive when I have music playing in the background whether it be having the radio on while I'm cooking dinner or cleaning up or listening to my MP3 player while I exercise or go for a walk. Having my favorite songs play back to back to back would get me really pumped up.

I also really liked the idea of the Mango Languages and think that could be a really neat program to offer at the library. I quickly glanced through one of the free lessons of the French program and really liked how they explained things and laid it out. This could be a great extension to the library's program of the Conversation Circle. I've always wanted to learn another language and think if the library offered something tied with Mango I would be there. Although it's a do-it-yourself course just having the support network of other people to get it done would be fun. If there are library workers or people in the community that speak, for example, French why not have a French evening and anyone interested in learning the language could come and do the course and if there were any questions you could ask the facilitator. I have taken correspondence courses in the past, and while I did learn from them, I really missed the social aspect of being in a classroom with other students and having a teacher. I think this would be a great outreach to offer to the community. The library currently offers that conversation circle for people new to the English language why not offer a program for English speakers to learn a second or even third language? This would be a great way to tie in the English conversation circle people as well as I'm sure they'd be thrilled to offer their knowledge of their native tongue.

To close, I wanted to share my feelings on the question, Are CD's dead? Ever since I got my MP3 player I have to say, yes, they are. I love being able to download the songs that I want and not have to buy the whole CD just to get 3 or 4 songs that I actually like out of the 12 - 14 that may be on there. I was given a CD for Christmas this year and the first thing I did was "rip" the songs that I liked and transferred it to my MP3 player. Now that I've been introduced to the wonderful world of downloading music and the compact size of MP3 players I don't think I'll ever go back to using CD's or CD players.

Trip of a lifetime (part two)

I just wanted to add to my experience about publishing my article onto my blog from GoogleDocs. I had a bit of trouble at first as I kept getting an error message. It turned out to be two really minor things (I had a typo in my user name - I had put 3 l's instead of 2) and I had put the URL address to my blog instead of just my blog's ID/Title. Once I got that figured out, a few "clickity clicks" of the mouse and, volia, it had magically appeared as a post! Although sometimes making mistakes can be frustrating, it is a really good learning experience and the only way to develop new skills. I'm glad I kept trying and was able to figure it out on my own. I feel so triumphant and satisfied at the new skills I'm learning in Discover 2.0.

Trip of a lifetime!

WOW, I had no idea that this type of concept existed but I REALLY like it and could see myself using this useful tool in the future. I have worked a lot of office jobs in the past and I can relate to how overwhelming email can be especially when you're having to modify documents all the time. I worked in an administrative assistant's role typing up letters, presentations, meeting minutes, etc and when I sent them for my boss to review he'd always email me back with changes and revisions and I'd have to save his document to my computer, make the changes then attach the email again. As the Common Craft video said you'd have numerous versions you'd have to keep straight. I wish I would have had something like GoogleDocs when I was working my office jobs because it would have been so useful and such a time saver!

I also love how GoogleDocs is set up exactly like an office suite so if you're familiar with Microsoft this will be easy to figure out and navigate your way around. I was able to catch onto the features quite quickly since I'm used to Microsoft Office. It's been a couple of years since I've been in an office setting working behind a desk, but I am curious to see if this new technology is catching on in various workplaces.

I loved how "back in the day" email was dubbed as the changing landscape of the business world and how it was going to revolutionize communication because of the instantaneous of it all but I think GoogleDocs is going to be crowned the new champion! This is brilliant! Email today is such an essential part of everyday life to the point we've taken it for granted. Email is something everyone just "does" but I definitely think that GoogleDocs is going to catch on really quickly. How do we keep up with it all???

What a great and educational unit! I caught onto it really quick and feel like I've had a "light bulb moment"... I'm so glad I learned that this existed because I know I'll be using it.

Highlights of my trip so far

Play time is fun! The blog readability test was by far my favorite. I was even pleasantly surprised to learn that my blog's reading level is "College"... I was feeling so intellectual and well spoken until I put the link in for my husband's blog and his came out "Genius"! Hee, hee! That evening, I showed him this link and we both were highly entertained and played around with it for about half an hour putting in the blogs he frequents to see what they were rated. This link was fun and easy to use although some explanation as to how they came up with their rating system would have been good and interesting. My husband did a search of other "blog readability" tests on the internet and this one was definitely the easiest to use and put up the results the quickest. The hubby and I shared a "bonding" moment over a web app! LOL

I also tried WordShoot and found that to be a pretty easy game to conquer (I've been typing since I was really young and am quite fast) but could see how it would be a fun learning tool and a highly addictive time killer!

I tried the demo of Scrabulous and don't quite understand the hype that surrounds it. A lot of my Facebook friends are really into it but it just couldn't hold my attention for long periods of time. I never really liked playing the board game Scrabble either, I just find it to tedious and drawn out for my liking. I'd be a little intimidated to play in a tournament as the only words I could come up with are about 4 or 5 letters long!

Sketchcast was way out of my league. I didn't quite get the application and what it does and my drawing skills are horrible! It was a little to complicated.

Overall I really liked being able to sit back, relax and PLAY!

Movie Reviews

A "wiki" aloha from the Hawaiian islands!

I was somewhat aware of what wikis were and had even used one in the past without realizing it (for my bookclub that I used to be a part of) but after this unit I learned some interesting facts (who knew "wiki" meant "quick" in Hawaiian) and I have now become more educated in understanding what they are, how they function, and how they are used. This was a very educational unit for me!

I did not realize that Wikipedia can be edited by many different users. I'm not to sure how I feel about that as I think with anybody being able to edit, the information can become really distorted and false rather than educational. On the other hand, it is kind of interesting to get first hand knowledge from someone who has experienced something (for example having experienced a city you're interested in traveling to).

In browsing through some of the wikis, I discovered WikiTravel and really found it useful. I am possibly thinking of a trip to New York in the spring and got to browsing and found lots of interesting tips for staying and traveling to that city that I never would have thought of on my own. It was great to read about people's first hand experiences and get a point of view of someone who was actually there and experiencing NYC rather than the standard travel brochure literature. Brochures have a tendency to leave out the "little yet crucial details" that you wouldn't know unless you experienced it for yourself or heard it from someone who's been to that city. I got totally absorbed in WikiTravel and browsed it for over half an hour just clicking link after link! Hee, hee!

As I mentioned above, I have used a wiki to communicate with my former book club members. We used it to communicate when and where our meetings would be, who was bringing snacks and drinks, what books we had considered, and of course just general chit chat. It always amazed me how our meetings were organized and planned and we had never talked to each other face to face or on the phone in the weeks in between our meetings. I found it to be a very useful communication tool and would definitely use it again in the future if I'm ever part of another group with lots of members. It was a great way to keep facts and details straight and there was no excuse to not be informed of what was going on. Even though telephones are great, sometimes messages can get muddled when relayed from a third party and misunderstandings can occur. With wikis, I can't really foresee that happening so I think it's a wonderful tool for groups to use.

LibraryThings Souvenir Stand

Finally, I've stumbled upon something I will actually be able to use beyond the Discover 2.0 course. This unit got me really excited as I'm constantly finding and reading interesting books and think it would be fun to post and share my thoughts. I signed up for the LibraryThing site simply because it looked very organized and colorful and " icon and graphic friendly". I loved being able to see the covers of the books and how easy it was to rank them by clicking on the green stars and review them by clicking on the pencil. I also really liked how it pulled information from Amazon or the Library of Congress. I even found two rare books (Gymnastics: The Art of Sport and Gymnastics: In Perspective) which are two beautiful coffee table books but are very hard to find... if LibraryThing can pull up these two books I'm very impressed as no library or bookstore I've ever been to has carried them. (how I acquired my copies is another story for another blog but they are prominently displayed on my personal bookshelf). :o)

It may sound kind of judgemental, but one of the reasons I didn't choose GoodReads was because of the Excel Spreadsheet feature. Out of all the Microsoft Office programs, Excel was one I never mastered and still find kind of confusing (I'm just not into cells and formulas!). I was kind of turned off by that feature and chose LibraryThing over GoodReads. For the amount of time I have spent on it, I'm very impressed with LibraryThing so far and plan to spend some more time playing around with it and reviewing books on it in the future.

The link to my LibraryThing account is: http://librarything.com/catalog/Glendyne

Technorati - A Mysterious Wonder of the World (wide web)?

While I don't think Technorati is something I personally will be using on a regular basis, it was something interesting to learn about. I did the search on Discover 2.0 and one of my own blogs actually came up! I learned that my rank is 3,304,019 in Technorati World. HAHAHA!

I found it kind of complicated to search and navigate around and I found the advanced search kind of hard to use. With a bit more time I think I will eventually get the hang of it though.

A Del.icio.us Point of Interest

I found this unit to be a bit confusing at first and while I can see the definite benefits of this being useful for research assistance I personally can't see myself using this tool on a regular basis. I just don't go to that many sites on a regular basis to want to bookmark them and access them from anywhere.

But thinking of it from a library information point of view I think it's a great tool. When I logged onto the isdesk account, I found those "one minute critic" videos in which fellow library workers commented on some great reads. I think this would be very helpful in recommending books to patrons, even if the librarian who is assisting them isn't as familiar with it. The video is short and to the point, and in this world where everyone wants things now, it's a quick and easy sell. It would also be great from the information desk's point of view to tag some more obscure sites they've come across in past experiences with patrons that could be useful or of interest to others. It would take a while to compile, but you would have quick and easy access to some very unique and hard to find information right at your fingertips.

I was once told that libraries are a source of tons of information, and librarians are the "gate keepers" of that information. It is their job to make the information seem less overwhelming and more accessible to patrons. I think that del.icio.us is a great tool and should be integrated into libraries.

The Broadway Tour Package

I was having SO much fun and was even being a little goofy! The image generators were so easy to use and figure out... it looks like you spent hours creating something when all you did was a few clicks of your mouse and the computer did all the work.

One of my hobbies is acting in community theatre (although I haven't done anything since 2005) so when I found this Broadway sign I couldn't help but fantasize a little about what it would be like to have your picture plastered on a billboard in New York City. This picture is actually taken from a community theatre production of Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park" in which I had the leading role so I thought it suited the background nicely.

And of course, after my "smashing and successful" debut on Broadway I couldn't help but name a street after myself! HAHAHA!

Cruising through Social Networking!

I am a big advocate of social networking! I was part of MySpace for awhile, but found it really hard to use (I never understood the HTML coding and found it hard to make my profile "pretty"). I also found MySpace full of "clutter" more than social networking. My brother than got me hooked on Facebook. When he mentioned the idea of it, I was reluctant since my experience on MySpace wasn't enjoyable. I took his advice and am now a HUGE fan of Facebook and a regular user. I have found friends from elementary and high school, my old gymnastics teammates, relatives, and co-workers. Since I'm from Canada, most of my contacts are still there and I'm finding it a great way to stay connected with everyone! I love being able to log into Facebook and see pictures posted of my brother's trip to the Dominican Republic, a former classmate's new baby pictures, a relative's wedding that I wasn't able to attend... it has been great with making me still feel connected to everyone back home even though I'm living in Washington now. I also love logging in and seeing everyone's "status" updates... it's amazing how a few words can reveal so much about how a person is feeling, what they're up to, issues they are dealing with, etc. I found out one of my cousins was pregnant just by reading their status update! I find it a fun way to keep up with the going's on in people's lives and you can reach out and reply to them via their wall or a message. At first I was thinking it was being nosy but then I realized that people voluntarily supply this information and know it's going to get read and/or responded to. I've also stepped out of my box and have joined a couple of groups/communities that are interesting to me and have connected with some great people via those networks.

As Facebook does gain in popularity I am noticing the clutter (I get invite for apps all the time, the FunWall drives me crazy, and I dislike that "superpoke" thing!) but I try to be very tasteful and selective when it comes to adding applications on my profile and the friends I add. I am trying to keep it to people I have met face to face at some point in my life as opposed to the "joe schmoe" who is a friend of a cousin of a mechanic. I heard an interesting debate on the radio one time about someone who was applying for a job and the potential employer did a search for her on MySpace and encountered some very controversial pictures and a really trashy MySpace page. The employer was both shocked and disappointed as the applicant had been very impressive and professional during the interview and had been one of the best candidates they had seen that day. The business ended up not hiring her because their philosophy was, based on her "hardcore" lifestyle as illustrated on her MySpace profile, how reliable of an employee would she actually be? What a great opportunity gone to waste all because of how you represent yourself on a social networking site! I took this into consideration when I developed my Facebook profile (going on the assumption you never know who could be looking at it) and I try to keep it tasteful and respectful yet still make it a true representation of who I am.

I enjoyed reading the opposing viewpoints during this lesson on libraries being a valuable resource to appeal to the teen demographic but also posing as an "invasion" in their social networking community. There were some great points brought up on both sides and ones I never would have thought of. I'm kind of on the fence with how I feel about this issue. The libraries they cited as examples who are using social networks to promote their programs (Steele Creek and Denver Library) seemed to be successful. I also took a look at the FVRL's YAAB MySpace page and it looks like it's gotten a good response from the teen demographic. I guess time will tell whether this will be a good medium to reach out to people.

Instant Messaging Itinerary

I love instant messaging! I think instant messaging holds an extra special place in my heart since my husband and I met online and used instant messaging tools as a way to communicate and "stay connected" when we were far apart. We got really creative and used webcams and microphones. It was a great way to bond and feel connected and made the miles between us seem short. I have found IM a great way to communicate and am amazed at how personal it really can be.

I think incorporating a MeeboMe widget on library's homepages is a great idea! With the younger generation being so internet savvy, this is a great way to reach out to that demographic. IM, email, talking on the phone, and face to face interaction are all forms of communication and some people have a stronger preference than others. I know of some people who would prefer the IM method over face to face interaction or phone communication when it comes to seeking help and information.

As with anything new, there are pros and cons. Some pros would be, as mentioned above, appealing to the younger generation and get them excited about using libraries... libraries aren't just some old fashioned thing of the past - we are moving forward as times change and are keeping up with the latest trends. One con does come to mind though and that would be education... educating the public that this service is available and educating the reference librarians on how this technology works.

The biggest issue I can think of in order to make IM reference workable is making sure it is staffed during hours that appeal to everybody. (ie: late afternoon/early evening hours for school age children doing homework).

Although it took me awhile to figure out, I had a lot of fun learning how to add the Meebo widget.
It was very satisfying to able to get it to work. It makes me realize that I am learning new skills through this program! Whoohoo!

Blogline Island Hopping

Today's activity will be a treasure hunt for information... information about anything and everything you ever wanted to know... and then some.

I had a good time learning this unit. I really liked how easy the Google Blog search engine was. I stumbled across a blog of my cousin who lives in Vancouver, Canada and am now officially subscribed to her blog. Before I knew about Bloglines, I was doing it the "old fashioned" way and had her blog bookmarked and would just check it periodically for updates. I found the actual searching easier then going to my favorite sites. I tried going to the sites I like but was having trouble finding that "subscribe" icon on them so searching was definetely better for me.

With the exception of the really user friendly Google Blog search I found a lot of the other searches confusing... I never was able to get the Feedster page loaded and Syndic8.com had a little to much "clutter" for my liking.

I think RSS feeds could be very interesting if put to use in librairies. It would be a great way to keep patrons up to date on special events happening at the library, programs, announcements, bookmobile schedules, hours of operation, new titles, etc. If new policies are put into place it would be terrific to write up something informing the patrons of the changes (ie: self pick-up holds procedures, how self check-out works, $5 restocking fee, etc.)

From an employees' point of view, I think RSS feeds would be a great way for different library districts to keep in touch with each other. As I was trying to find some library related RSS feeds, I stumbled upon many librarians who have personal blogs who share funny stories about patrons and the day to day challenges that come up in their jobs. It would be a great way of uniting people who work in the library industry. It could be a very useful and resourceful tool for sharing/swapping program ideas or just building friendships based on common ground.

Where's My Map??? I'm a foreigner in the land of RSS and Bloglines!

Ok, while I understand the concept of RSS and Bloglines I'm finding the actual bloglines site very confusing! When I signed up I scrolled through the "quick" search and subscribed to a whole bunch of things that interested me with supposedly one click of my mouse button. I was quite excited with some of the things I found (Dilbert comics, Travel news, Cats, iTunes top 25 songs, Entertainment news, etc.). I was very happy that with "one click" I would have my finger on the pulse of internet land and all that was in it. I was feeling so in touch with the world! Well, it took me about 15 - 20 minutes to pick out my selections, only when I hit that infamous one click it said there was a problem with the database and to try again... so I did try again... and again... with the same problem... I ended up taking some of the URL's I liked and putting them into the "search for feeds" subscribing that way but it took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I did however figure out (all by myself!) how to subscribe to the Discover 2.0 blog and two blogs of the participants in this program. So even though it was a tad confusing at first and a bit inconvienent I think with a bit more playing I will get the hang of this unit. I do love how everything is so organized in the newsfeed section of bloglines and with a bit of scrolling you can quickly look at your feeds and if a headline interests you at that moment you can read it. It's a great way to organize what could be an overwhelming load of information.

Mashup Sightseeing Tour

WOW is all I can say! I had no idea Flickr had all these "extra" features! I had so much fun being a "tourist". :o) My favorite ones had to be Montagr and Spell with Flickr. I also thought the Trading Card Maker was fun but due to time constraints will have to do some more playing around with that one at a later time.

I loved the fact that in Montagr if you scrolled over it with your mouse the thumbnail view of the picture would enlarge so you could see it. With one click of a button and a few seconds a collage appears oozing with creativity... I remember making collages in school with magazine pictures, construction paper and glue... it took hours!

Spell with Flickr was tons of fun too! I loved clicking and reclicking all the letters to get the perfect combination.

I really enjoyed my "tour" of Mashups and will definetely be incorperating these into my everyday computer life. What a fun lesson! :o)

Round trip tour of Flickr

Ok, I have to admit it took me quite a few tries to successfully attach photos to my blog but that's the beauty and "fun" of learning right? :o) But now that I have this newly acquired skill it was hard to pick just ONE picture... I picked two pictures partly because I couldn't decide which image I liked better and I wanted the extra practice of attaching photos.
I LOVE the perspective of this image of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. I have actually stayed here twice and the whole unique concept of this hotel is mind blowing! That light is one of the brightest lights in the world... so bright in fact you are supposedly able to read a newspaper ten miles into space! There are starving people in this world and many other worthy causes money could be spent on, but only Vegas would blow millions of dollars to own "the world's brightest light". Everything is so over the top there... should I be surprised they wanted this light? I think that's why I'm so intrigued by this bubble world located in the middle of the Nevada desert...


Sunsets... there is just something about them that makes me thank God for His wonderful creations... Everytime I see a sunset it always makes me pause a moment to just enjoy the view. This particular sunset was taken in Kansas but the bright vibrant orange and yellow hues with the flat prairie stretching to the horizon remind me of my home province of Saskatchewan. Anyone from the prairies can agree that we are treated to some of the best sunsets anywhere!!!

Discovering the wonderful world of blogging

Wow, so while I'm quite familiar with certain social networks (I'm a Facebook addict!) this whole blogging thing is new to me. I've read lots of other people's blogs but never kept one of my own... so I think this will be fun. :o)

Now onto the "assignment":
Out of the 7 1/2 learning habits the one I am going to find the most challenging is "Habit #3: Viewing Problems as Challenges". A lot of times when a problem arises that rocks my happy little life I have a tendency to get frustrated and over-react to the situation. I often times don't think the situation through logically in the beginning and imagine the worst case scenario's first which then upsets me and sends me into a panic. Not until I've talked it through with someone like my husband or my mom and they help me logically see the problem at hand, do I realize that taking things in small steps rather than looking at the problem as a whole helps. A lot of the times the problems can be easily solved with some persistence and effort and thoughts. Once the "storm" has blown over and I have solved the problem, I look back and think to myself... "wow that wasn't as bad or as hard to deal with as I orginally thought".

Out of the 7 1/2 learning habits that I find the easiest it is a tie between "Habit #6 Using technology to your advantage" and "Habit #7 Teach and Mentor Others".
My husband and I originally met online and as our relationship grew more serious over time, it was up to us to find creative ways to still feel a "connection" with each other when we were miles apart. We both ended up getting webcams and microphones for our computers so that when we talked we could not only hear each other's voices but see each other live as well. Currently, I have moved away from my hometown (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) and am now living here in the Northwest. Most of my family and friends are at home but it's always so fun to share digital photos of ourselves to them over email. It's so fun to be able to have that instant connection and be able to post pictures that we'd only taken a short while ago. It's like having them share in the event with us.
"Habit *7 Teach and Mentor Others" I totally agree with the video we watched about teaching and mentoring being something you can give back to the community. In addition to working at the library I am also a part time gymnastics coach. I teach parent/tot classes and preschool level classes to 3 and 4 year olds. I find it a very rewarding job as I have learned that I am not only teaching these kids the sport of gymnastics but am also teaching them to socialize with others and follow rules and directions. Since the kids I teach are so young, going to gymnastics class is one of the first things they've done outside of the home and I'm one of the first adults they've had contact with besides mom and dad. When parents tell me that bringing their kids here has helped them gain confidence and eased them into the structure of school I feel very proud that I have accomplished something in the community. :o)